- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
James R. Carey is used to dissent.
The entomology professor at the University of California, Davis, fervently believes that the Mediterranean fruit fly and light brown apple moth, two exotic and invasive pests, have long been established in California and cannot be eradicated.
Trying to eradicate them, he says, is like "throwing money down a rathole."
Check out the current (Jan. 8th) edition of Science Magazine and read the three-page NewsFocus piece headlined "From Medfly to Moth: Raising a Buzz of Dissent."
This is sure to garner a plethora of comments, concern and criticism. This is about as high-profile as it gets in the scientific community. And this is not the message that the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) is trying to get across. (See CDFA's Web site on the light brown apple moth).
Carey, a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, just completed a term as the chair of the UC Systemwide Academic Senate University Committee on Research Policy. He also directs a federally funded program on lifespan and aging; the program just received a $3.4 million grant renewal from the National Institute on Aging.
"James Carey is at it again," began writer Ingfei Chen of Santa Cruz. "In the early 1990s, as a scientific adviser in California's unpopular pesticide-spraying war against the Mediterranean fruit fly, the entomologist vocally charged that the state's program was fundamentally flawed. Bucking conventional wisdom, Carey claimed that the Medfly was already established, defying the eradication attempt."
Fast forward to February 2007 and the discovery in California (Bay Area) of a new invasive pest, the light brown apple moth, a native of Australia.
Aerial spraying of a pheromone resulted in a "red-hot-public ruckus, forcing the state to shift to a plan to release zillions of sterile moths...And once again, Carey has surfaced as a relentless voice of dissent," Chen wrote.
Carey insists it can't be eradicated, that it's here to stay and we ought to focus on pest management, not eradication.
What's next? Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the Department of Entomology wants to organize a spring conference "to reexamine the invasive species-policy paradigm from to bottom," Chen wrote.
"The goal," she wrote, "is an open dialogue with major stakeholders," including the U.S. Department of Agriculture and CDFA.
Carey told us today that Parrella plans to meet with him and a group of other entomologists next week to discuss the proposed workshop.
"It would be nice to think we could sit down and discuss things," Parrella told Chen in the Science Magazine article. "It's not us versus them."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Good news!
Entomologist Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and a member of the UC Davis Department of Plant Sciences faculty, has just received one of three Pest Management Alliance Grants awarded by the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) to reduce the use of pesticides over a three-year period.
This is good news for the environment, people and pollinators.
“These older compounds are of high regulatory concern because of their toxicity and detection in surface water,” Parrella said.
Bedding and container color plants are part of the environmental horticulture industry “that provides flowering plants for urban landscapes and for indoor and outdoor containers as decorations,” he said. “These plants are produced and purchased year-round for their aesthetics.”
“In California, production of these plants is rapid: an eight- to 10-week crop cycle is typical,” Parrella said. “Most growers make their profits from quick turnover of a large number of plants, which results in low tolerance for pest damage and a perception that generally slower biological control options are not appropriate. If not appropriately diagnosed and treated, many pests have the potential to remain with the plants when sold. One to three pesticide applications weekly during the entire crop cycle are not unusual.”
“What makes this project different is that the emphasis will be on teaching the growers how to pick the tools that will work best for them, rather than implanting a set IPM program,” said Casey, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis.
“Every bedding plant producer has a unique mix of plant species and production methods that make standardization impossible,” she said.
The project will include a collaborative, interdisciplinary team of experts to develop IPM strategies to manage pests with less-toxic pesticides and fewer applications. An IPM guide for bedding plants, a pocket guide for pest identification and a Web site will be developed to share the information. Parrella and Casey will be launching a Web site within several months.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You won’t want to miss the seminar on “Bee Problems and Colony Losses” on Wednesday, May 13 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis.
If you can’t make it in person, you can listen to it live via Webinar.
Guest lecturer Richard Fell of the Department of Entomology, Virginia Tech, will speak on "Bee Problems and Colony Losses - Are Things Really That Bad?" from 12:10 to 1 p.m.
