Rangelands

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The egg-shaped nest of a yellow-legged hornet, Vespa velutina. This 33 feet high on a Liriodendron tulipífera and identified in November 2015 at the Plaza Pedro Nunes, Porto, Portugal. It became visible when autumn leaves fell. (Photo by Paula Jorge, courtesy of Wikipedia)
Bug Squad: Article

About That Yellow-Legged Hornet Detected in Georgia

August 24, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Folks in Georgia have more than Georgia on their minds. It's about this yellow-legged hornet detected in Savannah, Ga., the first live species of Vespa velutina reported in the United States.
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A praying mantis, a Stagmomantis limbata, is pretty in pink, nestled in a bed of pink zinnia petals. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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If Barbie Had a Praying Mantis....

August 23, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If Barbie had a praying mantis, it would be pretty in pink. Do you think Barbie would fawn over a praying mantis nestled in a bed of pink zinnia petals? We spotted this Stagmomantis limbata in our living laboratory (pollinator garden), and admired her stance. Then Ms.
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A person standing in front of a hillside covered in yellow flowering French broom shrubs.
Pests in the Urban Landscape: Article

Invasive Pest Spotlight: Brooms

August 23, 2023
By Mackenzie F Patton
The Invasive Pest Spotlight focuses on relevant or emerging invasive species in California. In this issue we are covering brooms, a group of invasive shrubs. Invasive Broom facts Brooms are upright shrubs in the legume family that typically produce small, yellow, pea-shaped flowers.
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A backlit praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, reigns supreme on a yellow zinnia in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Shall We Prey? Mantises Are Totally Fascinating

August 22, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Bring on the praying mantises! An enthusiastic crowd is expected at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Aug. 27 in Room 1124 of Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, University of California, Davis. It's free and family friendly. Parking is also free.
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A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, strikes a pose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Entomology & Nematology News: Article

Bohart Museum to Host Open House on Praying Mantises

August 21, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
How much do you know about praying mantises? The Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting an open house, themed "Praying Mantises," on Sunday, Aug. 27 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It is free and family friendly.
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A green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) forages on milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 20 in a Vacaville pollinator garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

What's on the Menu for a Mantis?

August 21, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A green bottle fly lands on a tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, in a Vacaville pollinator garden.
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A honey bee foraging in a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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Here's to Celebrating National Honey Bee Day

August 18, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hear that buzz? National Honey Bee Day is Saturday, Aug. 19 and you're invited to join this oh-so-sweet celebration! Launched in 2009, National Honey Bee Day takes place on the third Saturday of August. The event originated when a small group of beekeepers petitioned the U.S.
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A stilt bug descending an evening primrose. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
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The Stilt Walkers

August 17, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They look as if they belong in a circus or in a cartoon. Long dangly legs, elongated body, and long, four-segmented antennae topped with a small club. But there they were, stilt bugs, foraging on evening primrose at dawn in our "living laboratory"--a pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif.
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UC Davis alumna Nazzy Pakpour, who holds a doctorate microbiology, virology and parasitology from the University of Pennsylvania, reads from her children's book, "Please Don't Bite Me," at a recent Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

Teach 'em When They're Young

August 16, 2023
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Nazzy Pakpour has a way with kids. At a recent Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, she read passages from her newly published children's book, Please Don't Bite Me: Insects that Buzz, Bite and Sting, and then encouraged questions.
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