Agriculture

Where are you, Gulf Fritillaries? The Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae) population seems to be diminishing this year around Solano and Yolo counties. A few here, a few there, but not in the large numbers of last year.

Direct marketing, for some farmers and ranchers, can be a way to capture more of the consumer dollar. By bypassing the middlemen - wholesalers, distributors, and retailers - direct marketing can allow a producer to receive retail value for his or her product.

A funny thing happened on the way to Bug Land. Well, many funny things.

One of the outcomes of teaching a general entomology course to undergraduates for many, many years is that I have taken on a new appreciation for science fiction and fantasy.

Hats off to the 12 members of the Graduating Class of 2019, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Hear that buzz? Honey bees own the flower beds at the Solano County Fair, 900 Fairgrounds Drive, Vallejo. But bees and other insects claim the exhibit halls, as well. They're depicted on everything from quilts and photos to graphic arts displayed in McCormack Hall.

What's for dinner? A crab spider, camouflaged in our lavender patch, didn't catch a honey bee, a butterfly, an ant or a syrphid fly. No, it nailed a green bottle fly. We couldn't help but notice. The fly's metallic blue-green coloring stood in sharp contrast to the white spider.

KQED reporter Mark Schapiro discovered a "center of insurrection" at the UC West Side Research and Extension Center in Five Points, where UC Cooperative Extension cropping systems specialist Jeff Mitchell has been building soil on a research plot for 20 years.

Greg Crutsinger is excited to announce two 1-day workshops on agricultural mapping with drones, July 16th & 17th at the Intermountain Research and Extension Center (IREC) in Tulelake, California. Workshops will consist of two sessions (beginner and intermediate) for agricultural mapping.

Lovin' the lavender... If you attended the Lavender Festival last weekend at the six-acre Araceli Farms at 7389 Pitt School Road, Dixon, you were in for a real treat.