- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A warm welcome!
"UC Davis is a big university, with a strong focus on research," the text begins. "Undergraduates can easily feel like they are lost in the crowd, and rarely get close mentorship from faculty or other research staff (how can you, when your classes have hundreds of students present?). And yet, some of the most important skills for research biologists cannot be taught in big lecture halls or even in lab courses; these skills, especially those linked to conducting cutting-edge research are best learned through close mentoring relationships with faculty, and through an opportunity to do research (try it, make mistakes, learn from those mistakes, and get it right the next time)."
The program, co-founded and co-directed by three faculty members of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology--distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim and professors Joanna Chiu and Louie Yang--"aims to provide undergraduates with a closely-mentored research experience in biology. Because insects can be used as model systems to explore virtually any area of biology (population biology; behavior and ecology; biodiversity and evolutionary ecology; agroecology; genetics and molecular biology; biochemistry and physiology; cell biology), faculty in the program can provide research opportunities across the full sweep of biology. The program's goal is to 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."
From the depths of this innovative and excellent program, launched in 2011, come outstanding scholars--scholars like Gwen Erdosh and Gary Ge, the first two recipients of the Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship. This award, sponsored by the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America, memorializes Stephen Garczynski (1960-2019), a research geneticist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Wapato, Wash.,"who had an unmatched passion for mentoring undergraduate students in their research," according to the PBESA website.
Erdosh, a research scholar in the Yang lab, won the inaugural scholarship, presented in 2022. She's continuing her research, and as @gwentomologist, is sharing her knowledge of entomology with her 77,000 followers on Instagram.
This year Ge won the undergraduate scholarship. He studies with Yang and UC Davis Distinguished Professor Art Shapiro of the Department of Evolution and Ecology, and researches the American Apollo butterfly (Parnassius clodius) as a model to study how microclimatic conditions affect cold-adapted insects. Ge is a research assistant with Shapiro's Central California Butterfly Population and Diversity Trends Study, and works with Yang as a project manager and a research assistant on his Milkweed phenology study.
Ge will be honored at the annual PBESA meeting, April 2-5 in Seattle, which encompasses 11 Western states, plus Canada, Mexico and U.S. territories. He will receive a $1000 award for travel expenses and a waived registration fee.
Ge just finished writing a National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) grant proposal. The results are expected to be announced in April.
His hypothesis: "that mid-elevation populations of P. clodius have the best cold tolerance as overwintering eggs. The main factor behind this is snow cover. Snow cover is known to provide significant insulation to whatever is underneath, usually creating higher microclimatic temperatures under the snow than above. At mid-elevations, the winter temperatures are lower than at low elevations, and the snow cover is supposedly less and more unstable compared to higher elevations. This means the mid-elevation populations are likely exposed to the coldest winter temperature, and have locally adapted to it.”
Ge said he is testing his hypothesis “partly by looking at the supercooling points (SCPs) of diapausing eggs in different populations. The SCP indicates the freezing temperature of the egg, so it should be close to the lower lethal temperature. So, the population with the lowest average SCP would be the most cold-tolerant. I got some preliminary results recently indicating the SCP of the mid-elevation eggs is around -30 °C, which is pretty cold! On the side I am also testing the egg SCP of a Parnassius behrii population. This is a California endemic. It would be cool to see how their thermal tolerance differ from that of P. clodius as P. behrii is only found in high-elevation habitats (mostly around and above 9,000 feet).”
“The genus Parnassius is prone to global warming due to its affinity for alpine and arctic habitats, and several species are considered to be threatened," Ge said.
Shapiro, who has monitored butterfly populations across central California for the last 50 years, says that “Parnassians are a group of cold-adapted Northern Hemisphere butterflies that are becoming increasingly important as objects of physiological, ecological and evolutionary study. They are only likely to grow more important in the context of climate change. Thus, Gary's study is very timely and should attract plenty of attention! It is demanding given the rigorous conditions in which they breed and develop, and he is likely to learn a lot that will facilitate future lab and field studies.” On his research website, Art's Shapiro's Butterfly site, Shapiro describes P. clodius in detail.
Gary, born in Beijing, China, attended elementary school in New York City, middle school in Singapore, and high school in Hawaii, and now California for college. “This allowed me to have experience with a range of lepidopterans and ants and termites as well—social insects are my other favorite group.” He anticipates receiving his bachelor of science degree at UC Davis this year and hopes to enroll in graduate school at UC Davis.
