- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
With the Entomological Society of America (ESA), however, being framed is a good thing. No, a great thing!
ESA honors its President's Prize winners (aka first-place winners) in the student research competitions by asking them to step behind a cardboard cut-out and smile for the camera. Voila! Suitable for framing!
Joe Rominiecki, ESA manager of communications, just announced that the images are now available and we have permission to share them.
We earlier wrote that doctoral candidates Danielle Rutkowski and Zachary Griebenow of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology each won the President's Prize for their individual research presentations at the 2022 Joint Meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada, and British Columbia, held Nov. 13-16 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
And now, we have the images.
Background: At the annual ESA meetings, students are offered the opportunity to present their research and win prizes. They can compete in 10-minute papers (oral), posters, or infographics. The President's Prize winners receive a one-year paid membership in ESA, a $75 cash prize, and a certificate. Second-winners score a one-year free membership in ESA and a certificate.
Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor, and distinguished professor Richard “Rick” Karban, spoke on “The Mechanism Behind Beneficial Effects of Bee-Associated Fungi on Bumble Bee Health,” at her presentation in the category, Graduate School Plant-Insect Ecosytems: Pollinators.
Her abstract: "Bees often interact with fungi, including at flowers and within bee nests. We have previously found that supplementing bumble bee colonies with these bee-associated fungi improves bee survival and increases reproductive output, but the mechanisms behind these effects are unclear. This research aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying positive impacts of fungal supplementation in the bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. We tested two hypotheses regarding possible nutritional benefits provided by bee-associated fungi. These included the role of fungi as a direct food source to bees, and the production of nutritionally important metabolites by fungi. To test these mechanisms, we created microcolonies bumble bees and exposed each microcolony to one of four treatment groups. These four treatments were created based on the presence of fungal cells and the presence of fungal metabolites. We found that bee survival and reproduction were unaffected by treatment, with trends of decreased survival and reproduction when fungi were present. This contradicts previous results we've found using this bumble bee species, where fungi had a positive impact. It is possible that this disparity in results is due to differences in pathogen pressure between the two experiments, as bees in the first experiment were exposed to large amounts of pathogen through provided pollen, including Ascosphaera and Aspergillus. This pollen was sterilized for subsequent experiments, reducing pathogen load. Therefore, it is possible that bee-associated fungi benefit bees through pathogen inhibition, and future work exploring this hypothesis is necessary to fully understand the role of these fungi in bumble bee health."
Zachary Griebenow. Griebenow, who studies with major professor and ant specialist Phil Ward, (Griebenow also captained the UC Davis Entomology Games Team in its national championship win at the Entomology Games or Bug Bowl) explained “Systematic Revision of the Obscure Ant Subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Reciprocally Informed by Phylogenomic Inference and Morphological Data.” His category: Graduate School Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution 1.
His abstract: "Ants belonging to the subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are sister to nearly all other extant ants. Miniscule and subterranean, little is known of their behavior. Contrary to the collecting bias observed in most ants, male leptanilline specimens are acquired more easily than workers or queens. The sexes are almost never collected in association, and many subclades within the Leptanillinae are known from male specimens only. Our comprehension of evolutionary relationships among the Leptanillinae is further obstructed by oft-bizarre derivation in male phenotypes that are too disparate for phylogeny to be intuited from morphology alone. These restrictions plague our understanding of the Leptanillinae with probable taxonomic redundancy. My thesis aims at leptanilline taxonomy that reflects phylogeny, inferred from both genotype and phenotype, and integrates morphological data from both sexes. Here I present the results of (1) phylogenomic inference from ultra-conserved elements (UCEs), compensating for potential systematic biases in these data, representing 63 terminals; and (2) Bayesian total-evidence inferences from a handful of loci, jointly with discrete male morphological characters coded in binary non-additive or multistate fashion. Notably, these analyses identify worker specimens belonging to the genera Noonilla and Yavnella, which were heretofore known only from males. Given such discoveries across the Leptanillinae, the number of valid leptanilline genera is reduced from seven to three in order to create a genus-level classification that upholds monophyly along with diagnostic utility."
