Backyard Orchard News
'Blue Ribbon Fun' at Solano County Fair Includes Bugs
The 69th annual Solano County Fair, located at 900 Fairgrounds Drive, is themed "Blue Ribbon...
See the bumble bee on the aghan (top row)? This Minnesota sample afghan is the work of Debra Holter of San Pablo. Holding it are McCormack Hall superintendent Gloria Gonzalez (right) and assistant Kara Payne. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Preparing to hang a dragonfly project are McCormack Hall superintendent Gloria Gonzalez and assistant Daniel Brown, both of Vallejo. Crafted by Tina Saravia of Suisun City, it is made of recyclables: fan blades and furniture legs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
McCormack Hall assistants Jacob Greene (left) of American Canyon and Daniel Brown of Vallejo, admire insect-themed photographs: a bee by Ryan Anenson of the Tremont 4-H Club, Dixon, and a moth by Maya Prunty of Sacramento 4-H. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's a Bird! It's a Plane! No, It's...
It's a bird! It's a plane! Is it Superman? No, it's a bird dropping. If you're growing sweet...
The iconic anise swallowtail caterpillar is a pale green with black bands containing orange spots. This is probably the fifth instar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dorsal view of an anise swallowtail caterpillar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This younger larva of the anise swallowtail resembles a bird dropping. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This anise swallowtail caterpillar is shedding its skin or molting, leaving its “bird dropping” skin behind. This is probably the third instar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An adult anise swallowtail nectaring on Verbena. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Flash of Orange: Welcome, California Tortoiseshell!
A flash of orange. Usually we see assorted orange butterflies--Gulf Fritillaries (Agraulis...
A California Tortoiseshell (Nymphalis californica) nectaring on a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The California Tortoiseshell is bright orange with black spots on the wings, but the underside is a dullish gray-brown, resembling a dead leaf. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This image of the California Tortoiseshell shows the dullish brown and gray underwings, a perfect camouflage. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Sometimes it seems like forever before the California Tortoiseshell spreads its wings. This one did several times before it fluttered off. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Five staff and one academic retire at the UC Kearney Research and Extension Center in 2018
Five staff members and one academic based at the UC Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, representing a total 148 years of service, were honored today with a luncheon to mark of their retirement.
Center director Jeff Dahlberg presented each retiree with a calendar signed by their colleagues and wished them well in retirement.
The retirees are:
Shedding Light on the Native Bees
When you visit the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's bee garden--named the...
Sarah Dalrymple, then a doctoral candidate at UC Davis, coordinated the bee mural in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Here are the artists who created the mural. Instructor Sarah Dalyrumple is in the group on the right, front row left. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)