Rangelands

In a study that highlights the role of bee diversity in crop pollination, researchers found that growers may benefit from 10 times the number of bee species than previously thought to pollinate their crops, according to a paper published Feb.

Have you ever said "Hi" to a watermelon? No? Well, you can "meet and greet" a watermelon at the Bohart Museum of Entomology during the seventh annual campuswide Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 17 at the University of California, Davis. But you can't thump it.

What better day to deliver a seminar on bumble bees than on Valentine's Day?

To Boldy Go. UC Davis Chancellor Gary May, a Star Trek enthusiast, coined that theme last year when he launched the university's 10-year strategic planning process. It's aimed at bringing together everyone's bold ideas to propel us to accomplish things we've only dreamed of in the past.

The bumble bee was hungry. She moved quickly from blossom to blossom on a jade plant at the Benicia (Calif.) Capitol State Historic Park, Solano County. As she foraged, you could see her tongue (proboscis) and her trademark yellow face and yellow stripe on her abdomen.

Campers and hikers are often warned to avoid poison oak in summer by looking out for green plants with glossy leaflets of three. However, as weather cools, the appearance of the plant changes, making it more difficult to identify.

Well, it did what it was supposed to do. It walked. When Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and UC Davis professor of entomology, glanced at a wall near the entrance of the Bohart Museum during a recent open house, she noticed something that wasn't part of the wall.

It's beginning to look a lot like...almond pollination season in California. Almonds usually begin blooming around Valentine's Day, but it's often earlier, depending on where you look or live. Take Benicia, Solano County.

The Imperial Valley's beautiful winters have long attracted winter visitors to the area, and most come very curious about what's growing throughout this region.

Would you like to design and plant a bee friendly garden? Do you want to attract such pollinators as honey bees, bumble bees and butterflies?