You won't want to miss this Bohart Museum of Entomology open house!

Themed "Grasshoppers, Crickets and Katydids," the open house will take place from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 3 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus. It's free and family friendly. Parking is also free.

UC Davis third-year entomology major Solea “Sol” Wantz, who triples as a curator intern at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, a student researcher in the lab of pollination ecologist and professor Neal Williams, and as president of the UC Davis Entomology Club, will discuss “Grasshoppers, Crickets and Katydids."

She'll deliver her presentation at 1 p.m., and questions and answers will follow. The venue: a classroom of the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, located next to the Bohart Museum. 

“I'll be giving a overview of all of the major and most interesting--in my opinion--families of Orthoptera," she said. The order includes some 20,000 species worldwide.

A few factoids she related:

• The katydid genus Supersonus produces the highest frequency sound of any known animal, up to 150 kHz! For reference, humans can only hear between 0 and 20 kHz. 
• The family Myrmecophilidae, the “ant-loving crickets” are tiny, wingless crickets that live only in ant nests. “We even have these here in Davis, but they're hard to find unless you're digging through ant colonies,” Wantz says.
• Jerusalem crickets, also known as "potato bugs," have a unique method of sound production. "Rather than using their wings (they are actually wingless, she says) or another sound-producing organ, these crickets thump their abdomen against the ground to produce a surprisingly loud noise. Their thumping patterns can be used to identify their species."

And did you know that grasshoppers spit or produce what some folks call “tobacco juice?

“It's actually a grasshopper defense mechanism!” Wantz says. “When under stress--usually when they are grabbed, especially around the thorax-- grasshoppers vomit a foul-smelling/tasting liquid to ward off whatever predator is attacking them.”

Orthoptera (in ancient Greece, “ortho” means "straight,” and “optera” means "wings") is an order that includes grasshoppers, crickets, locusts and katydids. Grasshopper belong to the suborder Caelifera, and crickets and katydids to Ensifera.

Wantz, who decided at age 6 that she wanted to become an entomologist, is currently re-curating and reorganizing the Bohart's collection of several thousand specimens of Orthoptera.

"After finishing my undergraduate degree at UC Davis, I aim to enter a graduate program, potentially to explore my newfound interest in systematics. Ultimately, I hope to become a professor of entomology and lead my own research lab. This appeals to me because it presents the opportunity to weave together my knowledge of wild bee ecology and conservation, love of Orthoptera and museum work, and emphasis on professional outreach and public engagement."

The Bohart Museum, directed by Professor Jason Bond, houses a global collection of eight million insect specimens, plus a live petting zoo (Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects, tarantulas and more) and an insect-themed gift shop stocked with T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, books, posters, jewelry and insect-collecting equipment.

For more information, access the Bohart website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu or contact bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.

What a catchy title for a seminar: "How Flies Control How They Walk by Knowing When and How to Stop."

Meet Salil Bidaye, Research Group Leader, Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience, Jupiter, Fla.

He studies neuronal control locomotion in fruit flies, Drosophila--focusing his research on "understanding how fast and precise locomotor decisions are executed at the level of genetically defined neural circuits."

He will present his seminar, hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT), at 4:10 p.m., Monday, March 4 in 122 Briggs Hall and on Zoom. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the ENT department, will introduce him.

"Walking is a complex motor program involving coordinated and distributed activity across the brain and the spinal cord," Bidaye writes in his abstract. "Halting appropriately at the correct time is a critical but often overlooked component of walking control. While recent studies have delineated specific genetically defined neuronal populations in the mouse brainstem that drive different types of halting, the underlying neural circuit mechanisms responsible for overruling the competing walking-state neural activity to generate context-appropriate halting, remain unclear. Here, we elucidate two fundamental mechanisms by which I implement context-appropriate halting."

