Bug Squad

There's no doubt--no doubt at all--that Fatma Kaplan is a go-getter. And maybe a genius. Born on her family's 40-acre farm in Turkey, where they grew hazel nuts, Kaplan went from farmer to scientist to entrepreneur. Today Kaplan is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Pheronym, Inc.

Alison Coomer, a second-year doctoral student in the lab of nematologist Shahid Siddique of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, recently achieved worldwide recognition for her three-minute thesis (3MT) on root-knot nematodes.

"Hey, there, pumpkin, how big of a piece of pumpkin pie do you want?" If you've ever been asked that, you may have responded--quite politely--"Small, thank you!" You probably didn't thank the squash bees.

Don't ask if the insects you find in your garden are "good bugs or bad bugs." Everything in your garden has a place, and your place should be a healthy, thriving garden--free of pesticides, says Frdrique Lavoipierre.

When the Northern California Lepidopterists met in February of 2019 at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, the members and guests admired the Rod Davis fritillary specimens recently added to the Bohart collection, courtesy of Charles "Chuck" Hageman of Yuba City.