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StumbleUponPosts Tagged: California State Fair
Bugs Rule at the California State Fair
If you head over to the California State Fair, which opened July 14 and continues through July 31, be sure to check out the Insect Pavilion at "The Farm."
It's a treasure house of not only insects, but spiders and assorted other critters.
At the entrance, tuck your head inside the monarch butterfly cutout and have someone take your photo. You can be "Butterfly for the Day."
Then it's off to see the "live" monarchs, a few steps away. The contrast between the painted cutout and the real insects is startling. Nature does a much better job!
Other highlights at the Insect Pavilion include honey bees, wasps and spiders.
The site probably should be called "The Bug Pavilion" because some of the critters, such as spiders, aren't insects.
Beekeeper Brian Fishback of Wilton, a member of the California State Beekeepers' Association and a volunteer at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, provided the bee observation hive.
Parents exclaim to their children: "Look! Bees!"
Then they usually point out that bees make honey and "No, honey, they can't sting you; they're behind glass."
It shouldn't be about stinging. It should be about their pollination services, not their defensive mechanism. Bees pollinate one-third of the food we eat.
However, a walk through the nearby vegetable garden buzzes home the point that honey bees are invaluable.
Next Tuesday, July 26, the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis will display live insects and specimens at The Big Bugs attraction at the state fair, according to Tabatha Yang, the Bohart's education and outreach coordinator. The specimens will be in the "oh, my" drawers--so called, she says, because that's what folks say when they see them: "Oh, my!"
Monarch butterfly cutout in front of the Insect Pavilion at the Caifornia State Fair. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Colorful monarch butterflies are in sharp contrast to the painted cutout (above). (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Close-up of bee observation hive in the Insect Pavilion. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey Bee Royalty at State Fair
It's a crucial time for bees, which are the victims of the mysterious colony collapse disorder, probably closely linked with a multitude of issues, including viruses, parasites, pests, pesticides, diseases, stress and malnutrition.
As the guest of veteran beekeeper Brian Fishback of Wilton, past president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’ Association and a member of the California State Beekeepers’ Association (CSBA), Bryson will be helping out at the CSBA booth July 16 to 21. The booth is located in the California Foodstyle building.
She also will be working in the insect pavilion at “The Farm,” which includes an observation hive. Bryson will answer questions from the public on Saturday, July 16 from 2 to 3 p.m. and on Wednesday, July 20 from 3:15 to 4:30 p.m.
In addition, she’ll be speaking at the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’ Association meeting set for 7 p.m. Tuesday, July 19 at 4049 Marconi Ave., Sacramento. The site is located in the second module behind the Town and Country Lutheran Church.
The American Honey Bee Queen competition is sponsored by the American Beekeeping Federation.
“As the American Honey Bee Queen, I travel across the United states promoting beekeeping and the use of honey,” she said. She educates the public with “facts on the beekeeping and honey industry concerning pollination of our nation’s crops and how dependent we are on the honey bee for agriculture, how honey is a healthy substitute for sugar, and how honey also extends the shelf life of baked products and adds that extra special something, such as taste or texture to other products.”
Bryson’s year as American Honey Queen ends in January when she will crown the next queen at the American Beekeeping Federation’s annual conference in Las Vegas.
Bryson is a junior at Hagerstown Community College, Hagerstown, Md., where she is double-majoring in English and forensic science. She is a member of the National Honor Society and has been on the dean’s list for the last two years.
A 4-H member for 10 years, she serves as a leader for two clubs. Bryson has kept bees for three years, and manages five hives in her family's apiary. In her leisure time, she said she enjoys reading, sewing, and caring for the many animals on her family's small farm.
Fishback, a volunteer at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis, owns and operates BD Ranch and Apiaries, Wilton.
Queen bee, at the peak of her season, can lay about 2000 eggs a day. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)
Honey, Meet Me at the Fair
As a child, Dennis Price loved to watch the honey bees. “I could sit and watch them all day,” he said.
“About one-fourth of them were afraid of the bees, but about one-half of them were as fascinated with bees as I am,” Price said.
Price is a graduate of UC Davis, but not in entomology. “I used to play racquetball with Larry Godfrey (Extension entomologist at UC Davis), though,” he said.
Price is a 1989 graduate of UC Davis (chemistry and toxicology) and now works for ESA Biosciences, a company based in
- The average honey bee makes just 1/2 teaspoon of honey during her lifetime
- Honey bees fly about 55,000 miles just to make one pound of honey. That's equal to 1.5 times around the world.
- One third of your diet is derived from insect-pollinated plants, and 80 percent of that is done by honey bees.
It used to be that newborn pigs (such as those below) hogged the attention of fairgoers at the California State Fair. They still do, but make way for the bees.
The bees are buzzing around the sunflowers in the garden section and they’re making honey in the
And if you’re like me, you’ll go to the fair just to see the bees.
Karen Flores and Dennis Price
Liquid gold
Observation hive
Piglets not the sole attraction