We also salute our second-place winners (see previous news story:
- Lindsey Mack, who studies with medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, covered “Three Dimensional Analysis of Vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypi Using Synchrotron X-Ray MicroCT” in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Physiology
- Addie Abrams, who studies with Extension agricultural entomologist and assistant professor Ian Grettenberger, titled her research, “Hitting the Mark: Precision Pesticide Applications for the Control of Aphids in California Lettuce" in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Integrated Pest Management
Congrats, all! They do our department and our university proud!
(The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members, affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government, are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They did UC Davis proud at the annual Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting, which this year was a Joint Meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada, and British Columbia. It took place Nov. 13-16 in Vancouver, British Columbia.
Doctoral candidates Danielle Rutkowski and Zachary Griebenow won the President's Prize or first-place honors for their individual research presentations. This was Rutkowski's second consecutive President's Prize.
Doctoral candidate Lindsey Mack and doctoral student Adelaine “Addie” Abrams scored runner-up or second-place for their research presentations in the highly competitive program.
Their topics ranged from bumble bees (Rutkowski) and ants (Griebenow) to mosquitoes (Mack) and thrips and aphids (Abrams).
At the ESA annual meetings, students are offered the opportunity to present their research and win prizes. They can compete in 10-minute papers (oral), posters, or infographics. The President's Prize winners receive a one-year paid membership in ESA, a $75 cash prize, and a certificate. Second-winners score a one-year free membership in ESA and a certificate.
Danielle Rutkowski
Danielle Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor, and distinguished professor Richard “Rick” Karban, spoke on “The Mechanism Behind Beneficial Effects of Bee-Associated Fungi on Bumble Bee Health,” at her presentation in the category, Graduate School Plant-Insect Ecosytems: Pollinators.
Her abstract: "Bees often interact with fungi, including at flowers and within bee nests. We have previously found that supplementing bumble bee colonies with these bee-associated fungi improves bee survival and increases reproductive output, but the mechanisms behind these effects are unclear. This research aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying positive impacts of fungal supplementation in the bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. We tested two hypotheses regarding possible nutritional benefits provided by bee-associated fungi. These included the role of fungi as a direct food source to bees, and the production of nutritionally important metabolites by fungi. To test these mechanisms, we created microcolonies bumble bees and exposed each microcolony to one of four treatment groups. These four treatments were created based on the presence of fungal cells and the presence of fungal metabolites. We found that bee survival and reproduction were unaffected by treatment, with trends of decreased survival and reproduction when fungi were present. This contradicts previous results we've found using this bumble bee species, where fungi had a positive impact. It is possible that this disparity in results is due to differences in pathogen pressure between the two experiments, as bees in the first experiment were exposed to large amounts of pathogen through provided pollen, including Ascosphaera and Aspergillus. This pollen was sterilized for subsequent experiments, reducing pathogen load. Therefore, it is possible that bee-associated fungi benefit bees through pathogen inhibition, and future work exploring this hypothesis is necessary to fully understand the role of these fungi in bumble bee health."
Zach Griebenow, who studies with major professor and ant specialist Phil Ward, (Griebenow also captained the UC Davis Entomology Games Team in its national championship win at the Entomology Games or Bug Bowl) explained “Systematic Revision of the Obscure Ant Subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Reciprocally Informed by Phylogenomic Inference and Morphological Data.” His category: Graduate School Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution 1.
His abstract: "Ants belonging to the subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are sister to nearly all other extant ants. Miniscule and subterranean, little is known of their behavior. Contrary to the collecting bias observed in most ants, male leptanilline specimens are acquired more easily than workers or queens. The sexes are almost never collected in association, and many subclades within the Leptanillinae are known from male specimens only. Our comprehension of evolutionary relationships among the Leptanillinae is further obstructed by oft-bizarre derivation in male phenotypes that are too disparate for phylogeny to be intuited from morphology alone. These restrictions plague our understanding of the Leptanillinae with probable taxonomic redundancy. My thesis aims at leptanilline taxonomy that reflects phylogeny, inferred from both genotype and phenotype, and integrates morphological data from both sexes. Here I present the results of (1) phylogenomic inference from ultra-conserved elements (UCEs), compensating for potential systematic biases in these data, representing 63 terminals; and (2) Bayesian total-evidence inferences from a handful of loci, jointly with discrete male morphological characters coded in binary non-additive or multistate fashion. Notably, these analyses identify worker specimens belonging to the genera Noonilla and Yavnella, which were heretofore known only from males. Given such discoveries across the Leptanillinae, the number of valid leptanilline genera is reduced from seven to three in order to create a genus-level classification that upholds monophyly along with diagnostic utility."
