Rangelands

A "Natural History Note" From UC California Naturalist's new lead scientist, Dr. Cameron Barrows. To many people, biodiversity' is almost synonymous with the word nature,' and nature' brings to mind steamy forests and the big creatures that dwell there. Fair enough.

How do you design a symbol that is meaningful to you and that addresses a problem in the world?

It's titled When Words Are Not Enough. A newly installed UC Davis mural created by students enrolled in a remote-instructed class on symbolism and design is more than enoughit's considered gorgeous, awesome and amazing.

Weeds are usually thought of as native plants we don't want in areas such as landscapes, fields, or vegetable gardens either because they reduce economic output or they are considered aesthetically displeasing.

They knew the answer. "A worker honey bee has how many pairs of wax glands on its abdomen?" That would be four, answered the UC Davis Entomology Team did at the Entomological Society of America's Virtual Entomology Games, a college-bowl type of competition formerly known as the Linnaean Games.

The first sighting of emerald ash borer in North America occurred in 2002, when it was discovered attacking ash trees in Ontario, Canada and what U.S. state? If you answered Michigan, as the UC Davis Entomology Team did, you're right.

You've heard of New York Times' best-selling author, Mark Teague, and his book, "How I Spent My Summer Vacation" (Dragonfly Books), right? Here's the Davis Botanical Society version: "How I Spent My Field Season.

Don't tell the honey bees. They will forage where they want to--whether it's on bee balm, a dandelion or that controversial tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica.

Every year butterfly guru and distinguished professor Art Shapiro of the UC Davis Department of Evolution and Ecology sponsors a "Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest.

A Nov. 5th trip to Bodega Bay's Doran Beach yielded a metallic green surprise. What was that foraging on a pink iceplant blossom near a path to the ocean? A metallic green sweat bee, Agapostemon texanus, also called an ultra green sweat bee. We usually don't see A.