- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
In the sweltering heat of Solano County (100 degrees) during National Pollinator Month, how about an image of a sweat bee, genus Halictus, a tiny bee that's often overlooked in the world of pollinators.
It's a social bee that nests in the soil. "These nests consist of a complex of tunnels with individual brood chambers," according to California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday), the work of UC-affiliated scientists,
My camera caught this Halictus flying over Coreopsis in our Vacaville pollinator garden on June 5.
Camera: Nikon Z8 with a 50mm lens
Settings: Shutter speed, 1/4000 of a second; f-stop, 5; ISO 500.
UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, emeritus director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Bohart Museum scientist Sandy Shanks said the species appears to be Halictus ligatus.
Most Halictus species are generalist foragers, according to the Great Sunflower Project. "They use all sorts of genera of plants from the Asteraceae to Scrophulariaceae. They are very common on composites (daisy-like disc and ray flowers) in summer and fall."
We've seen them on everything from mustard to milkweeds to catmint to rock purslane, from spring to fall. They also appear regularly on the tower of jewels (Echium wildpretii).
Not to mention the Coreopsis.
/span>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
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 event. The queen was laying an egg when we found her."
The drones, the males, also drew avid interest.
"After I mentioned the hive has drones, what i referred to as 'the boys'--it helps kids understand their role in the hive--they were fascinated with finding the drones, which they did."
Most kids, however, confused drones for the queen, Martinez said.
Attendees, both adults and youth, delighted in trying on the beekeeper veils and suits, and examining the hive tools and other apiary equipment.
"A lot of the kids asked what bees do inside the hive," Martinez said. "So I went through my list of roles honey bees carry out. One family was super invested in the science behind honey bee research, particularly nutrition, which is what I study."
"It was a pretty fun event," he said.
The queen bee, the largest bee in the colony, has a long, narrow, pointed abdomen, and shorter wings than the worker bee. The worker has a rounded abdomen and wings that extend almost to the end of the abdomen. The drone, stout in body, has what some call "wrap around eyes."
The Bohart Museum open house, held May 19 not only featured honey bees (managed bees) but wild bees. (More images pending)
Martinez, a master's student, studies honey bee health, specializing in nutrition, in the lab of E. L. Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty.
Martinez recently helped staffed the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) t-shirt booth at Briggs Hall during the 110th annual UC Davis Picnic Day, where he and fellow graduate students wore "Bugbie" shirts. The t-shirt, designed by Marielle Hansel Friedman, a second-year doctoral student in the lab of urban landscape entomologist Emily Meineke, features a rosy maple moth, Dryocampa rubicunda. (EGSA offers a variety of t-shirts on its sales website at https://ucdavisentgrad.square.site/.)
The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis, houses a global collection of eight million insects, plus a live petting zoo, and a gift shop. Professor Jason Bond, 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, directs the museum. He also serves as president-elect of the American Arachnological Society.
The next open houses are set for
- Saturday, July 20: "Moth Night at the Museum," 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
- Saturday, Sept. 28: "Museum ABCs: Arthropods Bohart, and Collecting," 1 to 4:30 p.m.
All open houses are free and family friendly; parking is also free on weekends.
Summer public walk-in hours are on Tuesdays, June 17-Aug. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon, and from 1 to 4 p.m. The museum will be closed to the general public from Sept. 1-22.
For more information, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Those are some of the activities planned when the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house on managed bees and wild bees on Sunday, May 19.
The open house, free and family friendly, takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
It's perfect timing for "World Bee Day," observed annually on May 20.
At the Sunday open house, UC Davis graduate student Richard Martinez of the lab of apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, associate professor of Cooperative Extension, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will staff the honey bee booth.
Martinez, enrolled in the master's graduate studies entomology program, says that the E.L, Niño Lab booth will display an observation hive and offer honey tasting from a variety of floral sources. He will be sharing recent projects aimed at improving honey bee health via dietary supplements. He also plans to showcase beekeeping suits and hive tools.
Among others scheduled to participate (as of 4 p.m. today) are:
- the laboratory of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. She will participate with lab members doctoral candidate Lexie Martin, doctoral student Dino Sbardellati, and junior specialist Leta Landucci. "At the Vannette Lab booth, you will be able to look into the life of a bee--both in terms of where they live and how they develop!" said Martin. "A live bumble bee nest and solitary bee nests will be available, so you can peer inside a bee's house! Additionally, there will be live bee larvae to observe under a microscope and interactive displays on the bee life cycle."
- Bohart Museum bee scientists Thomas Zavortink and Sandy Shanks
- Doctoral student Sofía Meléndez Cartagena of the Stacey Combes lab, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior. She will focus on local bee diversity.
- Chancellor's Fellow Santiago Ramirez, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, who studies orchid bees
- Doctoral student Peter Coggan of the Ramirez lab. He studies the neurological and genetic basis of orchid bee courtship behavior and evolution.
The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insects, plus a live petting zoo, and a gift shop. Professor Jason Bond directs the museum as of Feb. 1, succeeding Kimsey, who served 34 years. 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.
For more information, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
/span>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Free and family friendly, the open house takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
"It should be a great event!” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “There is a lot of interest in bees this time of year. The format will be tabling with direct conversations with visitors.” The event is free and family friendly. Parking is also free.
Among those participating will be the laboratory of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
"At the Vannette Lab booth, you will be able to look into the life of a bee--both in terms of where they live and how they develop!" said doctoral candidate and researcher Lexie Martin. "A live bumble bee nest and solitary bee nests will be available, so you can peer inside a bee's house! Additionally, there will be live bee larvae to observe under a microscope and interactive displays on the bee life cycle."
