What causes honeybee die-off and how to help the bees

Q: I unrecorded successful Huntington Beach and person a batch of dormant bees connected my patio. This happened past summer, too. I bash not usage pesticides, insecticides oregon herbicides. Any thoughts?

A: Honeybee die-off has been an ongoing contented for the past 20 years. In the aboriginal 2000s, colony illness was blamed connected a tracheal mite that parasitized European honeybees. Treatment with miticide solved this occupation – until the mites developed resistance.

When you spot a batch of dormant bees successful 1 place, insecticide vulnerability is the astir apt explanation. Although you don’t truly person immoderate power implicit what your neighbour does, you tin assistance your section bees. If you indispensable usage insecticide, use it successful the aboriginal greeting earlier sunrise oregon precocious evening aft sundown since bees are lone progressive during daylight hours. This is why, erstwhile we person Mediterranean effect alert problems, they spray malathion astatine night.

If you usage systemic pesticides (soil drenches), hold until the works undergoing attraction has finished flowering earlier applying. The systemic attraction tin harm bees erstwhile they sojourn the flowers of treated plants.

Limit pesticide and fungicide usage arsenic overmuch arsenic possible. Some pesticides and fungicides separately labeled arsenic harmless for honeybees tin beryllium lethal to them erstwhile utilized together.

Plant a assortment of forage flowers for bees and different pollinators. Alyssum, salvia, lavender, penstemon, coreopsis, and flowering herbs (especially those with yellowish flowers) are charismatic and a bully nutrient root for bees. A wide assortment of plants that bloom passim the twelvemonth provides ample nutrition for steadfast honeybees.

Q: My cabbage and broccoli seedlings get attacked by the cabbage butterfly caterpillars, adjacent though the seedlings are little than an inch gangly and person lone 2 leaves. I haven’t seen immoderate eggs connected the leaves, and I mildly prime disconnected the larvae if I spot oregon consciousness them. Is it imaginable for eggs to beryllium successful the ungraded that I purchased oregon tin eggs beryllium attached to the seeds?

A: Cabbage butterflies laic their eggs connected the underside of leaves. In spite of their name, they don’t bounds themselves to cruciferous vegetables. I’ve recovered cabbage loopers connected sage, basil, lettuce, chard and galore different purchased plants. The caterpillars are lone 1-2 inches agelong but are voracious eaters and tin portion a tiny works of its leaves practically overnight.

I accidental it is imaginable for the eggs to lurk successful the soil, but improbable that they would beryllium attached to the seeds.

Carefully inspect immoderate purchased plants, paying peculiar attraction to the underside of each leaf.  Row covers oregon cloches tin supply immoderate extortion to outdoor plants. Apply dilute fertilizer erstwhile watering caller plants to promote much leafage formation. This volition assistance the plants past if a caterpillar infestation goes undetected for a time oregon two.

Q: Birds attacked my effect portion it was inactive connected the tree. Is it inactive harmless to eat?

A: If you harvest the effect promptly (before it gets icky) and lavation it, you tin chopped distant the damaged portion and safely devour the rest.

Have questions? Email gardening@scng.com.

Looking for much gardening tips? Here’s however to interaction the Master Gardener programme successful your area.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; 949-809-9760; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-683-6491 ext. 231; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu/