- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Co-authoring the first-place poster were mentors Hillary Sardinas, alumna of the Claire Kremen lab, UC Berkeley, and now with the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation; and UC Berkeley Professors Nick Mills and Claire Kremen.
The Bee Symposium was sponsored by the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, directed by Amina Harris, and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, chaired by Steve Nadler.
Associate professor/Chancellor's Fellow Neal Williams of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology announced the four winners, all from UC Berkeley or UC Davis. He serves as the co-faculty director of the Honey and Pollination Center.
Second place of $750 went to UC Davis graduate student W. Cameron Jasper for his poster, "Investigating Potential Synergistic Effects of Chronic Exposure to Amitraz and Multiple Pesticides on Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Survivorship." Jasper studies with major professor and Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. Niño and K. Grey co-authored the poster.
Third place of $500 went to UC Davis graduate student Britney Goodrich for her poster on "Honey Bee Health: Economic Implications for Beekeepers in Almond Pollination." She studies with major professor Rachael Goodhue of the UC Davis Agricultural and Resource Economics, co-author of the poster.
Fourth place of $250 went to UC Davis graduate student John Mola for his poster on "Fine Scale Population Genetics and Movement Ecology of the Yellow-Faced Bumble Bee (Bombus vosnesenkii). His poster co-authors: faculty members Neal Williams, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; and Michael Miller and Sean O'Rourke of the Department of Animal Science and Graduate Group in Ecology.
The Honey and Pollination Center funded the awards, with the program underwritten by Springcreek Foundation; Natural American Foods and the American Beekeeping Federation.
A trio of entomologists judged the posters: Dennis vanEnglesdorp, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park; Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis; and Quinn McFrederick, assistant professor of entomology, UC Riverside.
Yves Le Conte, director of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Paris, keynoted the symposium, launching the daylong conference that took place in the UC Davis Conference Center. VanEnglesdorp delivered the keynote speech in the afternoon.
Coordinating the poster competition was program representative Christine Casey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, staff director of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.
The competition was open to graduate students from any related department--UC Davis, UC Berkeley, California State University, Sacramento, and beyond, Casey said.
Last year's winners were all from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology:
- First Place: Margaret "Rei" Scampavia, "Farming Practices Affect Nest Site Selection of Native Ground Nesting Bees"
- Second Place: Jennifer VanWyk, "Wet Meadow Restoration Buffers the Impact of Climate Change: Pollinator Resilience during the California Drought"
- Third Place: Leslie Saul-Gershenz, "Native Bee Parasite Shows Multitrait, Host-Specific Variation and Local Adaptation"
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's the topic of a special conference--open to the public –set from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 9 at the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane. UC Davis researchers and state officials will address the crowd, announced conference coordinator Dave Fujino, director of the UC Davis-based California Center for Urban Horticulture.
“We are pleased to have such a knowledgeable lineup of UC Davis researchers who will clarify the issue of impact of neonicotinoid impacts on pollinators by summarizing and presenting the past and current science-based research,” Fujino said. “We are also fortunate to have additional presentations on the regulation guidelines on neonicotinoids and their role in controlling invasive pests in California, and a diverse group of stakeholders participating in a panel discussion on the neonicotinoid issue.”
Neonicotinoids, recently implicated in the worldwide die-off of pollinators, including honey bees, are a class of neuro-active insecticides chemically similar to nicotine. Considered important in the control of many significant agricultural and veterinary pests, they target the central nervous system of insects, resulting in paralysis and death. “Neonics,” as they're called, are commonly used on farms, and around homes, schools, and city landscapes.
Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, will provide an overview of the current use of neonicotinoids and the role of honey bees in California agriculture. Six other speakers are scheduled, along with a panel discussion.
The speakers include:
- Brian Leahy, director of the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, who will discuss “California Pesticide Regulation of Neonicotinoids”
- Nick Condos, director of the Plant Health and Pest Prevention Services Division, California Department of Food and Agriculture, “Neonicotinoid Risks Associated with Invasive Species Management”
- Karen Jetter, associate project economist, UC Agricultural Issues Center, “Trends in Neonicotinoid Usage in California Agriculture and the Control of Invasive Species”
- Margaret “Rei” Scampavia, a doctoral candidate who studies with major professors Neal Williams and Ed Lewis of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, “Past Neonicotinoid and Bee Research”
- Elina Lastro Niño, Extension apiculturist based at the Harry H. Laidlaw Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, “Current Neonicotinoid and Bee Research.”
The California Center for Urban Horticulture (CCUH) will co-host the event with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and the UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
Sponsors include California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers (CANGC), a trade organization founded in 1911 to promote and protect the California nursery industry; Four Winds Growers, based in Winters, Calif.; Scotts Miracle-Gro, a company headquartered in Marysville, Ohio, and known as the world's largest marketer of branded consumer lawn and garden products; and Monrovia, a horticultural craftsmen company headquartered in Azusa, Calif.
At the close of the conference, Fujino will preside over a panel discussion on neonicotinoid issues and concerns. Questions and answers from the audience will follow. The panel is to include a UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor, and representatives from the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers, Home Depot, Scotts Miracle-Gro, Bayer CropScience and the American Beekeeping Federation.
The registration fee of $50 will include lunch, as well as the post-conference social hour. To register, access the CCHU website at http://ccuh.ucdavis.edu/public/copy_of_public/neonicotinoid-pollinator-conference-2015/neonic or contact CCUH representative Kate Lincoln at kmlincoln@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-6642.
The European Union recently adopted a proposal to restrict the use of three pesticides belonging to the neonicotinoid family (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) for a period of two years. In addition, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that by January 2016, it will ban the use of seeds treated with neonicotinoid pesticides and the use of crops improved through biotechnology throughout the 150 million acres managed by the National Wildlife Refuge System.
Related Link:
UC Davis Graduate Students Win National Debate: What They Said About Neonics