- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a celebration of (1) the accomplishments of the faculty entering a new chapter in their lives (2) the extraordinary retirement years of the late Robbin Thorp of the Department of Entomology and Nematology; and a congratulatory message by Chancellor Gary May.
The video is online at
https://youtu.be/s6fxdg2XZPA?si=u0SG1UvUG34zQxmV.
"Summer is nearly over, and the fall quarter begins soon," said Leal, professor of biochemistry in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology). "Let's pause and express our gratitude to our colleagues who transitioned to emeriti status this summer."
"For decades, they strived to make UC Davis a better place, and many will remain engaged with research, teaching, and public service," he noted.
Leal said the late Distinguished Emeritus Professor Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) epitomizes how emeriti contribute to UC Davis. Thorp, a 30-year member of the entomology faculty, and a tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, retired in 1994, but he continued working until several weeks before his death on June 7, 2019, at age 85. In 2014, he co-authored two books: Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University,) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday). He published more than 50 percent of his papers following his retirement.
- UC Davis offered COVID tests within three weeks of our nation's first known patient with community-acquired COVID-19.
- Their research led to the development of better ceramic and glass materials;
- They helped improve military retention;
- They developed innovative techniques for shoulder and wrist reconstruction;
- They generated one of the world's largest and longest-running systems for monitoring butterfly faunas;
- They led plans for the UC Davis National Cancer Institute to be designated a Comprehensive Cancer Center;
- They are film historians who authored books such as Paris in the Dark: Going to the Movies in the City of Light, 1930-1950;
- They helped create the world's first total-body PET scanner;
- They brought a global perspective to the table to create innovative and pragmatic approaches to sustainability;
- Their research showed how music and dance articulate ethnic, gender, regional, and national identities;
- They helped us, and more importantly, lawmakers, understand how the toxic action of pesticides may affect aquatic systems and organisms;
- Their research shed light on the psychological development of young children;
- They unraveled molecular processes leading to arthritis;
- They showed how management controls facilitate strategic alliances and supply chain partnerships;
- They integrated methods from traditional engineering, operation research, and economics to solve water and environmental management problems;
- They provided comprehensive psychiatric services to ethnic and sexual minorities, including refugees and immigrants;
- They colleagues created new approaches for using plants for the production of recombinant proteins with various applications, including medicine;
- They elucidated how natural products influence the function of ion channels in the nervous system;
- They provided emergency medical care and taught nursing, air medical, EMS, and disaster medicine courses;
- They designed programs for teachers to investigate their teaching skills and students' learning;
- They investigated how plants edit and repair DNA;
- They advanced our understanding of infectious diseases and aging in nonhuman primates; and
- Their research led to improvements in bean cultivars in California, the United States, Latin America and Africa;
The video tribute includes images of many of the emeriti, meant as a small representation of the achievements of all.
In his message, Chancellor May told the new emeriti: "You played a central role in keeping UC Davis at the forefront of excellence. Your continued engagement through teaching, research, volunteering and philanthropy is vital to our continued growth and success. So I encourage you to stay engaged with campus. The UC Davis Emeriti Association is here with resources and support for this newest chapter of your career. Please take advantage of it. Thank you for our dedication to UC Davis and congratulations on reaching this milestone."
Among its many activities, UC Davis Emeriti Association (UCDEA) interviews and records emeriti who have made "significant contributions to the development of the university." See Video Records Project.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Then you may want to create Maggot Art, a hands-on activity offered by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology during the 109th annual UC Davis Picnic Day celebration on Saturday, April 15.
Just call it "Me and My Maggot."
Maggot Art will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Briggs Hall courtyard. You dip a maggot into water-based, non-toxic paint (your choice of colors), watch it crawl on a piece of white paper, and voila! Maggot Art! It's suitable for framing--or at least a spot on your refrigerator door.
Like all Picnic Day activities, it's free and open to the public. Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, and doctoral student Grace Horne, a fellow of the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP) and a member of the lab of urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, are coordinating the entomological activities.
Maggot Art has been a traditional part of the UC Davis Picnic Day since the early 2000s.
Rebecca O'Flaherty, a former graduate student of Bob Kimsey's, coined the educational teaching curriculum, "Maggot Art," back in 2001 when she was studying at the University of Hawaii. She was rearing blowflies for her forensic research and wanted an activity to draw the interest of elementary school students. She also wanted to generate interest and respect for forensic entomology.
And the maggots at UC Davis Picnic Day? "The maggots are Calliphora vacinia, the blue bottle fly," Kimsey said. "Realize that there are likely close to 100 species that can be called blue bottle flies. This particular one is very large as an adult and has huge larvae that are perfect for Maggot Art."
"Although at certain times of the year, it is active in California, particularly around cities, it is not as common as others and I do not have a colony," he added. "There has been a lot of very famous research in entomology done on this species, particularly at University of Massachusetts and Harvard under Vincent Dethier, whose research has provided profound insights into human biology."
The maggots are on order from Knutson's Sporting Goods, an Internet purveyor based in Brooklyn, Mich., which sells them as live fish bait and as research tools. "Maggots are one of the most popular bait used by ice fisherman in the United States," the company says on its website.
