Ongoing research

Who knew? You've probably watched those colorful painted ladies (Vanessa cardui) fluttering about in your yard, but have you read the newly published research about their wing color patterns and genetic codes?

The 2017 season was marked by weather extremes, including record winter rainfall and high summer temperatures. Despite those, Delta rice growers generally observed an average to above-average season. Total acreage for the Delta south of the Yolo Bypass was roughly 2900 acres.

See those red spots on your milkweed seed pods? Lady beetles (aka ladybugs or "garden heroes") are feasting on aphids. And they're having a ball. We've been watching the critters on our milkweed, Gomphocarpus physocarpus, for the last couple of months.

It's not a question of whether katydid did or didn't. She did. In answer to what-are-we-going-to-see-next-in-insect-sightings-today-in-our-weird-climate-changing patterns, a katydid appeared on our yellow rose bush on Nov. 21 in Vacaville, Calif. And stayed for several days.

So if you have lemons, read this. And if we have rain, really read this. I think because we prune lemons so much, this is more of a lemon problem, because I've never heard of other citrus getting it. It is a wood decay fungus on a lot of other tree species, though.

Lettuce in the Salinas Valley is direct seeded by planting 34 times the amount of seed need and then thinning the stand to the desired spacing.

We first saw her at 10 a.m. on Oct. 27, 2017. She was eating. That's what monarch caterpillars do best. They eat. A lot. "Where have you been?" I asked. "Where have you been hiding? Your siblings have long gone.

Waterhyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) is a floating perennial species that has become a serious management issue as it invades aquatic ecosystems around the world.

The whole group of plants we lump under the taxonomic classification of citrus are really changeable. It's out of this changeability that we get new varieties. Some of these can be quite fanciful, almost dream like fruit which is where the origin of the name chimera comes from.

Set a plate for one and you might get three more diners. Such was the case recently in a Sonoma garden when a patch Iceland poppy (Papaver nudicaule) drew a posse of hungry honey bees, all elbowing up to the plate. Iceland poppy is irresistible. Ironically, you won't find Iceland poppy in Iceland.