UC Blogs
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Our Buddies in the Garden
When you venture into your pollinator garden, look for the beauty, color, diversity and the intensity that surrounds you. You will be astounded. A honey bee nectaring on lavender in a soft-pastel scenario. A katydid nymph crawling (backlit) on a...
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The unintended consequences of clean fuel policies
How policies affect emissions, land use, and the prices of fuel and vegetable oils Over the last two decades, both the federal government and state governments have enacted policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the transportation...
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Meet 'The Moth Man' at Bohart Museum's Moth Night
Meet "The Moth Man." If you attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology's annual Moth Night celebration, affiliated with National Moth Week, you'll meet John De Benedictis, better known as “The Moth Man.” The indoor-outdoor event, free...
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Ettamarie Peterson: The Queen Bee Who'd Rather Be a Worker Bee
Ettamarie Peterson, fondly known as "The Queen Bee of Sonoma County," will be displaying a bee observation hive at the Vacaville Museum's Children's Party on Thursday, Aug. 8 but the life of a queen bee is not for her. "I have decided I...
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Fancy Meeting You Here, Mr. Potato Capsid
One potato, two potato, three potato, four... You never know what will pop up in a pollinator garden. Meet Mr. Potato Capsid, Closterotomus norvegicus, often found on nettle, potato, clover and cannabis. We spotted him (or her) in a...
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Why Soldier Beetles Deserve the Aphid Belt
It's the Fourth of July and what better time to post images of the aptly name "soldier beetles" than today. These insects (family Cantharidae) resemble the uniforms of the British soldiers of the American Revolution, which is apparently how their name...
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UC Davis Entomology and Nematology Retiring Faculty Amass 247 Years of Service
247 years! The seven faculty members honored at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's recent retirement luncheon amassed an amazing 247 years of service: UC Davis distinguished professor James Carey, 44 years, faculty member...
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Diagnosing herbicide problems takes detective work
Field day offers examples, tips for solving the mystery A grower applies an herbicide to his tomato plants, or thinks a neighbor's treatment is drifting over her almond trees. A short time later, the leaves start to bleach or shrivel. Was it the...
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Cinderella and the White Cabbage Butterfly
If Cinderella were a butterfly, she'd probably be a white cabbage butterfly, Pieris rapae. The butterfly--in its larval stage it's a pest of cucurbits--is stunning as an adult. Just think of a flowing white gown, exquisite pirouettes, and a...