- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Washington will be one of nine speakers from various disciplines at the TEDxUCDavis Conference (Igniting X) to begin at 1 p.m., Sunday, May 1 in Jackson Hall of the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts, UC Davis. The program also will feature "two mesmerizing performances, and a number of interactive activities and exhibits!" according to the website.
TED bills itself as a nonprofit devoted to "Ideas Worth Spreading." This one is about ideas not only worth spreading but creating a call to action. To quote from their website: "It is a daunting task discovering new ideas. However, it is a different realm of challenges kindling ideas that not only resonate with our minds, but also create a call to action. This year, TEDxUCDavis strives to eliminate the fear of being different. We welcome everyone to the territory of unconventional thinking, where ideas are meant to revitalize, encourage, and inspire. In passing the torch of ideas, join us to ignite discussions exploring areas including technology, health, art, business, social change, and much more. Discover a richer understanding of what it means to be alive during the TEDxUCDavis Conference on May 1st." Tickets are $35 for general admission; and $17 for students and children under 18. (The event is not eligible for the UC Davis free student tickets, or staff, student and subscriber discounts.)
In addition to Washington, the speakers are
- Michael C. Webb
Director of Recruiting at Novogradac & Company LLP - Ellen Davis
Communication Major at UC Davis - David Lang
Professor and chair of the Economics Department at California State University, Sacramento - Kevin Riutzel
Student at Touro University, Nevada - Mindy Romero
Founder and director of the California Civic Engagement Project at the UC Davis Center for Regional Change - Rylan Schaeffer
Computer Science Engineering and Statistics double major, UC Davis - Fong Tran
Program Advisor/Coordinator for the UC Davis Cross Cultural Center - William Tavernetti
Lecturer at UC Davis Department of Mathematics
Performances will be presented by:
- Bakuhatsu Taiko Dan (BTD) dedicated to art of taiko
- Birdstrike Theatre, improv comedy team at UC Davis
About Ralph Washington, Jr.: He is studying for his doctorate with major professors Steve Nadler and Brian Johnson, who respectively specialize in systematics and evolutionary biology of nematodes and the evolution, behavior, genetics, and health of honey bees
If you attended the 2016 UC Davis Picnic Day and wandered over to Briggs Hall, you saw Washington holding forth as The Bug Doctor where he urged visitors to hold and photograph stick insects and to ask questions about insects in general.
If you attended the 2015 Linnaean Games at the Entomological Society of America meeting last November in Minneapolis, you saw Washington captaining the UC Davis Linnaean Games team--Brendon Boudinot, Jessica Gillung and Ziad Khouri--which went on to win the national championship. See YouTube video at https://youtu.be/_hA05K0NET4. The Linnaean Games is a college-bowl type competition in which teams answer questions about insects and entomologists.
And if you attend the 2016 Linnaean Games at the Entomological Society of America meeting in September in Orlando, Fla., you'll see the UC Davis team on stage defending its championship.
Although only in the second year of his doctoral program, Washington is already an incredible scientist and leader. He is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow, chair of the UC Davis Graduate Student Association, co-chair of the UC Council of Student Body Presidents, and one of the leaders of the UC Davis Black Graduate and Professional Students Association.
"Through these endeavors, Ralph has had the convenient opportunity to pursue his commitments to both science and social justice," the TEDxUCDavis organizers noted. "He will continue doing so during his future career as a research professor, by presenting science to low-income children."
It's good to see TEDxUCDavis focus on what matters, and in so doing, motivate, inspire and encourage others to do pursue their education, chase their dreams and reach their goals.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Countdown 'til UC Davis Picnic Day...
UC Davis will welcome thousands of visitors Saturday, April 16 to its 102nd annual Picnic Day, themed "Cultivating Our Authenticity." You can access the schedule of events here.
It promises to be educational, informative and entertaining.
In the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, graduate students are organizing numerous displays and activities in Briggs Hall on Kleiber Hall Drive. Director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology, and her crew are working on the displays in the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane.
Three of the traditional exhibits coordinated by the department are nominees for special awards. They are:
- "Little Swimmers and Fly Tying” (Briggs Hall), nominated in the category, "Hidden Treasures"
- "Medical Entomology” (Briggs Hall), listed in the category, "Academic Exhibits" and
- "Real Insects and Mimics" (Bohart Museum of Entomology), "Family Friendly" Exhibit.
An online voting poll, available from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, will determine the winners. Visitors may vote at https://orgsync.com/51524/forms/194037. Winning exhibits will be featured on social media pages such as the Picnic Day website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat accounts after Picnic Day. They also will be featured next year, in preparation for Picnic Day 2017.
The Briggs Hall open house will be from 9:30 to 4 p.m., and the Bohart Museum open house from 10 to 3 p.m.
Briggs Hall will be the site of a pollination pavilion, maggot art, cockroach races, fly-tying, face-painting, honey tasting, and a bee observation hive, and displays about ants, mosquitoes, aquatic insects and forest insects. The Bug Doctor booth ("The Doctor Is in") will be staffed by faculty and graduate students, while UC Davis forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, aka "The Fly Man of Alcatraz," and entomology graduate Danielle Wishon will staff the Dr. Death table.
Honey tasting? Visitors can taste these varieties: Peppertree, eucalyptus, almond, sage, sweet clover, and pine "honey," according to Extension apiculturist Elina Niño of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.
