Rangelands

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"On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 5 golden bees." This is a cordovan bee; an image taken in a Vacaville, Calif., pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The 13 Bugs of Christmas, Revisited

December 20, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's time to revisit the "Thirteen Bugs of Christmas!" Back in 2010, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (now emeritus) and yours truly of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) decided that "The 12 Days of Christmas" ought to be replaced with insects.
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A cow grazes on short pasture in December 2020 - typical of forage conditions this year.
Ranching in the Sierra Foothills: Article

Cause for Concern?

December 17, 2020
By Daniel K Macon
Here in Auburn (on December 17, 2020), we received 0.64" of rain overnight. After a late start to the rainy season (and to germination on our annual rangelands), any rain is welcome at this point.
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A monarch butterfly nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifolia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

No Federal Protection for the Monarch Butterflies

December 15, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Yes, monarch butterflies qualify for the Endangered Species list. But no, we can't protect them because we don't have the money. That's the gist of what the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) said today.
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A honey bee heads for the lion's tail, Leonotis leonurus, in Vacaville, Calif. on a sunny day in December.
Bug Squad: Article

I Am Honey Bee; Hear Me Roar

December 14, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey bees have nothing on the late Helen Reddy (Oct. 25, 1941-Sept. 29, 2020), an Australian-born singer who roared like a lion: "I am woman, hear me roar." Her hit song, "I Am Woman," released in 1972, became an anthem for the women's liberation/equal rights movement back in the '70s.
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This is a Jerusalem cricket, commonly known as a "potato bug." Someone once described it as a "cricket on steroids." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

This Is NOT an Asian Giant Hornet

December 11, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Nope, not an Asian giant hornet. Not even close. It's a Jerusalem cricket, sometimes called a "potato bug." The be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) for the Asian giant hornet detected in Canada and Washington state has resulted in scores of queries and submissions of not-even-close specimens.
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A mama widow spider juggles her egg sacs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Do You Know Your Spiders?

December 10, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Do you know your spiders? If you engage in social media, you've probably seen a "what-is-this" query about a spider that some unsuspecting person discovered quite unexpectedly in a garden, bedroom, bathroom or garage.
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UC Davis student Jay Rosenheim digging a nest at UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station, Truckee, in 1984.
Bug Squad: Article

UC Davis Entomologist Jay Rosenheim: How His World Changed in 1981

December 8, 2020
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A little known fact about the outstanding career of Jay Rosenheim, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology and a newly inducted Fellow of the Entomological Society of America, is that, as an undergraduate at UC Davis, he initially majored in physics. Physics? Yes.
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