Mack, who studies with medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, covered “Three Dimensional Analysis of Vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypi Using Synchrotron X-Ray MicroCT” in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Physiology.
Her abstract: "Traditional methods of viewing the internal anatomy of insects require some degree of tissue manipulation and/or destruction. Using synchrotron-based x-ray phase contrast microCT (pcMicroCT) avoids this issue and has the capability to produce high contrast, three dimensional images. Our lab is using this technique to study the morphological changes occurring in the mosquito Aedes aegypti during its reproductive cycle. Ae. aegypti is the primary global arbovirus vector, present on all continents except Antarctica. Their ability to spread these viruses is tightly linked with their ability to reproduce, as the production of eggs in this species is initiated by blood feeding. Amazingly, this species produces a full cohort of eggs (typically 50-100) in just 3 days' time following a blood meal. This rapid development represents dramatic shifts in physiological processes that result in massive volumetric changes to internal anatomy over time. To explore these changes thoroughly, a time course of microCT scans were completed over the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides a virtual representation of the volumetric, conformational, and positional changes occurring in tissues important for reproduction across the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides the field of vector biology with a detailed three-dimensional internal atlas of the processes of vitellogenesis in Ae. aegypti."
Abrams, who studies with Extension agricultural entomologist and assistant professor Ian Grettenberger (she is a member of the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group), titled her research, “Hitting the Mark: Precision Pesticide Applications for the Control of Aphids in California Lettuce" in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Integrated Pest Management.
Her abstract: "Commercial lettuce production in California's central coast represents 70 percent of the production in the United States. Recent discoveries of some chemistries in ground and surface water in the Salinas valley region have placed the insecticidal chemistries used by the industry at risk of increased regulation. Automated thinner-sprayers use plant-detection sensors to apply chemical sprays directly to individual lettuce plants, so that the same amount of product to plants as a standard broadcast sprayer while potentially reducing the amount of pesticide applied per acre by up to 90 percent. Field experiments testing this technology for the control of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and aphids, lettuce-currant aphid (Nasovonia ribisnigri) and others, were conducted to compare the efficacy of automated sprays to a conventional broadcast application system. Experiments were conducted in conventionally managed organic romaine lettuce fields using a complete randomized block design. Prior to and at regular intervals after treatment, heads were sampled from experimental and control plots to assess pest pressure. Results from this experiment validate the use of the automated sprayers to apply insecticides for the control of aphid and thrips pests in lettuce and will be discussed in the context of developing best-use-practices for this technology."
The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members, affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government, are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.
(See all of student competition winners on ESA site)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
This was Rutkowski's second consecutive President's Prize.
Doctoral candidate Lindsey Mack and doctoral student Adelaine “Addie” Abrams scored second-place for their research presentations in the highly competitive program.
Their topics ranged from bumble bees (Rutkowski) and ants (Griebenow) to mosquitoes (Mack) and thrips and aphids (Abrams).
At the Entomological Society of America (ESA) annual meetings, students are offered the opportunity to present their research and win prizes. They can compete in 10-minute papers (oral), posters, or infographics. The President's Prize winners receive a one-year paid membership in ESA, a $75 cash prize, and a certificate. Second-winners score a one-year free membership in ESA and a certificate.
Danielle Rutkowski
Danielle Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor, and distinguished professor Richard “Rick” Karban, spoke on “The Mechanism Behind Beneficial Effects of Bee-Associated Fungi on Bumble Bee Health,” at her presentation in the category, Graduate School Plant-Insect Ecosytems: Pollinators.
