Rangelands

A Healthy Soils Demonstration project was recently launched at Sierra Foothill REC in experimental rangeland plots in the Forbes pasture.

Are you ready for the eighth annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 16 when 13 museums and collections will be open on the University of California, Davis, campus? The event, free, family friendly and educational, is always held on Presidents' Day weekend.

No, it's not Valentine's Day, yet. Yes, the almonds are blooming. No, it's not spring. But it looks like spring in Benicia. The almonds are blooming in the Benicia (Calif.) State Recreation Area. Some are on the road at the entrance to the park. Other trees are also blooming.

1. 2019 California Plant and Soil Conference February 5-6, 2019 DoubleTree Hotel & Fresno Convention Center 2233 Ventura Street, Fresno, CA 93721 Tel: 559-268-1000. http://calasa.ucdavis.

When you're munching on French fries or potato chips, you're probably not thinking about the potato psyllid. But you should be. You should especially be thinking about the zebra chip. No, it's not a newly marketed potato chip or computer chip.

It's not outlandish now, if it ever were. A recent article in Science headlined "Once Considered Outlandish, the Idea that Plants Help their Relatives Is Taking Root," and dealing with how plants communicate, is drawing widespread attention.

Doesn't Santa give everyone a Mexican redknee tarantula for Christmas? Oh, you didn't get yours? Well, Delsin Russell, 9, of Vacaville, did, and he and his mother journeyed Saturday, Jan.

When you're five years old and just learning about the world around you and its inhabitants, it's okay to be a little apprehensive when you encounter a giant prickly stick insect with thornlike spikes. Even if your mother is holding it.

Time's fun when you're studying flies! Student fly researchers greeted guests and explained their work at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house held last Saturday, Jan. 12. The event, which took place from 1 to 4 p.m.

And to think it all began with butterflies. From basic science to applied science. From studying insects to helping humankind.