- (Focus Area) Yard & Garden
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A praying mantis, Stagmomantis limbata, stretches beneath a Mexican sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, in a Vacaville garden.
Ms. Mantis: (Startled to see she is not alone) "Well, hello, there! How are ya? I'm just dropping by to say Hello!"
Photographer: "So, this is a meet-and-greet? And not a meet-and-eat?"
Ms. Mantis: "Exactly. I'm not interested in eating bees or butterflies. Ooh, there goes a honey bee! Ooh, there's a long-horned bee! Omigosh, a butterfly!"
Photographer: "You're just looking?"
Ms. Mantis: "No, just stretching. See, I've closed my spiked forelegs."
Photographer: "Then why did you move beneath the blossom?"
Ms. Mantis: "For the shade. Yes, that's it. For the shade."
Photographer: "Sounds pretty shady to me. Just admit it, you're hungry."
Ms. Mantis: "Well, now that you mention it, I guess I could use a bite to eat. Just a little bite...a little bee...a little butterfly..."
Photographer: "A quick bite?"
Ms. Mantis: "Lightning fast! One-twentieth of a second! Now, if you'll excuse me..."
The camera clicks. The mantis vanishes...along with an unsuspecting bee.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Talk about flower power.
When you walk through the UC Davis Bee Haven, a half-acre garden on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus, you'll see bees and other pollinators foraging on a pink floribunda rose cultivar, “Nearly Wild." It's flamingo pink, quite fragrant and very buzzworthy, providing both pollen and nectar.
This cultivar is aptly named "Nearly Wild." It has five petals, just like wild roses.
The garden, installed in 2009 and a project of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nemalogy, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. Director of the haven is apiculturist/researcher Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, based in the department.
A six-foot long worker bee, the ceramic-mosaic work of Donna Billick of Davis, anchors the garden, as honey bees from the nearby Laidlaw apiary gather nectar and pollen.
But back to the “Nearly Wild” roses.
They remind us so much of the truly wild roses we've seen growing along river banks, roadsides and in fields. Roses (family Rosaceae and genus Rosa) originated some 25 million years ago. Many of today's roses are the result of centuries of breeding.
What's the story behind "Nearly Wild" and what are its characteristics?" The Missouri Botanical Garden website says this is "a floribunda rose ('Dr. W. Van Fleet' x 'Leuchstern') which typically grows 2-3' tall (less frequently to 4') and as wide. It is a dense, shrubby plant which features clusters of mildly fragrant, single, pink roses (to 3" diameter) with center clumps of prominent yellow stamens. Five-petalled flowers are reminiscent of some species roses hence the cultivar name. Flowers bloom continuously from May to frost. Glossy dark green foliage. Introduced by Brownwell in 1941."
The UC Davis Bee Haven is currently being renovated, but you can still visit from dawn to dusk. Admission is free.
Nobody wants cockroaches in their home, especially since these pests can cause and worsen allergies in children, transmit diseases and bacteria, and contaminate foods.
If you find cockroaches in or around your home, do you reach for a do-it-yourself spray product? Well, you might not want to waste your money!
New research shows that some common consumer-grade insecticide sprays don't work to get rid of cockroach infestations. The study focused on products containing pyrethroids, which is a group of pesticides commonly found in many household insecticide products. Examples of pyrethroids include the active ingredients bifenthrin, cypermethrin, and permethrin.
In the study, both liquid and aerosol pyrethroid products killed less than 20% of German cockroaches on sprayed surfaces. Even when cockroaches were confined to the sprayed surfaces, most products took 8 to 24 hours to kill them, with some taking up to 5 days.
Research has also shown that frequent use of pyrethroid insecticides for cockroach management had caused the insects to develop resistance to these products.
So, what can you do to effectively control cockroaches?
Identifying the species present is important since some cockroaches live and breed indoors, while others live and breed outdoors. Knowing which cockroach species you have will allow you to focus control efforts on the correct location, using methods that are effective for managing that specific type of cockroach.
Pesticides alone will not solve a cockroach problem. Use pesticides indoors only if the cockroach population is reproducing and living in your home, not for the occasional intruder. Use insecticide bait products in combination with other non-chemical control methods, such as exclusion and sanitation.
Hiring a professional pest control service that takes an IPM approach can be helpful in reducing serious indoor cockroach infestations but can be also be expensive. Professionals have the tools, experience, and knowledge to better address serious pest issues. Infestations in multi-unit housing, such as apartment complexes, can be especially difficult to control and often requires a community-wide effort.
For more detailed management information, see the Pest Notes: Cockroaches.
[Adapted from an article published by the Entomological Society of America on August 14, 2024.]
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We have endured multiple years of drought, and are probably in store for more. For many of us, it makes sense to replace all or part of our lawn area with less water-intensive plantings.
Step One: observe and plan. What existing trees and plants do you want to keep or remove? What are the sun and shade patterns within your yard? What types of grass grow in your lawn? Do you want any additional amenities, such as paving or a shade structure? How will you irrigate your new plants?
Step Two: kill your lawn. Homeowners can use two eco-friendly methods to kill their lawns: Solarizing or Sheet Mulching. For detailed instructions on solarizing, see UC IPM Pestnote on solarization. For instructions on sheet mulching, see our Real Dirt blog post on Sheet Composting.
Sheet mulching kills weeds by starving them of light. It takes 6 to 10 months and can be started any time of the year as long as at least three months of growing season are included. Sheet mulching works in sun or shade, and is effective on all grasses, including Bermuda grass, and many annual and perennial weeds. It is left in place permanently; over time, the dead lawn, sheeting, and mulch will break down into soil-enriching compost. Sheet mulching should be placed before new plants are installed if being used alone to kill lawn or weeds. It can be placed after plants are installed if solarizing has been completed first. New hardscape and irrigation should be installed before commencing solarizing or sheet mulching.
Step Three: replant. Whichever method you choose to kill your lawn, time it so that you are ready to replant in the fall, winter, or early spring. The cool temperatures and moist soils of our wet season allow drought tolerant plants to develop the healthy roots they need to thrive with little water during the heat of summer. Taking time to thoroughly kill the grass and waiting until the climate conditions are suitable for new plants will ensure the long-term success of a lawn replacement project.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
And it's double delightful with twins!
Such was the case at the Vacaville Museum Guild's recent Children's Party when two-year-old twins Ford and Wyatt Devine were thumbing through "The Story of the Dogface Butterfly," a children's book written by UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, a Folsom Lake College professor and a Bohart Museum of Entomology research scientist.
The twins, along with big brother, Buck, 7, were among the youngsters fascinated by the book, which features macro images by Bohart associate Greg Kareofelas and illustrations by Laine Bauer, then a UC Davis student.
It was just one of the many attractions at the annual Children's Party, held Aug. 8 in the museum courtyard.
Not many know that the butterfly's most prevalent habitat is the 40-acre Shutamul Bear River Preserve near Auburn, on a Placer Land Trust conservation site; Kareofelas serves as a docent on the Placer Land Trust tours. (See virtual tour on YouTube). The butterfly is there because its larval host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica), is there.
Are there dogface butterflies in Vacaville? Yes. The butterfly's breeding grounds include Gates Canyon. (See UC Davis emeritus professor Art Shapiro's website.)
Director of the insect museum is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and associate dean, Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Meanwhile, Bohart scientists are gearing up for their next open house, set for 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28. The theme is "Museum ABC's: Arthropods, Bohart and Collecting." All open houses are free and family friendly. Parking is also free. For more information, contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu.