Rangelands

Beauty at its best. If see the perennial shrub, Anisodontea sp. Strybing Beauty,' a member of the family Malvaceae (mallows), chances are you'll see bees pollinating the rosy pink blossoms. It's an early bloomer, a mid-bloomer and late bloomer. Yes, it blooms year-around. It's a year-around bloomer.

Ecological pest management specialist Hanna Kahl, who recently received her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, studying with UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim, will present her exit seminar on Herbivory of Citrus Fruit by European Earwigs in California on Wednesday, Sept. 29.

If you grow citrus, you've probably been introduced to the introduced European earwig, Forficula auricularia, the most common of the earwig species infesting the fruit here in California.

One point about insect wedding photography is that you don't need an invitation to attend. You just have to keep your distance and not disturb the bridal couple. No sudden movements. No stressful impatience. And no camera flash, please.

Attached are the position descriptions for our County Ag. Tech position. Please help spread the word so we get a good pool of applicants. Thanks!!!! This position is with the County of Mendocino and below is how someone would apply if interested.

Where are the monarch butterflies?

Find the praying mantis. That's not too difficult, considering this Stagmomantis limbata is gravid (pregnant) and about ready to deposit her ootheca (egg case or "ooth") on a nearby twig or branch.

Head to the Bodega Bay in Sonoma County and you'll see little kids building sandcastles on the beaches. But head to Bodega Head in the spring and summer, and if you're lucky, you'll see female digger beesbumble bee mimicscreating their own versions of sandcastles.

Remember Godzilla? The 1954 iconic film, Godzilla, featured what Wikipedia calls "an enormous, destructive prehistoric sea monster awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation." I have a Godzilla.

Ever seen a green metallic sweat bee? The colors are exquisite. This is a female Agapostemon on a purple coneflower at UC Davis. They are called "sweat bees" because they are attracted to human perspiration. The genders are easy to distinguish. The males have a striped abdomen.