Her abstract: "Bees often interact with fungi, including at flowers and within bee nests. We have previously found that supplementing bumble bee colonies with these bee-associated fungi improves bee survival and increases reproductive output, but the mechanisms behind these effects are unclear. This research aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying positive impacts of fungal supplementation in the bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. We tested two hypotheses regarding possible nutritional benefits provided by bee-associated fungi. These included the role of fungi as a direct food source to bees, and the production of nutritionally important metabolites by fungi. To test these mechanisms, we created microcolonies bumble bees and exposed each microcolony to one of four treatment groups. These four treatments were created based on the presence of fungal cells and the presence of fungal metabolites. We found that bee survival and reproduction were unaffected by treatment, with trends of decreased survival and reproduction when fungi were present. This contradicts previous results we've found using this bumble bee species, where fungi had a positive impact. It is possible that this disparity in results is due to differences in pathogen pressure between the two experiments, as bees in the first experiment were exposed to large amounts of pathogen through provided pollen, including Ascosphaera and Aspergillus. This pollen was sterilized for subsequent experiments, reducing pathogen load. Therefore, it is possible that bee-associated fungi benefit bees through pathogen inhibition, and future work exploring this hypothesis is necessary to fully understand the role of these fungi in bumble bee health."
Zach Griebenow, who studies with major professor and ant specialist Phil Ward, (Griebenow also captained the UC Davis Entomology Games Team in its national championship win at the Entomology Games or Bug Bowl) explained “Systematic Revision of the Obscure Ant Subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Reciprocally Informed by Phylogenomic Inference and Morphological Data.” His category: Graduate School Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution 1.
His abstract: "Ants belonging to the subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are sister to nearly all other extant ants. Miniscule and subterranean, little is known of their behavior. Contrary to the collecting bias observed in most ants, male leptanilline specimens are acquired more easily than workers or queens. The sexes are almost never collected in association, and many subclades within the Leptanillinae are known from male specimens only. Our comprehension of evolutionary relationships among the Leptanillinae is further obstructed by oft-bizarre derivation in male phenotypes that are too disparate for phylogeny to be intuited from morphology alone. These restrictions plague our understanding of the Leptanillinae with probable taxonomic redundancy. My thesis aims at leptanilline taxonomy that reflects phylogeny, inferred from both genotype and phenotype, and integrates morphological data from both sexes. Here I present the results of (1) phylogenomic inference from ultra-conserved elements (UCEs), compensating for potential systematic biases in these data, representing 63 terminals; and (2) Bayesian total-evidence inferences from a handful of loci, jointly with discrete male morphological characters coded in binary non-additive or multistate fashion. Notably, these analyses identify worker specimens belonging to the genera Noonilla and Yavnella, which were heretofore known only from males. Given such discoveries across the Leptanillinae, the number of valid leptanilline genera is reduced from seven to three in order to create a genus-level classification that upholds monophyly along with diagnostic utility."
Mack, who studies with medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, covered “Three Dimensional Analysis of Vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypi Using Synchrotron X-Ray MicroCT” in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Physiology.
Her abstract: "Traditional methods of viewing the internal anatomy of insects require some degree of tissue manipulation and/or destruction. Using synchrotron-based x-ray phase contrast microCT (pcMicroCT) avoids this issue and has the capability to produce high contrast, three dimensional images. Our lab is using this technique to study the morphological changes occurring in the mosquito Aedes aegypti during its reproductive cycle. Ae. aegypti is the primary global arbovirus vector, present on all continents except Antarctica. Their ability to spread these viruses is tightly linked with their ability to reproduce, as the production of eggs in this species is initiated by blood feeding. Amazingly, this species produces a full cohort of eggs (typically 50-100) in just 3 days' time following a blood meal. This rapid development represents dramatic shifts in physiological processes that result in massive volumetric changes to internal anatomy over time. To explore these changes thoroughly, a time course of microCT scans were completed over the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides a virtual representation of the volumetric, conformational, and positional changes occurring in tissues important for reproduction across the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides the field of vector biology with a detailed three-dimensional internal atlas of the processes of vitellogenesis in Ae. aegypti."
Abrams, who studies with Extension agricultural entomologist and assistant professor Ian Grettenberger (she is a member of the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group), titled her research, “Hitting the Mark: Precision Pesticide Applications for the Control of Aphids in California Lettuce" in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Integrated Pest Management.
