Master Gardener Blog

Congrats! UC Linnaean Games Team Wins the National Championship

They did it! Again! The incredible University of California Linnaean Games Team, comprised of graduate students from UC Davis and UC Berkeley, won the national championship at the popular and highly competitive Linnaean Games hosted this week at the...

Gamemaster Deane Jorgensen (far left), research scientist at Sygenta, and ESA president Michael Parrella (far right), dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Idaho, flank the national Linnaean Games Team champions. In the center (from left) are Emily Bick, Brendon Boudinot, captain Ralph Washington Jr., Zachary Griebenow and Jill Oberski. Parrella is a former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.(Joe Rominiecki Photo)

Gamemaster Deane Jorgensen (far left), research scientist at Sygenta, and ESA president Michael Parrella (far right), dean of the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Idaho, flank the national Linnaean Games Team champions. In the center (from left) are Emily Bick, Brendon Boudinot, captain Ralph Washington Jr., Zachary Griebenow and Jill Oberski. Parrella is a former professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. (Joe Rominiecki Photo)

They Lost It All in the Raging Inferno in Paradise

Paradise isn't. It was, though. And it will be again when it's rebuilt. #ParadiseStrong. The raging inferno known as "Camp Fire" that started Nov. 8 on Camp Creek Road, near Pulga, Butte County, California, ranks as the deadliest and most destructive...

Entomologist Brennen Dyer, shown here at work at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, lost it all in the Paradise inferno known as Camp Fire. His supervisor, Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and UC Davis professor of entomology, encouraged him to set up a gofundme account.

Entomologist Brennen Dyer, shown here at work at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, lost it all in the Paradise inferno known as Camp Fire. His supervisor, Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and UC Davis professor of entomology, encouraged him to set up a gofundme account.

Autumn's Hues: The Gulf Fritillary and Mexican Sunflower

"The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."--Rabindranath Tagore  When we think of orange and autumn, we think of the marriage of the Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae), and the Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). The...

A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A newly eclosed Gulf Fritillary. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Gulf Fritillary will soon be able to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The Gulf Fritillary will soon be able to take flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The silver-spangled Gulf Fritillary, a showy orange butterfly, looks like two different species. When it spreads its wings, it's orange. The underwings: silver. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The silver-spangled Gulf Fritillary, a showy orange butterfly, looks like two different species. When it spreads its wings, it's orange. The underwings: silver. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not two butterflies; this is one, the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Not two butterflies; this is one, the Gulf Fritillary, Agraulis vanillae. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The showy Gulf Fritillary on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The showy Gulf Fritillary on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Bohart Museum Open House: Focusing on Urban Entomology

Mark your calendars! The next open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, is set for 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, Nov. 18. It's free and family friendly. "The focus is...

Booklice are nearly microscopic insects, Liposcelis bostrychophila, or "psocids" (pronounced "so kids"). They are common pests in stored grains. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Booklice are nearly microscopic insects, Liposcelis bostrychophila, or "psocids" (pronounced "so kids"). They are common pests in stored grains. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle (aka ladybug) is a beneficial insect in the garden. It eats aphids and other soft-scale insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A lady beetle (aka ladybug) is a beneficial insect in the garden. It eats aphids and other soft-scale insects. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Henrietta and the Drone Fly: The Predator and the Prey

Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, perches on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). She is as patient as she is persistent. The drone fly, aka syrphid and also known as a hover fly or flower fly, makes the fatal mistake of touching down on...

Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, lies in wait on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia.) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Henrietta, our Stagmomantis limbata praying mantis, lies in wait on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia.) (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A drone fly (syrphid) lands on the blossom as a hungry praying mantis watches intently. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

A drone fly (syrphid) lands on the blossom as a hungry praying mantis watches intently. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One quick move and praying mantis has dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

One quick move and praying mantis has dinner. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The spiked forelegs hold the prey in place. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

The spiked forelegs hold the prey in place. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's eat and be eaten in the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's eat and be eaten in the garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Henrietta the praying mantis polishes off the last of the fly but a wing is visible evidence of what happened. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Henrietta the praying mantis polishes off the last of the fly but a wing is visible evidence of what happened. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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