Rangelands

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A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, peers at the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Bohart Museum Announces Fall Open Houses

August 16, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology has scheduled three fall open houses: Sunday, Aug. 27: Praying Mantises Saturday, Sept. 23: Household Vampires Saturday, Nov. 4: Monarchs The open houses, free and family friendly, take place from 1 to 4 p.m.
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UC Davis alumna Emily Bzdyk with the 15-million-year-old fossil skull of a dolphin she found at Chesapeake Bay, Calvert County, Maryland
Bug Squad: Article

Emily Bzdyk: Entomologist, Biologist, Paleontologist

August 15, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's not every day you find a 15-million-year-old skull of a dolphin. Leave it to an eagle-eyed entomologist accustomed to searching for elusive bees to find it. Emily Bzdyk, who holds a master's degree in entomology from UC Davis, is making national headlines, but not about insects this time.
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A predator, a praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbatalimbata, waiting for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Three Key Dates to Add to Your Calendar

August 14, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, has announced the themes of its fall open houses: Sunday, Aug. 27: Praying Mantises Saturday, Sept. 23: Household Vampires Saturday, Nov. 4: Monarchs The open houses, free and family friendly, take place from 1 to 4 p.m.
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A bindweed turret bee, Diadasia bituberculata, foraging for pollen on bindweed, aka morning glory. (Photo by Rachel Vannette)
Bug Squad: Article

The Glory of the Bindweed Turret Bees

August 11, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you've ever seen the nests of the bindweed turret bees, Diadasia bituberculata, and if you've ever tried to photograph these fast-flying bees, you know how speedy they are and how difficult they are to photograph.
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A female monarch flutters into a Vacaville garden on Aug. 10 and checks out the narrow-leafed milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

And Just Like That, A Monarch Fluttered into Our Garden

August 10, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
And just like that, a female monarch butterfly fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden this morning, Aug. 10, and left a dozen or so calling cards: precious eggs. We earlier saw a male monarch patrolling the garden on the morning of July 23, but he left to go find the girls.
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Fifth-year doctoral student Shawn Christensen of the Rachel Vannette lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

UC Davis Scientists Collaborate With 'Deep Look' on Bindweed Turret Bees

August 10, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Microbiologist Shawn Christensen, a fifth-year doctoral candidate in the Rachel Vannette laboratory, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Vannette, his major professor, were among those collaborating with the producers of KQED Science's Deep Look for its wildlife video on bindweed t...
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A tattered Gulf Fritillary sipping nectar from a zinnia in a Vacaville, Calif., garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

What Good Is a Butterfly?

August 8, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
In his fascinating book, "Life on a Little-Known Planet: A Biologist's View of Insects and Their World," Connecticut-born biologist/entomologist Howard Ensign Evans (1919-2002) asks "What good is a butterfly?" "To the farmer, it is an adult cabbage worm or carrot caterpillar, and better off dead.
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