Backyard Orchard News
A Face Only a Mother Could Love?
So there we were, on Mother's Day, looking at the yet-to-bloom English lavender in our yard. And...
A golden dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria, perched on lavender, stares at the photographer on Mother's Day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This golden dung fly, dead, was found on lavender next to live flies. Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, looked at its swollen belly and said it died "from entomophagous fungus--perhaps the same one that 'glues' houseflies to window panes."(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sprayer calibration and coverage training for improved California red scale control in citrus will be held at Lindcove Research and Extension Center on June 13, 2017.
The Citrus Research Board and UC Agriculture and Natural resources have partnered to present a sprayer calibration and coverage training for improved California red scale control in citrus. The training will be at Lindcove Research and Extension Center (LREC) Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 7:30 am - 1pm. Four hours of continuing education hours have been requested. The agenda includes: California red scale control issues; spray calibration basics; a field demonstration on the differences in coverage based on two ground speeds; a field demonstration based on two fan settings; calibration measuring flow rate and land rate; the the future of spray technology. The meeting will include lunch. Presenters will include Ali Pourreza, UCCE Advisor, Kearney Ag REC (KARE); Beth Grafton-Cardwell, Dept of Entomology UCR, and KARE, and Director of LREC; Lynn Wunderlich, UCCE Central Sierra Farm Advisor; Matt Strmiska, Adaptiv; and Franz Niederholzer, UCCE Colusa County Farm Advisor.
To register, please contact the Citrus Research Board at 559-738-0246 or register online by June 9th. The cost is $30 per person, and seats are limited to 80 people; 4 hours of other have been approved by CDPR.
KARE works with 300 Tulare County Fourth Graders at 2017 AgVentures Day!
KARE outreach and education leader, Laura Van Der Staay, along with UCD Cooperative Extension Cropping Systems Specialist, Jeff Mitchell, had their hands full with over 300 enthusiastic Tulare County 4th graders as part of the 2017 half-day AgVentures extravaganza that was held at the International Ag Center on May 12. This is the third time the two of them have taken part in this activity that is always a big hit with the kids, teachers and parents. Students learned about soil science and research that is underway at the KARE Center related to soil function and management and also had a chance to see up close and personal how soils can change if they are managed using conservation agriculture practices. While the day is always grueling, both Van Der Staay and Mitchell departed after a hearty hamburger lunch that was provided by the event organizers with the satisfaction of having hopefully expanded horizons and inspired a new generation of science-loving students.
A Honey of a Festival, and an Inaugural Festival at That!
It was indeed a honey of a festival. When the inaugural California Honey Festival buzzed into...
Apis Inlusio, a sculpture art car designed to look like a bee, drew thousands of onlookers. Part of the 2013 Burning Man Festival, it is based in San Francisco.(Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The honey flavor wheel proved to be a honey of an exhibit. That's Amina Harris (in red), coordinator of the California Honey Festival and director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Owners of Z Specialty Food, Woodland, were as busy as well...bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Some 20,000 attended the inaugural California Honey Festival. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
To bee or not to bee! That was the question. Here's the answer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The California Honey Festival even had a bee truck, with hives loaned by area beekeeper John Foster. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California Honey Festival coordinator Amina Harris, director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, stands by a display of bee photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey of UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
This honey bee buzzed the California Honey Festival. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Like a Ballerina on the Dance Floor of Life
Like a ballerina on the dance floor of life, a newly eclosed Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio...
A Western tiger swallowtail, Papilio rutulus,warms its flight muscles on a crape myrtle tree. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Western tiger swallowtail folds its wings. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An insect, probably a bee, flies near the Western tiger swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)