- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You've heard "The 12 Days of Christmas," beginning with a single "partridge in a pear tree" and ending with "12 drummers drumming." In between: two turtle doves, three french hens, four calling birds, five gold rings, six geese-a-laying, seven swans-a-swimming, eight maids-a-milking, nine ladies dancing, 10 lords-a-leaping, and 11 pipers piping.
But have you heard "The 13 Bugs of Christmas?"
Back in 2010, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology (now the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology) and yours truly came up with a song about "The 13 Bugs of Christmas." Presented at the Department of Entomology's holiday party, it drew roaring applause. Then U.S. News featured it when reporter Paul Bedard picked it up.
It's still making the rounds, via social media, and it's also appeared in number of pubications, including a pest control magazine.
"The 13 Bugs of Christmas" is about a psyllid in a pear tree, six lice a'laying, 10 locusts leaping and 11 queen bees piping. Beekeepers know that distinctive sound of a queen bee piping.
"We attempted to keep the wording as close as possible for ‘The 12 Bugs of Christmas' and then we opted to spotlight some new agricultural pests in the next stanza," said Mussen, who retired in June 2014 after 38 years of service.
The song:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a psyllid in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two tortoises beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me eight ants a'milking, seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me nine mayflies dancing, eight ants a'milking, seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 10 locusts leaping, nine mayflies dancing, eight ants a'milking, seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 11 queen bees piping, 10 locusts leaping, nine mayflies dancing, eight ants a'milking, seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 12 deathwatch beetles drumming, 11 queen bees piping, 10 locusts leaping, nine mayflies dancing, eight ants a'milking, seven boatmen swimming, six lice a'laying, five golden bees, four calling cicadas, three French flies, two tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
Knowing the agony that Californians experience with the seemingly unending flood of pests, Mussen felt it "bugworthy" to add this verse:
"On the 13th day of Christmas, Californians woke to see:
13 Kaphra beetles,
12 Diaprepes weevils,
11 citrus psyllids,
10 Tropilaelaps clareae,
nine melon fruitflies,
eight Aedes aegypti,
seven ash tree borers,
six spotted-wing Drosophila,
five gypsy moths,
four Japanese beetles,
three imported fire ants,
two brown apple moths,
and a medfly in a pear tree."
Mussen noted that Tropilaelaps clareae is a honey bee mite from Asia, as is the well-known varroa mite (Varroa destructor), which was first detected in the United States (Wisconsin) in 1987 and is now beekeepers' No. 1 problem.
It's unlikely, however, that Tropilaelaps clareae and Varroa destructor will become part of any other Christmas song...but you never know...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So goes a line from "Santa Baby." The songwriters (J. Javits, P. Springer and T. Springer) listed all the good presents they wanted Santa to bring: a sable, a '54 convertible (light blue, please!), a yacht, a duplex and a deed to a platinum mine.
The late Eartha Kitt sang it well, emphasizing: So, hurry down the chimney, tonight!
Odds are that Santa will indeed hurry down the chimney if honey bee colonies occupy the roof. The growing popularity of urban beekeeping means not only more backyard beekeepers but more rooftop beekeepers.
Umm, be careful out there, Santa! You will need some protection: a veil, gloves and smoker. And are you sure you want to wear red? Bees dislike red. It's black to them and bees dislike black. Intensely. Did I say intensely? intensely.
Another thing, Santa, please note that your reindeer will pause longer on the rooftop if they encounter bees, and this will adversely affect your global delivery schedule.
Up on the housetop, reindeer pause
Out jumps good old Santa Claus
Down through the chimney with lots of toys, all for the little one's Christmas joys.
--Up on the Housetop"
In fact, Santa, your reindeer may turn a "pause" into a "standoff" due to guard bees defending their colony. Aggressively. And they don't much like reindeer hooves (or anything else, for that matter) disturbing their hives.
And take Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. He's a perfect target and not just because of hooves flailing. It's that bright red nose. Bright. Red. Nose. Ouch!
Question: Ho, ho, ho, who wouldn't go? (Up on the Housetop)
Answer: Umm, Santa and his reindeer?