"The first mechanism ('walk-OFF' mechanism) relies on GABAergic neurons that inhibit specific descending walking commands in the brain, while the second mechanism ('brake' mechanism) relies on excitatory cholinergic neurons in the nerve-cord that lead to an active arrest of stepping movements," he explains. "Using connectome-informed models and functional studies, we show that two neuronal types that deploy the 'walk-OFF' mechanism inhibit distinct populations of walking-promotion neurons, leading to differential halting of forward-walking or steering. The 'brake' neurons on the other hand, override all walking commands by simultaneously inhibiting descending walking promoting pathways and increasing the resistance at the leg-joints leading to an arrest of leg movements in the stance phase of walking. We characterized two ethologically relevant behavioral contexts in which the distinct halting mechanisms were used by the animal in a mutually exclusive manner: the 'walk-OFF' pathway was engaged for halting during feeding, and the 'brake' pathway was engaged for halting during grooming. To our knowledge, this represents the first mechanistic understanding of halting in fruit-flies and hence a major step in our larger goal of uncovering the fundamental principles governing walking control in animals."

Bidaye accepted his Research Group Leader position at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience in April 2021. He previously served as a postdoctoral Fellow at UC Berkeley in the lab of Professor Kristin Scott. He obtained his Ph.D. at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria, working in the Barry Dickson laboratory. 

While a graduate student in Vienna, "I observed fruit-flies chasing each other during courtship," he relates. "I got hooked on to the intricate control that comprises insect walking. "This fascination kindled by powerful fly genetic tools, has led me to persistently device new behavioral assays and neural recording techniques, aimed at elucidating the fundamental control mechanisms that underlie the exquisite locomotor control that is commonplace in all animals."

His publications include: 

• Two Brain Pathways Initiate Distinct Forward Walking Programs in Drosophila, Aug. 20, 2020, journal Neuron
• Six-Legged Walking in Insects: How CPGs, Peripheral Feedback, and Descending Signals Generate Coordinated and Adaptive Motor Rhythms, February 2018, Journal of Neurophysiology
• Neuronal Control of Drosophila Walking Direction, April 4, 2014, Science

Bidaye's seminar is expected to be the last of the winter quarter; the next scheduled speaker, Inga Zasada, a research plant pathologist with the USDA-ARS Horticultural Crops Research Laboratory, Corvallis, Ore., recently canceled her March 11 seminar due to a medical issue in the family.

For any Zoom technical issues, contact seminar coordinator Brian Johnson, associate professor, at brnjohnson@ucdavis.edu. The list of winter quarter seminars is here.

His name is synonymous with integrated pest management (IPM) and his achievements during his 45-year career are nothing short of spectacular. 

So it's no surprise that UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Frank Zalom, internationally recognized for his IPM expertise and leadership,  is the recipient of a Lifetime IPM Achievement Award from the California Department of Pesticide Regulation (CDPR).

Zalom, a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, and formerly, the 16-year director of the UC Statewide IPM Program, will be honored at CDPR's IPM Achievement Awards virtual ceremony at 1:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 29. Four other individuals or organizations also will receive the 2023 awards. (Register here  to access the Zoom ceremony.)

CDPR praised Zalom for “advancing IPM practices in California specialty crops as a preeminent researcher, practitioner and champion of sustainable pest management.”

The Lifetime IPM Achievement Award recognizes individuals with 20 or more years of research, professional practice, or outreach in IPM-related sectors.

“Dr. Zalom's work has contributed greatly to advancing safe, effective, and sustainable IPM practices in specialty crops such as almonds, strawberries, tomatoes, and olives,” a CDPR spokesman said. “Through hundreds of presentations and publications, Dr. Zalom has contributed to broad adoption of IPM practices for numerous agricultural pests, resulting in less insecticide use and reduced run-off impacts and high-risk pesticide exposures.”

Zalom officially retired in 2018 but continues his IPM research and outreach efforts as a recall professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology. He also serves as advisor to the California Department of Food and Agriculture's (CDFA) Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis, and a science advisor for the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

State Sen. Bill Dodd, 3rd District,  issued a Senate proclamation heralding his “outstanding contributions” to the state of California: “Dr. Zalom's distinguished 40-plus year career as a leading researcher, practitioner, and advocate for integrated pest management has significantly propelled advancements in this crucial field. The state formally recognizes this remarkable accomplishment and extends gratitude to Dr. Zalom for his exceptional contributions to the welfare of both California and the global community.”

Zalom is known for his “tireless advocacy for IPM as THE way to address pest concerns in a sustainable, economical and environmentally acceptable manner.” His peers describe his approach to IPM as “progressive, not dogmatic, integrating the economical and judicious use of crop protection products while promoting effective, biologically based pest management alternatives.”

