- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The joy of the season strikes a chord.
When bees slip out of their California hives during winter sun breaks, they often head over to mallow blossoms to grab some nectar and pollen. A favorite is the tree mallow, Lavatera maritima “bicolor," native to Mediterranean regions of the world and California. The genus derives its name from Swiss botanist J.R. Lavater, who first discovered the species in Spain. The drought-tolerant plants, which can reach 12 feet in height, are perfect for gardeners challenging the California drought!
It doesn't take long for honey bees to discover the towering blossoms. The bees buzz in and out, battling for position, jockeying for the precious pollen. Then, laden with "gold dust," they linger in flight to clean their tongues for another go-around.
Bees, we can't get enough of them! Is it spring yet?
Meanwhile, let's fast-forward to May 2017. Mark your calendars for Saturday, May 6 and Sunday, May 7. On May 6 is the inaugural California Honey Festival in Woodland, and on May 7, the fourth annual UC Davis Bee Symposium.
The California Honey Festival, co-sponsored by the Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, UC Davis, and the Woodland Hoteliers, is an all-day family festival that will take place on Main Street, Woodland.
“The California Honey Festival will be a great opportunity for guests to experience the full spectrum of honey flavor,” said Honey and Pollination Center director Harris, who is coordinating the festival's educational content. “Not all honey tastes the same! Like wine, varietals of honey flavors and aromas can be very distinct. We developed our Honey Flavor Wheel in 2015 to help teach people about the nuances of honey flavor.”
In addition to tasting honey, festival goers can learn about honey bees, their pollination services, and the health benefits of honey. They can sample specialty meads or “honey wine”; taste honey-inspired food and beverages, and purchase honey and bee-themed gifts. Other family friendly activities will include a bee-themed play structure for kids, cooking demonstrations featuring honey, and informational sessions on beekeeping basics and bee-friendly gardening. More information on the California Honey Festival, including sponsorships and vendor details, is available on the festival website, www.CaliforniaHoneyFestival.com
And the next day, Sunday, May 7, is the fourth annual Bee Symposium, co-sponsored by the Honey and Pollination Center and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. The day-long event will focus on bee health and best management practices. It will feature keynote speakers, panel discussions, a luncheon, and a graduate student poster contest, among other activities. It's a mingling of bee scientists and researchers, beekeepers and others interested in bee health. Details are pending.
Stay tuned!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The event, open to the public, is set from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, May 7 in the UC Davis Conference Center on Alumni Lane. It will be hosted by the Honey and Pollination Center of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Keynoting the symposium will be Yves Le Conte, director, French National Bee Lab, Avignon, France; and Dennis vanEngelsdorp, assistant professor of entomology at the University of Maryland and project director for the Bee Informed Partnership.
Among the highlights:
9 a.m. Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center, and Neal Williams, associate professor of the Department of Entomology and Nematology and the center's co-faculty director, will welcome the crowd and introduce the speakers.
9:15 a.m. Yves Le Conte will speak on "Honey Bees that Survive Varroa Mite in the World: What Can We Learn from the French Bees"
10:15: Rachel Vannette will discuss "How Microbial Communities in Floral Nectar Influence Pollinator Preference and Foraging"
11:15: Claire Kremen will cover "Rediversifying Intensive Agricultural Landscapes to Promote Native Pollinators."
1:30 p.m.: Dennis van Engelsdorp will speak on "Reducing Colony Losses: Does It Take a Village?"
2:15 p.m.: Lightning Round Talks: Six-minute presentations about many different programs in the world of beekeeping
3:30 p.m.: Brian Johnson will discuss "The Importance of Division of Labor for Understanding Colony Health."
4 p.m.: Quinn McFrederick will speak on "The Bee Microblome."
In addition, a graduate student poster display and competition will take place, with the winners announced at 4:30 p.m. First place is $1000; second, $750; third, $500, and fourth, $250. A closing reception follows at 4:45 in the Good Life Garden at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on Old Davis Road.
To register, access the Honey and Pollination Center website or for more information, contact Amina Harris at aharris@ucdavis.edu or (530) 754-9301.