His presentation, sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology, is hosted by entomology professor Michael Parrella, associate dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis
Fell's lecture is part of a series of noonhour seminars being held through June 3. They are Webcast in an innovative project spearheaded by professor James Carey, chair of the UC Systemwide Committee on Research Policy.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
One of the highlights of the Entomological Society of America's 56th annual meeting, held Nov. 16-19 in Reno, was the presentation of the Fellow awards.
This year two of the 10 recipients came from the University of California faculty--or more specifically, from UC Davis.
Entomology professor Michael Parrella, associate dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and professor Frank Zalom, an integrated pest manageament specialist, former director of the UC Integrated Pest Management Program (16 years), and a former vice chair of the Department of Entomology, received the honors.
Fellows are selected for their outstanding contributions in entomological research, teaching, extension or administration, said ESA spokesperson Richard Levine. Up to 10 entomologists from among the 6000-member organization are singled out for the annual award.
President Michael Gray presented the awards.
As Lynn Kimsey, chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, said: "These are highly prestigious awards, granted only to 10 or fewer entomologists every year. Michael Parrella and Frank Zalom are carrying on our department’s tradition of excellence and commitment." Eight other UC Davis entomologists have received the honor since 1947.
The Zalom and Parrella accomplishments are many. The agricultural community and the academic world are quite appreciative of their work.
This was a highlight not only of the ESA meeting, but of their outstanding careers.
A toast to professors Parrella and Zalom!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the Entomological Society of America's 56th annual meeting takes place Nov. 16-19 in Reno, UC Davis entomologists will be out in force.
And they'll be highly honored.
Entomology professors Michael Parrella and Frank Zalom will be inducted as Fellows, which means they are among the top insect scientists in the world. The 5700-member ESA, formed in 1889, is a non-profit organization that includes representatives from educational institutions, government, health agencies, and private industry.
As Lynn Kimsey, chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology said: “These are highly prestigious awards, granted only to 10 or fewer entomologists every year. Michael Parrella and Frank Zalom are carrying on our department’s tradition of excellence and commitment."
Eight other UC Davis entomologists have received the honor since 1947.Richard M. Bohart (1917-2007), for whom the Bohart Museum of Entomology is named, was the first UC Davis entomologist to be selected an ESA Fellow (1947). Seven others followed: Donald McLean, 1990; Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. (1907-2003), 1991; John Edman, 1994; Robert Washino, 1996; Bruce Eldridge, 2001; William Reisen, 2003 and Harry Kaya, 2007.
Parrella is the associate dean of the Division of Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Zalom is a former director of the UC Integrated Pest Management Program and the former vice chair of the department. Zalom also was nominated for ESA president recently by the ESA's Pacific Branch.
You can read about their many accomplishments here.
Both entomologists will be honored by their peers on Sunday night, Nov. 16 at the ESA's plenary session in the Reno-Sparks Convention Center.
Zalom also will be honored as part of the UC's seven-member Almond Pest Management Alliance IPM Team that will receive the Entomological Foundation’s 2008 Award for Excellence in IPM. Other members are Carolyn Pickel, UC Cooperative Extension, Sutter-Yuba counties; Walter Bentley, UC Kearney Agricultural Center, Parlier; UC Cooperative Extension farm advisors Mario Viveros, Kern County, Roger Duncan, Stanislaus County, and Joe Connell, Butte County; and scientist Barat Bisrabi, Dow AgroSciences. Both Pickel and Bentley are UC IPM advisors.
Another high honor at the same plenary session: UC Davis chemical ecologist Walter Leal will receive the ESA's coveted Recognition Award in Insect Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology for his innovative and creative research involving insect communication. His lab recently discovered the mode of action for the mosquito repellent, DEET.
Among other UC Davis folks to be honored during the conference:
Mosquito researcher Chris Barker, who received his doctorate earlier this year, is the winner of the John Henry Comstock Graduate Student Award from the Pacific Branch of the ESA.
Noted entomologists Maurine and Catherine Tauber, retired from Cornell and now affiliated with UC Davis, will be honored for their diverse entomological accomplishments at a special symposium. Lester E. Ehler, emeritus professor, will speak on their life's work. In addition, other faculty and graduate students will deliver presentations at the conference.
Congratulations to all! Very well deserved!
They are among the reasons why the Chronicle of Higher Education selected UC Davis the No. 1 entomology department in the country (November 2007).