UC Master Gardeners of San Joaquin County

up close image of California poppies

A blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

Go Wild About Wild Bees at Bohart Museum of Entomology Open House

November 7, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

"Have you ever wondered what pollinators are visiting your garden or what that black-and-yellow striped bug was? In California, we have an incredible diversity of insects, which may be more difficult to tell apart than you realize. At this interactive event, you will learn how to identify bees and…

UC Davis medical entomologist Geoffrey Attardo engaged in research at Cache Creek. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

A Gathering of Entomologists: UC Davis Faculty on Way to Portland, Ore.

November 6, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Yesterday we wrote about the UC Davis postdoctoral researchers, doctoral candidates and graduate students who are heading to the Entomological Society of America (ESA) in Portland, Ore. to deliver their presentations.Today let's single out the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty…

Six circular cross-sections of a tree branch showing dark staining from a Bot canker infection.

Article

What is Bot Canker?

November 5, 2025

By Belinda Messenger-Sikes

Botryosphaeria canker, sometimes called Bot canker, is a common fungal disease that can affect many tree species including ash, eucalyptus, fig, maple, pistachio, and walnut. Plants infected with this disease typically develop cankers (dark sunken lesions in the bark) and can lose branches. The whole…

UC Davis doctoral candidate CC Edwards at a scientific meeting.

Article

A Gathering of Entomologists; UC Davis Graduate Students Are Major Important Part

November 5, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

When members of the Entomological Society of America gather Nov. 9-12 in Portland, Ore. for their annual meeting, the presenters will include postdoctoral scholars, doctoral candidates and graduate students from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.The theme: "Entomology 2025, Bridging…

Monarch in a Vacaville garden on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

The Monarch That Visited Vacaville on Election Day

November 4, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

A monarch visited Vacaville, Calif. on Election Day, Nov. 4, 2025.No, it wasn't King Charles or any of the 42 other monarchs in sovereign states. Did you know that these monarchies are spread across Asia (13), Europe (12), the Americas (9), Oceania (6), and Africa (3)? And yes, the monarch's role can…

Overwintering monarchs at Natural Bridges, Santa Cruz. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

Majestic Monarchs Make Their Grand Entrance

November 3, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

It's happening."Monarch butterflies are fluttering back to California’s coast, and volunteers across the West have been busy surveying overwintering sites for the 2025 Western Monarch Count (WMC)."That's what conservation biologist Isis Howard of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation…

Article

Swain to speak on extreme weather events Nov. 5 in Irvine

November 3, 2025

By Pamela S Kan-Rice

Daniel Swain will be a guest speaker for Distinctive Voices, a series of scientific public lectures presented by the National Academy of Sciences. He will discuss “Climate Change Through the Lens of Increasing Hydroclimate Whiplash” on Wednesday, Nov. 5, from 7 - 8 p.m. at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center…

A witch at the Bohart Museum of Entomology's Halloween party.

Article

Bohart Museum: Big on 'The Boo' and 'The Hiss'

October 31, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Boo! Hiss! Boo! A melodrama? No! A pre-Halloween party at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of Caliornia, Davis. Witches boo, and Madagascar hissing cockroaches (from the Bohart Museum's petting zoo) hiss. If you're a member of the Bohart Museum Society, arm of the…

A new trapdoor species, Aptostichus ramirezae. (Photo by Emma Jochim)

Article

For the Love of Spiders and Research

October 30, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

For the love of spiders...and research!It's that time of year to dangle fake spiders from fake webs, but scientists in the Jason Bond lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, take their work seriously.And this week they're busy fielding questions after the journal, Ecology and…

Hemp cannabis plants growing in a field

Article

New research reveals California cannabis cultivation and regulatory process put Tribal cultural resources at risk

October 30, 2025

A new report from researchers at UC Berkeley and Northeastern University reveals that cannabis cultivation in California threatens Tribal cultural resources.

Nikolai Schweitzer gestures at the trench built into a hillside at Sierra Foothill REC

Article

‘Weathering’ rock dust in farm fields – a down-to-earth climate solution?

October 30, 2025

By Michael Hsu

UC researchers have devised a first-of-its-kind study to measure the carbon sequestered by enhanced rock weathering, a promising agricultural practice.

