(Editor's Note: This seminar initially set for Wednesday, May 2 at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall has been cancelled.)

Tory Hendry, an assistant professor of microbiology at Cornell University, Ithaca, New York, will present a seminar on bacteria that infect and kill pea aphids at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, May 2 in 122 Briggs Hall, as part of the weekly spring seminars hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Her seminar is titled “Life and Death in the Phyllosphere: Epiphytic Bacteria Influence Aphid Survival and Behavior.”

“She will be talking about some of her new and very cool work on insect vision and pathogen avoidance,” said co-seminar coordinator Rachel Vannette, assistant professor of entomology. “Her website is here, but briefly, she works on bacterial genome evolution and plant-microbe-insect interactions, and other microbial symbioses.”

In her abstract, Henry writes: “Several diverse strains of plant epiphytic bacteria, such as Pseudomonas syringae, are able to infect and kill pea aphids. P. syringae can be pathogenic to plants, but is also widespread in the environment and a common eipipye. We have found the P. syringae can easily infect aphids and be highly virulent to insects. This interaction is fairly broad, both across P. syringae strains and across hemipteran insect species, suggesting that infection by these bacteria may be common in nature. Aphids may use varied non-immunological defenses against bacterial infection, in particular they are able to avoid feeding when highly virulent bacteria are present on a leaf. We found that up to 80 percent of aphids avoid leaves painted with epiphytic bacteria in favor of feeding on control leaves."

"This interaction is fairly broad, both across P. syringae strains and across hemipteran insect species, suggesting that infection by these bacteria may be common in nature. Aphids may use varied non-immunological defenses against bacterial infection, in particular they are able to avoid feeding when highly virulent bacteria are present on a leaf. We found that up to 80 percent of aphids avoid leaves painted with epiphytic bacteria in favor of feeding on control leaves."

However, says Hendry, "aphids do not avoid all strains, rather avoidance is correlated with strain virulence such that mainly highly virulent strains are avoided. We determined that production of the fluorescent siderophore pyoverdine by P. syringae was necessary for aphid avoidance, and the evidence suggests that aphids use vision to detect the fluorescence of this molecule. Pyoverdine is not responsible for virulence itself, but aphids may use it as a reliable cue of virulence.” 

Hendry received her doctorate in ecology and evolutionary biology from the University of Michigan. She held a postdoctoral appointment at the University of Arizona, working with David Baltrus, and was a fellow with USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture, working with Nicholas Mills and Steven Lindow at the UC Berkeley.

Co-coordinator of the weekly seminars are Brendon Boudinot, doctoral candidate in the Phil Ward lab, and Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño.
.

The annual UC Davis Research Symposium on the Designated Emphasis in the Biology of Vector-Borne Diseases (DEBVPD) will take place from 3 to 8 p.m., Thursday, May 3 in the Putah Creek Lodge, and will feature two speakers and a graduate student poster session.

Addressing the gathering will be Lark Coffey, member of the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology in the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and research director Stéphane Blanc of the program, Biology and Genetics of Plant-Pathogen Interactions at the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) in Montpellier, France. 

The event begins with opening remarks at 3:10, followed by Coffey's presentation at 3:20 on “Contrasting Virulence and Transmissibility in Disparate hosts: A Zika Virus Mutation that Associates with Fetal Death in Rhesus Macaques reduces transmission by Aedes aegypti Mosquitoes.” 

The graduate student poster session begins at 4:05 p.m., with Laura Backus, Nicholas Booster, Marisa Donnelly, Jessica Franco, Karen Holcomb, William Louie, Risa Pesapane, Benjamin Plourde, Maribel Portilla, Jennifer Reed, Kasen Riemersma, Pascale Stiles and Olivia Winokur presenting. Blanc's address follows at  5:30 p.m. on "Current Research Trends in the Interaction between Plant Viruses and Insect Vectors."

A dinner (space is limited and reservations are required) will follow at 6:15, announced Professor Sharon Lawler of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and chair of DEBVBD.

Coffey focuses her research on the ecology and evolution of arthropod-borne viruses, including Zika, West Nile and chikungunya. They are significant causes of human disease, with no vaccines or treatments beyond palliative care.

Her team seeks to understand patterns of viral molecular evolution in enzootic and epidemic settings and the viral genetic factors that promote emergence of epidemic variants via host range changes. Studies also focus on how intrahost arboviral genetic diversity generated by error-prone viral replication to produce minority variants influences infectivity and transmissibility in mosquito and vertebrate hosts. The team is also developing approaches to improve arbovirus surveillance.

