Backyard Orchard News
Christine Merlin: Why Those Monarchs Migrate When They Do
(Editor's Note: Due to unforeseen circumstances, Christine Merlin cancelled this seminar but it...
Texas A&M University biologist Christine Merlin examines a monarch. (Photo courtesy of Texas A&M University)
No Sweat? Yes, Sweat!
Ever seen a mob of tiny sweat bees? The bees below, from the genus Lasioglossum (as...
Sweat bees from the genus Lasioglossum on an Iceland poppy. This image was taken with a NIkon D800 with a 60mm macro lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of sweat bees from the genus Lasioglossum on an Iceland poppy. This photo was taken with a Canon MPE-65mm lens. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Butte County Tourism Business Improvement District (TBID) will help develop agritourism
Brooke Smith, sales manager at the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn in Chico, promises that Explore Butte County, the non-profit organization funded by the TBID, will help with things such as promoting agricultural tourism, Lake Oroville and local cities. Smith explained that Explore Butte County intends to establish a grant program that will assist local partners, including agritourism operations, in their promotions. Board members of Explore Butte County are primarily hotel and motel operators, but the board also includes Nicole Johansson, a marketing professional and organizer of the popular Sierra Oro Farm Trail.
In the TBID process, local lodging operators agree to assess themselves and ask the local government to collect the money and pass the funds onto a designated tourism promotion organization, often times the Visitors and Convention Bureau or a non-profit organization such as Explore Butte County. Many county and cities in California have established TBIDs, including Napa Valley, Sacramento County, Placer County, Monterey County, San Diego, Long Beach and Oceanside. By the end of 2014, there were 85 California TBIDs. Many of these communities, including Butte County, were assisted by Civitas, a consulting firm specializing in TBID formation.
The next step for Explore Butte County is to hire a marketing firm to work with the board on the tourism marketing strategic plan and implementation program. The marketing RFP has just been released, and proposals are due by June 30 from any interested parties. Local Butte County marketing firms are specifically invited to submit proposals. Please send any questions pertaining to the RFP via email to xplorebutte@gmail.com
Taking Possession of the Lavender
Possession is nine-tenths of the law. It also applies to bees foraging on lavender. A black-faced...
A black-faced bumble bee, Bombus californicus, stretches between two lavender stems as a honey bee moves in to gather nectar. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
All mine! The black-faced bumble bee, Bombus californicus, takes control. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Citricola Scale Eggs are Hatching
Adult citricola scales are lining up on the twigs. Their eggs are hatching this month and crawlers are moving about on the twigs and settling on the leaves. Adults are hard to kill with insecticides and the eggs under their bodies are protected from insecticides. If you wait till all the eggs hatch and the crawlers move out onto the leaves, the insecticides will work better. Usually egg hatch finishes towards the end of July. You can check this by flipping over the female scales and looking to see if there are fresh eggs.
Cool wet springs favor egg hatch and survival of citricola scale, so be on your guard this spring. See the Citrus IPM Guidelines for Citricola scale for information on treatments. A new citricola scale-effective insecticide that will soon be added to the guidelines is Sivanto (flupyradifurone).