Backyard Orchard News
The Queen, The Workers, and The Drones
An unmarked queen bee isn't easy to spot. That was the consensus at the Bohart Museum of...
UC Davis entomology graduate student Richard Martinez encourages attendees to find the queen in the bee observation hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A very focused youngster asks UC Davis graduate student Richard Martinez a question about honey bees at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis entomology graduate student explains how to identify the queen, male and the worker bees. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Queen bee (center) with workers and a drone (top right). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A worker bee (left) and a drone. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock: Mentor Extraordinaire
Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows who are alumni of the laboratory of UC Davis...
UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock is a 2024 recipient of a Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bruce Hammock, shown in front of a blackboard in his office, "is undeniably a giant in the field of science. However, what truly sets him apart is his unwavering commitment to student mentoring, his devoted care for group members, and his exemplary role as a model for training the next generation of scientists,” says Hammock lab alumnus Guodong Zhang, now an assistant professor in the UC Davis Department of Nutrition. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Enthusiastic Team of UC Master Gardeners at Dixon May Fair
It wouldn't be a fair without the UC Master Gardeners. If you visited the horticulture building...
Marilyn Sexton of Fairfield, who plants tomatoes every year, asks a question at the UC Master Gardeners table at the Dixon May Fair. Master Gardeners (from left) are Tom Hutson, Julie Smith, and Betty Buxton. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A wealth of information on the UC Master Gardeners' table in the horticulture building, Dixon May Fair.
Tomato hornworms are major pests of tomatoes. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The adult form of the tomato hornworm. This is Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawkmoth, family Sphingidae. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia)
Celebrating Bumble Bees on World Bee Day
It's World Bee Day and there's no better time than to showcase bumble bees, Bombus. The...
The yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, emerging from a foxglove in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus californicus, "the California bumble bee," foraging on blanket flower, Gaillardia, in Vacaville, Calif. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus vandykei, the Van Dyke's bumble bee, foraging on lavender in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
The western bumble bee, Bombus occidentalis, on the hand of the UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Bombus melanopygus, the black-tailed bumble bee, foraging on a pansy in a Vacaville, Calif. garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
This is Franklin's bumble bee, Bombus franklini, monitored by Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) and now feared extinct. (Photo by Robbin Thorp)
'Bee' at the Bohart Museum Open House to See Bee Observation Hive and Taste Honey
Want to see a bee observation hive, taste honey, and learn about honey bee health? Those are some...
A honey bee, dusted with gold pollen, forages on mustard (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
A honey bee foraging on blanketflower, Gaillardia. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)