Calm afternoons and early evenings high pitched whining mosquitos visit me while working in the garden or relaxing on the deck. Since I live and work next to a creek in a forested neighborhood I shouldn’t complain. Yet, over the years I have preached and taught ecological management of pests, and so in my own […]
Read more »abcnews http://abc7news.com/weather/many-across-bay-area-welcome-rainfall/418295/ Rain is finally coming down in the SF Bay Area, and we are all rejoicing. But what about trees, are they happy? How do tall, woody plants deal with rain and moisture in other forms? What happens when you add in variables like wind, soils, and other vegetation? At this time of year […]
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There is entomophobia (fear of insects), entomophilia (love of insects) and bee fever (extreme love of bees). And then there are insect sting allergies that can trigger immediate systemic reactions in a small (1-7) percent of the general population including mild, moderate and severe hypersensitivity reactions.
Most adults won’t admit to either entomophobia or entomophilia, but bee fever is going through a popular upswing in urban areas, amongst people who are interested in urban farming, gardening and locavorism. At the same time European honeybees have been experiencing health challenges worldwide for a number of years that has been classified as colony collapse disorder (CCD). Native pollinators are also suffering from urbanization that destroys indigenous plant communities, which these native pollinators and their European competitors depend on.
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