Backyard Orchard News
'A' is for Almonds and 'B' is for Bees and Bradford Pear Blossoms
No, it's not Valentine's Day, yet. Yes, the almonds are blooming. No, it's not spring. But it...
Benicia resident Gordon Hough captured this image of a bee nectaring on a Pyrus calleryana (Bradford pear or another cultivar) at the Benicia State Recreation Area on Monday, Jan. 21, as identified by Daniel Potter, UC Davis professor of plant sciences.
Almonds are blooming in Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Researcher Targeting Zebra Chip: It's Not a Chip You Want
When you're munching on French fries or potato chips, you're probably not thinking about the potato...
The potato psyllid, a pest of potatoes, transmits a bacteria that causes zebra chip disease. (Photo by Don Henne)
Plant Communication Research: 'Taking Root'
It's not outlandish now, if it ever were. A recent article in Science headlined "Once Considered...
UC Davis ecologist Rick Karban has researched plant communication in sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) on the east side of the Sierra since 1995.
Drum Roll...First Bumble Bee of the Year!
We have a winner! Several UC Davis bumble bee enthusiasts--encouraged by native pollinator...
Check out the pollen on this black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, nectaring on manzanita, as photographed by Kim Chacon, UC Davis doctoral candidate on Jan. 10.
Black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for a manzanita blossom in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
Close-up of a Bombus melanopygus heading for a manzanita blossom. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
Native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, teaching at The Bee Course last August. (Photo by Kim Chacon)
What, Santa Didn't Bring You a Tarantula for Christmas?
Doesn't Santa give everyone a Mexican redknee tarantula for Christmas? Oh, you didn't get...
Mexican redknee tarantula, the new project of 9-year-old Delsin Russell of Vacaville. Santa delivered the much-wanted gift on Christmas Eve. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Delsin Russell of Vacaville, then 8, attended an open house last August at the Bohart Museum of Entomology with his mother, Beth. Here they chat with Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)