Rangelands

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Ecologist Ash Zemenick, shown here with pal Cosmo, is the newly selected manager of the Sagehen Creek Field Station, headquartered in Truckee, Sierra Nevada mountain range. (Photo by Marshall McNunn)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Ash Zemenick Returns 'Home' to Sagehen Creek Field Station

July 14, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Community ecologist and UC Davis doctoral alumnus Ash Zemenick, the newly selected manager of Sagehen Creek Field Station in Sierra Nevada, part of the University of California Natural Reserve System (NRS), is home--home among the flora and fauna that encompass the ecosystems and the researchers who...
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A Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, depositing an egg on the tendrils of her host plant, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Caught in the Act of Laying an Egg on Tendrils

July 12, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You know the drill, lay 'em on the tendrils. But Gulf Fritillary butterflies, Agraulis vanillae, don't always lay their eggs on the tendrils of their host plant, the passionflower vine (Passiflora) although textbooks may indicate that.
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The Lucky Seven: seven male Melissodes agilis bees sleeping on a spent Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Lucky Seven: Seven Sleeping Bees

July 9, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Okay, boys, listen up! You're the Lucky Seven! Count yourselves. There are seven of you--seven male Melissodes agilis bees--sleeping on a single spent Mexican sunflower blossom (Tithonia rotundifola).
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A Monarch butterfly is pretty, but what it does can be "pretty gross," says author Rosemary Mosco. This image shows a monarch in Vacaville, Calif., nectaring on Tithonia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Rosemary Mosco: Butterflies Are Pretty, But They Can Be 'Pretty Gross'

July 8, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A 19th century nursery rhyme insists that little girls are made of "sugar and spice and everything nice." They're not, of course. And neither are butterflies always "pretty." They can be "pretty gross," according to a delightful children's picture book, "Butterflies Are Pretty...
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3 bright green poison oak leaflets on a stem with other leaves in the backgroun.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Poison Oak Resource Updated

July 8, 2021
By Belinda Messenger-Sikes
Poison oak is a common native plant in California, growing everywhere from oak woodlands to urban parks. Chances are, you or someone you know has suffered from a rash due to poison oak at some point. The best way to avoid exposure to poison oak is knowing how to identify it.
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An orbweaver snares a honey bee in its sticky web in a patch of Mexican sunflowers, Tithonia rotundifola, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Catch of the Day

July 7, 2021
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's early morning and the spider is hungry. It snares a honey bee foraging for pollen and nectar in a patch of Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifola) in a Vacaville pollinator garden. The spider slides down the sticky web, kills its prey with a venomous bite, and begins to eat.
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