Coffey received her bachelor's degree in biology at the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn., and her doctorate in experimental pathology from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston, Texas. She then conducted research at the Institut Pastuer in Paris, France, and at the University of San Francisco.

Blanc has been with INRA Montpellier since 1997 and with his current research unit since 2004. He studies interactions among viruses, insect vectors and plant hosts. His group works at multiple scales from molecular to viral genetics and population dynamics. In addition, he has an innovative focus on understanding multipartite viruses.

He received his undergraduate degree in biology of populations and organisms from the University of Montpellier. His doctoral research, also at the University of Montpellier, addressed molecular mechanisms of plant virus transmission by insect vectors. After receiving his doctorate in 1993, he studied plant virus vector-transmission at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, with Professor T. P. Pirone.

For more information on the symposium, contact Sharon Lawler at splawler@ucdavis.edu. For information on dinner reservations, access https://bit.ly/2HanMrt.

The Department of Entomology and Nematology and the Department of Plant Pathology are home to the Designated Emphasis in the Biology of Vector-borne Diseases (DEBVBD).

Hymenoptera, the order that includes bees and ants, dominated the winners' circle of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Students' Association's t-shirt contest.

Doctoral candidate and ant specialist Brendon Boudinot of the Phil Ward lab won the EGSA contest with his REPRESANT design, with illustrations by colleague Eli Sarnat, an alumnus of the Ward lab.

Doctoral candidate and nematologist Corwin Parker of the Steve Nadler lab won the Picnic Day design with his illustration of a bee barbecuing.

And an ant design for a onesie, “My Sister Loves Me,” by doctoral student and ant specialist Jill Oberski of the Ward lab rounds out the winners' circle.

Boudinot, a fourth-year doctoral student and president of EGSA, said the ant featured on his design “is a minor worker of the Drogon ant and described recently by our post-doc Eli Sarnat." Sarnat, who received his doctorate in entomology from UC Davis in 2009, is now a post-doctorate researcher in the Okinawa Instituite of Science and Technology in the Economo lab. The ant in Boudinot's design is based on Sarnat's work, published in AntWiki and in The Guardian.

Parker, a sixth-year doctoral candidate, says the story behind his design is that “I had the visual pun ‘BarBeeCue' stuck in my head for ages and this seemed like a good opportunity to exercise it. For the species, it was just sort of a generalized Apidae, mostly modeled after the honey bee, but with a thorax perhaps slightly fluffier. I hope the bee scientists don't mind.”

Oberski, a first-year doctoral student, says her design was “the result of all the people who stopped by our t-shirt booth at the Entomological Society of America meeting (in Denver), asking if we had more onesie designs. “It is a little specific, but I'm a big sister myself, and I figured other entomologists would find it pretty cute.”

Oberski's adult ant is “loosely based on Ochetellus, a mostly-Australian genus.” After admiring an image taken by Alex Wild, also a Phil Ward lab alumnus (doctorate in entomology in 2005) and “I went from there.” Wild, a renowned macro photographer, is the curator of Entomology at the University of Texas/Austin.

The winning T-shirts and other previous winners can be ordered online at https://mkt.com/UCDavisEntGrad/ and also will be available at Briggs Hall on April 21 at the annual UC Davis Picnic Day and future Picnic Days. Doctoral student and medical entomologist Olivia Winokur of the Chris Barker lab, serves as treasurer of EGSA and t-shirt sales coordinator. She may be reached for more information at ocwinokur@ucdavis.edu.

The EGSA is comprised of UC Davis graduate students who study insect systems. Its objectives are to connect students from across disciplines, inform students of and provide opportunities for academic success, and to serve as a bridge between the students and administration.  The officers, in addition to Brendon Boudinot, are Emily Bick of the Christian Nansen lab, vice president; Maureen Page of the Neal Williams lab, secretary; Olivia Winokur of the Chris Barker lab, treasurer; and two Graduate Student Association representatives, Charlotte Herbert of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and Nick Booster of the Jay Rosenheim lab.

What's a picnic without bugs?

Bugs at Briggs and the Bohart?

The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is gearing up for scores of insect-related activities at Briggs Hall and the Bohart Museum of Entomology for the 104th annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day. on Saturday, April 21.

At Briggs Hall, located off Kleiber Hall Drive, activities will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 or 5 p.m. At the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, the open house is from 10 to 3 p.m.

Coordinating the event at Briggs Hall are forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey and doctoral student Brendon Boudinot of the Phil Ward lab and president of the Entomology Graduate Students' Association. Heading the activities at the Bohart Museum are director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology, and Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.

