- Author: Grace Dean, Forest Stewardship Communications Specialist
Free forester site visit for landowners who complete workshop series
Forest landowners in Solano and Sacramento counties are encouraged to learn about their forests and connect with natural resource professionals in their areas during the next Forest Stewardship Workshop Series from University of California Cooperative Extension, July 18 to Sept. 12. These programs can be essential for small landowners who seek to make their forests resilient against wildfire.
Upon completing the nine-week series of virtual and in-person sessions, landowners also will be eligible for a free site visit from a local Registered Professional Forester (RPF), Certified Range Manager or California Certified Burn Boss.
Content is applicable to all forest landowners regardless of where their forest is located and will highlight talks from the local Resource Conservation District, UCCE forestry advisors, CAL FIRE, Natural Resources Conservation Service, and other natural resources community leaders. Registration fee is $60 for the workshop series, which will address common concerns among California landowners, including but not limited to:
- Forest ecology and vegetation management
- Financial planning and cost-sharing opportunities
- Oak woodland management and targeted grazing
Past participants have rated the workshop series highly, with 98% of 2022 participants rating the series overall as excellent or very good. In addition, 94% of past participants reported greater awareness of applying for and using cost-sharing programs.
A past participant has described the workshops as very accessible, saying “they (UCCE) broke things down into small pieces, [and] staff were always an email away.” In seeking to make an otherwise large amount of content approachable, UCCE hopes that landowners come away with a holistic understanding of the management process.
The workshop will take place in a hybrid setting, with classes taking place weekly online over Zoom. Participants will also engage in practical learning through a field day, where they can meet other cohort members and UCCE professionals at an outdoor field location.
At the conclusion of the workshop series, landowners will be equipped with the knowledge and network that will empower them to manage their forests in ways that meet their specific goals and objectives.
Community members in Sacramento and Solano counties interested in forest management, forest and fire ecology, and related topics are encouraged to register: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=28675.
Forest landowners across California can learn about upcoming workshops in their areas, and also find additional resources, publications and videos: https://ucanr.edu/sites/forestry/Stewardship/.
/h3>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You can exchange suds for a bug.
That would be a cabbage white butterfly for a pitcher of beer or its equivalent.
And it's all in the interest of science.
Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, is sponsoring his annual “Beer for a Butterfly Contest,” starting Jan. 1.
The first person in the three-county area of Sacramento, Yolo and Solano who collects the first cabbage white butterfly, Pieris rapae, of the new year--outdoors--and drops it off live in the Department of Evolution and Ecology office--wins a pitcher of beer or its equivalent.
Shapiro, who maintains a research website at http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu, launched the contest in 1972 as part of his scientific research to record the first flight of the butterfly in the three-county area. It's a contest he usually wins. He has been defeated only four times, and all by UC Davis graduate students.
Since 1972, the first flight has varied from Jan. 1 to Feb. 22, averaging about Jan. 20.
In 2018, he collected the winner at 11:23 a.m. Friday, Jan. 19 in one of his frequented sites—a mustard patch by railroad tracks in West Sacramento, Yolo County.
He described the butterfly as quite yellow instead of white. “Cold weather promotes sepiapterin formation, so early ones are often quite yellow.”
This is the eighth year since 2010 that the winning butterfly has been collected in Yolo County. In 2017, Shapiro found the winner on the UC Davis campus; in 2016, graduate student Jacob Montgomery netted the winner outside his home in west Davis, and Shapiro collected all five winners from 2012 to 2015 in West Sacramento. He found the 2011 winner in Suisun, Solano County.
Shapiro's graduate student, Adam Porter, defeated him in 1983. Two other graduate students, Sherri Graves and Rick VanBuskirk, each won in the late 1990s.
The butterfly inhabits vacant lots, fields and gardens where its host plants, weedy mustards, grow. The male is white. The female is often slightly buffy; the "underside of the hindwing and apex of the forewing may be distinctly yellow and normally have a gray cast,” Shapiro said. “The black dots and apical spot on the upperside tend to be faint or even to disappear really early in the season.”
In its caterpillar stage, Pieris rapae is a pest of cole crops and is known as "imported cabbageworm." The larvae "chew large, irregular holes in leaves, bore into heads, and drop greenish brown fecal pellets that may contaminate the marketed product, according to the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program's website.) "Seedlings may be damaged, but most losses are due to damage to marketed parts of the plant."
