Bees are critical for crop pollination. With some colonies dying off in recent decades due to mites and other problems, support of backyard beekeepers has become even more important. Bee enthusiasts learn how to keep hives healthier in a popular, hands-on “Beyond the Basics” beekeeping course, offered by Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station Office […]
Archives for July 2013
Longer pollen seasons nothing to sneeze at
Even though she’d been walking in the woods for only a few minutes, Jen McIntyre was in distress. Tears were running down her cheeks. She couldn’t breathe through her nose. "I feel like this is our new reality," McIntyre said recently of the al…
July expected to be among N.J.’s Top 10 hottest ever for 4th year straight
July 2010 was incredibly hot in New Jersey. The temperature soared past 100 degrees on several days and above 90 on plenty of others, which was good enough to make it, at the time, the second warmest July on record. But ever since, such heat has become…
Beware of the Stinging Season in New Jersey [audio]
This is the stinging season, when biting and stinging insects can victimize the unwary. For most of us, it is annoying. But for a few, it can be life-threatening. Rutgers allergy and asthma expert Doctor Leonard Bielory says while a bee or wasp sting c…
Global Warming, Development Lure Jellyfish to Barnegat Bay
The warm waters of the bay, enriched with nitrogen from environmental runoff, make Barnegat Bay inviting for jellyfish, so much so that in some areas, the water looks almost like jelly on the surface. Read what Mike Kennish of Rutgers Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences has observed in the bay.
Union County 4-H Students Add Spark To Statewide Gathering
Every year, dozens of Union County students in grades one through twelve join a local 4-H club to explore their favorite interests and activities, and this year a select group of six was invited to demonstrate their knowledge at the statewide 4-H Prese…
Union County Master Gardeners have a lot to celebrate
Launching their 24th Annual Spring Fair & Plant Sale this past May (rain or shine, mostly rain), the Union County Master Gardeners were also celebrating the installation of a new kitchen in their "Barn," the building where they weigh and pr…
Camden County 4-H Fair starting this weekend
The Camden County 4-H Fair, presented by the Camden County Freeholder Board and Rutgers Cooperative Extension, is being held from Friday to Sunday, at Miller Farms, 134 N. Grove Street in Winslow Township. "Come to the Camden County 4-H Fair and br…
A Race to Save the Orange by Altering Its DNA
The call Ricke Kress and every other citrus grower in Florida dreaded came while he was driving. "It’s here" was all his grove manager needed to say to force him over to the side of the road. The disease that sours oranges and leaves them half …
NPR’s Science Friday: ‘Moth-ers’ Shine a Light on Nighttime Beauties
Think moths are nothing more than drab, little brown fliers stalking your wool sweaters? The folks behind National Moth Week, July 20 – 28, want to change that perception. Rutgers University moth expert Elena Tartaglia describes the diversity of moths and the role that they play in nature, and gives some tips on how to become […]