And remember Clement C. Moore's "The Night Before Christmas?"
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
but a miniature sleigh, and eight tiny reindeer,
with a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
The key words here are "so lively" and "quick." One sting, and you, Santa, will certainly be both lively and quick. Very. Lively. Very. Quick.
The Chronicle, as you may remember, launched rooftop beekeeping back in 2011 in an effort to help save the disappearing honey bees. Beekeeper May writes "Honeybee Chronicles."
Santa does not read the "Honeybee Chronicles." He is too busy reading lists and questioning whether people are "naughty" or "nice."
These days, however, it is not just about being "naughty" or "nice."
Santa is bound to ask: "Pardon me, but do you keep bees on your roof? How many colonies? Are they European honey bees or Africanized bees? And are these bees accustomed to encountering a red-dressed, bearded fellow driving a not-so-miniature sleigh pulled by not-so-tiny reindeer and led by a reindeer with a big, fat red nose?"
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Science journalist Janet Marinelli, writing in Yalee360, said it well in her Dec. 21st piece, "To Protect Monarch: a Plan to Save the Sacred Firs."
This should be widely read, widely distributed and widely discussed.
Basically, it's crucial to plant milkweed, the host plant of the besieged and dwindling monarch, but it's also crucial to plant more oyamel fir trees (Abies religiosa) in central Mexico, where deforestration and climate disruption and loss of milkweed combine to rage an ongoing war against the migrating monarchs. These firs are the favorite of overwintering monarchs that migrate from the Eastern United States, and as far away as Canada.
This tree is called a sacred fir ”because of its narrow, conic tip that resembles clasped hands with fingers pointed upwards, praying," Marinelli writes. "These dense, dark-green conifers protect the monarchs from cold and rainy winter nights."
Says Wikipedia: "Sacred fir is named after the use of cut foliage in religious festivals in Mexico, notably at Christmas. It is also the preferred tree for the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) to reside in colonies during its hibernation in Mexico. The distribution of this tree is narrowing because of deforestation and human impact."
The fir is on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.
"A billion butterflies once fluttered down from as far as southern Canada to paint the firs a quivering crazy quilt of orange and black with white spots," Marinelli eloquently wrote. "But due to the usual litany of destructive factors — from the deforestation of Mexico's oyamel fir trees to the loss of milkweeds, the primary host plants for monarch caterpillars up north — their numbers have plummeted. By 2014, there were just 33 million of them "
So the scientists in Mexico seek to plant these trees at higher altitudes--not just to save this species of trees, but to save the monarchs.
Cuauhtémoc Sáenz-Romero, a forest geneticist at the Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolás de Hidalgo, and the plan's architect, was saying: “We have to act now. Later will be too late, because the trees will be dead or too weak to produce seeds in enough quantity for large reforestation programs.”
Agreed. It's important to act now. "Later will be too late." Saving the sacred firs is a crucial tool in the save-the-monarch toolbox.
Humankind, so apt at destroying habitat instead of protecting it, now needs to backtrack and save the environment, the firs and the monarchs.
Before. It. Is. Too. Late.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's when eminent honey bee scientist Gene E. Robinson of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign will speak on “Me to We: Using Honey Bees to Find the Genetic Roots of Social Life” in Jackson Hall, Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis campus.
His presentation, part of the Chancellor's Colloquium Distinguished Speakers Series, is from 4 to 6:30 p.m. Registration is underway on the Chancellor's Colloquium series website. The event is free and open to all interested persons but registration is required. (See Colloquium series website to register.)
Robinson pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior and led the effort to sequence the honey bee genome.
Many of us have heard him speak, and many more have read his work. You may have heard him present a Tedx Talk, or read his piece on "The Behavior of Genes" (New York Times). Science writer Nick Zagorski profiled him in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
Robinson needs no introduction; his work is legendary. He is the University Swanlund chair and directs the Institute for Genomic Biology (IGB) and the Bee Research Facility. He received his doctorate in entomology from Cornell University in 1986 and joined the faculty of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1989.
He served as interim director of IGB, 2011-2012; director of the Neuroscience Program, 2001-2011; and leader of the Neural and Behavioral Plasticity Theme at the IGB, 2004-2011.