Her abstract: "Commercial lettuce production in California's central coast represents 70 percent of the production in the United States. Recent discoveries of some chemistries in ground and surface water in the Salinas valley region have placed the insecticidal chemistries used by the industry at risk of increased regulation. Automated thinner-sprayers use plant-detection sensors to apply chemical sprays directly to individual lettuce plants, so that the same amount of product to plants as a standard broadcast sprayer while potentially reducing the amount of pesticide applied per acre by up to 90 percent. Field experiments testing this technology for the control of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and aphids, lettuce-currant aphid (Nasovonia ribisnigri) and others, were conducted to compare the efficacy of automated sprays to a conventional broadcast application system. Experiments were conducted in conventionally managed organic romaine lettuce fields using a complete randomized block design. Prior to and at regular intervals after treatment, heads were sampled from experimental and control plots to assess pest pressure. Results from this experiment validate the use of the automated sprayers to apply insecticides for the control of aphid and thrips pests in lettuce and will be discussed in the context of developing best-use-practices for this technology."
The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members, affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government, are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.
(See all of student competition winners on ESA site)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Yes, according to UC Davis community ecologist and doctoral candidate Danielle Rutkowski and her colleagues in their newly published research in the Royal Entomological Society's Journal of Ecological Entomology.
The research, “Bee-Associated Fungi Mediate Effects of Fungicides on Bumble Bees,” provides direct evidence that fungi can benefit both survival and reproduction in two species of bumble bees, Bombus vosnesenskii, and B. impatiens. The research also suggests that yeast, commonly found in the gut of bumble bees, may be more important than originally thought.
“Bumble bees are important pollinators that face threats from multiple sources, including agrochemical application,” said Rutkowsi, the lead researcher-author. “Declining bumble bee populations have been linked to fungicide application, which could directly affect the fungi often found in the stored food and gastrointestinal (GI) tract of healthy bumble bees.”
“I tested if fungicides commonly applied in orchard systems affected yeasts and the health of their bee hosts, and if feeding those bees their fungi after fungicide exposure could rescue them,” said Rutkowski, who studies with major professors Rachel Vannette and Richard Karban, community ecologists in the Department of Entomology and Nematology.
“Bombus vosnesenskii (commonly known as the yellow-faced bumble bee), is native to California and we reared colonies of it from wild-caught queens,” Rutkowski said. “In this species, we observed strong negative effects of fungicide and the ability of bee-associated fungi to rescue bees from these negative effects. The other species, Bombus impatiens, is native to the eastern United States, but is commonly produced and sold commercially for pollination. In this species, we did not find any negative impacts of fungicide, but the addition of yeasts was very beneficial for bee survival and offspring production.”
“Although most previous work on bee microbiomes has focused on bacteria and their role in bee health, Danielle's work suggests that yeasts --which are commonly found in association with bumble bees--may be more important than previously thought,” Vannette said. “This has been hinted at in the literature but rarely tested directly.”
Rutkowski examined the interactive effects of the fungicide propiconazole and fungal supplementation on the survival, reproduction and microbiome composition of microcolonies (queenless colonies) using the two species.
Both B. vosnesenskii and B. impatiens benefitted from fungal addition but in different ways. fungicide exposure decreased survival in B. vosnesenskii, while fungal supplementation mitigated fungicide effects. For B. impatiens, fungicide application had no effect, but fungal supplementation improved survival and offspring production.
“Because the effect of fungicides on yeasts and bees takes a few weeks to observe, it is not detected in short term LD50 trials,” Vannette said, “and therefore could be an unrecognized threat to bumble bees and their symbionts.”
Other co-authors of the paper are entomologist Eliza Litsey and environmental scientist Isabelle Maalouf.
More research is planned to determine the mechanism by which yeasts can affect bee health, and which fungicides affect bee-associated yeasts.
“I'm currently working on a project to determine the mechanisms behind the positive effects of yeast addition that we observed,” Rutkowski said. “In some bees and other insects, fungi can produce nutritionally important compounds for their host, and I'm currently trying to determine if this is the case for bumble bees as well.”
“Additionally, I'm planning on following up some of the interesting results on differences between bumble bee species by determining how associated microbial communities differ between wild and commercially-reared bumble bees,” Rutkowski said. “In this current paper, we found that the fungal communities associated with the commercially-sourced bees were less diverse and less abundant, and I'm hoping to determine if that's a common pattern.”
