Bug Squad

What an intriguing project!

Several of us, including Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis, are rearing caterpillars of the Ceanothus silk moth, Hyalophora euryalus.

Lepidopterist and nature photographer Megan McCarty, webmaster of the Lepidopterists' Society, and who has reared Hyalophora for six years, recently hosted a Zoom session to detail the steps involved.

Hopefully, our 'cats will turn into adults, those gorgeous rustic-red and brown moths with crescent-shaped eyespots. This insect is one of North America's largest native moths; its wingspan can measure up to 5 inches. It's commonly spotted across the Pacific Coast from British Columbia down to Baja California.

In keeping with National Moth Week, the Bohart Museum will host an open house from 7 to 11 p.m., July 18. It's free and family friendly.

See more at https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/rearing-ceanothus-silk-moths

How are you celebrating National Pollinator Month?

Every June is National Pollinator Month, a time to raise awareness about bees, butterflies, birds and other species that sustain our ecosystems and agriculture.

Meanwhile, let’s play tribute to the California golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, the state flower. Bees love it! The plant is a member of the family Papaveraceae. It thrives in its native habitat of California and extends to Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Sonora and northwest Baja California (Mexico). It became the official state flower of California in 1903.
We observed assorted bee species foraging on the golden poppies, including several native bumble bees, Halictus bees, and (non-native) honey bees during a recent visit to the UC Davis Ecological Garden, which is part of the Agricultural Sustainability Institute.
There's gold in that garden! (Not all gold is at Fort Knox or is in our rocks, rivers and creeks.)

https://ucanr.edu/blog/bug-squad/article/how-are-you-celebrating-national-pollinator-month