The cities around San Francisco Bay in Northern California face a unique problem. While pollution anywhere is detrimental to the environment, the San Francisco Bay is extremely sensitive to a variety of pollutants. A good, and measurable, example of a type of pollutant that most people don’t consider is sediment. What exactly is sediment? Well, ...
The Mimosa, or Albizia julibrissin, is highly susceptible to pests such as cottony cushion scale, spider mites, and fall webworms. These bugs threaten the health of the tree and often prove fatal to neighboring Mimosas as well. Successful pest management involves a strategic selection of natural enemies of the specific pest harming the Mimosa. If ...
Pity the poor female bedbug – she does not have any genitalia. So how do bedbugs reproduce? Through the bizarre act of traumatic insemination. Bedbugs such as Cimex lectularius reproduce in a way much different than other animals – even other insects. This process is very accurately called traumatic insemination. However, researchers Alastair D. Stutt ...
When most people think of hiking in the woods, their main concerns tend to be about things like venomous snakes and bears. My biggest fear while hiking in the summer comes in a much smaller package. The thought of tiny seed ticks has been enough to keep me inside on more than one occasion, and ...
Hydroponics is a method of gardening that uses no soil, but instead the plant’s roots are immersed in a liquid solution of plant nutrients. Depending on the types of plants you wish to grow, you might want to select organic gardening supplies that would include organic hydroponic nutrients. Why is is important to grow plants ...
They are called spider mites because they have eight legs and can make webs, although larvae only have six legs. They are not spiders but are arachnids. Gardeners sometimes call them webspinning mites. No matter what you call them, all of the species eat plants and covers plants with thick webbing. They can soon decimate ...
