- Author: Michelle Davis
June is Pollinator Month, and Pollinator Week is June 17th – 23rd. Most people can name pollinators- bees, butterflies, moths, and birds- but they don't always remember bats. Bats pollinate at night, which may be why they don't always get credit for their work. We don't usually see them in action. Bats search for big white or pale, funnel or tube-shaped flowers with strong fruity fragrances. They carry the pollen from the blooms on their fur and faces. These nectar-filled flowers belong to more than 300 food-producing plants and a plethora of evening bloomers. Most of the food-bearing plants are grown in desert or tropical regions and include bananas, guavas,mangos, cacao, dates, and cashews, and around here include figs and peaches. Flowers include evening primrose,nicotiana, datura, yucca, and French marigolds. For more examples of moon garden flowers, visit the Carolee Shields White Flower Garden and Gazebo at UC Davis Arboretum located at the southwest end of the arboretum near the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Not far from the moon garden is a bat box attached way up in a tree near the equestrian area.
If you drive across the Yolo Causeway at dusk on a summer night, or take in a Bat Talk and Walk with Corky Quirk, NorCal Bats founder, you may get to see a lot of these amazing mammals, when approximately 250,000 to 300,000 Mexican free-tailed bats stream from under the causeway, their summer home and the site where they come to give birth. Their diet includes armyworms, cutworms, moths, and other agricultural pests. They will soar two miles up to capture their prey and patrol up to 30 miles each night and eat about one-half their weight in pests each night. Pregnant and nursing bats can ingest their own weight in moths each night! One bat can consume 600 mosquitoes per hour. The area these bats, and also a lesser number of big brown and Yuma bats, cover is a fair amount of our country's sushi rice basket and also includes several fruit and nut orchards.
Bracken Cave Preserve near San Antonio, Texas has a spectacular show from March to October of 20,000,000 pregnant or nursing Mexican free-tailed bats creating what looks like a tornado on meteorology screens as they exit the cave at dusk to search for food for themselves and their pups. Each female bat gives birth to one pup usually in late June. That pup is born naked. Warmth is crucial for survival, so the pups are packed together as much as 400 pups per square foot. Mom recognizes her pup by its scent, vocalizations and by her own memory of where it is in the cave, and she returns to it several times during the day and a couple of times per night to nurse and feed it.
If you want to try to attract bats to your vegetation, the ideal bat house is made of rot-resistant, non-pressure-treated wood like white oak or cedar with 4 chambers inside, painted with oil-free, dark-colored paint on the inside, well-caulked on the outside to stop drafts and mounted 10-20 feet off the ground, ideally away from trees to keep predators out. The boards for the chambers should be roughened up first. This allows the bats to climb from the bottom of the house upward. Poles or buildings are better options for mounting. The bat house needs to get at least 6 hours of direct sun exposure every day to keep the young warm. (The sun-blasted asphalt on the Yolo Causeway is what keeps the bat babies incubated in the expansion joints under the bridge.) A water-source less than 200 feet from the bat house is preferred, but it doesn't have to be a lake or even a pond. A cattle trough filled with water will do. If you have ever hiked at Lagoon Valley near dusk during the summer, you might have seen bats zooming and dipping over the troughs on the hills grabbing a quick drink.
Bats are sometimes feared in our culture, but China and other Asian nations consider them good fortune. If you look closely at museum art from that part of the world, it is not unusual to find bat depictions. Bats make up nearly a quarter of all mammals on Earth, and they are amazing workers and pollinators, too!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Thought for the day...
Every time we see a honey bee "posing perfectly" on a Gaillardia, commonly known as blanket flower, we think of a quote by internationally known honey bee geneticist, Robert E. Page Jr., a UC Davis doctoral alumnus and professor and chair emeritus of the UC Davis Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology):
"The impact of bees on our world is immeasurable. Bees are responsible for the evolution of the vast array of brightly-colored flowers and for engineering the niches of multitudes of plants, animals, and microbes. They've painted our landscapes with flowers through their pollination activities and have evolved the most complex societies to aid their exploitation of the environment."
That's a passage from his book, The Art of the Bee.It's also featured on his YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/@artofthebee.
Rob obtained his doctorate in entomology in 1980 from UC Davis; joined the UC Davis faculty in 1989; and chaired the Department of Entomology from 1999 to 2004. After retiring from UC Davis in 2004, he accepted an appointment at Arizona State University (ASU) as founding director of the School of Life Sciences. He served as dean of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 2011-2013, and provost of ASU from 2013-2015. He is now emeritus. He was recently featured in Legends, American Entomologist. (See UC Davis Department of Entomology website)
Why did Page create the free and accessible-to-all YouTube Channel? Because that's what Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859), known as a German geographer, naturalist, explorer, and proponent of Romantic philosophy and science, would have done.
It's about making science understandable.
Check out Page's YouTube channel, including:
- Landscape Artists
- Environmental Engineers
- The Social Contract
- Superorganisms
- How to Make a Superorganism
- Song of the Queen
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So there it was, an exotic-looking bug resting against a freshly painted red bollard at a Vacaville supermarket.
It was not there to shop. Or to stop vehicles from crashing into the store or colliding with shoppers.
It was there, I suspect, because of the pheromone-like scent of the fresh paint.
What was it? A banded alder borer, Rosalia funebris, in the family Cerambycidae. It's a longhorned beetle with spectacular black, white and blue coloration.
