Sonoma

One of our collaborators on the Sonoma Vegetation Mapping Project has sent work on how web mapping and high resolution imagery has helped them do their job well. These are specific comments, but might be more generally applicable to other mapping and conservation arenas.

Westward, ho! The western migration of the Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to their overwintering sites along the California coast is underway.

Do you have a little land to spare, such as a quarter of an acre or up to three acres? For honey bee habitat? The Pollinator Partnership, as part of its U.S.

Farmers in our county who are using high-priced water are really thinking about niches in the market. They simply must get the best prices they can if they are going to stay in business. So, what are these niches? One niche is simply converting to an organic operation.

This post is a quick reminder that this is the last week for public comment on 123 proposed UC Cooperative Extension positions (closes July 21st). The proposed positions are listed at this website and you can read the 2-page proposal and see any comments by clicking on the position title.

Yesterday was the 58th Annual Weed Day hosted by the UC Davis Weed Science Program and the UC Weed Research and Information Center.

Just call it a "practice run." Or a "buzz run." Barbara Allen-Diaz, vice president of the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) vowed last year to wear bees if she received at least $2500 in donations for UC student scholarships through the "Promise for Education" fundraising drive.

Monarchs and milkweed are in the news again. As well they should be. The declining monarch population, coupled with the decreasing scarcity of their host plant, the milkweed, is disturbing. The larvae of the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) feed exclusively on milkweeds.

The Pride of Maderia (Echium candicans) is blooming in the tiny Sonoma coastal community of Bodega. The purplish-blue spiked flowers attract honey bees, bumble bees and syrphid flies. And visitors. And photographers. The honey bees were buzzing all over the Echium last Sunday, Feb.

It's Veterans' Day, but to jumping spiders, it's just another day--another day to ambush unsuspecting prey. We spotted this jumping spider on an orchid cactus, Epiphyllum (Greek for "upon the leaf"). It was catching a little morning sun and poised for business.