Bug Collecting

Photo by John Bokma
One early spring morning as I approached my office door, I spotted a huge black bumble bee on the ground. It had died in such a graceful state, that it inspired me to start a bug collection.

I showed the gorgeous specimen to my boss, who informed me that my bumble bee was actually a female carpenter bee. The way to tell a female carpenter bee from a bumble bee is to look at the abdomen. The abdomen of the carpenter bee is shiny with fringes of hairs on some segments. The bumble bee has a fuzzy abdomen.

The female carpenter bee is mostly solitary, and spends its days foraging for nectar among flowers. The male carpenter bee spends his time defending the home, although ironically he does not have a stinger, but his aggressive behavior wards off most would-be predators.

The bees make their home in wood that has depressions or cracks in it. This makes it easier for them to chew their tunnels, which can be up to 10 feet long! Here is a photo of both specimens from my collection:

If you would prefer not to have these bees living in wood near your home, avoid keeping extra wood near your house, and paint over depressions in wood-based structures. For more information, see UC publication:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7417.html

School Gardens

School gardens have existed since the advent of kindergarten (1840). Activity-based learning was the idea of educator Friedrich Froebel. He believed that observing and nurturing plants in a garden stimulated a child's awareness of the natural world.

The development of childhood obesity in our society has prompted educators to look at school gardens with renewed interest. A garden can easily become an "outdoor classroom" where students learn about history, literature, math, reading and writing. It's also a place where they can develop healthier eating choices by growing their own food. Current UC Davis research proves this, in the work of Morris and Zidenberg-Cherr's which shows that 4th grader's school knowledge of nutrition and preferences for some vegetables can be enhanced by using garden-based curriculum. There are many other studies that show how growing food helps children make healthier food choices and exposes them to food they may not have tried before.

I've recently taken a part-time position to advocate better eating and nutrition through the use of school gardens. I will be visiting local schools and demonstrating the use of UC Davis curriculum to teachers. Researchers aim to make curriculum easy to use, while basing it on California State Standards. The idea is to help teachers fulfill their duties while at the same time addressing the issues of obesity. For more information, contact me at aschellman@ucdavis.edu