Backyard Orchard News
Sparkle and Shine!
It's not "Rise and Shine!" any more. It's "Sparkle and Shine." "Sparkle and Shine," a yellow rose...
Honey bee foraging on a yellow rose, "Sparkle and Shine!" (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A sign tells it all. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Dave Fujino, executive director of the California Center for Urban Horticulture with Missy Gable, newly selected statewide director of the UC Master Gardener Program. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Robbing Nectar
We all take short cuts--short cuts around the campus, to the beach, to a favorite...
Carpenter bee, Xylocopa tabaniformis orpifex, robbing nectar from salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey bee gathering nectar from a carpenter bee's pierced hole in the long tube of a salvia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Another honey bee reaping the benefits of nectar robbing by a carpenter bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Hovering in the Wind
The 40 mile-per-hour howling wind didn't seem to bother the syrphid fly, aka hover fly and flower...
Syrphid fly nectaring on tower of jewels, Echium wildpretii. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Syrphid sparkles in the early morning sun. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Degree days for California Red Scale and Citrus Peelminer are Posted
California red scale: The biofix for California red scale was March 11-25 for various areas of the San Joaquin Valley and degree days have been accumulating ever since. Kern County is always warmest and has reached the 550 dd 1st crawler emergence point. The other counties will reach that mark in the next two weeks. It has been an exceptionally warm spring and so we are about 50 degree days ahead of the 30 year average.
See my web page for Monday updates. http://ucanr.edu/sites/KACCitrusEntomology/Home/California_Red_Scale/Degree_Days_885/
Citrus peelminer: The biofix for Tulare County was on April 22 and that starts the degree day accumulation clock. Remember that the first two generations of citrus peelminer attack noncitrus hosts such as willows, walnuts etc. It isn't until the third generation that the peelminer starts to attack pummelos and grapefruit. We will keep you informed as to when those flights are occurring.
See my web page for Monday updates. http://ucanr.edu/sites/KACCitrusEntomology/Home/Citrus_Peelminer/Degree_Day_Calculations/
What's Not to Love About Roses?
I beg your pardonI never promised you a rose gardenAlong with the sunshineThere's gotta be a little...
Yellow roses are popular at the rose sale. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is what you don't want to see on your rose: rose curculio or rose weevil. You can ask questions about pests at the rose event. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)