Test PB Collection: FTE

It was in last January when I first wrote about the invasive pest Bagrada bug (Bagrada hilaris). It was only reported in Imperial, Riverside, and Orange Counties at that time.

It's easily missed because it's only a fraction of an inch long. But the color--a brilliant red--is right there. It's a little difficult to see on a red pomegranate, but it's there. What's there? The nymph of a leaffooted bug (Leptoglossus zonatus).

Many of us in California have never seen the Western bumble bee (Bombus occidentalis) Many of us never will.

When you first see the leaffooted bug, you know immediately how it got its name. The appendages on its feet look like leaves! This morning we saw one in our catmint (Nepeta) patch.

if you're growing plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae--you know, the plants with the square stalks and opposite leaves--you may see a very tiny reddish-orange visitor. It's so tiny that it's smaller than the leaf of a catmint (Nepeta). Its wing span is probably about 10 to 15 millimeters.

Farming in California has traditionally involved a series of preplant tillage operations, including disking, subsoiling, land planing, bed formation and dry mulching.

In this issue... 4-H Publicity, Fair Pics, National Youth Science Day, New Highest 4-H Award and much, much more.

If you've ever glimpsed a European wool carder bee foraging in your yard, chances are that's all you saw--a glimpse. The wool carder bees (Anthidium manicatum), so named because the females collect or "card" plant fuzz for their nests, move quickly.

A quick post today to share a few links and reposts that I found interesting recently. The first is a link to a video on the television program, CBS Sunday Morning. In this program from a week ago, weeds were the focus. Click here for a link to the video.

You often see a single solitary bee on a sunflower. Perhaps it's a sunflower bee (Svastra) or a honey bee (Apis mellifera). But four on one? Sharing a sunflower? Yes.