Rangelands

The 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a free public event to observe science in action and learn about the UC Davis museums and collections, is set for Saturday, Feb. 10, 2024. The committee recently settled on the date. The inaugural event took place during the Presidents' Day weekend.

Research molecular biologist Jason Hong of the USDA-ARS Horticultural Lab, Fort Pierce, FL., will present the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on "Managing Soilborne Pathogens and Pests with Anaerobic Soil Disinfestation (ASD)." His seminar begins at 4:10 p.m.

Did you celebrate National Cat Day on Oct. 29? We haven't had a cat since our 16-year-old tuxedo, Xena the Warrior Princess crossed the Rainbow Bridge in March of 2016. She sported a butterflylike marking on her left leg. Monarch butterflies fascinated her.

It's Wednesday afternoon, Nov. 1 and a female monarch butterfly flutters into our Vacaville pollinator garden. Me: "Welcome Ms. Monarch! Aren't you a little late for the migration?" Ms. Monarch: "No, I'm just a late bloomer,. so to speak.

If you attended the Bohart Museum of Entomology's private party, hosted by the Bohart Museum Society for its members and friends, you witnessed a praying mantis, a dragonfly, a honeybee, a monarch butterfly and a horse fly all getting along fabulously.

"This hanging potted plant ain't big enough for both of us!" That's what a female praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, seemed to be warning when she encountered another female on "her" hanging potted plant. So, how do you beat the competition? You defeat 'em and then you eat 'em.

Trick or treat? Treat, please, says this jumping spider. It's time to jump in to help the 13th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day crowdunding project. It's a Super Science Day to be held Saturday, Feb. 10 on the UC Davis campus. It's a free and family friendly event.

Want to talk to a scientist about monarch butterflies? Then you'll want to attend the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 4 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. Scientists will be there to answer your questions.

The filming of varroa mites in KQED's newly released Deep Look video, Varroa Mites Are a Honeybee's 8-Legged Nightmare, occurred in the UC Davis bee laboratory of scientist Elina Lastro Nio, associate professor of Cooperative Extension-Apiculture, and a member of UC Davis Department of Entomology an...

Gotta love those spiders! What, you don't? They scare you? And you scream? Fear not. Arachnologists will set the record straight. (Maybe not your scream, though!) Just in time for Halloween, the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar will be on spiders.