Gary developed his passion for Parnassius during middle school. “When I was visiting my extended family in Tibet, I saw this small white butterfly flying through the seemingly lifeless alpine scree habitat at an elevation of around 1,5000 feet. I later found out that it was a Parnassius species and got immediately intrigued by the fact that they are mostly specialist of alpine and arctic habitats, living in some of the world's coldest and most hostile environments. Since many of the genus members have habitats restricted to mountain tops above the tree line, our P. behrii is an example, climate change--rising tree lines-would leave them nowhere to go. This makes better understanding the ecology of this genus utterly important.”
Congratulations to the scholars, their instructors, and to the UC Davis Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology. And kudos to PBESA for memorializing USDA research geneticist Stephen Garczynski and his "unmatched passion for mentoring undergraduate students in their research."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
To apply, students must write a letter about why they want to attend Bio Boot Camp. Letters of recommendations are required but can be "a tad later" as students may be on spring break, says Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum of Entomology's education and outreach coordinator.
The camps are hosted by the Bohart Museum of Entomology in collaboration with the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Campus Recreation and the UC Reserve System.
First, there's the Bio Boot Camp, Mountain Session, set July 25-29, for students entering grades 7-9 in the fall. The fee is $475. For those entering 10-12 grades in the fall, there's the Bio Boot Camp 2.0, set July 31-Aug. 6. The fee is $895. Need-based scholarships (partial) are available for both camps.
See website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu/summer-camps.html. Note that COVID-19 regulations apply. They include proof of full vaccination.
Some Bio Boot Camp alumni, like Gwen Erdosh, go on to major in entomology at UC Davis, become president of the UC Davis Entomology Club and be accepted in the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology. She draws 24,000 followers on her “Gwentomologist” Instagram account. She recently won a Provost's Undergraduate Research Fellowship, and the Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America.
“Ever since I can remember, I have always loved caterpillars,” Gwen said. (See news story.) “As a little kid, I would collect any caterpillar I saw and raise it to adulthood.” Amazed that a caterpillar could "magically change” into a moth or butterfly, she decided “to make a book matching every caterpillar to its adult. I did my own research online and in books I had, and soon was quite knowledgeable about Lepidoptera. The summer before 9th grade, I attended Bio Boot camp, the summer camp for kids led by the Bohart Museum, and Tabatha Yang (education and outreach coordinator). “This was the experience that led me to choose entomology as a career. During this camp, I learned everything about entomology and had a chance to meet real entomologists at UC Davis, and do field work. I fell in love with it and kept coming back each summer for the camp.”
Previous applications have drawn such expressions of interest as:
- "Since kindergarten, I wanted to be an entomologist/paleontologist. I love to turn over a rock to see what is living underneath."|
- "I have been photographing butterflies and other bugs with my dad since 2018."
- "I love to study how animals behave in different environments and how it compares to humans."
- "I've never had the chance to see biology in a hands-on, outdoor environment for an extended period of time."
Some background information from the website:
"Together with the UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology and Campus Recreation, we launched Bio Boot Camp in 2011, a camp for junior high-aged students who are interested in the natural sciences," Yang says on the website. "There is limited enrollment and so we ask that the students themselves be part of the enrollment process. This is a full-day camp from 8:30 am-5:30 pm on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday based at UC Davis. Then on Thursday morning we travel to a UC Reserve for an overnight experience at the UC Berkeley Sagehen Creek Field Station, just outside of Truckee in the Sierras. We return to Davis on Friday afternoon. (Alternate years they travel to the coast to Bodega Bay.)"
On Monday, they will get to know one another, play games, explore the UC Davis campus, and "go behind the scenes" at the two host museums: the Bohart Museum of Entomology and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.
On Tuesday, they will visit local streams, catching insects, observing birds, and exploring nature with guest scientists.
On Wednesday, "we deep into standard museum practices from collecting data to preparing specimens, including invertebrates and vertebrates," Yang says.
The Bio Camp ends with an overnight trip (van transportation) to a UC Reserve to learn about nature and the biodiversity of the Central Valley.