The Department of Entomology and Nematology's "bug" exhibits will be at two sites:
- Briggs Hall, home of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, Kleiber Hall Drive, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and
- Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The theme is "Bugs, Boom, Bang!" The insect museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, a live "petting zoo" (including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas).
The line-up of entomological events at Briggs Hall includes:
Cockroach Races
Briggs Hall entrance
11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Cheer the roaches (American cockroaches) as they race in a specially made race track, encouraged by an air pump.
Bug Doctor
Briggs Hall Entryway
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Meet an entomologist and talk about insects! Bring an insect to identify.
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will display and discuss his work.
Entomology at UC Davis
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Displays of insects, including bees, ants and more
Graduate students, faculty and emeriti will staff the tables
Scavenger Hunt
Room 122 of Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
There will be several drawers of insects that people can look through to see if they can spot the insects on the check list
Fly-tying
Briggs Hall courtyard
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Fly Fishers of Davis will show you how to tie a fly.
Insect-Themed T-shirt Sales
Briggs hall entryway
9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Members of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) will be selling popular insect-themed t-shirts, including "The Beetles"
Mosquito Control
Briggs Hall entrance
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will be providing information on mosquitoes and how to protect yourself
Other Creepy Crawlies
122 Briggs Hall
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
UC Davis doctoral candidate Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab and others will display live arachnids, myriapods, tarantulas, scorpions, millipedes and more
UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM)
Briggs Hall Courtyard
9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Learn about pests and how to control them from UC IPM scientists. The staff will be giving away lady beetles, aka ladybugs.
The UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center, headed by director Amina Harris and affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will host a honey tasting from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the courtyard of Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, 392 Old Davis Road. "Come taste and learn about UC Davis honey and honey varietals from North America," she said. "Honey available for purchase."
The UC Davis Picnic Day, a campuswide open house, is billed as "one of UC Davis' most revered traditions and serves as the university's annual open house for prospective and current students, families, alumni, staff, faculty and the greater Davis and regional communities."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Would you like to be an egg, a larva, a pupa or a fly?
That was the question that awaited entomology enthusiasts who descended on Briggs Hall during the 108th annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 23.
It was a cardboard cutout...well, actually a wood cutout--that drew them to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology display.
Jordan King, a UC Davis student majoring in mechanical engineering, and Noel Bresson, an art and history major, stepped right up. Jordan became a larva, and Noel, a fly.
Everyone around smiled.
It's good to be a fly and a larva.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
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.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Countdown 'til UC Davis Picnic Day...
UC Davis will welcome thousands of visitors Saturday, April 16 to its 102nd annual Picnic Day, themed "Cultivating Our Authenticity." You can access the schedule of events here.
It promises to be educational, informative and entertaining.
In the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, graduate students are organizing numerous displays and activities in Briggs Hall on Kleiber Hall Drive. Director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology, and her crew are working on the displays in the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane.
Three of the traditional exhibits coordinated by the department are nominees for special awards. They are:
- "Little Swimmers and Fly Tying” (Briggs Hall), nominated in the category, "Hidden Treasures"
- "Medical Entomology” (Briggs Hall), listed in the category, "Academic Exhibits" and
- "Real Insects and Mimics" (Bohart Museum of Entomology), "Family Friendly" Exhibit.
An online voting poll, available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, will determine the winners. Visitors may vote at https://orgsync.com/51524/forms/194037. Winning exhibits will be featured on social media pages such as the Picnic Day website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts after Picnic Day. They also will be featured next year, in preparation for Picnic Day 2017.
The Briggs Hall open house will be from 9:30 to 4 p.m., and the Bohart Museum open house from 10 to 3 p.m.
Briggs Hall will be the site of a pollination pavilion, maggot art, cockroach races, fly-tying, face-painting, honey tasting, and a bee observation hive, and displays about ants, mosquitoes, aquatic insects and forest insects. The Bug Doctor booth ("The Doctor Is in") will be staffed by faculty and graduate students, while UC Davis forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, aka "The Fly Man of Alcatraz," and entomology graduate Danielle Wishon will staff the Dr. Death table.
Honey tasting? Visitors can taste these varieties: Peppertree, eucalyptus, almond, sage, sweet clover, and pine "honey," according to Extension apiculturist Elina Niño of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
Also at Briggs Hall, the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) will give away lady beetles, aka ladybugs, to kids to take home to their gardens. UC IPM also will provide advice on how to manage home and garden pests with environmentally sound methods.
The Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) will be selling its popular insect-themed t-shirts.
At the Bohart Museum, the focus will be on "real insects as mimics." You'll see flies that look like bees--and bees that look like flies. In addition, you can hold and photograph the critters in the live "petting zoo," including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, and rose-haired tarantulas. The gift shop, featuring t-shirts, books, posters, insect collecting equipment, will be open.
Meanwhile, here's a look at some of "The Girls" you'll see: lady beetles (commonly known as ladybugs), Painted Lady butterflies, honey bees, all at Briggs Hall, and a rose-haired tarantula named "Peaches" at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.