- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
On her arm is a Cordulegaster diadema, aka Apache spiketail, and it's beautiful.
Anna, who didn't follow her father's footsteps into the field of entomology, instead has a dragonfly within arm's reach.
Anna, employed at Deluxe Studios (remotely), and her researcher father recently attended an insect-drawing class at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house, "An Evening at the Museum." The class, taught by Professor Miguel Angel Miranda of the University of the Balearic Islands, Spain, a participant in the newly concluded 10th International Dipterology Congress in Reno, drew such comments as "So much fun!"
No tattoo for Rosser?
"Nope," said Rosser. "No tattoos on me. Just over 50,000 preserved dried Odonata specimens--over 3000 species--from all over the world here at home in Sacramento."
Three thousand different species...that's nearly half of the world's 6000 described species of dragonflies.
Rosser served as a senior biologist/entomologist for Los Angeles County from 1984 to 2004 before becoming a senior insect biosystematist with the CDFA Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, Sacramento, where he identified orthopteroid, heteropteroid, other groups of invertebrates including mollusks. He currently enjoys working on Odonata at his home in Sacramento.
One of them is C. diadema, commonly known as the Apache spiketail ("spiketail" refers to the female's prominent ovipoistor). The adult is usually 74-88 millimeters long. "It ranges from southwestern United States to Mexico and Costa Rica," according to Wikipedia, which notes: "The back of the head is yellow to brown with yellow to black hairs, though some have been reported with a black head with white hairs. The first proximal segment of the legs are yellow. The thorax has two lateral stripes with a yellow stripe between them."
The Bohart Museum featured Garrison and his work at its November 2022 open house on dragonflies. He displayed “the largest dragonfly in the world," Petalura ingentissima, found in Queensland, Australia. Its wingspan can measure 160 mm. Among his other specimens: some of the world's smallest dragonflies, including Nannothemis bella, Perithemis tenera (both eastern United States) and Nannophya phymaea (Singapore).
Anna isn't the only one in the family who has dragonflies within an arm's reach!
The Bohart Museum, directed by UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens, including 469 different species of dragonflies. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus., it is open to the public (summer hours) on Tuesdays from 2 to 5 p.m. Admission is free. More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you live in Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma or Texas, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) wants you to collect dead butterflies and moths and mail the specimens to its office in Lawrence, Kansas for its Lepidoptera Research Collection (LRC).
"These specimens will help USGS scientists identify contaminants and environmental factors which may be contributing to the decline of insect populations," the agency related on its website. "Citizen participation will ensure enough specimens throughout the nation are available to answer research questions."
They're specifically looking at the "occurrence of antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, and mycotoxins in Lepidoptera."
Said Julie Dietze, the USGS scientist-in-charge of the project: "There are some questions that can't effectively be answered without help from a lot of people. It's what makes citizen science so special and valuable. Collections like this one are important because they have the potential to provide scientists now, and 20 years from now, access to specimens. Without the specimens it will be far more difficult to answer questions related to contaminants and environmental health."
The deadline to submit the specimens is Nov. 1, 2023. However, the project, launched in April of 2023, may continue into 2024, according to the website. See more information or contact Dietze at juliec@usgs.gov. In addition, you can follow USGS on Facebook @USGeological Survey; YouTube @USGS; Instagram @USGS; or Twitter (now known as "X") @USGS.??
Chang Che of The New York Times published a piece on the project on July 27 and interviewed butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, on the declining butterfly populations. Shapiro, who retired July 1, 2023, has been monitoring the butterfly populations of central California since 1972. He maintains a research website at https://butterfly.ucdavis.edu.
"Insects, the ballast of food chains and essential pollinators that help nourish entire ecosystems, are in rampant decline across the world," wrote Che, who mentioned that the U.S. monarch population alone has decreased 90 percent over the past 20 years. Scientists say that amounts to 900 million monarchs, Che pointed out.
Shapiro says the drop is likely a result of such factors as climate change, habitat loss and pesticides. He told Che that the sharp decline coincides with the implementation of neonicotinoids in agriculture. "And the same coincidence — if that's what it is — has been observed in the U.K. and in Europe.”