“The overarching objective of my research program can best be described as the pursuit of knowledge that advances the science and use of integrated pest management,” Zalom said. Although he initially worked on rice, cotton and alfalfa, he turned his primary focus to California specialty crops including tree crops (almonds, olives, prunes, peaches), small fruits (grapes, strawberries, caneberries), and fruiting vegetables (example, tomatoes).

Zalom developed IPM strategies and tactics within the context of these systems that included monitoring procedures, thresholds, pest development and population models, biological controls, and use of less toxic pesticides, many of which are incorporated into UC IPM Guidelines for these crops (see https://ipm.ucanr.edu/agriculture/) and have become standard practice. He pursues his goals through a combination of fundamental studies linked to pest biology, physiology, and community ecology.

Overall, Zalom engages in what he calls "problem-focused, hypothesis-driven research that focuses on understanding the biology of the pest species that eventually results in economically viable IPM management approaches that reduce the amount of undesirable insecticides being used in crop production."

Zalom says he considers himself "a problem-solver who consults with fellow scientists, researchers, horticulturists, students, visiting scholars, extension educators, growers, pest control advisers, environmental groups, and public agencies--listening to their requests and concerns, before proposing and implementing the best IPM solutions to pest problems."

See more about our UC Davis doctoral alumnus extraordinaire and his IPM achievements. 

Update:

• Full Ceremony: https://youtu.be/XEMKD04bDT4  
• Video honoring Frank Zalom: https://youtu.be/oXc8OcQivLI
• Remarks from Assembly member Cecilia Aguiar-Curry: https://youtu.be/o4xnXyPn7e8 

 

Professor Louie Yang's monarch and milkweed research at the University of California, Davis, is quite celebrated.

Yang, a community ecologist and professor in the Department of Entomology and Nematology, is involved in monarch conservation science and planning, in collaboration with the Western Monarch Conservation Science Group, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Xerces Society of Invertebrate Conservation, Monarch Joint Venture, Environment Defense Fund, and the National Monarch Summit in D.C. 

• Science Friday, National Public Radio, interviewed him in February 2022 about his monarch-milkweed research. (Listen to the archived interview.)
• He was one of 12 invited scientists nationwide who delivered a presentation during the two-day Monarch Butterfly Summit, held in June 2022 at the Capitol, Washington D.C. He has presented invited seminars at Purdue University and the University of Nevada.

Another feat: Yang launched the Monitoring Milkweed-Monarch Interactions for Learning and Conservation (MMMILC) project in 2013 for students in the environmental science program at Davis Senior High School or those associated with the Center for Land-Based Learning's Green Corps program. He taught more than 150 high school-aged participants. Their tasks: monitoring milkweed-monarch interactions in a project funded by the National Science Foundation. He organized and led a 135-member team, and supported them all as co-authors of the paper, “Different Factors Limit Early- and Late-Season Windows of Opportunity for Monarch Development,” published in July 2022 in the journal Ecology and Evolution. The 107 co-authors included high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, and community members. 

But did you know that Professor Yang excels at teaching and mentoring?

Described as  “a phenomenal  teacher, mentor and an incredibly strong advocate for students,” Yang is the newly announced recipient of the UC Davis Academic Senate's 2024 Distinguished Teaching Award, Undergraduate Student category.

And so well-deserved.

“I have watched him engage, inspire, and challenge his students, fostering creative and critical thinking like no one else I've ever seen,” Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the department, wrote in her nomination letter. “We deeply appreciate and admire his innovative and inclusive teaching, his exemplary work ethic, his welcoming demeanor, his dedication to his students, and his nationally recognized ecology expertise. Louie has received many well-deserved teaching and mentoring awards for his teaching contributions on and off campus.”

Professor Yang is one of the three co-founders and co-directors (along with Professor Chiu and UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim) of the campuswide, one-of-a-kind Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), launched in 2011 to help students learn cutting-edge research through close mentoring relationships with faculty.

