Ask-A-Naturalist: The Shot-Hole borer beetle has caused many trees to die in our region. Have we found a treatment now? Have we stopped it spreading?
Written by Andy Dang, NBC Naturalist 2019 Edited by Susan Jarratt, NBC Naturalist 2018 Unfortunately, we have not stopped the spread of the invasive Shot-Hole borer beetle but there are some promising treatments being researched. The Shot-Hole bore beetle is an...Ask-A-Naturalist: What are those cotton-like fibres found on the coyote bush?
Written by Terri Kueny, NBC Naturalist 2019 The cotton-like fibers are actually a foamy substance called spittle produced by the Froghopper nymph. The spittle provides a high humidity microclimate and shields the bugs from rain and predators during metamorphosis....Ask-A-Naturalist: Why is there so much trash in the bay now?
Winter is the rainy season in Southern California. When it rains, trash and debris from the city streets wash down the storm drains into the Upper Newport Bay. The bay collects water and refuse from a 154 square mile watershed encompassing seven cities. Waste from...Ask-A-Naturalist: Why do birds migrate?
Many (but not all) species of birds pack up and leave one part of the hemisphere and fly thousands of miles to arrive at another. Upper Newport Bay, one of the few remaining protected wetlands on the California coast, hosts thousands of migrants from the north during...Ask-A-Naturalist: How was the Back Bay created?
The Back Bay was carved out relatively recently on geological timescales. During a time period called the “Pleistocene” from 2.6 million years ago to 10,000 years ago, the Earth experienced many cooler periods when ice and snow extended much further south than they do...Maps & Directions