"Dr. Shapiro noted that recent heat waves had probably killed many of the butterflies people would be sending in," Che wrote. "He was supportive of 'anything that sheds some light on what is actually going on' with butterflies. But he cautioned that the study would most likely shed light on insect-specific factors of population decline such as pesticides, as opposed to environmental ones like heat waves and habitat loss."
Meanwhile, Shapiro told us today that "I am getting odd e-mails as a result of that NYT article. People are assuming I'm a Monarch maven. I'm not!"
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you read the excessive heat warnings and the guidelines to prevent heat illnesses as triple-digit temperatures hold us hostage in Yolo and Solano counties and elsewhere?.
UC Davis Safety Services related this week:
- Know the signs and symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
- Keep potable water on hand at all times for consumption. It is recommended to ingest approximately four 8-ounce cups of fresh water per hour
- Cool off in well shaded or air-conditioned areas.
- Wear lightweight, loose-fitting and light-colored clothing.
- If possible, stay indoors and avoid strenuous work during the hottest part of the day.
- Minimize direct exposure to the sun whenever possible and wear sunscreen to prevent sunburn.
- Never leave children, disabled adults, or pets in parked vehicles.
- Listen to local weather forecasts and stay aware of upcoming temperature changes.
But what about the feral honey bee colonies?
All honey bee colonies must maintain a temperature of 94 degrees, or the brood (eggs, larvae and pupae), will be adversely impacted, as the late Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022) of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology used to say. When the inside temperature rises above 94 Fahrenheit, bees resort to (1) bringing more water into the colony to cool it down and (2) bee bearding, meaning that some of the adults will leave the colony and "beard" just outside the entrance to help reduce the heat load inside. The "bearders" are helping their brothers and sisters-to-be survive.
That said, it was interesting this week to see the bee-bearding phenomenon on a feral honey bee colony in a sycamore tree on the UC Davis campus. Most people and bicyclists wouldn't notice it, unless they're inclined to look up 30 feet.
Bees know what they're doing,. and they've been bearding for millions of years. So, no poking, no prodding, no choking them with smoke, no dousing them with water. Or worse, what if a passerby panics and calls an exterminator?
Just leave 'em alone. The bees know what they're doing.
They're engaging in thermoregulation. When the temperature drops below 94, they'll cluster and shiver their wing muscles to keep the colony warm. If the temperature rises above the required temperature, the worker bees will gather more water and deposit the droplets inside the hive so other bees can fan and cool the colony. Bearding is part of the process.
As Mussen told us: "Like most other animals, the bodies of honey bees are mostly water. Thus, they need to drink water routinely as we do. Additionally, water (or sometimes nectar) is critical for diluting the gelatinous food secreted from the head glands of nurse bees, so that the queen, developing larvae, drones, and worker bees can swallow the food. They use water to keep the brood nest area at the proper relative humidity, especially when it gets hot and dry outside the hive. Water droplets, placed within the brood nest area, are evaporated by fanning worker bees and that cools (air conditions) the brood nest area to keep the eggs and developing brood at the critical 94 degrees Fahrenheit required for proper development."
"On extremely dry, hot days, all bee foraging except for water will cease," Mussen noted. "Under those conditions it has been estimated that the bees may be bringing back nearly a gallon of water a day."
We could learn a thing or two from the bees.
(See the bee activity on this UC Davis campus 'bee tree' on a YouTube video)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Today, during the 62nd annual international conference of the Society of Nematologists, being held July 9-14 in Columbus, Ohio, The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) published a UC Davis research team's important--and exciting--research paper on root-knot nematodes.
It's online at “Root-Knot Nematodes Produce Functional Mimics of Tyrosine-Sulfated Plant Peptides."
Basically, the researchers discovered that “both a harmful plant bacterium and a parasitic worm can mimic a plant peptide hormone to enhance their ability to infect plants.”
It's a joint project of nematologist Shahid Siddique, an associate professor in the Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Siddique and UC Davis distinguished professor Pamela Ronald, a plant pathologist and geneticist in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center. They are the corresponding authors. Joint first-authors are Henok Zemene Yemer, formerly of the Siddique lab and now with Gingko Bioworks, Emeryville, and Dee Dee Lu of the Ronald lab.
It's like hijacking plant development to facilitate parasitism, according to Siddique. “This finding showcases an amazing case of convergent evolution across three different types of organisms, revealing how diverse life forms can develop similar strategies for survival.”
