A Salute to California Agriculture

Do you recognize the native bee that graces the cover of the current edition of California Agriculture, a peer-reviewed journal published by the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources? 

Yes, it's a carpenter bee. The spectacular photograph by Rollin Coville captures this native pollinator nectaring a mint flower in an urban garden. 

You've probably seen this insect in your own garden. It's about the size of a bumble bee with a decimel level that rivals rush-hour traffic.

The carpenter bee is just one of the native bees featured in the July-September edition.

UC Berkeley entomologist Gordon Frankie, a professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, wrote the lead article with several co-authors, including professor emeritus Robbin Thorp of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. (Thorp, a noted bumble bee expert,  recently presented a Webinar at UC Davis on bumble bees.) 

The photos drive home the point that not all bees are honey bees, and the bee we know as a honey bee is not a native. In fact, European colonists brought the honey bee (Apis mellifera) to North America around 1622. 

The journal article spotlights bee-pollinator research conducted over a three-year period in seven cities from northern to southern California. It will help you decide what to plant to attract pollinators, and why you should do this.

It's all there.

And now, more good news...

The national award-winning California Agriculture journal, edited by executive editor Janet White and managing editor Janet Byron,  just reached a major milestone.  Their newly launched Web site, two years in the making, offers the full text of nearly 6000 articles published over the past 63 years. Free access. Searchable, too. You’ll want to bookmark the link.

The military has its 21-gun salute. California Agriculture ought to have a 21-field salute.

No, make that a 63-field salute.

One for every year...