This is the Montana leaf beetle, Chrysomela aeneicollis, that Professor Nathan Rank of Sonoma State University studies. It is feeding on Salix orestera, a species of willow known by the common name Sierra willow, or gray-leafed Sierra willow. This image was July 2, 2009 at Bull Lake in the Bishop Creek drainage of California. (Image courtesy of Wikipedia)

Article

Tracking a Montane Leaf Beetle

October 29, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

If you're concerned about the global decline of insects--and you should be--you won't want to miss the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar by Professor Nathan Rank of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.He will speak on "Local Adaptation and Population Persistence in a…

Three small aphid insects on a green leaf. Two of the aphids are dead from parasitization: these appear brown and swollen, and one of them has a hole on its body. The third aphid is alive and green.

Article

Mummies in Your Garden?!

October 29, 2025

It’s almost Halloween, so many of us are thinking about jack-o-lanterns, skeletons, and mummies. When you think of a mummy, you probably imagine the scary kind inspired by the ancient Egyptian ritual of preserving the bodies of the dead. When we talk about mummies at UC IPM, we mean something completely…

The blue orchard bee, also known as BOB.

Article

Sharing Research About BOB

October 28, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

They shared research about BOB and the Houdini fly.Who's BOB? The Blue Orchard Bee, also called a mason bee. What's the Houdini fly? A kleptoparasitic fly that's an enemy of the bee. Yes, it was named for Harry Houdini, the "escapologist" who declared he could escape from about just about…

Black Fig Fly Infested Fruit

Article

Black Fig Fly

October 28, 2025

By Houston Wilson

PEST ALERT – Black Fig Fly (Diptera: Lonchaeidae: Silba adipata)Updated: October 2025Invasive Fig Pest Initially Discovered in Southern California Has Now Spread to the Central Coast, Bay Area and Central Valley Regions Black Fig Fly Infested FruitOverview: Fig growers need to be aware of the…

Halloween Pumpkins, Entomology Style

Article

Entomologists Did These!

October 27, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Don't expect traditionally carved pumpkins at the annual pre-Halloween celebrations at the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis.Think insects.The annual event, hosted by the Bohart Museum Society, usually feature pumpkins carved by members of the UC Davis Entomology Club…

A group of people look at crops growing in field

Article

Farmers strive for sustainability, inclusiveness at California Earthworkers Summit

October 27, 2025

By Pamela S Kan-Rice

The inaugural California Earthworkers Summit brought together farmers and other food producers in Santa Cruz to discuss approaches to climate, environment, agriculture and food system resilience on Sept. 11–12.

Varroa mite on drone bee pupa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Article

UC Davis Seminar Speaker to Share Honey Bee Research

October 24, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

Breaking News: Due to unforeseeable circumstances, this seminar has been cancelledIf you're a bee scientist, bee researcher or just someone curious about bees, insect research, or the field of synthetic biology, you won't want to miss the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on…

Asian citrus psyllid (Wikipedia photo)

Article

Walter Leal: Special Award for Citrus Pest Research

October 23, 2025

By Kathy Keatley Garvey

UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal recently received an award from the citrus research organization, FUNDECITRUS, São Paulo, Brazil, in recognition of his “outstanding contribution to citriculture,” emphasizing his work on the Asian citrus psyllid and a Lepidopteran pest named…

Gabe Youtsey speaks at a podium while Karen Aceves and Karen Ross look on at AgTech Alliance press conference

Article

California AgTech Alliance launches to help farmers stay competitive

October 23, 2025

By Hanif R Houston

The Alliance will coordinate nine regional innovation hubs that will deploy cutting-edge technology, train the next generation of workers and attract private investment.

Advice To Grow By

Water Conservation Tips

water

Click here for water conservation tips and tricks and help conserve water!

Garden Notes Blog
Previously Garden Notes Newsletter

Sign up for the San Joaquin UC Master Gardener Blog
Don't miss out on any of our seasonal and timely posts!

View all of our blog posts

UC Master Gardeners are here to help answer your gardening questions.
Click Here for Contact Info

Contribute for a Better Future

Upcoming Events

November 10, 2025

Trees for Today and Tomorrow

Trees for Today and Tomorrow Join the San Joaquin UC Master Gardeners for a free class all about trees!Learn how to choose, plant, and care for shade and street trees that will thrive in our…