There's a lot of history in this photograph.

If you connected with the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1970, you'll recognize some of the names, if not the faces.

Sixteen distinguished faculty members posed for this photo. Among them were nationally known entomologists, researchers and former department chairs.  No Toms, but one Dick and two Harrys.

The roll call:
Oscar Bacon, Dick Bushing, Vern Burton, Elmer Carlson, Charles Judson, Al Grigarick, Harry Laidlaw, Harry Lange, Ed Loomis, Don McLean, Bob Schuster, Ward Stanger, Frank Strong, Frank Summers, Robbin Thorp and Bob Washino.

This 16-member group includes three Fellows of the Entomological Society of America (ESA): Laidlaw, McLean and Washino. (Not pictured: Richard Bohart for whom the Bohart Museum of Entomology is named. Bohart (1913-2007) received the award in 1947, the first UC Davis entomologist to be so honored.  The prestigious Fellow award is granted to 10 or fewer entomologists each year in the global organization.

McLean is a past president of ESA.

Bob Washino, who specialized in mosquitoes, is a recipient of the Harry Hoogstraal Medal, the top international ward in medical entomology.

Some brief notes about several of them:

Bacon, a noted agricultural entomologist who specialized in field crops, served as the department chair when Briggs Hall was dedicated in 1972. Now 89, he'll be 90 in November. He continues to volunteer at the Heidrick Ag History Center in Woodland.

Noted bee biologist Harry Hyde Laidlaw Jr. (1907-2003) was considered by his peers worldwide as "the father of honey bee genetics." The honey bee research facility at UC Davis appropriately bears his name. 

Robbin Thorp, a noted authority on native pollinators, including bumblebees, is an emeritus professor and former department chair who maintains an office and research facilities at the Laidlaw.

Washino and Judson, both former department chairs and emeritus professors, remain active in entomology.

These 16 are just a few of the entomology faculty members back in 1970 who paved the way and shaped the future for the next generation of scientists.

"The Beetles."

When you hear those two words, you think of four Liverpool musicians named John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Not so at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

Say "beetles" and that  means insects. Lots of insects.

When Michael Caterino, the museum's curator of entomology,  speaks  Wednesday, Feb. 18 at UC Davis, he'll be talking about patterns of diversity in Southern California beetles.

And their names are not John, Paul, George and Ringo.

Caterino's talk, sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology,  begins at noon in 122 Briggs Hall. UC Davis entomology doctoral candidate Fran Keller, who specialies in beetles (Coleoptera), will introduce him.

"I first met Mike on the top of the Caliente Range in the Carizzo Plain National Monument down south," Keller said. "I was taking Entomology 107 and we were on a field trip. It was hot and nobody was around, but Mike and another gentleman were up on the ridge collecting butterflies. We chatted and he helped catch some butterflies for my collection, willing to share."

"However, I think that as a Coleopterist, had I been collecting beetles, he might not have been so willing to give up his recently collected beetles," Keller quipped.

You can see many of her beetle photos on her  Web site).

Caterino, trained at UC Berkeley and the Natural History Museum in London, joined the museum staff in 2001. His primary research specialty is the taxonomy and evolution of an obscure, but diverse family of beetles called Histeridae.

He recently initiated the California Beetle Project; he is surveying  some 10,000 species of beetles in the state. 

Oh, and those butterflies Caterino was collecting on the Caliente Range? Probably swallowtail butterflies. His research interests include not only beetles and Jerusalem crickets (potato bugs), but the swallowtails.

There are so many caring, kindhearted and generous people out there concerned about the plight of the honey bee.

From little girls who share their monthly allowance and birthday gifts, to all the schools, organizations and businesses  who donate to the honey bee research fund at the Department of Entomology at the University of California, Davis, the cry to "Save the Honey Bees" is resounding throughout the world.

In particular, the response to the Häagen-Dazs'  educational Web site, www.helpthehoneybees.com has been overwhelming.

Häagen-Dazs stepped forward in February of 2008 to help save the honey bees. They launched a national campaign, established a scientific advisory group, created the Web site and a new Vanilla Honey Bee flavor, and donated a total of $250,000 toward honey bee research at UC Davis and Pennsylvania State. They're also working to help fund a honey bee haven at UC Davis.

Approximately 50 percent of the Häagen-Dazs flavors are directly attributed to honey bee pollination. In fact, one-third of all we eat (fruits, vegetables and nuts) is pollinated by bees.

The declining bee population worries us all.

Enter California poet Michele Krueger. While enjoying a pint of Häagen-Dazs ice cream and accessing the Häagen-Dazs Web site, she was inspired to write a poem about honey bees. She donated the poem to the UC Davis Department of Entomology.

In her email, Krueger wrote:  "I am a poet from Northern California (Lake County) and concerned about the bee crisis, too."

We thank her for her concern and her donation. Here is her poem:

Appreciation

Be the best you can be,

Honeybee.

For me.

Please pollinate

my berries,

sip nectar from

my flowers,

so you will have

the strength to fly

back and forth

for hours.

You have work to do,

Worker Bee,

for fruit tree

and for me.

Servant of Queen,

Feeder of Drone,

Soldier of Hive,

Miner of Gold,

I award you

Employee of the Season.

Honey is my reason.
 (Copyright, Michelle Krueger, Lake County, Calif.)
 

Which reminds us: last spring we watched scores of honey bees pollinate the nectarine blossoms in our back yard. Their work ethic dominates the insect world, and indeed, the entire world.  They are definitely  "employees of the season."

And "employees of the year."
 

Every year.
 

Kids love bugs. 
 

And they love books on bugs. 

One of the bug books we bought our son during his childhood was “Insect World: A Child’s First Library of Learning,” published by Time-Life Books. 

It includes such chapters as:
Why Do Butterflies Love Flowers?
Why Are a Dragon Fly’s Eyes So Big?
Why Do Ladybugs Spit Yellow Liquid When They’re Caught?
Why Do Bees Sting?
How Do Grasshoppers Jump? 

An illustration in the back of the book depicts insects doing the wrong things. Titled “What’s Going On?,” the drawing shows a butterfly eating an insect (Not! It drinks nectar); a praying mantis eating grass (Not! It eats other insects), a grasshopper drinking sap (Not! It does eat grass, though), a honey bee spinning a web (Not! But it does make a wax hive) and a cicada drinking nectar (Not! But it does drink sap). 

The diversity of insects continues to amaze us--from the huge Madagascar hissing cockroach to the tiny walnut twig beetle. Check out the Bohart Museum of Entomology's seven million specimens on the UC Davis campus or take a look (below) of this partial collection of UC Davis evolutionary ecologist Andrew Forbes, a post-doctoral scholar in professor Jay Rosenheim's lab. 

On Thursday, Feb. 12, the eyes of the world will be focused on biodiversity. That's the 200th anniversary of the birth of naturalist Charles Darwin. The New York Times just published an article on him, "Darwinism Must Die So Evolution May Live." The San Francisco Chronicle explored "Eric Simons: Frolicking in Darwin's Footsteps."  The BBC says "Scotland 'Inspired' Darwin's Work." 

And at the 2008 meeting of the Entomological Society of America, scientists devoted an entire seminar to Darwin's fascinating life and his contributions to science. 

Fortunately, Darwin (1809-1882) neglected the medical studies his parents so desperately wanted him to pursue and instead explored his passion.