Bio Boot Camp 2.0
The Bohart Museum of Entomology, UC Davis Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, and Campus Recreation launched Bio Boot Camp 2.0 in 2013 after "much enthusiasm from Bio Boot Campers who graduated out of the junior high program," according to the organizers. The camp spans 7 days and 6 nights. On the first day, vans will transport the students to UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station outside of Truckee. There the campers will conduct a group project, engage in mini-individual projects, explore the area, and discuss college and career paths. The camp also will include "wandering hikes, exploring Lake Tahoe, silly games, and a lot of fun throughout," Yang points out. "We will be stopping at the UC Davis campus on Friday for part of the day to tour the museums and the campus before traveling to UC Davis Quail Ridge Field Station outside of Winters, CA for the last night of camp. Campers will get to compare the Sierra to the Central Valley, prepare for their presentations and have their costumed dinner party." This camp is limited to 10 students and has 3 instructors.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The award-winning trio:
- Medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo received the Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Award. (See news story)
- Doctoral student Erin Taylor Kelly of the Attardo lab won the Student Leadership Award (See news story)
- Undergraduate entomology student Gwen Erdosh of the Louie Yang lab and a member of the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology, won the inaugural Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship (See news story)
Rankin says her research "focuses on investigating species interactions and their effects on trophic dynamics and ecosystem services within the contexts of invasion biology, community ecology and evolutionary ecology." She received her bachelor's degree in biology in 2002 from Georgetown University, Washington, DC, and obtained her doctorate in biological sciences from UC San Diego in 2009. Then it was off to UC Davis for a year in the Yang lab before accepting a position as postdoctoral researcher with the University of Maryland's Department of Entomology. Rankin joined the UC Riverside faculty in 2013 as an assistant professor and advanced to associate professor in 2019.
In 2021 Rankin was named the recipient of two major awards: the Outstanding Faculty Mentor and the Academic Senate Distinguished Teaching Award. See her research and publications on her website.
Rankin's award was one of five awarded to UC Riverside entomologists:
- Mark Hoddle won the C. W. Woodworth Award
- Jessica Purcell, Distinction in Student Mentoring Award
- Dong-Hwan Choe, Distinguished Achievement in Extension Award
- Kerry Mauck, Plant-Insect Ecosystems Award
Results showed UC entomologists (from the two campuses) winning a total of eight awards, and USDA, four. (See the chart below) Congratulations, all!
Pacific Branch. The Pacific branch encompasses 11 Western states, parts of Canada and Mexico and several U.S. territories.
In the United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
U.S. Territories: American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Johnston Atoll, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Midway Islands, Wake Island
In Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Yukon
In Mexico: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora
ESA, founded in 1889, is the world's largest organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its 7,000 members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. They are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Erdosh, 21, an undergraduate entomology major and president of the UC Davis Entomology Club, is passionate about bugs. Well, make that passionate about arthropods. Well, make that passionate about "all arthropods on the planet."
Part One of the two-segment interview is at https://cbsloc.al/3G81QaT.
Billed as "bringing bugs to the masses," the program explored critters such as a Madagascar hissing cockroach, an Atlas moth caterpillar, an Australian stick insect, and a rain forest mantis.
More than 22,000 fans follow her Instagram account, @gwentomologist, where she uploads educational and entertaining posts, illustrated with her incredible macro images.
"The main point of my page is to raise awareness for conservation of insects," Erdosh told Williams. Second point: to help folks overcome their fear of bugs by seeing their beauty and peculiarities.
Erdosh showed insects from the Bohart Museum of Entomology, as well as insects being reared by her friends.
Holding an Atlas caterpillar, Erdosh told the Good Day Sacramento reporter: "This is going to become the largest moth in the world."
Erdosh then showed Williams the massive frass (feces), the size of a raisin.
In a classic quote of the day,Williams deadpanned: "It has no problem with bowel movements."
That prompted one of the Good Day Sacramento anchors to quip: "When I woke up this morning I would have bet big money I was not going to see caterpillar poop here today but here we are."
Erdosh is an invited member of the UC Davis Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), and a researcher in the laboratory of community ecologist Louie Yang, a professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. She recently received a UC Davis Provost's Undergraduate Research Fellowship to study whether ambient smoke from California's wildfires hinders an insect's ability to locate food.
Gwen knew at age 12 that she wanted to become an entomologist. Her career plan: to receive a doctorate in entomology and join academia as a professor and researcher. She's off to a great start! At age 16, she interned in the lab of Jason Dombroskie at Cornell University.
And quite appropriately, Gwen Erdosh sports a collection of insect-themed T-shirts. The one she wore on the Good Day Sacramento program: a T-shirt lettered with "Wait, I See a Bug!"
(See "The Amazing World of 'Gwentomologist' Gwen Erdosh" on the Dec. 23, 2021 Bug Squad blog.)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
So began Gwentomologist on her Instagram account.
"Beewolves are in the genus Philanthus," she continued. "This species is Philanthus multimaculatus. They are in the family Crabronidae. This species is native to the west coast of the United States. Beewolf wasp adults eat nectar from flowers, but the larvae are carnivores! The females dig out tunnels in the soil for their young. They catch and sting bees, then bring them into the nest. They lay their eggs in this little nest and block it off so it is protected. The wasp larvae feed on the provisions their mother provided for them, and then emerge in the summer as adults, to start the cycle again!"
