Rangelands

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Photographer to the praying mantis: "Good morning, Ms. Mantis! How are you today? Hope you're not thinking about catching a bee for breakfast!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Ms. Mantis and Her Morning Exercises

October 20, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Scenario: A female praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, is perched on a daphne. Pho-tog: "Good morning, Ms. Mantis! How are you today? Hope you're not thinking about catching a bee for breakfast!" Ms. Mantis: "Oh, no! I would never think of catching a bee! I'm...ahem...allergic to bees.
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A two-headed butterfly? No, a male and female Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae, keeping busy on a Gaillardia or blanket flower. The butterflies are also known as "passion butterflies." Their host plant is the passionlower vine, Passiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

About Those Two-Headed Butterflies...

October 19, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, gets queries about two-headed butterflies.
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A shadow follows a Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Shadow Knows, But What Does It Know?

October 18, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Find beauty not only in the thing itself but in the pattern of the shadows, the light and dark which that thing provides.---JunichiroTanizaki (1886-1965), Japanese author. The shadow knows, but what does it know? It knows to follow.
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Aquatic entomologist Sharon Lawler examining a giant water bug. She retired from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology after a 28-year career. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Sharon Lawler: Professor Emerita, Compassionate Human Being

October 17, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you've attended the annual UC Davis Picnic Day celebrations in Briggs Hall over the years, you probably met her, or asked questions about aquatic insects. "Her" is aquatic entomologist Sharon Lawler of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, now a professor emerita.
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A varroa mite on a foraging honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Sascha Nicklisch: Targeting the Varroa Mite

October 16, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
UC Davis environmental toxicologist/biochemist Sascha Nicklisch will discuss how to disarm the defenses of the varroa mite, a major pest of honey bees, at his UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on Monday, Oct. 23.
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Figure 1. Mustard and other annual plants dry out at the beginning of the summer, creating fuel that could quickly burn during a fire. Photo by Luca Carmignani, UCCE.
UC Weed Science (weed control, management, ecology, and minutia): Article

Weeds and Wildfires

October 15, 2023
By Belinda Messenger-Sikes, Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Wildfires are part of California's ecosystems, and they do not have to lead to the destruction of structures and livelihoods. Each of us can contribute to improving wildfire resilience, from individual homeowners and businesses to entire communities.
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A male monarch nectaring on a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

WSU Entomologist David James on Irish Podcast: Exploring The Lives of Butterflies

October 13, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
You'll want to hear Ireland scientist anna N Lamhna's RT podcast featuring Washington State University entomologist David James, co-author of a newly published book, The Lives of Butterflies: A Natural History of Our Planet's Butterfly Life (Princeton University) with colleague David Lohman of the C...
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Two migrating monarchs land on a butterfly bush in Vacaville, Calif. to sip some nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

What's Better Than Seeing a Monarch Butterfly?

October 12, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Question: What's better than seeing a monarch butterfly? Answer: Seeing two monarch butterflies sharing the same blossom on a butterfly bush! Scenario: Monarchs (Danaus plexippus) from the Pacific Northwest are fluttering through Vacaville, Calif.
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