Backyard Orchard News
California Red Scale Males are Active in the San Joaquin Valley
Temperatures are finally starting to increase after the cold spell we had in February and the first flight biofix of California red scale occurred roughly the middle of March in the San Joaquin Valley. Degree days above the lower developmental threshold of 53oF are accumulating and have reached about 50 since March 16. When the environment accumulates 550 degree days, the first crawler generation will appear. See our California red scale degree day web site for more details. Remember that every orchard is a little different due to orientation and elevation. To obtain more precise information than our county averages, you should place temperature measuring instruments in your orchards. To learn more about treating for California red scale, see the UC IPM Guidelines for Citrus.
A Field Day for Learning About Cover Crops and Beneficial Insects
So you're a rural landowner thinking about planting cover crops in your fields or orchards. And/or,...
Larva of lady beetle munching on an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keeatley Garvey)
A multi-colored Asian beetles snags an aphid. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
These are lady beetle eggs. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
How to Become a California Master Beekeeper
So you want to become a California Master Beekeeper. Yes! You can begin the process by...
This was the scene at the Harry H. Laidlaw Research Facility, UC Davis, for a testing of applicants for the California Master Beekeeper Program. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
An applicant for California Master Beekeeper examines a frame, while a proctor looks on. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Here are many of the apprentice-level graduates, Class of 2017, California Master Beekeeper Program. They were introduced and honored at the fourth annual UC Davis Bee Symposium. In the front row, fourth from left, is director Elina Lastro Niño. At far left, front row, is Bernardo Niño, the founding program manager. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Bee and The Ladybug
A little drama in the mustard patch... A honey bee is foraging head-first in the mustard. She's...
A honey bee and a lady beetle, aka lady bug, thrust deep inside a mustard blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, ladybug, get ready, here I come. We'll share, okay? Pollen and nectar for me. Aphids for you." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, ladybug, I'm coming closer." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
"Okay, ladybug, I'm leaving. Enjoy the aphids." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bumbling Into Spring
Might As Well Be Spring"I'm as restless as a willow in a windstormI'm as jumpy as puppet on a...
A black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, heads for a nectarine tree in Vacaville, Calif. on March 18. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, forages on nectarine blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Delicate pink blossoms and a very hardy bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)