- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Internationally known honey bee geneticist Robert E. Page, Jr. is spotlighted in the current issue of American Entomologist in Marlin E. Rice's popular Legends feature.
Titled "Robert E. Page, Jr.: The Spirit of the Bee," it's a great article chronicling his life, his love of bees, and his massive number of achievements. Rice captured it well.
Rob, a native of Bakersfield and now 74, received his doctorate in 1980 from UC Davis, studying with major professor
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you're struggling with triple-digit temperatures, think about the honey bees.
They need to collect water for their colony to cool the hive so their brood can develop. And for other purposes.
Just call them "The Water Girls."
Lately the bees have taken a liking to our birdbath. The birds? They're practicing social distancing.
We remember Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1946-2022) telling us "Like most other animals, the bodies of honey bees are mostly water. Thus, they need to drink water routinely as we do. Additionally, water (or sometimes nectar) is critical for diluting the gelatinous food secreted...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, recipient of a UC Davis Academic Senate's 2024 Faculty Distinguished Research Award, delivered his seminar at a recent luncheon in the UC Davis Conference Center, honey bees showed up, too.
In images, text, and analogies.
“Just like in a honey bee colony, it takes a team to win an award," he said, and graciously proceeded to thank all those who made it possible. Family, friends, students, postdoctoral fellows, colleagues, staff and more. Or, as he said "work performed by the cast of thousands deserve the distinguished research award."
Leal, former professor and chair of the...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
An unmarked queen bee isn't easy to spot.
That was the consensus at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house when attendees tried to locate the queen in the bee observation hive at a table staffed by UC Davis graduate student Richard Martinez of the Elina Lastro Niño lab, Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Martinez purposefully didn't mark the queen.
"Most kids thought the queen was going to be marked--common beekeeping practice--but mine wasn't, so they thought that was unfair," Martinez quipped. "Only one kid was able to find the queen. And it was toward the end of the...
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Despite the weather forecast of heavy rain and wind, honey bees will still be "attending" the California Honey Festival.
They'll be safe and dry in the bee observation hives.
The free and family friendly event, co-sponsored by the University of California, Davis, takes place from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, May 4, at the Yolo County Fairgrounds, 1250 East Gum Ave. Parking is free, a spokesperson said.
The festival traditionally takes place in downtown Woodland and draws a crowd of some 40,000.
The California Honey Festival emphasizes the importance of bees and promotes honey and bee products. It features educational presentations, kids'...