Rangelands

Heat is something that many Californians are used to, and live with for several months out of the year, but prolonged triple digit heat is not something I am used to in my corner of the state. Sure it gets hot up here in Lassen County, but there is most often a place to retreat from the heat.

A mannequin in a firefighter turncoat pinned with fire beetles drew "oohs" and "aahs" at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's open house last Sunday afternoon at the University of California, Davis.

Doctoral candidate Emily Bick of the Christian Nansen lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the recipient of the Entomological Society of America's 2018 student certification award, which recognizes outstanding entomology students interested in the mission of the ESA certificatio...

[From the Summer issue of the UC IPM Retail Nursery & Garden Center News] When you use firewood in the great outdoors, be aware that moving firewood can transport tree-killing insects and diseases.

Just a hoax. A fear-mongering hoax. A so-called Facebook "public service announcement" on Aug. 21 that warned of a new deadly spider species spreading across the United States went viral, but it was all fake news.

It was bound to happen. A "real" honey bee flying alongside "fake" bees on a bee crossing sign. We photographed this honey bee (below) at 1/1000 of second (with a Nikon D500 and a 105mm lens with the f-stop set at 16 and ISO at 800), but honey bee flight is truly amazing.

As a (relatively) new livestock and natural resources farm advisor, I'm fortunate to have known and worked with my predecessors (Roger Ingram in Placer-Nevada and Glenn Nader in Sutter-Yuba). I'm also fortunate to be working in a region where I've lived for most of my life.

Do you know where your praying mantids are? Water a bush or a plant frequently visited by bees and other pollinators, and if they're in there, they're likely to emerge. Such was the case when a male praying mantis, Mantis religiosa, emerged from our pomegranate bush. No spray zone, please.

Who knew they were declining? Well, ecologists Richard "Rick" Karban Mikaela Huntzinger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology did. For years, they've been observing meadow spittlebugs along the California coastline.

Hear that buzz? Tomorrow (Saturday, Aug. 18) is National Honey Bee Day. A small group of beekeepers originated the observance back in 2009 to spotlight bees and beekeeping. They petitioned and obtained a proclamation from the U.S.