Rangelands

Oh, the patience of a crab spider. It lies in wait on the Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in the hot sun. It scuttles back and forth, extending its legs. It's an ambush predator, ready to inject venom.

The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program's website contains many useful features to help identify pests and problems in the garden and home. One such feature is the Weed Gallery, which contains hundreds of images and management tips for more than 150 common weeds found in California.

They dogged the dogface butterfly.

When tiny tree-killing beetles first arrived in Southern California several years ago and began destroying urban and riparian forests, they raised widespread concerns among both tree experts and affected communities.

Invasive plants are defined by the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) as, A plant that is both non-native and able to establish on many sites, grow quickly, and spread to the point of disrupting plant communities or ecosystems.

If you haven't stopped by to see our booth at the Stanislaus County Fair, this is the last weekend! Come visit our booth in front of the Floriculture building located just inside the fairgrounds near the Arch gate off 900 North Broadway in Turlock this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, July 15-17.

A retired Fairfield elementary school teacher says that butterflies are the "gateway bug" to entomology. It's the symmetry, the beauty, the agility, he says. He's right. So, forget about the old adage, "stop and smell the roses" (although that's good, too).

Congrats to UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Soares Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, and a former chair of the Department of Entomology, on his induction as a Fellow of the National Academy of Inventors (NAI).

Friday, June 10 proved to be a great day in "The Land of Z," and Saturday, July 16 promises to be a great day in the "Land of B." The Land of Z? It's the home or major breeding ground of Zerene eurydice, the California dogface butterfly, the state insect.

Pampasgrass and jubatagrass facts Pampasgrass (Cortaderia selloana) is a common ornamental landscape plant that readily naturalizes throughout California's coastal areas and some interior regions.