- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Assistant professor Laura "Melissa" Guzman of the University of Southern California (USC) will discuss "Using Occupancy Models to Infer Trends of Bee Biodiversity in North America" at the April 29th seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Her seminar begins at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall and also will be on Zoom. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/9 5882849672
"Historical museum records provide potentially useful data for identifying drivers of temporal trends in species occupancy, however, because these records were not explicitly collected for this purpose, methodological developments are needed in order to enable robust inferences," Guzman writes in her abstract. "Occupancy-detection models, a relatively new and powerful suite of methods, are potentially useful here, because these models allow us to account for changes in collection effort through space and time. Applying such occupancy-detection models to historical museum records is not a straightforward process, as these models have strict data requirements that museum data usually do not meet."
"Here I will present a methodological road-map for using occupancy models to analyze historical museum records. I use simulated data-sets to identify how and when modeling decisions and patterns in data can bias inferences. I will focus primarily on the consequences of contrasting methodological approaches for dealing with species ranges and non-detections in both space and time. Finally, I will present an application of these methods to bees in North America and will present drivers of change for these species in the past 30 years."
Guzman says that the "overarching goal of my research is to develop statistical and computational methods to leverage large biodiversity datasets to learn about ecological processes. While we know that the distribution of some species is changing, it is actually very difficult to make reliable inferences as to which species are declining and by how much from the often messy and complex historical and spatial datasets that we have to work with — for example, historical museum records, where species occurrences are aggregated from studies with different sampling procedures."
"In order to address this gap," Guzman says, "my research focuses on determining if and how statistical models can be applied to historical records without yielding biased trends. In my research I also apply these statistical models to determine how the distribution of pollinators has changed through time, where museum records provide lots of information. I am also interested in determining which drivers (e.g. pesticide use, climate change, land use change, etc.) are causing the most decline of the most pollinator species."
"Another aspect of my research is to understand the processes that shape communities, for example, I have combined experiments and modelling to understand how the structure of body size in a community affects the stability of food webs. In more recent work, I used large-scale simulations and machine learning to identify the signal of metacommunity processes in ecological time series."
Guzman is a Gabilan assistant professor in USC's Department of Biological Sciences. She received two degrees from McGlll University: her bachelor's degree (2012) in biology and her master's degree (2013) in ecology and evolution. She obtained her Ph.D. at the University of British Columbia.
She recently co-authored a piece in the journal Ecology titled "A Data Set for Pollinator Diversity and their Interactions with Plants in the Pacific Northwest," published in November 2022.
The abstract:
"Pollinator populations have declined substantially in recent years. The resulting loss in pollination services has both ecological and economic consequences, including reductions in plant diversity and crop production and lower food security. Data sets that identify pollinators and their plant hosts are of the utmost importance for the light can shed on the main causes of pollinator declines. Here we present a data set that contains 67,954 individual pollinator records. The data were collected across the Pacific Northwest, primarily focused in British Columbia (Canada), with 182 individual sites over 11 years, between 2005 and 2017. This data set comprises multiple studies that aimed to collect information on pollinator abundance, diversity, and their interactions with plants. Overall, the data set includes 937 morphospecies (of which 482 were identified to the species level) of pollinators across 105 families, including data for bees, wasps, butterflies, moths, and flies. We also present information on the interactions of these species, with 473 species of plants. The data set is being released for noncommercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation)."
Guzman won the American Society of Naturalists Young Investigator Award, 2022-2023, and the Canadian Society of Ecology and Evolution Early Career Award, 2022-2023.
For any technical Zoom issues, contact seminar coordinator Brian Johnson at brnjohnson@ucdavis.edu. The full list of spring seminars is here.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
An image of a damselfly photographed in Hawaii, and images of a blowfly and a monarch photographed in California won the Photo Salon recently hosted by the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA)
Photo Salon coordinator Joshua Milnes, an entomologist with the Plant Protection Division, Washington State Department of Agriculture, Yakima, announced the winners as:
- First, Robert Peck, entomologist with the University of Hawaii, for his image of a damselfly
- Second, Alexander Nguyen, a UC Davis entomology alumnus, for his image of a blowfly
- Third, Kathy Keatley Garvey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, for her image of a monarch.
PBESA showcased the images at its annual meeting, held April 14-17, in Waikoloa Beach, Hawaii. The photo competition, themed “Pineapple Madness,” was open to all PBESA members. Membership covers 11 Western states, plus U.S. territories and parts of Canada and Mexico.
Winning entrants in this year's competition "not only received bragging rights," Milnes said, but also cash prizes. The first-place winner received $50, plus a printed photo; second place, $25, plus a printed photo, and third place, $25.
Robert Peck
“The damselfly in my photo is Megalagrion calliphya, with the common name, Beautiful Hawaiian Damselfly," said Peck, an entomologist with the Hawaii Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawaii, Hilo. “It can be found around standing pools of water in Hawaiian forests.” Peck captured the image in his backyard in Volcano, Hawaii. This was his first submission in the Photo Salon competition. His camera gear: a Canon EOS 7D Mark II with a Tokina 90 macro lens.
