Backyard Orchard News
Bee-ing Young
Pity the poor worker bee. In the spring/summer months, she lives only four to six weeks and then...
Worker bees working inside the hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This worker bee, with tattered and torn wings, still keeps foraging. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The Predator
I know. Jumping spiders have to eat, but do they have to snag the bees? Last weekend as we were...
Jumping spider eating a honey bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Jumping spider eating a sweat bee. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Moving fast, a spider heads for prey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
2nd Generation Red Scale Crawler Activity Soon
The 2nd crawler emergence begins at 1650 degree days (above a 53oF threshold after the 1st male flight in early March). Kern and Tulare counties will be reaching that threshold next week. See my web site for details: http://ucanr.org/sites/KACCitrusEntomology/Home/California_Red_Scale/Degree_Days_885/
Pesticides like Movento that require 1-2 weeks for uptake should be applied now. Products that kill crawlers directly such as organophosphates and oils should be applied as soon as the peak of crawler activity has been completed. Use crawler tapes to define that point in time more clearly. Wrap double sticky tape around a branch near female scales and replace and examine it once a week to count the crawlers caught along the edge of the tape. This will telll you when the crawlers are actively emerging. Insect growth regulators such as Applaud and Esteem should be applied after the crawlers have finished emerging because contact with the scales is important and it these products are not going to kill the scales until they try to molt to the next instar.
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This Bug Is Not Welcome
It boasts striking colors, but you don't want this bug anywhere near your garden. It...
Harlequin bug, Murgantia histronica, on weeds at the Benicia Marina. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Looking down on a harlequin bug. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Harlequin bugs suck juices out of plants. They prefer the cabbage family but also go for garden vegetables, weeds, field crops and fruit trees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Summertime...and the Livin' Is Easy
Today's the Fourth of July and folks are splashing in their pools. So, what happens when a bee...
Summertime...and the living is easy...A female sweat bee, genus Halictus, floats on a leaf in a swimming pool. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)