Rangelands

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A male praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, emerges from a pomegranate bush. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

How to Find a Praying Mantis

August 21, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Do you know where your praying mantids are? Water a bush or a plant frequently visited by bees and other pollinators, and if they're in there, they're likely to emerge. Such was the case when a male praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, emerged from our pomegranate bush. No spray zone, please.
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Postdoctoral scholar Laura Brutscher of the Elina Lastro Niño lab at UC Davis talks about who lives in the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Hear that Buzz? Saturday is National Honey Bee Day!

August 17, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hear that buzz? Tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 18) is National Honey Bee Day. A small group of beekeepers originated the observance back in 2009 to spotlight bees and beekeeping. They petitioned and obtained a proclamation from the U.S.
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UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Pokeweed: A giant of a weed!

August 15, 2018
By Scott R Oneto
This is a follow up article to a blog that my colleague, Guy Kyser wrote back in 2011 titled Purple alert: Common Pokeweed. Since that time, I probably get a dozen or so calls this time of year asking, what is that huge weed growing in my yard with dark black berries and big green leaves.
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Longhorned bees--Melissodes (possibly M. robustior) slumbering on a Mexican sunflower. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

What's Not to Love About 'Boys' Night Out'?

August 15, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
We look forward to "The Boys' Night Out." Ah, pillow fights, popcorn, and marathon movies on TV, you ask? No. "Boys' Night Out" is when the longhorned male bees in our pollinator garden in Vacaville engage in sleepovers on our Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia) and other blossoms.
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Meadow spittlebug nymph at the Bodega Marine Reserve. (Photo by Mikaela Huntzinger)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Meadow Spittlebugs Declining Rapidly Along the California Coastline

August 15, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Meadow spittlebugs, once very abundant on plants along the California coastline, are declining rapidly or vanishing from their previous habitats, according to ecologists Richard Karban and Mikaela Huntzinger of the University of California, Davis, co-authors of newly published research in the journa...
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USDA forest research entomologist Steve Seybold (foreground) and UC Davis doctoral student Corwin Parker peel bark to reveal larvae of bark beetles and wood borers. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Bohart Museum Open House to Emphasize 'Fire and Insects'

August 13, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology will emphasize "fire and insects" when it hosts an open house, Extreme Insects: Fire and Ice, on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 19. The public event, to take place from 1 to 4 p.m.
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