Test PB Collection: FTE

You've heard the expression, "wasp waist," in reference to someone's tiny waist? Well, all you need do is look at the waist of the mud dauber wasp, Sceliphron caementarium, and you'll see where that expression originated.

What a wonderful gift! Bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.

Threespike goosegrass is a warm season perennial grass which is a problem weed in some almond orchards around Orland, California. It is easily identified by its distinctive (see photo) seed heads (spikes). It is usually a problem during the first years of an orchard.

The headline drew us in: "Bees Age Faster When They Raise Offspring." It came from ScienceNow, the online edition of Science Magazine.

The polyphagus shot hole borer (PSHB) is an invasive beerle that forms a symbiosis with a new, as-yet-undescribed Fusarium sp., together causing Fusarium dieback on avocado and hother host plants in California and Israel.

The buzz around UC Davis is about "The Wings of Life." The Disneynature film, narrated by Meryl Streep, will be part of the "Evening of Inspiration" on Wednesday, July 24 at the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane. Sponsoring the event, to be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.

What a beauty. But not nearly as striking as her male counterpart. The flame skimmer dragonfly (Libellula saturata) owned a perch on a bamboo stake last Tuesday in residential Davis.

Microirrigation (drip, microsprinkler, fan jet) applies water through small openings and can easily be prone to clogging. For this reason, filtration is used to avoid introducing sediments into the system and all fertilizers are injected before the filters to avoid their clogging the system.

What's better than a bee threading through a flowering artichoke? Two bees, a honey bee and a long-horned sunflower bee. Flowering 'chokes are big draws for bees. Plant 'em, let 'em flower, and they will come. Sometimes in droves. Sometimes in diversity. Always amazing.

June 17, 2013 CONTACT: Jeannette Warnert, (559) 240-9850, jwarnert@ucanr.