Rangelands

Photographer: "Well, hello there, Jumping Spider! What 'cha doing?" Jumping Spider: "Sunning myself, that's all." Photographer: "And you're not looking for prey? Jumping Spider: "I tried to hide in that red zinnia over there, and ambush a syrphid fly but I missed.

From an entomologist's perspective, 2023 couldn't have been a more interesting year for oak pests! The first sign of great and awesome things to come was in the spring when it became clear many oaks were going to produce abundant acorns.

"Target-site insensitivity (TSI) is an important mechanism of animal resistance to toxins," says nematologist Adler Dillman of the University of California, Riverside.

So, you're sitting in your backyard, enjoying some sunshine (sun break!) on the first day of the year, and you hear a bumble bee buzzing in your Madrone tree.

Nematologist Adler Dillman of UC Riverside will present the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's first seminar of the year at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Jan. 8 on "Nematode Parasitism of Insects with Toxic Cardenolides." His seminar will be in Room 122 of Briggs Hall and also will be on Zoom.

Fairfield resident Nancy Hansen won the 4th annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest with a video of a black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus that she submitted to the sponsor, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, at 10:57 a.m., Monday, Jan. 1.

One down, one to go! We have a winner in the 4th annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest, sponsored by the Bohart Museum of Entomology. Details are being gathered, with the winner to be announced soon.

Seminar coordinator and associate professor Brian Johnson has announced the list of UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminars for the winter quarter, from Jan. 8 through March 11. All seminars will be on Mondays at 4:10 p.m. in Room 122 of Briggs Hall and also will be on Zoom.

It's New Year's Day and it's common for folks to turn over a new leaf. What about the old leaves? Sometimes if you turn over an old leaf this time of year in Solano and Yolo counties, you might find a monarch caterpillar.

There's no fame, fortune or glory in writing a daily (volunteer) Bug Squad blog. It's about the insects. It's always been about the insects, from honey bees to bumble bees, to butterflies, to dragonflies, to praying mantises and more.