Alexander Nguyen
“I took this image (of a blowfly) while visiting my good friend, and fellow UC Davis entomology alumnus Joel Hernandez, in Woodland," Nguyen said. "I'm a long time user of Canon cameras and have no plans to switch. This was photographed using the newer R5 mirrorless model. I currently reside in Sonoma County serving that region in the Agricultural Commissioner's office.” This was his third win in an ESA-hosted competition. Nguyen's image of a hoverfly, photographed in the UC Davis Stebbens Cold Canyon Reserve, won an international competition and appeared in the ESA 2018 Insects of the World calendar. (See Bug Squad blog) In 2022, his photo of red imported fire ants placed second in the PBESA Photo Salon.
Kathy Keatley Garvey
Garvey, a communications specialist with the Department of Entomology and Nematology, captured her image of a monarch foraging on milkweed in a Vacaville garden. Her camera gear: a Nikon D500 with a 200mm macro lens. She earlier won several awards in ESA-hosted competitions. Her image of a golden dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria, won the Entomological Society of America (ESA) medal for "Best Image by an ESA Member" in the 64th annual International Insect Salon competition, held in 2022. Her image of two Melissodes agilis bees buzzing over a sunflower, Tithonia rotundifola, won "Best Image by an ESA member" at the 63rd North Central Insect Photographic Salon, co-sponsored by the North Central Branch of ESA and the Photographic Society of America. Two other Garvey images also won acceptances in the North Central competition.
Entries are now being accepted through May 12 for the 2025 ESA World of Insects Calendar. "Photographers of all backgrounds, areas of expertise, career stage, and geographical location are invited to submit photos," according to the ESA website. "No entomological training or expertise is required, and you do not need to be an ESA member to enter." Submitted images may also be considered for ESA's weekly "Arthropod Photo of the Week" feature on social media, via the #arthropodPOTW hashtag on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Mastodon.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
There is no "Planet B."
The Earth is all we have.
Today, April 22, is Earth Day (an annual event launched April 22, 1970) and what a perfect occasion to celebrate a native bee and a native wildflower.
Bombus vosnesenskii,aka the yellow-faced bumble bee, meet the California golden poppy, Eschscholzia californica, the California state flower. (The California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, is the state insect, but shouldn't B. vosnesenskii rank as a runner-up?)
Why do we celebrate Earth Day? "To demonstrate support for environmental protection," according to Wikipedia. "In 1969 at a UNESCO Conference in San Francisco, peace activist John McConnell proposed a day to honor the Earth and the concept of peace, to first be observed on March 21, 1970, the first day of spring in the northern hemisphere."
The late Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) distinguished emeritus professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, always encouraged us to look for, photograph and celebrate bumble bees. A tireless advocate of pollinator species protection and conservation, Thorp was known for his expertise, dedication and passion in protecting native pollinators, especially bumble bees, and for his teaching, research and public service. In his retirement, he co-authored two books Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014).
Seen any bumble bees lately? Connect with the California Bumble Bee Atlas. It's a project coordinated by the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation. As its website says: It's a "collaborative community science effort to track and conserve the state's native bumble bee species.? ?This year's field work starts March 15, 2024!" Grants from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration, the Bureau of Land Management, and other agencies support the project.
Happy E. Day...and Happy B. Day!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Don't head over to the Bohart Museum of Entomology in the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane on Saturday, April 20 during the 110th annual UC Davis Picnic Day.
Why?
It will be closed.
The Bohart Museum, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT), will be staffing a pop-up tent from noon to 4 p.m. in front of Briggs Hall, home of the department.
That means all the "bug" displays at the 2024 UC Picnic Day will be at one place: Briggs Hall. The Bohart has provided a QR code and the location:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DLBmhLuEnP1rWjn67.
Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator, says the Bohart Museum is planning four areas of interest:
- The "Oh, my drawers," (California arachnids and wing diversity showcasing cicadas and California dogface butterflies.
- Petting zoo of live insects (thorny sticks), which attendees can hold and photograph. Also shown will be a cicada nymph (from retired Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon) and horntail caterpillars from UC Davis biology lab manager and UC Davis alumna Ivana Li.
- A Bohart poster giveaway--California dogface butterflies.
- A dogface butterfly face banner where attendees can pose for photos
The California dogface butterfly, Zerene eurydice, is California's state insect, as authorized by the State Legislature in 1972. The butterfly is found only in California, from the foothills of the Sierra Nevada to the Coast Ranges and from Sonoma south to San Diego. Its most prevalent habitat is in Auburn at the Placer Land Trust's private conservation site (which the public can see through specially guided tours). Why is it there? Because its larval host plant, false indigo (Amorpha californica) thrives there.
The male, which sports a yellow silhouette of a dog's head on its wings, is known as "the flying pansy." The female is mostly solid yellow except for a single black spot on its upper wings.
