Rangelands

Me da mucho gusto darles la bienvenida a esta manera nica de llegar a aquellos cuya primera lengua no es el Ingls y que prefieren recibir comunicados en Espaol.

If you like chocolate, thank the midges. These tiny flies (about 1 to 3mm) pollinate the intricate flowers of the cacao tree, Theobroma cacao. From those seed pods, known as cocoa beans, come the chocolate that we crave. In fact, we Americans consume 2.

Postdoctoral scientist Antoine Brieux of the Joanna Chiu lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is gearing up for a seminar next week on his research on the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, involving photoperiodic time measurement (PPTM).

A $4.6 million grant to UC Merced and UC Irvine will help UC Agriculture and Natural Resources researchers develop new tools and methods for California land owners to better manage the state's forests, shrub lands and grasslands.

You gotta love those tarantulas at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis. If you don't love them, then at least you'll love their names.

Water and water management are crucial to the continuing agricultural prosperity of the San Joaquin Valley. Consequently, the region is lucky to have not one BUT TWO symposia this month discussing water quantity, quality , and management in the Central Valley. Please consider attending if you can.

Bugs rule, but other critters do, too, on UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day! You won't want to miss the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 16. The free, family friendly event will feature 13 museums or collections.

Have you ever seen a chocolate tree loaded with fruit? Or a plant that folds its leaves when you touch it? No? Ever seen a Humboldt squid, a giant predator that's also known as a jumbo squid? How about a Peruvian sling shot? Or fossils more than 550 million years old? No?

It's official. Registration for the seventh annual International Pollinator Conference, billed Wednesday, July 17 through Saturday, July 20 in the UC Davis Conference Center, is now underway. You can register online on the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center site.

Accolades flowed when honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page Jr., received the 2019 UC Davis Distinguished Emeritus Professor Award at the annual Academic Retiree and Emeriti Award Luncheon, held Jan. 28 in the UC Davis Conference Center.