Backyard Orchard News
Best Management Practices for Honey Bees
The Almond Board of California will unveil its Honey Bee Best Management Practices tomorrow...
Honey bee pollinating an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Almond orchard buzzing with bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Go West, Young Monarch, Go West!
Westward, ho! The western migration of the Monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus) to their...
A male Monarch nectaring on Mexican sunflower (Tithonia). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of the Monarch. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Monarch gets ready for flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California Red Scale Workshop Provided Insights Into Scale Issues
On September 30, an in-depth workshop was held at the UC ANR Lindcove Research and Extension Center to discuss the biology and management of California red scale. Twenty seven participants spent the day viewing scales under microscopes and learning about Aphytis and Comperiella wasps. The hot topic (literally) this year, above and beyond the usual complexities of managing scale, was the much higher than average accumulation of heat units. Normally there are about 4 generations of scale per year in the San Joaquin Valley, but this year a 5th generation is developing. This is the third year in a row that temperatures have been above the 30 year average. We also discussed the fact that systemic neonicotinoid insecticide use is becoming very common place and repeated use of the systemic neonicotinoids results in a build up of scale on the wood that is difficult to control with natural enemies or insecticides. So, the combined problems of scale build up due to changes in insecticide use patterns and high average daily temperatures have resulted in outbreaks of California red scale in the San Joaquin Valley.
Workshop participants Michelle and Greg
The Bees and the Blue Angels
Honey bees and the Blue Angels... Honey bees sometimes seem to fly in formation over such plants...
Honey bee "squadron" aiming for the flowering artichokes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Blue Angels maneuvering their Hornets into a diamond formation. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bees buzzing by, performing their solo missions. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Blue Angels roar past the city of San Francisco. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Male Wool Carder Bees: In-Your-Face Behavior
She described it to a "T." That would be "T" for territorial. Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart...
Male wool carder bee heads for the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wool carder bee zeroing in on catmint. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A male wool carder bee attacking a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)