Rangelands

The glassy-winged sharpshooter is a large leafhopper that can transmit several important, often fatal, plant diseases in California. This includes Pierce's disease of grape, alfalfa dwarf, almond leaf scorch, and mulberry leaf scorch.

If you're struggling with triple-digit temperatures, think about the honey bees. They need to collect water for their colony to cool the hive so their brood can develop. And for other purposes. Just call them "The Water Girls." Lately the bees have taken a liking to our birdbath.

If you missed UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey's well-attended seminar on "California's Fruit Fly Invasion: A 70-Year Struggle Nears Critical Mass," it's now online on YouTube.

Hydrilla (Hydrilla verticillata) is an invasive, aquatic weed that can be found in many slow-moving fresh water bodies in California. The plant forms large mats that can crowd out native plants, restrict water flow, and interfere with boating and fishing.

We miss the late Robbin Thorp, 1933-2019, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, who co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: an Identification Guide (Princeton University Press, 2014).

Cover crops are planted to protect and improve the soil between annual crops such as tomatoes or between rows of tree and vine crops, but growers may be concerned about the water use of these plants that don't generate income.

Aedes mosquitoes can transmit some of the most debilitating and deadly mosquito-borne pathogens to humans, such as Zika virus, dengue virus, chikungunya virus, and yellow fever virus. One Aedes species is also capable of transmitting heartworm to dogs.

When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, recipient of a UC Davis Academic Senate's 2024 Faculty Distinguished Research Award, delivered his seminar at a recent luncheon in the UC Davis Conference Center, honey bees showed up, too. In images, text, and analogies.

Help increase public awareness of invasive species and encourage participation in the ongoing fight against invasive species by celebrating California Invasive Species Action Week (CISAW) June 1- 9, 2024.

During the initial throes of the Mediterranean fruit fly invasion in California, protesters disagreeing with the California Department of Food and Agriculture's eradication procedures and policies used to sing the catchy tune, "There Ain't No Bugs on Me," the work of Jerry Garcia and David Grisman.