Rangelands

It's always a delight to see bumble bees and honey bees foraging together on flowers during the winter "sun breaks." Lately we've been seeing them sharing rosemary blossoms in Benicia and Vallejo.

If you missed the family-friendly seminar on ants by UC Davis Professor Phil Ward on Feb. 20 during the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day/Month, not to worry. "All About Ants II" is posted on YouTube at https://youtu.be/d8eRNsD8dxo.

Thankfully, they're out there. Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, spotted a female monarch butterfly at 1:35 today. As he mentioned in his email: "So, at 1:25 p.m.

Perseverance prevailed. The third instar monarch caterpillar we found munching on the remnants of our cut-back milkweed on Jan. 23 in Vacaville, Calif., is now an adult butterfly fluttering around the neighborhood.

Assistant professor Monika Gulia-Nuss of the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Nevada, will speak on "Progress Towards Making Ticks as a Genetically Tractable Model" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.

To bee or not to bee? That's a crucial question as the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day/Month, Honey Bee Haven and the California Master Beekeeper Program scramble for funds between now and Sunday, Feb. 28. That's when the UC Davis-authorized crowdfunding drive ends.

It's that time of year: hurricane-force winds one day and beautiful spring weather the next. Here's what's happening in the Haven in March: Garden maintenance We've finished our winter pruning and are eagerly awaiting the flowers that will follow.

I've known Doug Joses and his family for more than a quarter century. The unofficial mayor of Mountain Ranch (in Calaveras County) Doug has spent his entire life ranching in the Sierra foothills raising cattle, sheep, and Angora goats.

Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, gobble up aphids like kids gobble up popcorn and we all cheer loudly.

It's "Bio Day" on Saturday, Feb. 20 at the University of California, Davis. That's when UC Davis will celebrate the "bio" (life) in both biodiversity and biochemistry with special events open to the public.