Rangelands

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Overwintering monarchs in the Berkeley Aquatic Park on Nov. 26, 2015. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Sad State of the Overwintering Monarch Population in California

November 30, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Where are all the overwintering monarchs? If you traveled to the Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz this fall or to any of the other overwintering monarch sites along coastal California to see these iconic butterflies, did you see very many? Probably not.
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Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis, walks along one of his study areas, Gates Canyon Road, Vacaville. This image was taken Jan. 25, 2014. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Insect Apocalypse: Where Have All the Insects Gone?

November 28, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Where have all the flowers gone? Long time passing Where have all the flowers gone? Long time ago Where have all the flowers gone? Girls have picked them every one When will they ever learn? When will they ever learn?
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A honey bee sips honey from honeycomb. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Food Blog: Article

Honey: Nothing short of miraculous

November 28, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Honey, please pass the honey! That simple request, prefaced with a term of endearment for good measure, means there's honey on the table. And well there should be. As the daughter, granddaughter and great-great granddaughter (and beyond) of beekeepers, I grew up with honey on the table.
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Karey Windbiel-Rojas' cockroach costume proved a crowd pleaser at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. Here entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the butterflies and moths at the Bohart, gives his approval. Windbiel-Rojas, with the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) is the associate director for Urban and Community IPM. (Photo by Tabatha Yang)
Bug Squad: Article

The Day That Cockroaches Stole the Show

November 27, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It was the day that cockroaches stole the show. However, bed bugs, carpet beetles and pantry pests got into the act and competed mightily for the spotlight. The occasion: The UC Davis Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, held Sunday afternoon, Nov. 18. The theme: "Urban Entomology.
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A tarantula and a Madagascar hissing cockroach are favorites at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's live "petting zoo." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

'Giving Tuesday': Giving Back to the Bohart Museum of Entomology

November 26, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Giving Tuesday," held the first Tuesday after Thanksgiving, is a good day to give back, to say "Thank you for all you do!" The 92nd Street Y and the United Nations Foundation launched "Giving Tuesday" in 2012 in response to the troubling commercialization and consumerism in the post-Thanksgiving se...
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A bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, nectaring on a blackberry blossom in Berkeley. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Black Friday: Bumble Bees and Blackberries

November 23, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
"Black Friday" means different things to each of us, but when I think of "Black Friday," I think of black bumble bees nectaring on blackberry blossoms in Berkeley. Bumble bees on blackberry blossoms in Berkeley.
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A Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus) nectaring on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Happy Thanksgiving!

November 22, 2018
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's Thanksgiving Day, and what better day to stop and be thankful for not only family and friends, but for the beauty around us. That would include insects, including the stunning Western tiger swallowtail (Papilio rutulus).
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Ranching in the Sierra Foothills: Article

Tools for Reporting Drought Conditions

November 21, 2018
By Daniel K Macon
As I write this post, the first few drops of rain are falling on our part of the Sierra foothills since early October. Here in Auburn, those early autumn rains were enough to green up our annual rangeland; other parts of the foothills and Sacramento Valley weren't so fortunate.
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