Kareofelas serves as a docent or volunteer tour guide for the Placer Land Trust's dogface butterfly site. He has reared--and photographed--a dogface butterfly from egg to adult. And he's also grown false indigo.
The posters to be given away Saturday--until gone--are the work of Kareofelas and Keller and depict the male and female butterfly.
Theme of the Bohart Museum's Picnic Day display is "Bonding with the Bohart," in reference to Professor Jason Bond, who succeeded UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey as director on Feb. 1. Kimsey served 34 years as the director. Although officially retired from the university, she continues to serve as a researcher, and as the executive director of the Bohart Museum Society and editor of the newsletter. Bond is the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and the associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He also serves as president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.
In addition to the Bohart Museum displays, the entomological events at Briggs Hall will include:
Bug Doctor
Briggs Hall Entryway
Graduate students will answer questions about insects. What's that bug? Attendees are encouraged to bring an insect or photo for identification.
Cockroach Races
Front of Briggs Hall
American cockroaches, Periplaneta americana, from Bob Kimsey's forensic lab, race on a specially made track, while roach fans cheer for their favorites. (Sometimes the athletes are named for faculty, friends or bystanders.
Medical Entomology
122 Briggs Hall
Carla-Cristina "CC" Melo Edwards of the Geoffrey Attardo lab is coordinating the medical entomology display. Her research focuses on investigating the physiological mechanisms underlying pyrethroid resistance in Aedes aegypti (the yellow fever mosquito).
Diversity of Arachnids
122 Briggs Hall
Doctoral student Emma Jochim of the Jason Bond lab is coordinating an exhibit she created last year to display the diversity of arachnids, such as vinegaroons, whip spiders, tarantulas, and scorpions. "We'll have live animals and fact sheets that will give a general overview of their diversity, behavior, and habitat," Jochim said. "I'll also bring some curated specimens to show what goes into creating a scientific collection and talk about why collections are important for understanding biodiversity. "
Maggot Art
Briggs Courtyard
Artists--children and adults alike--create maggot art by dipping a live maggot into water-based, non-toxic paint. It's suitable for framing (or at least a spot on the refrigerator door). This activity will close at 3.
Dr. Death
122 Briggs Hall
Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey will display and discuss his work.
Entomology at UC Davis
122 Briggs Hall
Displays of insects, including bees, ants and more. Graduate students, faculty and emeriti will staff the tables.
Fly-Tying
Briggs Hall courtyard
Fly Fishers of Davis will show attendees how to tie a fly. The recipients take home the flies.
Insect-Themed T-Shirt Sales
Briggs Hall entryway
Members of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA), led by president Mia Lippey, will be selling their popular insect-themed t-shirts, including The Beetles.
Mosquito Control Booth
Entrance to Briggs (below front steps)
Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will be providing information on mosquitoes, answering questions, and offering give-a-ways.
UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM)
Briggs Hall Courtyard
“We plan to have many of our usual materials on display and will be giving out the live lady beetles (aka ladybugs) again,” said urban and community IPM educator Lauren Fordyce. “We purchase them from a local garden center. In addition to that, we plan to have a prize wheel that adults and kids can spin, answer a question, and win a prize if they answer correctly. We may also have temporary insect tattoos to give away.”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will not only celebrate insect and nematode diversity at Briggs Hall during the 110th annual UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 20, but also "The Diversity of Arachnids."
Doctoral student Emma "Em" Jochim of the Jason Bond lab is coordinating an exhibit she created last year to display the diversity of arachnids, such as vinegaroons, whip spiders, tarantulas, and scorpions.
"We'll have live animals and fact sheets that will give a general overview of their diversity, behavior, and habitat," Jochim points out. "I'll also bring some curated specimens to show what goes into creating a scientific collection and talk about why collections are important for understanding biodiversity."
Emma holds a bachelor's degree in biology, with a minor in geology and chemistry, from Millsaps College, Jackson, Miss., where she graduated summa cum laude. Her honors thesis: "Species Delimitation of Vaejovis Scorpions from the Santa Catalina Mountains Using Genetic, Morphological, and Geographical Data." While a student at Millsaps College, her outreach activities including sharing her knowledge of tarantulas, scorpions and vinegaroons at the Mississippi Museum of Natural Science.
At UC Davis, her advisor is Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology; the director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology; and associate dean, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. He's also the president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.
What can you see at Briggs Hall during UC Davis Picnic Day? Cockroach races, maggot art, walking sticks, flies, ants, bees, nematodes, beetles, butterflies, mosquitoes and more. The UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association will be selling insect-themed T-shirts. (See news story)
Most Briggs Hall events are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., announced the co-chairs, doctoral student Grace Horne and forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey. This year the Bohart Museum of Entomology, part of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, will staff a pop-up tent in front of Briggs from noon to 4 p.m. The theme: "Bonding with the Bohart." Visitors can hold walking sticks and Madagascar hissing cockroaches from the Bohart's live petting zoo, and see insect specimens, including butterflies, bees, beetles and dragonflies. (The Academic Surge Building, home of the Bohart Museum, will be closed on Picnic Day).
