Backyard Orchard News
California Red Scale Degree Days are Off to a Fast Start!
We usually hang traps for California red scale (CRS) the first of March at Lindcove REC and see the first flight start up a couple of weeks later. Not this year! The temperatures have been high and everything, including bloom is early. The CRS biofix for Kern was in late February and for Tulare foothills the first week of March. Unless we have an extreme downturn in temperatures, the first generation of crawlers will likely be early *in late April for Tulare). You can follow the general county accumulations of degree days weekly on our web site to get an idea of how fast things are progressing - California red scale degree days.
Bloom is early and degree days are accumulating fast for pests such as California red scale
Why Honey Bees Forage in California Poppies
When you see honey bees foraging on the California poppy, the state flower, they're not there for...
Two honey bees foraging on a California poppy. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee with a pollen load. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Wearing of the Green--and the Yellow
St. Patrick's Day is the "wearing of the green," but it's also the "wearing of the yellow." Wild...
Bee hives nestled in a field of green and yellow (mustard) along Highway 12, Napa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee foraging in mustard. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Do Honey Bees Impact the Native Bees?
The European honey bee, also known as the Western honey bee, has been in the United States for...
A honey bee and a yellow-faced bumble bee sharing a purple coneflower, Echinacea purpurea. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Two's company: A honey bee and a yellow-faced bumble bee forage on Scabiosa. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
'Teddy Bear' Bees
Along about this time of year, the calls come pouring into the UC Davis Department of Entomology...
Male Valley carpenter bee, Xylocopa varipuncta, is blond with green eyes. This is on a germander bush, Teucrium fruitcans. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Female Valley carpenter bee is solid black. This is on a rock purslane, Calandrinia grandiflora. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)