Look closely and you'll see the dark elytra (wing covers) with white bands and a white thorax with a large black spot. What's really striking, though, are the long, black-and-white banded antennae. The male antennae are longer than its body.
The beetle "feeds during its larval stage in declining or dead branches of broadleaf trees, including alder, ash, California bay, oak, and willow," according to the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program. "Longhorned beetles develop though four life stages—egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Adult banded alder borers emerge and mate from April through August. Adult females lay eggs individually on small- to medium-sized, dying or recently dead branches. The eggs hatch within 2 weeks and the larvae bore in and feed for 6 to 7 months under the bark. Mature larvae then bore in more deeply to overwinter as pupae. In the spring, pupae develop into adults, each of which chews an exit hole and emerges from the branch."
"The banded alder borer is the only species of this genus in North America, occurring from Alaska to southern California and in the Rocky Mountains from Idaho to New Mexico," according to Washington State University Extension.
However, scientists say it's not a significant pest because the females lay their eggs in downed, damaged or dead branches. The damage is not theirs. They're not the culprits!
You may never see a banded alder borer, but if you're painting a bollard (not going to happen!), your house, or some other structure, you might. Just enjoy its striking beauty!
- Author: Ben A Faber
Back in the early 1990s the California Cherimoya Association decided to put together all their knowledge about the fruit and plant - from history to pollination and costs of production. There are numerous authors who are steeped in love of the fruit. It took several years to bring this all together. finalizing in 1995. It was only available to members of the Association, but now it's available on-line. If you make citation to this work, please recognize the CCA for all the effort that went into it, as well as the individual authors. This is the definitive work on California cherimoyas.
https://ceventura.ucanr.edu/Com_Ag/Subtropical/Minor_Subtropicals/TEST_1_/
Book 1: CCA Cherimoya Growers Handbook - Digital Version (PDF)
Chapter 1: History - Art Schroeder
Chapter 2: Botany - Art Schroeder
Chapter 3: Cultivars - Norm Ellstrand
Chapter 4: Propagation - Rob Brokaw
Chapter 5: Soil Fertility Management - Ben Faber
Chapter 6: Irrigation Management - Ben Faber
Chapter 7: Pruning and Training - Scott Van Der Kar
Chapter 8: Pollination - Theory and Practice - Tracy Kahn
Chapter 9: Insect Pest and Disease - Gary Bender
Chapter 10: Postharvest Handling - Mary Lu Arpaia
Chapter 11: Marketing - Peter Nichols
Chapter 12: Costs of Production - Claude Sweet
A Brief History: Established in the early 1980s, the UCCE Master Food Preserver Program has been a part of the community fabric for decades. It was born out of a need to provide accurate, research-based information on food safety and home food preservation—a critical skill that not only promotes healthier eating but also reduces food waste.
Local Roots: San Joaquin County's Journey: The San Joaquin County branch of the program was established in 2013, adding to the rich tapestry of the statewide initiative. Linda Driver, a founding member, led the program as the volunteer coordinator for three years, setting a strong foundation for its future. Bill Loyko succeeded her, dedicating his time and expertise until his retirement at the end of June 2024. As we step into July 2024, the baton has been passed to new volunteer co-coordinators, Kathy Anderson and Colleen Young. Both Kathy and Colleen have been with the program since 2018, and their passion for sharing food safety and preservation knowledge is unmatched. They are committed to continuing the legacy of educational outreach within our community.
Mission and Education: The program's mission is clear: to educate the public on safe home food preservation methods. This is achieved through a network of trained volunteers who share their expertise on everything from canning and pickling to drying and fermenting. These Master Food Preservers serve as a bridge between the university's research and the community's needs, ensuring that the information disseminated is both current and scientifically sound.
Community Engagement: Volunteers are the heart of the program, engaging with the community in various ways:
- Answering Queries: They provide answers to pressing questions about food safety and preservation, ensuring that the community's food preservation efforts are successful and safe.
- Educational Outreach: By staffing booths at local events, such as county fairs and farmers markets, they bring the knowledge directly to the people.
- Workshops and Classes: Hands-on classes and workshops as well as virtual presentations are a staple of the program, offering practical experience in food preservation techniques and food safety.
- Social Media Presence: Find us on various social media platforms, sharing tips and announcing workshops.
- Blogs and Newsletters: Many programs maintain blogs and send out seasonal newsletters.
Looking Ahead: The San Joaquin County program eagerly anticipates a new year filled with opportunities to serve the community. Plans include in-person workshops, virtual presentations, a help desk service, and the quarterly Preservation Notes Blog/Newsletter. For those inspired to become a Master Food Preserver, the program offers an annual training session.
Impact and Goals: The impact of the UCCE Master Food Preserver Program is multifaceted:
- It fosters a Healthy Environment by teaching skills that reduce food waste.
- It aims to Decrease Healthcare Costs by minimizing foodborne illnesses through proper preservation techniques.
- The program Engages Cultural Communities, respecting and incorporating diverse food traditions.
- It forms Strong Community Partnerships, working alongside other organizations to enhance its reach.
- By increasing Food Security and enhancing Food Resource Management Skills, the program contributes to the well-being of Californians.
As we look to the future, the UCCE Master Food Preserver Program stands as a testament to the power of knowledge and community in helping to create a sustainable, health-conscious California.