UC Master Gardeners of San Joaquin County

 The annual Yule blog...Back in 2010, UC Cooperative Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and yours truly, department communications specialist, wondered why no insects appear in "The Twelve Days of ChristmasZero. Zilch…

  Remember Cole Cramer and Connor Hsu, the two Southern California insect enthusiasts who met as pre-teens at the 2022 Bio Boot Camp at UC Davis? They became fast friends, joined professional entomological societies, and formed a youth entomology group, the Lorquin Society…

 Are you hanging out beneath the mistletoe? Or know someone who is? Maybe Mommy kissing Santa Claus?Scales and ants may be hanging out, too.The two insects maintain a classic mutualistic symbiosis in which ants "farm" scale insects for their sweet honeydew.  It's a beneficial arrangement: scales…

From the UC IPM Urban and Community team, we’d like to wish you a happy holiday season! As we reflect on this past year, we’d like to express our gratitude to all of you for joining us to learn about pest management around the home and garden.  This year, we’ve connected with you in various ways:…

 Workshop participants meet in Davis, CA in November 2025.The Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (SGMA) opened the door for groundwater markets to emerge in much of California. Groundwater markets refer to the voluntary, compensated transfer of the right or allowance to pump groundwater, as well as…

 The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology today published its 2025 "News in Review," with a message from the administration--Joanna Chiu, professor and department chair, and Rachel Vannette, professor and vice chair--and featuring highlights of the year."We recognize our roots," the…

 The "Lost Science" column of the New York Times recently focused on Jenny Carlson Donnelly, a UC Davis doctoral alumna who lost her job earlier this year as a Malaria Outbreak Emergency Advisor for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) due to Trump administration cuts.USAID,…

 Can't think of a gift to buy for the beekeepers, food enthusiasts, naturalists, environmental educators, and honey and mead lovers in your life? It gets a little sticky, doesn't it? Sometimes really sticky.To the rescue...a couple of Santa's helpers...The California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP…

 Not everything is big in Texas.If you're used to seeing the huge Texas longhorns, with horns spanning eight feet in length from tip to tip, then this is quite the comparison.Entomologist Jeff Smith, the volunteer curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, just…

Winter is peak citrus season, and a time when many people gift their home-grown fruit to friends and loved ones. This holiday season, we would like to remind everyone that harmful invasive pests can move to new areas on citrus fruit. There are several active quarantines in California aimed at slowing the…

 These designs showcasing the 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day will "draw you in."The BioDiv Committee recently sponsored a design contest and selected the two winners. They are....drum roll...Haylie Wilcox, a first-year master's degree student in the lab of Professor Neal Williams, a…

Transition to Organic Webinar SeriesWednesdays • January 14 – March 18, 2026 • Free virtual seriesHosted by CAFF, UC Organic Agriculture Institute (UC OAI), and UC Cooperative Extension (UCCE)Thinking about transitioning your crop operation to organic? Join us for a ten-week webinar series designed to guide…

 A sweet collaboration!The California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), based at UC Davis, and The HIVE Tasting Room and Kitchen in Woodland, have joined forces--sweet forces--to present two courses at The Hive:  the first is The Science of Honey Tasting  from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., on…

 Who's speaking at the winter seminars hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology?Marshall McMunn, coordinator of the seminars for the 2025-26 academic year, has announced the "spring list."All seminars will take place at 12:10 p.m. on Wednesdays  in 122 Briggs Hall. They also…

 What exciting research--fitting overwintering monarch butterflies with the newly developed ULTRALIGHT solar-powered radio tags to monitor their movements.Senior conservation biologist Emma Pelton of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation today announced in a news release that “Scientists are…

The new year is just around the corner, and along with it will come new Urban and Community IPM Webinars! Join us every third Thursday of each month from 12:00 to 1:00pm PST to learn about a wide range of urban pest management topics. This series is free and open to the public but advance registration is…