Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The Asian giant hornet — an invasive, predatory insect dubbed the “murder hornet” — has been seen in the Vancouver area and may pose a threat to the beekeeping industry and potentially to people if it establishes there, a U.S. official said Monday. The stinging Vespa mandarinia can grow as large as 2-1/2 […] Read more

‘Murder hornet’ findings worry agriculture officials
Invasive pest known to decapitate honeybees, take over hives
California water board approves voluntary cutback program by growers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — California water regulators on Friday said they had approved a plan by some of the state’s most senior water rights holders to voluntary cut back water use by 25 per cent in exchange for assurances that they would not face further cuts during the growing season. So-called riparian growers in […] Read more
‘River of rain’ begins falling on drought-stricken California
Reading Time: 2 minutes Los Angeles | Reuters — A so-called “atmospheric river of rain” began falling on northern California on Friday, bringing worries about flash floods, high winds and mudslides but offering little relief to a state left parched by several years of drought. The storm, also known as a “Pineapple Express” because it results from a ribbon […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: “Dangerous” beetle found in LAX cargo
Reading Time: 2 minutes (Reuters) — U.S. customs officials said Wednesday they had found a beetle considered one of the world’s most dangerous agricultural pests in a shipment of rice arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. Agricultural specialists with U.S. Customs and Border Protection found an adult khapra beetle, eight larvae and a shed skin in a shipment of […] Read more