Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

Bug Squad: Article

Landmark Book Addresses California Bees, Blooms

December 6, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're looking for a holiday gift for family and friends--or maybe yourself--think bees and blooms. Specifically, California bees and blooms. Even more specifically, undomesticated bees (that is, not honey bees).
View Article
Bug Squad: Article

What Are Those Red and Black Bugs on Milkweed?

December 5, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Got milkweed? Then you probably have milkweed bugs. All summer and into fall, we spotted the familiar reddish, black and white bugs scurrying around on our showy milkweed, Asclepias speciosa, and tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica. Showy bugs on showy milkweed.
View Article
Primary Image
avocado rodent damage 2
Topics in Subtropics: Article

Watch Out for Those Rodents - They are After Your Trees

December 2, 2016
By Ben A Faber
redcThe hills have been dry for a long time, and the long dry fall is bringing animals into the avocado groves that normally stay out in the hills. They want the green cambium of trees and the moisture it provides. And especially rodents will have a field day in the well-maintained orchards.
View Article
Primary Image
Diaprepes Florida damage
Topics in Subtropics: Article

Diaprepes - What You Don't Want in Your Orchard

December 2, 2016
By Ben A Faber
On a recent trip, we saw Diaprepes Root Weevil damage on avocado. It was feeding on the leaves, tattering them. The problem with this pest is that it also feeds on the roots, weakening the tree and opening it up to disease, such as Phytophthora.
View Article
Bug Squad: Article

How We Can Help the Bees Through Research

December 2, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
How can we help honey bees through research? That's the topic that Francis Ratnieks, professor of apiculture, University of Sussex, United Kingdom, will cover when he presents a seminar on Wednesday, Dec. 7 at the University of California, Davis.
View Article
Bug Squad: Article

Holiday Gifts Buggin' Ya?

December 1, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
So you're in a quandary. You have no idea what to get the nature lovers/insect enthusiasts on your holiday gift-giving list. It's buggin' ya. No worries. The UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association (EGSA) to the rescue.
View Article
Bug Squad: Article

Norm Gary: Jazz Is Music to His Ears--But So Are the Bees

November 30, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Jazz is music to his ears, but so are the bees. He's been beekeeping and playing the clarinet for 69 years. Meet Norman Gary of Citrus Heights, UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology who retired in 1994 after a 32-year academic career.
View Article
Primary Image
honey bee in avocado
Topics in Subtropics: Article

Another Mite Threatening Honeybees

November 29, 2016
By Ben A Faber
This article is from Florida Grower News. Thanks for Jim Lloyd-butler for pointing it out. FLG-Editorial@MeisterMediaww.
View Article
Bug Squad: Article

Well, Hello There, Tiny Monarch Caterpillar!

November 29, 2016
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Talk about not getting the memo. We walked into our little pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif., this afternoon to cut a few tropical milkweed stems to feed the indoor caterpillars, and there, hidden beneath a leaf, was a tiny caterpillar.
View Article