Harris promises a rewarding and educational symposium. Comments from last year's symposium included:
- "As a new beehive owner I thought the information presented was fascinating and presented in a very efficient manner. I loved every aspect of the presentations!"
- "Nice to get science, there is a lot of fuzzy thinking out there."
- "Thank you for a well-organized, thoroughly engaging and thought-provoking day."
The UC Davis Conference Center is located across from the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's the second annual UC Davis Bee Symposium: Keeping Bees Healthy.
Keynote speakers are bee scientists Yves Le Conte, director of the French National Institute for Agricultural Research, Paris, and Dennis vanEnglesdorp, professor of entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park.
The daylong symposium, to take place in the UC Davis Conference Center, is set from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Open to the public, it is sponsored by the Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science and the Department of Entomology and Nematology.
Le Conte, known throughout Europe for his varroa mite research and the effects on honey bees, will speak on “Honey Bees That Survive Varroa Mite in the World: What We Can Learn from the French Bees.”
In addition to his groundbreaking work in Europe, Le Conte collaborated with bee scientist Gene Robinson at the University of Illinois to isolate the pheromone that helps regulate labor in the honey bee colony. Le Conte has also worked with Mark Winston, Marion Ellis and many others throughout the country. He is a member of the advisory board of the Bee Informed Partnership, which strives to help beekeepers keep healthy and stronger colonies.
VanEnglesdorp was one of several founders of the Bee Informed Partnership. “As I traveled across the country sampling bees to try to find out what was killing them, beekeepers everywhere said that what they needed was a way to find out what other beekeepers did and which of those things worked,” he said. “Along with a group of our country's most influential apiculturists, the Bee Informed Partnership took hold.”
“This is going to be a very exciting symposium,” said organizer Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute. “Not only are we bringing together two leading researchers for our keynote sessions, we will have presentations from several other ground breaking entomologists in the state: Claire Kremen, a MacArthur Foundation Fellow from UC Berkeley, Quinn McFrederick from the UC Riverside and Rachel Vannette and Brian Johnson from the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.”
In describing last year's inaugural Bee Health Symposium as “an overwhelming success,” Clare Hasler-Lewis, executive director of the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science, said: “With a focus on exploring best management practices that help sustain the bee population for the future, we believe the 2016 Symposium will have even greater impact!”
The day-long symposium will conclude with a reception in the Robert Mondavi Institute's Good Life Garden where appetizers, mead, cyser (mead made with apples), local honey beers and assorted other beverages will be served.
Other Program Highlights
Graduate Student Research Poster Competition: Graduate student entomologists from UC Davis and UC Berkeley will present their research during the lunchtime poster session.
Lightning Round: This year's lightning round will include information from California Extension apiculturist Elina Niño, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, on her development of California's first Master Beekeeping Certification Program. Five other researchers and beekeepers are scheduled to provide five-minute presentations.
Vendors and Educational Exhibits: Vendors and educational exhibits will line the corridors of the Conference Center with beekeeping equipment, honey tastings, bee T-shirts and other items. The UC Bookstore will offer bee and honey-related books.
UC Davis, recently ranked No. 1 nationally for its Department of Entomology and Nematology, continues to lead the way in agricultural innovation and sustainability, in part through its pollinator-related research and conferences, including the Bee Symposium. The symposium is made possible through a generous gift from the Springcreek Foundation.
Tickets are $80, which includes breakfast, lunch and the reception. Student tickets are $20 (with valid identification). To register for this event, access http://honey.ucdavis.edu/events/2016-bee-symposium. For more information, contact Amina Harris at aharris@ucdavis.edu or (530) 754-9301. Prospective vendors should contact Liz Luu at Luu@caes.ucdavis.edu.
The UC Davis Conference Center is located on Alumni Lane, across from the Robert and Margrit Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Margaret “Rei” Scampavia, a doctoral candidate who studies with major professors Neal Williams and Edwin Lewis of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, won first place for her research poster at the recent UC Davis Bee Symposium, held in the Robert Mondavi Center for Wine and Food Science.
Scampavia's poster, “Farming Practices Affect Nest Site Selection of Native Ground Nesting Bees,” won her the $1500 grand prize. The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation generously provided the funding.
