Backyard Orchard News
He Didn't Get the Message
No, no, no, you got it all wrong! I said “Please don't eat the pollinators! No butterflies...
Praying mantis snags a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Praying mantis getting a better grip. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
It's the end for this honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey! I Hardly Know You!
Every time I see a golden jar of honey, I'm reminded of the Cordovan bee (Italian subspecies) that...
A golden honey bee (Cordovan of the Italian subspecies) nectaring lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee sipping nectar from lavender. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
California can benefit from conservation agriculture.
After attending the 6th World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg, Manitoba, in June, Jeff Mitchell, UC Cooperative Extension specialist in the Department of Plant Sciences at UC Davis, and Kearney Agricultural Research and Extension Center, stated, "Focusing on soil care will improve soil water intake and storage...Reducing soil water evaporation can be achieved by preserving surface residues. Together these steps reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions – very important goals.”
Mitchell is the chair of the UC Conservation Agriculture Systems Innovation Center. CASI is exploring options to help support the implementation of conservation agriculture in California. Read more.
Conservation agriculture can result it greater efficiencies and better economics for California agriculture.
Please Don't Eat the Pollinators!
If I were in charge of a praying mantis' daily diet, I would enforce one stringent rule: "Please...
A praying mantis eyes the photographer. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The praying mantis quickly snatches a Western tiger swallowtail. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The predator gripping his prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Predator polishing off his prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A Winged Affair
Say the word “wings” to folks who attend fairs and festivals and they may think of...
McCormack Hall superintendent Gloria Gonzalez hangs "Butterfly Lovers" by Tina Waycie of Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
McCormack Hall assistant Angelina Gonzalez with "Butterflies," a needlepoint by Mario Wilson of Vallejo. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
McCormack Hall assistant Sharon Payne with "Butterfly T-Shirt" by Leslie Dunham of PACE Solano. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hanging "Flying Wing" are (from left) Gloria Gonzalez, Angelina Gonzalez (back) and Sharon Payne. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
McCormack Hall assistant Iris Mayhew holds a photo of a moth, the work of 9-year-old Maximillian Burgess-Shannon of Benicia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)