Robinson has authored or co-authored more than 275 publications, including 26 published in Science or Nature. He has been the recipient or co-recipient of more than $50 million in funding from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Agriculture and private foundations; pioneered the application of genomics to the study of social behavior; led the effort to gain approval from the National Institutes of Health for sequencing the honey bee genome; and founded the Honey Bee Genome Sequencing Consortium.
In addition, Robinson serves on the National Institute of Mental Health Advisory Council and has past and current appointments on scientific advisory boards for companies with significant interests in genomics.
His honors include University Scholar and member of the Center of Advanced Study at the University of Illinois; Burroughs Wellcome Innovation Award in Functional Genomics; Founders' Memorial Award from the Entomological Society of America; Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship; Guggenheim Fellowship; NIH Pioneer Award; Honorary Doctorate from Hebrew University; Fellow, Animal Behavior Society; Fellow, Entomological Society of America; Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences; and member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
A native of Buffalo, N.Y., Robinson received his doctorate in entomology from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., in 1986. What prompted him to study entomology? You'll need to read Nick Zagorski profile of him in the Proceedings for the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A newly published study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals just how much trouble. (See research paper)
Wild bee populations have declined significantly since 2008 in Central California and some other key areas of the United States, according to the study led by a University of Vermont researcher and co-authored by UC Davis researchers.
The study, led by Insu Koh of the Gund Institute for Ecological Economics at the University of Vermont, Burlington, suggests that wild bee populations likely declined in areas comprising 23 percent of the nation between 2008 and 2013, a decline associated with conversion of natural wild bee habitat into intensive agriculture.
The researchers determined that 139 key counties, comprising 39 percent of U.S. pollinator-dependent crop area, exhibit a “mismatch between pollination supply and demand,” with large areas of pollinator-dependent crops and low expected abundance of wild bees.
The seven-member team integrated a wild bee habitat model, land cover data and expert knowledge to map U.S. bee abundance and trends. Pollination ecologist Neal Williams of UC Davis led efforts to assess habitat quality.
Their study also shows 39 percent of U.S. croplands that depend on pollinators face a threatening mismatch between rising demand for pollination and a falling supply of wild bees.
“We see striking mismatches in many places between the demand for pollination and the ability of wild pollinators to support that need,” said Williams, an associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, who helped design the study and led efforts to assess bee habitat quality as part of the Integrated Crop Pollination (ICP) Project (http://icpbees.org/).
“Indeed it is crops where demand has most increased that we estimate greatest decline in wild pollinator supply,” Williams said. “The research is also unique in including uncertainty in our knowledge of the quality of habitat for pollinators and thus recognizes where more effort is needed to understand the vulnerability of pollination services."
Williams (who, by the way is a newly selected UC Davis Chancellor's Fellow, an honor given to outstanding faculty members early in their careers), noted that the paper has the potential to bring wider attention to the correlation between the status of wild bee communities and crop pollination demands nationally.
Indeed, it does and we need to value our wild bees and protect them.
For example, bumble bees effectively pollinate watermelon and tomatoes. Squash bees are specialist bees that pollinate pumpkins, squash, cucumbers and other cucurbits. Leafcutter bees play a major role in pollinating alfalfa, carrots, other vegetables and some fruits.
"Until this study, we didn't have a national mapped picture about the status of wild bees and their impacts on pollination,” Koh said. More than $3 billion of the U.S. agricultural economy depends on the pollination services of native pollinators like wild bees. (See University of Vermont news release.)
It was back in June 2014 when President Obama sounded the alarm in a widely quoted presidential memorandum calling for a national assessment of pollinators to promote the health of honey bees and other pollinators.
This latest research zeroes in on that.
The seven-member team also included Claire Brittain of the Neal Williams lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; Taylor Ricketts of the Gund Institute and the University of Vermont; Eric Lonsdorf of Franklin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa.; and Rufus Isaacs and Jason Gibbs of Michigan State University, East Lansing.
The study was completed with support from the Specialty Crop Research Initiative of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute for Food and Agriculture.