“Root-knot nematodes are a major threat to various crops, including fruit trees and vegetables,” Siddique said. “In California, tomatoes, almonds, and walnuts are among the major hosts susceptible to root-knot nematode infection.”
Siddique and UC Davis distinguished professor Pamela Ronald, a plant pathologist and geneticist in the Department of Plant Pathology and the Genome Center, are the joint corresponding authors. Joint first-authors are Henok Zemene Yemer, formerly of the Siddique lab and now with Gingko Bioworks, Emeryville, and Dee Dee Lu of the Ronald lab.
Plant-parasitic nematodes (PPNs) are among the most destructive plant pathogens, causing an annual economic loss of $8 billion to U.S. growers and more than $100 billion worldwide, the authors said.
The team also included emerita professor Valerie Williamson of the former Department of Nematology; Maria Florencia Ercoli, postdoctoral fellow in the Ronald lab; Alison Coomer Blundell, a doctoral candidate in the Siddique lab; and Paulo Vieira of the USDA's Mycology and Nematology Genetic Diversity and Biology Laboratory, Beltsville, Md.
“Plant peptides containing sulfated tyrosine (PSY)-family peptides are peptide hormones that promote root growth via cell expansion and proliferation,” the authors explained. “A PSY-like peptide produced by a bacterial pathogen has been shown to contribute to bacterial virulence. Here, we discovered that PSY-like peptides are encoded by a group of plant-parasitic nematodes known as root-knot nematodes. These nematode-encoded PSY mimics facilitate the establishment of parasitism in the host plant. Our findings are an example of a functional plant peptide mimic encoded by a phytopathogenic bacterium (prokaryote) and a plant-parasitic nematode (an animal).”
The project drew financial support from a collaborative grant awarded to Siddique and Ronald from the National Science Foundation's Division of Integrative Organismal Systems.
Siddique, a member of the UC Davis faculty since 2019, focuses his research on basic as well as applied aspects of interaction between parasitic nematodes and their host plants. “The long-term object of our research is not only to enhance our understanding of molecular aspects of plant–nematode interaction but also to use this knowledge to provide new resources for reducing the impact of nematodes on crop plants in California.”
Ronald, noted for her innovative work in crop genetics, especially rice, is recognized for her research in infectious disease biology and environmental stress tolerance. Thomson Reuters named her one of the world's most influential scientific minds and Scientfic American recognized her as among the world's 100 most influential people in biotechnology. In 2022 Ronald received the Wolf Prize in Agriculture.
The next steps? “Currently, we are working to understand the mechanism by which these peptides contribute to the nematode infection,” Siddique said. “This entails the characterization of receptors involved and gaining insights into transcriptional changes.”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
It's a butterfly that breeds on thistles, such as Cirsium, Carduus and Silybum.
The one that visited our yard June 17 wasn't visiting a thistle, however. It landed on a cactus.
It's an orange and black butterfly (orange wings with black markings). White fringes the edges.
UC Davis distinguished professor Art Shapiro, who has monitored butterfly populations in Central California since 1972 and maintains a website, Art's Butterfly World, says it's an abundant, weedy species on his transect."
The Mylitta Crescent is featured on his website banner.
"The Mylitta Crescent breeds on Thistles," Shapiro writes. "It originally used native species of Cirsium, probably mostly in wet habitats. With the naturalization of weedy European species of Cirsium, Carduus and Silybum, it is now found in all kinds of disturbed (including urban) habitats. Many of the weedy hosts dry up by early summer and it then must contract down to colonies of Bull Thistle, Cirsium vulgare, which persists all summer (or, on the East slope, Canada Thistle, C. arvense). The part-grown larvae overwinter and can be found sunning themselves on mild midwinter days. The upperside pattern of males varies greatly and is sometimes nearly obsolescent. The ventral hindwing is redder in cold seasons, especially in females, and the crescent marking is more strikingly silvered. Males patrol along roadsides and often sit at ground level. Both sexes visit many flowers, from Thistles to Yerba Santa to Heliotrope. Breeds continuously in warm weather: February-November near sea level, June-October in the high country, often one of the last species flying and visiting Rabbitbrush there."
This butterfly isn't as recognizable as the monarch icon, but it's still striking.