Ready to join the hunt for the first-of-the-year cabbage white butterfly? And try to defeat the good professor?
The contest rules include:
- It must be an adult (no caterpillars or pupae) and be captured outdoors.
- It must be delivered alive to the department office, 2320 Storer Hall, UC Davis, during work hours, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, with the full data (exact time, date and location of the capture) and your name, address, phone number and/or e-mail. The receptionist will certify that it is alive and refrigerate it. (If you collect it on a weekend or holiday, keep it in a refrigerator; do not freeze. A few days in the fridge will not harm it, Shapiro says.)
- Shapiro is the sole judge.
The list of winners, dates and locations since 2010:
- 2018: Jan. 19: Art Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento, Yolo County
- 2017: Jan. 19: Art Shapiro collected the winner on the UC Davis campus, Yolo County
- 2016: Jan. 16: Jacob Montgomery, UC Davis graduate student, collected the winner in west Davis
- 2015: Jan. 26: Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento
- 2014: Jan. 14: Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento
- 2013: Jan. 21: Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento
- 2012: Jan. 8: Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento
- 2011: Jan. 31: Shapiro collected the winner in Suisun, Solano County
- 2010: Jan. 27: Shapiro collected the winner in West Sacramento
Shapiro has monitored butterfly population trends on a transect across central California for 46 years and records the information on his research website at http://butterfly.ucdavis.edu/. His 10 sites stretch from the Sacramento River Delta through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains to the high desert of the Western Great Basin. Shapiro visits his sites every two weeks "to record what's out" from spring to fall. The largest and oldest database in North America, it was recently cited by British conservation biologist Chris Thomas in a worldwide study of insect biomass.
Shapiro, a member of the UC Davis faculty since 1971 and author of the book, Field Guide to Butterflies of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Valley Regions, has studied a total of 163 species of butterflies in his transect.
/span>![Two cabbage white butterflies, Pieris rapae, flutter over catmint in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Two cabbage white butterflies, Pieris rapae, flutter over catmint in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/57282.jpg)
- Author: Karey Windbiel-Rojas
Recently I was asked whether the Asian citrus psyllid has been detected in Solano County. Since I wasn't sure, I thought I'd share the news of what I found out. Please see the notice below from the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner from December 2016.
News Details
Asian citrus psyllids detected within Solano County
December 27, 2016
SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Agricultural Commissioner, in cooperation with the California Department of Food and Agriculture has begun an extensive survey and treatment program in response to the detection of two Asian citrus psyllids (ACP) within the City of Fairfield on Wednesday, Dec. 21.
A treatment program will be carried out on all citrus host plants within 400 meters surrounding the site where the insects were trapped. Residents in the treatment area will be notified in advance.
"We want to emphasize that citrus fruit is safe to eat and the disease is not harmful to human health," said Jim Allan, Solano County Agricultural Commissioner. “Yes, the Asian citrus psyllid is a dangerous pest to citrus plants, however, we're still working to determine the full extent of this incident so we can protect our state's vital citrus industry, including our backyard citrus trees.”
The pest is especially harmful to citrus because it can carry the huanglongbing (HLB) disease. All citrus plants and closely related species are susceptible hosts for both the insect and the disease. There is no cure once a tree becomes infected. The diseased tree will decline in health, produce bitter, misshaped fruit and eventually die.
To date, HLB-infected psyllids and plants have been detected in the unincorporated area of Hacienda Heights and within the City of San Gabriel, both within Los Angeles County. Infected psyllids have also been found in La Puente and Cerritos, but no infected plants have been found in those areas.
The California Department of Food and Agriculture will soon establish a quarantine for all citrus plants and fruits within a five-mile radius of ACP in order to prevent the movement of host material. Any future restrictions on the movement of host plants and fruits will apply to the homeowner, renter, commercial citrus grower and nurseries.
The state of Florida first detected the Asian citrus psyllid in 1998 and HLB disease in 2005. Since that time, both the pest and the disease have been detected in all 30 citrus producing counties in the state of Florida. Data suggests that between 1998 and 2012 ACP and HLB has caused the loss of more than 6,600 jobs and $1.3 billion in lost revenue to the citrus industry. The cumulative impact equates to the loss of more than $3.6 billion in total economic activity.