Vannette describes her lab as "a team of entomologists, microbiologists, chemical ecologists, and community ecologists trying to understand how microbial communities affect plants and insects (sometimes other organisms too). We often study microbial communities in flowers, on insects or in soil. We rely on natural history observations, and use techniques from chemical ecology, microbial ecology and community ecology."
Vannette's lab members participating at the open house will include:
Lexie Martin, doctoral candidate in the Entomology Graduate Group. She is interested in the impact of microbes on bee health
Dino Sbardellati, doctoral student in the Microbiology Graduate Group. He is a microbiologist interested in understanding how microbial ecology shapes macroscale ecology
Leta Landucci, a junior specialist and biochemist. She is inspired by chemical ecology, and broadly interested in exploring chemically mediated plant-insect-microbe interactions
Others scheduled to participate are Bohart Museum scientists and bee specialists Thomas Zavortink and Sandy Shanks; doctoral student Sofía Meléndez Cartagena of the Stacey Combes lab, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior (she will focus on local bee diversity); Chancellor's Fellow Santiago Ramirez, associate professor, Department of Evolution and Ecology, who studies orchid bees; doctoral student Peter Coggan of the Ramirez lab (Coggan studies the neurological and genetic basis of orchid bee courtship behavior and evolution); and Richard Martinez, entomology graduate student researcher in the lab of apiculturist Elina Niño,associate professor of Cooperative Extension, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Martinez says that the E.L Niño Lab booth will display an observation hive and offer honey tasting from a variety of floral sources. He will be sharing recent projects aimed at improving honey bee health via dietary supplements. He also plans to showcase beekeeping suits and hive tools.
UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, who directed the Bohart Museum for 34 years, is also scheduled to participate. She is known as "wasp woman," but she did her dissertation on orchid bees in Panama.
The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of eight million insects, plus a live petting zoo, and a gift shop. Professor Jason Bond directs the museum as of Feb. 1, succeeding UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, who served 34 years. 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.
For more information, access the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
She's right at home with a "Oh, my drawers" of insect specimens, and the live critters in the petting zoo--the Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects, tarantulas and more...She's eager to communicate science and draw interest in insects.
On April 29, Tabatha Yang was at UC Davis Chancellor Gary May's residence to accept the Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award for Exceptional University Management and Exceptional University Impact with 11 other outstanding staff.
UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, the 34-year director of the Bohart until her retirement on Feb. 1, accompanied her.
Sandy Batchelor, Human Resources WorkLife manager and awards committee chair, earlier said that Yang embodies "the spirit of engagement, innovation, and inclusivity that defines the university. With 15 years of dedicated service at the Bohart Museum, Tabatha spearheads a variety of educational initiatives aimed at demystifying and highlighting insects, spiders, science, and higher education."
"Through open houses, classroom visits, fairs, festivals, and other outreach programs, she helps the museum connect with more than 10,000 people each year. Under her leadership, museum walk-ins, tours and tabling events provide opportunities for students, staff and faculty to engage in science communication, highlight research and connect with others."
Yang annually chairs the committee that hosts UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, a “Super Science Day” that showcases 10 to 12 museums or collections and highlights UC Davis' research, collections and biodiversity, drawing thousands to campus.
She is also the founder and director of Bio Boot Camps, an immersive experience that ignites passion and curiosity in teenagers from around the globe. These camps, held annually since 2011, except during COVID, offer a gateway to the wonders of ecology, scientific exploration, and campus life. Campers tour UC Davis and its museums and collections and embark on scientific explorations of the UC Davis Putah Creek Riparian Reserve, Quail Ridge Field Station, Bodega Marine Laboratory and Bodega Marine Reserve and UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station. With needs-based scholarships, Tabatha ensures inclusivity, making dreams a reality for aspiring young scientists.
Tabatha, a Cornell University alumna, shares her science educational background with her husband, community ecologist and professor Louie Yang, a Cornell alumnus who received his doctorate from UC Davis. He joined the UC Davis entomology faculty in 2009.
The list of recipients of the inaugural award:
Exceptional University Management
- Nichole Mahaffey, clinical trials data team supervisor and assistant director of PRMS, Comprehensive Cancer Center Office of Clinical Research
- Santana Diaz, executive chef, Food and Nutrition Services
- Morgan Luthi, director of curriculum and educational technology, Office of Medical Education
- Wendy Lilliedoll, director of investigations, Office of Compliance and Policy
- Shannon Tanguay, budget director, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences Dean's Office
- Jason Herum, diving safety officer, Bodega Marine Laboratory
Exceptional University Impact:
- Kelly Yurosky, pediatric bone marrow transplant coordinator, Pediatric Hematology and Oncology
- Abigail Borbe, senior clinical research coordinator, Pediatrics
- Leah Galasso, technical project manager, Clinical Informatics
- Bill Tuck, fiscal officer, Physics and Astronomy
- Elizabeth Sturdy, director of mentoring and Academic Success Initiatives, Graduate Studies
- Tabatha Yang, Bohart Museum education and outreach coordinator, Department of Entomology and Nematology
Meanwhile, Yang is busily planning, scheduling and organizing more outreach activities.
Next Open House. The next Bohart Museum open house is from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, May 19. The theme: "Bees, Both Wild and Managed." It will feature the research of university professors (more information pending). All open houses are free and family friendly.
The Bohart Museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455Crocker Lane. Professor Jason Bond succeeded Kimsey on Feb. 1 as the Bohart Museum director. He 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.