She added: "I just love their green eyes so pretty! These wasps are important pollinators, just like bees, and they control the bee populations. As bees decline in population size, these wasps also suffer."
Who is Gwentomologist?
She's 21-year-old Gwendolyn “Gwen” Erdosh, a UC Davis entomology major and undergraduate researcher with more than 22,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares her fascination, passion and growing scientific knowledge of entomology with the intensity of a moth heading for light.
Gwen launched her Instagram account in 2013 to share her passion for moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera). “Back then, it was one of only a few accounts that focused on such a niche interest," she said. "It quickly grew in popularity and a community of insect-obsessed teenager formed, all with similar goals. Through social media, we were able to make amazing connections, which I still have today. Eventually, my passion expanded from just Lepidoptera to a fascination with every type of arthropod on the planet!”
On her account, she posts "my own macro-photographs with detailed captions about the featured insect. My goal is to not only teach others, but also learn a lot myself. I also post fun and engaging videos to encourage others to pursue entomology. Many times, people have told me that my page helped them decide that they wanted to pursue entomology as a career! I love being able to spread the love of insects to others, and will continue to be active on my page.” Additionally, she maintains a YouTube account as “gwentomologist.”
She captures the images with either her Nikon D3200 with a Sigma105 mm f/2.8 EX macro lens, or her Iphone 11.
A 2018 graduate of Los Gatos High School, Santa Clara County, and a UC Davis student since 2019, Gwen anticipates receiving her bachelor's degree in 2023. In February 2020, she applied for—and was accepted—into the highly competitive RSPIB program, which aims to provide undergraduates with closely mentored research experiences in biology. She studies with community ecologist and professor Louie Yang, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, one of the three RSPIB founders.
“I actually first met Gwen when she was still in high school,” said Professor Yang. “She was doing a research project with monarch butterflies and emailed me with a few questions. Even then, I was impressed with her knowledge, focus and determination, and was glad to hear when she came to UC Davis. She applied to the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology early on, and was a stand-out student in my ENT 105 Insect Ecology class in 2020. It has been great to have Gwen in our lab, and to see her continuing to develop as a scientist.”
“Ever since I can remember, I have always loved caterpillars,” Gwen said. “As a little kid, I would collect any caterpillar I saw and raise it to adulthood.” Amazed that a caterpillar could "magically change” into a moth or butterfly, she decided “to make a book matching every caterpillar to its adult. I did my own research online and in books I had, and soon was quite knowledgeable about Lepidoptera."
"The summer before 9th grade, I attended Bio Boot camp, the summer camp for kids led by the Bohart Museum, and Tabatha Yang (education and outreach coordinator). “This was the experience that led me to choose entomology as a career. During this camp, I learned everything about entomology and had a chance to meet real entomologists at UC Davis, and do field work. I fell in love with it and kept coming back each summer for the camp.”
Gwen said she is most interested in four insect orders: Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera. “I also really like Mygalomorphs. I am really fascinated by parasitoids, and hope to do research with parasitoids (wasps, flies, etc.) in the future.”
Following her UC Davis graduation, she plans “to work abroad for a year in South America doing research. I then want to apply for graduate school in the United States. I may decide to get my masters first in systematics, and then decide if I want to get my PhD in insect ecology or insect systematics. I cannot decide between the two. However, I definitely want to pursue a career as a professor and researcher.”
Her pre-UC Davis life includes:
- 2016. As a 15-year-old high school student, Gwen traveled to the Bohart Museum in 2016 for its annual Moth Night and conferred with many of the scientists.
- 2017. At age 16, she served an entomology internship at Cornell University, where her work included identifying microlepidoptra in the family Tortricidae; sampling monarch butterflies for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) spores; catching and tagging the gray petaltail dragonfly (Petalurid) at a local state park; and collecting, identifying and presenting moths for a Moth Night program at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History.
- 2018. At age 17, Gwen gained experience at a five-week internship in the summer of 2018 at the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens in Costa Rica, where she studied insects, conducted tours, and cared for the arthropods in the insectarium.
Although sometimes mistaken for a teenager--“I look young for my age and I'm 5' 1”--Gwen doesn't let that stop her. “I now have accepted who I am and I do not let what others think of me affect me or my goals. I am glad that I am unique!”
"Gwen is one of those students who instantly shows you her enthusiasm and enjoyment of entomology and it is just this kind of person who we hope will continue in this important field of science," said entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Bohart Museum's Lepidoptera collection. "For those of us looking ahead at the oncoming 'golden years' we need to ensure that there will be competent young scientists who will continue the research and who will discover so many more fascinating things about the world of ‘bugs.' Gwen clearly will be one of these, and I am proud to be associated with her.”
