Rangelands

He didn't set out to study insect science. Jay Rosenheim was a third-year physics major at the University of California, Davis, in 1981 whenon a lark--he enrolled in Professor Harry Kaya's Entomology 100 course. The professor inspired him, the class enthralled him, and insects captivated him.

Congratulations to medical entomologist Thomas W. Scott, named one of the 11 UC Davis researchers on the 2020 Highly Cited Researchers list by the Web of Science Group, the information and technology provider for the global scientific research community. It's an honor well-deserved.

Chemical ecologist Andre Kessler, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell University, will speak on "Chemical Information Driving Plant Interactions and Community Dynamics" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.

It's definitely going to be quite a memorable year for the Western monarch butterflies--memorable as in "record low populations at the overwintering sites along the California coast.

Invasive pests threaten California's natural environments, agricultural production, structures, landscapes and gardens, causing billions of dollars of damage to our agricultural systems and natural areas each year.

In California, ~9 million acres of forestland are owned by individuals, with ~90% of these owners owning less than 50 acres each. Considering California has ~33 million acres of total forestland, that 9 million acres makes up to a lot of our state's forests that individuals are responsible for.

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's weekly virtual seminars resume Wednesday, Dec. 2 with a program on nematodes, or "roundworms.

In less than a decade, some of the burned expanses from this year's megafires could burst into intense flames again, reported Ula Chrobak in Scientific American. Frequent, low-severity fires, which clear out patches of low-lying vegetation and dry leaf litter, have an preventative effect.

Molecular nematologist Peter DiGennaro of the University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology will present the next virtual seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Wednesday afternoon, Dec. 2.

When we finally received a more than two inches of rain in mid-November, I was relieved that we would finally have germination on our foothill rangelands - better late than never! Today, after two weeks of sunshine, I am indeed seeing a little green coming up through last year's dry forage.