Rangelands

You never know where a praying mantis will deposit its egg case, the ootheca. In and around Vacaville, we've seen them on olive trees, honeysuckle vines, passionflower vines, and wooden stakes.

On a crisp and clear morning late last year, around 20 volunteer firefighters, landowners and community members gathered on a plot of land outside of the small rural community of Kneeland in Humboldt County.

If you were thinking of trying to net a cabbage white butterfly to win Art Shapiro's "Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest"--a butterfly for a pitcher of beer, or its equivalent--you're too late. The contest is over. No winner this year.

At first glance, they're often mistaken for bees, but bees they are not. They're flies. You've probably seen them hovering over flowers, which is why syprhids are commonly called "hover flies" or "flower flies." Enter Andrew Young.

Advice for the Home Gardener from the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County Client's Request: Hello. We would like to plant a shade tree in our backyard in mid-County. We have a fairly shallow well and am assuming a high water table although we don't have any wet, boggy areas.

If you can picture a huge water bear (tardigrade) sculpture gracing the entrance to the Bohart Museum of Entomology on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, the scientists need your help to make it happen.

We are pleased to share our 2019 Annual Report available in two formats! We have our print version and are excited to present our story map version! Special thanks to Michelle Nozzari for putting together the story map version and Deborah Curle for the print version.

I just read Ben Faber's blog post titled "Weed ID in Your Hands" from the Topics in Subtropics blog. Ben mentions, "Who says you can't know all those wild things growing in the field you didn't put there? Here's a chance to learn what they are for cheap.

The Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest is not over. Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology who annually sponsors the contest in the three-county area of Sacramento, Solano and Yolo to determine the first flight of the cabbage white butterfly, sighted one on Thursday, Jan.

News flash: Monarch sighting in Sacramento! Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, spotted a monarch in Sacramento on Wednesday, Jan. 29--way, way, way early to see monarchs in this area. But it wasn't in his transect.