Two other graduate students in the Neal Williams' lab won second and third place. Jennifer Van Wyk placed second for her poster on “Wet Meadow Restoration Buffers the Impact of Climate Change: Pollinator Resilience During the California Drought” and Leslie Saul-Gershenz, who also studies with professor Steve Nadler, placed third for her poster on “Native Bee Parasite Shows Multitrait, Host Specific Variation and Local Adaptation.” Van Wyk received a $1000 prize and Saul Gershenz, $500.
“Availability of foraging and nesting habitat potentially limits native bee range, which affects where pollinator services occur,” Scampavia wrote in her introduction. “Prior studies focus on how foraging habitat influences bee distribution, but few consider nesting limitations. Understanding how different soil properties affect native bee nest site preference can help predict where these nests will be found in agricultural landscapes, as well as whether particular farming practices could affect the health of nesting bees.”
Her objective: “to determine whether tillage, irrigation and application of pesticides impact nest site selection using a controlled choice assay.”
She examined the nests of bees in four genus categories: Lasioglossum, Halictus, Svastra and Melissodes.
Scampavia concluded “The two soil treatments that positively influenced nest initiation (tillage and irrigation) would be found in actively farmed areas, rather than fallow fields or field margins. If the presence of insecticide residues or tillage affects offspring survival, these results suggest that bees nesting in agricultural areas are faced with an ecological trap that could negatively affect development and overwintering survival. Providing strips of bare, tilled and irrigated soil in early spring in field margins or hedgerows could be one way to create attractive pesticide and late-season tillage-free shelters in which native bees could nest.”
Prior to coming to UC Davis, Scampavia worked for the U.S. Forest service as a biological technician, studying pollinator visitation to rare plants of the Mojave Desert. She also volunteered at Scripps College (Jupiter, Fla.) as a planner and coordinator for large education outreach events.
In addition to her PhD research, she participates in a variety of education outreach and conservation projects. She has presented lectures for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service as part of the Schoolyard Habitat Project; worked for the California Native Plant Society, documenting bee diversity in a threatened portion of Knowland Park in Oakland; and co-taught an undergraduate course focusing on current threats to pollinator populations and how to educate the general public to effect positive change.
Scampavia writes a bee blog, “Diadasia, The Lives of Other Bees,” at https://diadasia.wordpress.com/ that she launched in February 2012.
The Bee Symposium, sponsored by the Honey and Pollination Center and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, featured keynote speaker Marla Spivak, Distinguished McKnight Professor, University of Minnesota and a 2010 MacArthur Fellow, who discussed "Helping Bees Stand on Their Own Six Feet." The symposium drew 360 people.
Entomology doctoral candidate Matthew Prebus of the Phil Ward lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, video-recorded the presentations and uploaded them today.
They are all on YouTube.
Marla Spivak: Protecting Pollinators
Amy Toth: Combined Effects of Viruses and Nutritional Stress on Honey Bee Health
Elina Niño: Best Management Practices to Support Honey Bee Health
Neal Williams: Enhancing Forage for Bees
Jake Reisdorf: Getting into Beekeeping- Thoughts from a 12-year-old Beekeeper
Katharina Ullmann: Project Integrated Crop Pollination
John Miller: Keeping Bees Healthy with Forage
Benjamin Sallman: Bee Informed Partnership
Gretchen LeBuhn: The Giant Sunflower Project
Christine Casey: Introduction to the Häagen Dazs Honey Bee Haven
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The event, hosted May 9 in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science by the Honey and Pollination Center and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, drew some 360 people.
Entomology doctoral candidate Matthew Prebus of the Phil Ward lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, video-recorded the presentations and uploaded them today.
You can watch them on YouTube.
Amina Harris, director of the Honey and Pollination Center, and Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, welcomed the crowd.
Marla Spivak, Distinguished McKnight Professor, University of Minnesota and a 2010 MacArthur Fellow, keynoted the symposium, speaking on "Helping Bees Stand on Their Own Six Feet."
The presentations on YouTube:
Marla Spivak: Protecting Pollinators
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation generously provided funding.
Upcoming blog: Who won the student poster competition at the symposium and with what topics?
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