Agriculture

Bug Squad: Article

Ride 'em, Cowboy!

April 21, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Lady beetles, aka ladybugs, eat lots of aphids. Did we say lots of aphids? Lots of aphids. They have no portion control. If you watch closely, you'll see them gobble aphids like theater-goers devour buttered popcorn.
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PEST MANAGEMENT SPECIALIST Charles Summers, stationed at the UC Kearney Agricultural Center, is the recipient of the 2009 Charles Woodworth Award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America. Here he works with reflective mulches. (Photo by Edwin Remsberg, USDA)

Charlie Summers: Outstanding in His Field

March 25, 2009
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Charles "Charlie" Summers is outstanding in his field. And come Monday, March 30, the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America will honor the University of California entomologist whose career spans 39 years in the pest management of field and vegetable crops.
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See the ceramic hive on this sign at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility? The black hole leads to a real hive, located in back of the sign. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

The Secret's Out

October 3, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
The secret's out. Or, rather, the secret's in. Inside. A number of years ago, UC Davis entomologist Diane Ullman created a ceramic sign outside the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, located on Bee Biology Road, west of the UC Davis campus.
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The honey bee, resplendent here with silvery wings, is gold to the global economy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bug Squad: Article

What Price Pollination?

October 1, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
What are insect pollinators worth to the global economy? Well, it's a lot less than the Wall Street bailout...er...rescue plan. Recent research published in the journal Ecological Economics reveals just how important insect pollinators are.
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A honey bee can't wait for the Calandrinia grandiflora to open. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Heaven Can Wait

September 29, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
They danced in it, rolled in it, and bathed in it. The honey bees just couldn't get enough of the rock purslane (Calandrinia grandiflora). Last week when we visited Vacaville's El Rancho Nursery and Landscaping. nursery, owned by Ray and Maria Lopez, it was like a free-for-all at the French Laundry.
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Getting the Red In

September 26, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you love pomegranates, you can thank a honey bee. If you love capturing images of pomegranates, you can thank a honey bee. And, if you love juicing them and making pomegranate jellyas I doyou can thank a honey bee. The honey bee makes it all possible.
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A newly emerged bee at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. During the busy season, a worker bee will live only four to six weeks.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

It's All About the Bees

September 24, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's all about the bees. When A. G. Kawamura, secretary of the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the newly selected State Apiary Board meet from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 3 at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr.
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A honey bee on sage. Fossil evidence indicates that the very first insects inhabited this earth 400 million years ago. Honey bees existed at least by 7000 B.C., per a primitive drawing in a cave wall in eastern Spain. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Holy Moly!

September 23, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
Quick! How long have insects inhabited this earth? If you're taking a biology or an entomology course, you'll be asked that question on an exam. If you're attending the Entomological Society of America conference Nov. 16-20 in Reno, you probably already know that. A good answer: 400 million years.
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A drone (front) starts his takeoff to find a virgin queen. At left is a worker bee, his sister. Drones don't survive the winter; the girls kick the boys out of the hive.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Oh, Brother, Where Art Thou?

September 22, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's tough being a drone honey bee this time of year. The drones, or male bees, don't survive the winter. Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis admits to having a soft spot for drones.
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A honey bee heads for the colorful button-willows (Cephalanthus occidentalis).(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Cute as a Button (Willow)

September 12, 2008
By Kathy Keatley Garvey
A bee on a ball. When it flowers, the button-willow (Cephalanthus occidentalis), also known as willow, buttonbush, honey ball, and button ball (oh, that's so close to butter ball!) attracts honey bees and butterflies like you wouldn't believe.
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