"Entomology at UC Davis" (122 Briggs) has been nominated for a special campus award under the category "At One With Nature." The Honey Tasting booth at Briggs has been nominated for a similar award under the category, “Hunger Fix.”  Winners of the categories are determined by an Internet vote. (Access the link here to vote from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. for your favorite exhibits on Picnic Day). The winners will be publicized on the Picnic Day website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts after Picnic Day.

The UC Davis Entomology Club, advised by forensic entomology Robert Kimsey, will enter a 40-foot black widow spider float in the Picnic Day Parade, which gets underway Saturday at 9:30 a.m. with an opening ceremony by the grandstands on North Quad Ave., across from Wickson Hall. The parade starts at 10 a.m., with announcement locations at 2nd and D streets in downtown Davis; F Street in front of PDQ Fingerprinting; and 3rd and C streets in downtown Davis.  Last year the spider float won the "Best Organization" award in the parade. 

At the 2017 UC Davis Picnic Day, the Department of Entomology and Nematology won two special exhibit awards. By popular vote, "Little Swimmers and Fly Tyers (Briggs Hall)," won the category, "Hidden Treasures"; and "Real Insects and Mimics" (Bohart Museum of Entomology) won the category "Family Friendly."

Here's what's on tap at Briggs, either in front or inside the building:

• Entomology at UC Davis: Enter Briggs Hall and find a wide variety of entomology-themed displays, from classics, including insect forestry to recent additions, such as “Virtual Reality Bugs."
• Honey Tasting Booth: Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño and her staff will operate the honey tasting booth, focusing on berry honeys. They will offer these honey varietals: blackberry, blueberry, raspberry, snowberry, almond and buckwheat.
• Maggot Art: Visitors will create maggot art by dipping a maggot into a water-based, non-toxic paint and position it on paper and let it crawl. Voila! Maggot art, suitable for framing
• Cockroach Races: Crowds can pick their favorite "roach athlete" and cheer it to victory
• Virtual Reality Bugs: Medical entomologist Geoffrey Attardo will set up a virtual reality system to enable people to view three dimensional models of insects. In VR, the models can be made to look life size, 40 feet tall or anywhere in between, he says. Here's the link that to view them in your web browser: https://skfb.ly/6xVru
• Bug Doctor: The Doctor Is In: Graduate students will identify insects and arachnids and answer questions
• IPM Booth:  UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program professionals will discuss and answer questions about insect pests, beneficial insects and pest control. They will display their publications and live insects. In keeping with tradition, they will give away free lady beetles (lady bugs), to be released in gardens to devour aphids and other soft-bodied insects.
• Mosquito Abatement:  Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District professionals will staff a booth
• Dr. Death: Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will staff his traditional Dr. Death booth, inviting the visitors to ask questions and look through microscopes.
• Davis Fly Fishers: The anglers will demonstrate fly-tying techniques in Briggs 158
• Scavenger Hunt: Participants will search for and identify insects in a display of 10 drawers in Briggs 122. 
• Insect Face Painting: Entomology Club members will face-paint bees, butterflies, lady beetles and other insects
• T-Shirt Sales: Visitors can take their pick or picks among insect-themed t-shirts (popular t-shirts include beetles and honey bees) Selection and prices are online at https://mkt.com/UCDavisEntGrad/
• Bake Sale: The Entomology Club will offer insect-themed baked goods.
• Strike Up the Band: Music composed by Michael Lewis Bollinger (Frank Zalom lab); cover songs possible. The band, dressed in insect costumes, will include Jackson Audley of the Steve Seybold lab, rhythm guitar; Yao Cai of the Joanna Chiu lab, drums; Christine Tabuloc of the Chiu lab, vocals; Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, keyboard; Wei Lin of the Brian Johnson lab, bass; Jill Oberski of the Phil Ward lab, tenor saxophone; and Brendon Boudinot of the Phil Ward lab, bassist.

"The band will be setting up and warming up at 4," said Boudinot. "We'll start our set at 4:30, and wrap up at 5 or so. We are working on tightening up the set list--for now we have four songs. Expect some guitar and drum solos at the least!"

Bohart Museum

At the Bohart Museum, open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., the theme is "Where the Sun Doesn't Shine," a play on this year's Picnic Day theme of "Where the Sun Shines."

"We'll be highlighting nocturnal insects, cave dwelling insects, and yes, beaver butt beetles or Platypsyllus castoris, an ectoparasite on beavers, near their glands, wounds, and skin," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. " We will be holding insects as well."

The Bohart Museum staff and students will also be on the Quad on Wednesday, April 18 from noon to 1 p.m.as part of a pre-Picnic Day showcase being organized by the Picnic Day Committee. They will be holding insects and encouraging others to do so.