“Our celebrated program, now totaling 120 alumni, crosses numerous biological fields, including population biology; behavior and ecology; biodiversity and evolutionary ecology; agroecology; genetics and molecular biology; biochemistry and physiology; entomology; and cell biology,” Chiu wrote. “We provide academically strong and highly motivated undergraduates with a multi-year research experience that cultivates skills that will prepare them for a career in biological research. Many RSPIB alumni are now enrolled or graduated from premiere programs including Cornell, UC San Francisco, and Stanford.”

Yang, who holds a bachelor's degree in ecology and evolution (1999) from Cornell University, and a doctorate in population biology (2006) from UC Davis, joined the UC Davis faculty in 2009. UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal, then chair of the entomology department, remembers recruiting and hiring him, on the recommendation of community ecologist Richard "Rick" Karban. 

In 2012, as an assistant professor, Yang was selected a Hellman Fellow and then received a 2013-2018 National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Award. In 2015, he won a Chancellor's Teaching Fellow Award and the Atwood Colloquium Rising Star Award in Ecology, University of Toronto. Currently he chairs the Entomology Graduate Program and also serves as interim vice chair while community ecologist and associate professor Rachel Vannette  is on sabbatical.

Since 2009, Yang has taught more than 600 undergraduates and more than 90 graduate students in his formal classes. His courses include Insect Ecology, Community Ecology, Experimental Ecology and Evolution in the Field, He has taught two National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) grant writing workshops, and the Population Biology Graduate Group core course for three years.

He has welcomed and mentored graduate students from around the country, including the UC Davis-Howard University Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the Ecology and Evolution Graduate Admissions Pathways program. “Besides overseeing the entire Entomology Graduate Program as chair, Louie also personally serves as graduate advisor for a third of our graduate students (assigned alphabetically),” noted Chiu, who received the Academic Senate's Distinguished Teaching Award (Graduate Students/Professional) in 2022. “Louie is that calm, caring, and compassionate figure who listens, engages, and helps them resolve issues. He has helped many graduate students navigate challenges often encountered in graduate school."

Professor Rosenheim, recipient of the 2011 Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award, Undergraduate Level,  has observed Yang's innovative teaching. “His class sessions were impeccably organized, his presentations deeply insightful, and the discussions highly engaging," he wrote. "Louie alternated lectures with class sessions in which large blocks of time were devoted to structured debates. For the debates, Louie drew names at random and assembled two 3-person teams of students, one arguing the 'pro' side of the issue, the other arguing the 'con' side. After an initial period when positions were presented and rebuttals given, the whole class was invited to join in the discussion. What was truly remarkable was the high level of participation that Louie is able to elicit, both during the debates and during his lectures. Louie inspires the confidence of his students, and they reciprocate with their willingness to take risks during class by contributing, even when discussing topics that are new to them. This is not an easy thing to accomplish; Louie's ability to gain such strong student participation is perhaps the strongest evidence of Louie's talent in connecting with students. I was so impressed with the success of Louie's methods that I decided to incorporate structured debates into one of my own classes as well."

Yang lab doctoral alumna Meredith Cenzer, now an instructor of ecology and evolution at the University of Chicago, remembers: “I will never forget the presentation he gave to my incoming cohort, just nine months after he himself started as a professor. He told us about imposter syndrome (the feeling of not deserving our success) and assured us right off the bat that we all deserved to be at UC Davis; that none of us had snuck in, and that we were chosen because they all believed in our ability to be successful in graduate school. I will never forget how much that meant to me as a young woman fresh out of my bachelor's with little experience in independent research. In the seven years I was in his lab, even when experiments failed or I made mistakes or felt like I was falling behind, Louie never stopped believing in my abilities. Building that trust was foundational in our professional relationship, and indispensable to my development in graduate school and afterwards.”

In unsolicited comments in Rate My Professors, his students wrote:

• “One of the best instructors at UC Davis. Class on insects was very interesting…He is super cool, and lectures are never boring.”
• “Louie honestly might be my favorite professor on campus. He is cool and smart and engaged with his students…”
• “Really one of the most intelligent people I've met in college. It's apparent just talking to him, which I'd highly recommend.”
• “I loved this seminar, Ecology Outdoors! I learned so much from Louie, and he's really good at encouraging creativity and experimentation. He's a very hard worker and plans the class well.”
• “Really cool guy, made the class interesting. gave a lot of real-life example, so students can relate the subject to real world.”

A tip of the insect net to Professor Louie Yang!