Backyard Orchard News
Well, Hello There, Tiny Monarch Caterpillar!
Talk about not getting the memo. We walked into our little pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif.,...
Newest monarch caterpillar retrieved today (Nov. 29) from tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The setup: zippered mesh butterfly habitat and a tequila bottle filled with water and milkweed stems. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Making of a Monarch
If you're addicted to monarchs--and lament that they're overwintering in coastal California and in...
A monarch butterfly on a Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). Monarch puppets are available at the Bohart Museum of Entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch t-shirts at the Bohart Museum of Entomology ask the question: "Got milkweed?" Milkweed is the host plant of monarchs; monarchs lay their eggs only on milkweed and caterpillars eat only milkweed. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Degree Day Units Are a Bit Less Than Last Year
During 2014 and 2015, abnormally warm weather generated a rapid accumulation of degree day units, well above the 30-year average, that allowed an additional generation of California red scale to complete their development. In addition, the excessively warm winters we have had during those years allowed California red scale, and other pests, to continue to develop during the winter in the San Joaquin Valley. This is quite unusual. While the 2016 season was well above the 30-year average through August, the accumulated degree day units at the end of the season were less than the last two years. Hopefully we will have a cold (but not freezing) winter that will prevent California red scale populations from continuing their development and cause mortality to the younger instars.
Monarch Caterpillars--in November?
What a Thanksgiving surprise! No, the stuffed turkey didn't slip out of the oven and fall on the...
A November monarch caterpillar found on tropical milkweed in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of a November monarch caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The two monarch caterpillars discovered on Thanksgiving Day on separate tropical milkweed plants in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Count Your Blessings--and Thank the Bees!
It's Thanksgiving. Count your blessings--and thank the bees. If your table includes pumpkin,...
Honey bee heading toward pomegranate blossom on an 87-year-old tree. Pomegranates are among the 100 crops--from almonds to watermelon--pollinated by bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)