Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

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).

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Six-month old strawberry field. Under the soil is a complex and dynamic world of moisture, pH, salinity, nutrients, microorganisms, and plant roots along with pests, pathogens, weeds and more.

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.

This article is from Florida Grower News. Thanks for Jim Lloyd-butler for pointing it out. FLG-Editorial@MeisterMediaww.

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.