The Asian citrus psyllid and huanglongbing has also been found in the states of Louisiana, Georgia, South Carolina and Texas. The states of Alabama, Arizona, Hawaii and Mississippi have detected the pest but not the disease.
Residents in the area who think they may have seen the pest are urged to call the Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899. For more information on the ACP and HLB disease visit: http://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/acp
/h2>
![Asian citrus psyllid adult and nymphs. [Credit: ME Rogers] Asian citrus psyllid adult and nymphs. [Credit: ME Rogers]](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/50657.jpg)
Proposed New Mediterranean Fruit Fly Quarantine Boundary - Solano County
The California Department of Food and Agriculture is adding the Solano County to their Medfly Quarantine Boundary. A map of the proposed boundary can be found at https://www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/medfly/regulation.html
Regulated articles and conditions for intrastate movement under the quarantine can be found at Title 3 California Code of Regulations (CCR) section 3406. Pursuant to Title 3 CCR section 3406 any interested party or local entity may appeal a quarantine area designation.
Process to Appeal the Proposed New Boundary
The appeal must be submitted to the Department in writing and supported by clear and convincing evidence. The appeal must be filed no later than ten (10) working days from the date of this notification. During the pending of the appeal, the designated Quarantine Boundary under appeal shall remain in effect.
Mail appeals to:
CDFA - Pest Exclusion
1220 N Street, Room 325
Sacramento, CA 95814
Electronic Notification of Boundary Changes
California Code of Regulation allows interested parties to be notified of quarantine area boundary changes, as well as the opportunity to submit quarantine boundary appeals. If interested in receiving notifications, please sign up for regulatory updates through the email notification ListServ at: www.cdfa.ca.gov/subscriptions/index.html#planthealth.
For questions regarding the regulations or map, please email Dayna Napolillo (dayna.napolillo@cdfa.ca.gov) or Keith Okasaki (keith.okasaki@cdfa.ca.gov) or call (916) 654-0312.
For more information, visit: www.cdfa.ca.gov/plant/medfly/regulation.html
/span>/span>![I-DP-CCAP-AD.002 I-DP-CCAP-AD.002](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/48004.jpg)
September 5, 2017
The fly was captured in an insect trap baited with lures designed to attract the Medfly. Scientists at the CDFA have verified that the fly has DNA that matches it to populations known to originate from Hawaii and is a mature female with well-developed eggs inside, however, the fly was unmated. As part of the coordinated response, Solano County, the CDFA and USDA are working to determine if this fly represents a breeding population, or, if this is an isolated incident.
In response to the location of a Medfly, an additional 1,095 insect traps have been placed as part of a delimitation survey. Medfly traps are placed in consecutive circles extending for several miles in each direction from the original Medfly detection site, in this instance, covering approximately 81 square-miles. All traps have been checked and no additional Medfly's have been detected at this time.
If a single Medfly is found within three projected life-cycles, a quarantine restricting the movement of host (where the fly is found) fruits and vegetables would be imposed by federal law.
Last October, a single Medfly was found in Vacaville, however, it was the only one, so a quarantine was not necessary. Several Medfly's were found in Dixon in 2007 and 2008, resulting in a quarantine eradication of the pest. Those same flies shared the same genetic biotype as the fly found in Tolinas.
“I would like to thank the residents of Fairfield and Suisun for their cooperation in allowing our employees to place insect traps in your fruit trees and gardens,” says Jim Allan, Solano County Agricultural Commissioner and Sealer of Weights and Measures. “We are also working to inform residents to be aware that uncertified produce from foreign countries, Puerto Rico and Hawaii, may carry the risk of starting an infestation.”
The Medfly can infest more than 250 types of fruits and vegetables, causing severe impacts on California agricultural exports and backyard gardens. Residents who believe their fruits or vegetables are infested with fly larvae are encouraged to call the state's toll-free Pest Hotline at 1-800-491-1899 or the Solano County Agricultural Commissioner's office at (707) 784-1310.
News Contact:
Matthew Davis, Sr. Management Analyst and Public Communications Officer
(707) 784-6111 | madavis@solanocounty.com (AND)
Jim Allan, Agricultural Commissioner, Sealer of Weights and Measures
(707) 784-3448 and JDAllan@SolanoCounty.com