Agriculture

If honey bees fascinate you, you might want to take the first step toward becoming affiliated with the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) by applying online to become an apprentice assistant. Applications close Jan. 30.

Two geneticists affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology are each scheduled to teach a 2022 virtual course as part of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), which offers educational programs for Davis area seniors, ages 50 and over.

Citrus greening, or huanglongbing disease (HLB), is the most devastating disease for orange and grapefruit trees in the U.S. Prevention and treatment methods have proven elusive, and a definitive cure does not exist.

The IPM Hour is a monthly online seminar covering a variety of IPM-related topics and research. It's held the second Wednesday of each month at 12 noon Pacific Time and features two 20-minute presentations followed by 10 minutes of discussion each.

There they were. Together. The scene: A honeybee (Apis mellifera) and a bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) nectaring on a purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) in a UC Davis bee garden. If you've observed honeybees and wild bees foraging in your garden, you've probably wanted to compare them.

Honeybees are celebrated as effective plant pollinators, but just how effective are they? Newly published UC Davis research in the American Journal of Botany yields some surprising results.

The systemic insecticide imidacloprid, belonging to a class of chemicals called the neonicotinoids or "neonics," is commonly used to control insects that damage agricultural crops.

The black fig fly is a new invasive species recently found in Southern California. It has been found in fig orchards in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Santa Barbara, San Bernardino, San Diego, and Ventura counties. This small insect attacks only figs and prefers unripe or unpollinated fruit.

Huanglongbing Update As of November 5, a total of 2,619 trees and 368 ACP have tested positive via PCR for the bacterium that causes HLB. The most recent activity has been in Orange and San Bernardino counties.

A newly published, two-year UC Davis study reveals that normal exposure to the insecticide imidacloprid generates a multi-generational effect on the blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria, reducing both reproduction and population growth.