- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Did you know that California has a state insect? It does.
Is it the honey bee? No.
Is it the lady beetle (ladybug)? No.
Bumble bee? No.
It's the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), an insect found only in California.
The state Legislature designated it as the state insect in 1972. The butterfly is nicknamed "dogface" in reference to the silhouette of what resembles a poodle head on the wings of the male. The female is mostly solid yellow except for a single black spot on its upper wings.
Most people have never seen it in the wild....
A 2024 article by Lela Nargi of The Guardian discussed the issue of potable water in schools and how inconsistent regulation can put children at risk for under-hydration or lead exposure. The article highlighted a 2022 study by NPI's Christina Hecht and collaborators and included quotes from Hecht, who described the development of legislation for drinking water in the federal child nutrition programs. In 2010, the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act made free potable drinking water a requirement during meal times at all US schools participating in the National School Lunch Program...
- Author: Ben A Faber
Each year the California Avocado Commission partners with Land IQ to produce a Statewide Avocado Acreage and Condition Analysis report utilizing digital satellite imagery, aerial photography and analytical tools to survey California avocado groves. This data helps the Commission make informed budgeting and marketing decisions and provides industry members with spatial data concerning crop type, location, condition and density. See the full 2023 Report HERE.
According to the report:
- In 2023 there were 52,534 planted avocado acres
- The majority of growing acreage is located in...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's nicknamed "the sunflower bee" for good reason.
It forages on sunflowers.
We recently spotted a longhorned bee, Svastra obliqua, also called "the sunflower bee," on Gaillardia, aka blanket flower, a member of the sunflower family, Asteracease.
Asteraceae is comprised of more than 32,000 known species of flowering plants. And Svastra? Fourteen different species occur in North America and seven in California, according to the UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab, which provides this description:
"Overall they are medium to large, with stout bodies, gray hair on their thorax, and irregular striping on their abdomen. Females...
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
Roger Duncan, UCCE farm advisor in Stanislaus County, retires after 36 years
For more than three decades, tree fruit and nut growers have depended on the advice of Roger Duncan, UC Cooperative Extension pomology farm advisor in Stanislaus County, to improve their production practices. Duncan, whose research and extension program focused on almonds, peaches, grapes and other tree crops, retired July 1.
“Roger Duncan has been an extraordinarily relevant researcher for the predominant crops in Stanislaus County,” said Rep. John Duarte, owner of Duarte Nursery in Hughson. “His research has encompassed rootstock and...