Rutkowski, who joined the UC Davis doctoral program in 2018, won the President's Prize (first-place) in her category for her graduate student research presentations at the 2017 and 2021 Entomological Society of America meetings. A 2018 graduate of Cornell University, summa cum laude, she holds a bachelor of science degree in entomology and biological sciences, with a concentration in ecology and evolution.
Rutkowski's research drew support from her three-year USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Squirm, maggots, squirm!
If you look behind the scenes of the entomological activities at the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 23 at Briggs Hall, you'll see a Department of Entomology and Nematology doctoral candidate coordinating everything from Roach Races to Maggot Art.
“I'm really excited to get our events up and running again after two years," said Danielle Rutkowski, the UC Davis Graduate Student Association (EGSA) coordinator of the department's Picnic Day activities at Briggs Hall (with forensic entomologist and faculty member Robert Kimsey).
COVID-19 pandemic cancelled the in-person UC Davis Picnic Day in both 2020 and 2021, but not 2022, nor the renewed enthusiasm.
“Coordinating events has been challenging, mostly because I've only been to one in-person Picnic Day myself!" said Rutkowski, who enrolled in the doctoral program in 2018, and is advised by associate professor Rachel Vannette and UC Davis distinguished professor Richard Karban.
"But it's been fun to work with other graduate students and the entomology club to get our exhibits from previous years back together. This is the first Picnic Day for many students in the department, so I want to make sure it's a fun experience for volunteers as well as visitors.”
Entomological activities at Briggs Hall will include Bug Doctor and Doctor Death booths; displays featuring honey bees, ants, mosquitoes, integrated pest management, forest entomology, medical entomology and agricultural entomology; and EGSA's insect-themed t-shirt sales, as well as the crowd-pleasing Roach Races and Maggot Art. And more. (See schedule at Briggs and Bohart Museum of Entomology.)
“The Roach Races are a definite favorite of the public; they're really high energy and a lot of fun," Rutkowski said. "And the (American) roaches are from a colony that the entomology club cares for, so they can return home after a hard day of racing. Maggot Art is another popular event among visitors, and we order the maggots from a bait supplier.”
Rutkowski says there are plenty of events “that I haven't seen before, and I'm looking forward to being a part of them this year. We'll have a lot of displays set up in Briggs 122, which I'm excited to see. We'll be bringing back some previous displays on forest entomology and medical entomology, as well as some new displays on agricultural entomology and caterpillar biology.”
Her research is funded by a three-year USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) pre-doctoral fellowship of $180,000; it provides tuition stipends and research funding to study the impacts and mechanisms of fungicide and bee-associated fungi on bumble bee health. Her other grants or scholarships include a 2020 Academic Senate grant of $25,000 to research the effects of fungicide on the health and microbiome composition of bumble bees; three George H. Vansell Scholarships (2019, 2020 and 2021 totaling $8950) to study the effects of fungicide on the health and microbiome composition of bumble bees; and a 2018-2020 UC Davis Eugene Cota-Robles Fellowship of $95,200.
Danielle holds a bachelor of science degree from Cornell University in entomology and biological sciences, with a concentration in ecology and evolutionary biology. She graduated in May 2018 summa cum laude with distinction in research.
At Cornell, Rutkowski worked with Professor Richard Lindroth on multiple projects investigating how genotype and environmental conditions interact to affect the growth, defense, and insect community of aspen trees. She did independent research with Professor Jennifer Thaler, carrying out an independent honor's thesis research project on ecological interactions between insect herbivores, plants, and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Rutkowski also worked with Thaler on numerous other projects, studying interactions between potato plants, Colorado potato beetles, and their predators, as well as projects studying the interactions between arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi, tomato plants, and insect herbivores.
Active in the Entomological Society of America (ESA), Rutkowski presented her research at the annual meetings in 2017, 2018 and 2021, and received the President's Prize (first place) in both 2017 and 2021. Rutkowski has also served as a member of the UC Davis graduate student group, Equity in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, and Entrepreneurship (ESTEME), planning activities and lessons for middle school students in the Davis area.
But for now, Danielle Rutkowski is juggling (1) her research on bumble bees (2) her dedication to her academic studies and (3) her mentoring and student teaching with (4) her commitment to public service: coordinating the highly popular Roach Races, Maggot Art and other entomological activities at the UC Davis Picnic Day's campuswide open house.