Archive Nut, Prune and Olive Programs

What an unexpected find! It was the first day of 2013 and what did we see: a queen bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, aka black-tailed bumble bee. Like scores of others, we decided to take a walk on Jan. 1 in the Benicia State Recreation Area.

Happy New Year! A quick post today to share an article I wrote last fall for Western Fruit Grower (Nov/Dec 2012) It was in a section called "California Nut Report" which is about California nuts, not by them.. I think). The online, and professionally edited version of the article can be found here.

Art Shapiro knows where to find the cabbage white butterflies (Pieris rapae). No sooner had he announced his annual "Beer-for-a-Butterfly" Contest, then he found one. Actually, two.

In this issue...

The last honey bee of 2012. Despite the cold weather at Bodega Bay last Friday, we managed to see a few honey bees nectaring a New Zealand tea tree, aka Leptospermum scoparium.

A couple years ago, I posted some statistics on the tree, vine, and berry acreage in California because I find that kind of thing interesting and thought others might too.

Today, instead of posting something about weed control and herbicide resistance in orchards and vineyards, I thought I'd go out on a limb and discuss weed management and herbicide resistance in... alfalfa! (Yes, it gets a little wild around the holidays at UC Weed Science...

It's a wonderful, well-deserved honor that pays tribute to her amazing talents.

A beer for a butterfly. What a deal. Whoever collects the first live cabbage white butterfly of 2013 in the three-county area of Yolo, Solano and Sacramento, can win a pitcher of beer, compliments of Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at UC Davis.

You'll never guess what Bruce Hammock did on Dec. 18. First, a bit about Bruce Dupree Hammock.