Backyard Orchard News
Why the Squash Bee Is Important
Peponapis pruinosa isn't your common household word. But among the people who study...
Squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, on a squash blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The squash bee, Peponapis pruinosa, is a specialist, pollinating only the Cucurbita genus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Fusing Art With Science
The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program is incredible. It's a program that, as the name...
UC Davis Art/Science Fusion co-founder and co-director Donna Billick with her mosaic ceramic sculpture, Miss Bee Haven, in the half-acre Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Self-described rock artist Donna Billick addresses the crowd at the opening of Nature's Gallery, UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Got Milk (Weed) for the Bees?
Folks are planting milkweed for the monarchs. The milkweed (genus Asclepias) is the host plant...
Honey bee foraging on milkweed in the UC Davis Arboretum, near Mrak Hall. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Walk down the garden path, lined with milkweed, and sit on the bench in the UC Davis Arboretum. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Nectar Robbers
If you have a patch of salvia (sage) growing in your yard, watch for the nectar robbers. Carpenter...
Mountain carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, engaging in nectar robbing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Side view of nectar robbing by mountain carpenter bee on salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee looks for the hole drilled by a carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee engaging in nectar robbing. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Greenhouse plants going gangbusters
In March we budded more than 2000 citrus trees with various scions for upcoming research...
Newly budded citrus trees in a greenhouse