Rangelands

It's that time of year: hurricane-force winds one day and beautiful spring weather the next. Here's what's happening in the Haven in March: Garden maintenance We've finished our winter pruning and are eagerly awaiting the flowers that will follow.

I've known Doug Joses and his family for more than a quarter century. The unofficial mayor of Mountain Ranch (in Calaveras County) Doug has spent his entire life ranching in the Sierra foothills raising cattle, sheep, and Angora goats.

Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, gobble up aphids like kids gobble up popcorn and we all cheer loudly.

It's "Bio Day" on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the University of California, Davis. That's when UC Davis will celebrate the "bio" (life) in both biodiversity and biochemistry with special events open to the public.

When conditions are right, winter can be a good time to conduct prescribed burns for forest management, says Rob York, UC Cooperative Extension forestry specialist. A huge issue we have in California is fire severity.

The volunteers--faculty, staff and students--who are presenting science-based information during the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month are doing an amazing job.

Upcoming UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month live talks and demonstrations include: Asian giant hornets (aka "murder hornets"): 1 to 2 p.m., Thursday, Feb.

Talk about diverse. The bee world exemplifies diversity and the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month, being celebrated throughout the month of February, wouldn't exemplify diversity without them.

Want to learn about "murder hornets?" Entomologists cringe every time someone substitutes the moniker, "murder hornet," for the Asian giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia.

Color this fantastic! As part of the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Month, the Santiago Ramirez lab, UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology, has created a 10-page Plant-Insect Interactions Coloring Book.