Ongoing research

The Spring 2012 edition of UCNFA News, the online newsletter for the UC Nursery and Floriculture Alliance, is now available for viewing. This issue focuses on weeds and weed management for nursery and floricultural operations.

Okay, Ill admit it. I have a soft spot for honey bees. Today I fished out some thoroughly drenched honey bees from our swimming pool. Indeed, the pool looked like an Olympic meet for Apis mellifera.

A would-be beekeeper "inherited" an empty bee box, a reconditioned bee box, in his backyard. "How do I become a beekeeper?" he asked. A very good question, and one that the UC Davis Department of Entomology answers a lot.

They know their insects. They know what a "land lobster" is. They know diseases caused by trypanosomes. They can name the six orders of arthropods represented in the circus troupe from the movie, "A Bug's Life.

So, you've just stepped on a bug. Do you kill it and put it out of its "misery" or do you let it live? That was basically the question that UC Davis entomologist/doctoral candidate Matan Shelomi answered on Quora.

Water prices in San Diego County continue to increase and there is no end in sight, especially with periodic drought years and California losing some share of its Colorado River water.

The third time was definitely the charm. After rain postponed the grand opening of the Davis Bee Collective's Bee Sanctuary not once, but twice--the third time, Sunday, April 1--proved to be the charm.

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In this issue... Volunteer Week, Ormond Pointe Walking Path Grand Opening, Super Field Day, Council Corner, All-Star Applicants Wanted, and much more.

Woolly distaff thistle (Carthamus lanatus L.) is a yellow-flowered, spiny winter annual native to Mediterranean and central Europe. It has become a problem recently in northern California and southern Oregon.