Also at Briggs Hall, the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) will give away lady beetles, aka ladybugs, to kids to take home to their gardens. UC IPM also will provide advice on how to manage home and garden pests with environmentally sound methods.
The Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) will be selling its popular insect-themed t-shirts.
At the Bohart Museum, the focus will be on "real insects as mimics." You'll see flies that look like bees--and bees that look like flies. In addition, you can hold and photograph the critters in the live "petting zoo," including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, and rose-haired tarantulas. The gift shop, featuring t-shirts, books, posters, insect collecting equipment, will be open.
Meanwhile, here's a look at some of "The Girls" you'll see: lady beetles (commonly known as ladybugs), Painted Lady butterflies, honey bees, all at Briggs Hall, and a rose-haired tarantula named "Peaches" at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
They go together like honey bees on bee balm and bumble bees on tomatoes.
When you attend the 102nd annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 16, be sure to head over to Briggs Hall, Kleiber Hall Drive, to see the Pollinator Pavilion, which will emphasize the importance of pollinators in both natural environments and food production.
"It is often said that one in every three bites of food we take is dependent on animal pollination," said Pavilion Pollinator coordinator Margaret "Rei" Scampavia, a doctoral candidate in entomology. "While there are some foods that do not rely on animal pollination, many of the tastiest and most nutritious food does. To this end, we have a series of posters demonstrating what a meal might look like with and without foods that benefit from animal pollination."
"We are going to have a series of exhibits showcasing pollinator diversity, demonstrating their importance in natural ecosystems and food production, and providing information on what members of the general public can do to help native pollinators," Scampavia said.
"We will have information on a wide variety of animal pollinators, including butterflies, flies, wasps, birds, and even bats. But the majority of the exhibit will focus on the most abundant pollinators: native bees."
The highlight is the walk-in Pollinator Pavillion, an enclosure where visitors can "safely view live pollinators, such as bees, butterflies and flies, up close and in person," the entomologist said. "Younger guests can practice scientific observation by filling out specially provided data sheets. Some of the species present will include: blue orchard bees, Monarch butterflies, Red Admiral butterflies, and Painted Lady butterflies."
Scampavia points out that the European honey bee "is the first thing many people think of when they hear the word pollinator. But in reality, this species is only one of tens of thousands of pollinator species; there are more than 20,000 species of bee besides the honeybee, for example. We hope that visitors to this exhibit will leave with a greater appreciation of the amazingly diverse animals that pollinate flowers."
Last year scores of enthusiastic visitors packed the Pollinator Pavilion. It proved to be one of the most popular, well-crafted, well-designed Picnic Day displays. Another eagerly anticipated event awaits Saturday.
And now there's an urgency.
"Many pollinator species are experiencing alarming declines," Scampavia said. "Monarch butterflies, for example, have declined by over 90 percent in the past ten years. To promote awareness of the plight of the Monarch, we have a series of exhibits with live caterpillars, chrysalises, and adults, which also contain important information about this species and what we can do to prevent further losses. There will also be information about ways to enhance outdoor spaces to promote and sustain healthy wild, native pollinators."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you've ever wanted to learn how to tell the difference between a honey bee and a drone fly, head over to the Bohart Museum of Entomology, University of California, Davis, during the 102nd annual campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day on Saturday, April 16. The overall theme of Picnic Day is "Cultivating Your Authenticity." The Bohart Museum's theme: "Real Insects and Their Mimics."
The Bohart, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, is ready for your questions. They'll be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The drone fly (Eristalis tenax) or European hover fly, is about the same size as a honey bee (Apis mellifera) and has similar coloring. They both visit flowers and sip nectar. But the drone fly has what appears to be an "H" on its back. The "H" does not stand for honey bee--but don't tell the fly that!
What is a drone fly? In its immature (larva) stage, it's known as a rat-tailed maggot. It lives in drainage ditches, manure piles and puddled, polluted water. The honey bee larva does not live in drainage ditches, manure piles, and puddled, polluted water.
But what a great mimic the adult drone fly is--so great that's it's commonly mistaken for a honey bee. One of the most memorable cases of misidentification occurred on the cover of Bees of the World, by Christopher O'Toole and Anthony Raw. Someone--not them--selected a fly for the cover. Major metropolitan newspapers, nature magazines, stock photo agencies and bee fundraisers have all made the same mistake. Here's a honey bee. Nope, that would "bee" a fly.
A quick way to tell the difference between a honey bee and a drone fly:
Wings:
Honey Bee: Four
Drone Fly: Two
Antennae:
Honey Bee: Elbowed antennae
Drone fly: Short, stubby antennae
Flight:
Honey Bee: Moves pointedly to a flower; it does not hover
Drone Fly: Hovers and moves erratically
Sting:
Honey Bee: Workers (and queens) can sting
Drone Fly: Does not sting. Does not bite.
Bottom line: Don't apply the "Duck Test" to honey bees and drones ("If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck").
"If it looks like a bee, buzzes like a bee, and visits flowers like a bee, well, you know, it may not be a bee; it may be a fly."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
What's a picnic without bugs?
Bugs may be uninvited guests at your family picnic, but at the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, set Saturday, April 16, bugs are not only invited, but more than welcome. And so are you, your family and friends. In fact, thousands will be attending the 102nd annual celebration, themed "Cultivating Your Authenticity."
The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology is among the departments participating, with activities at Briggs Hall on Kleiber Hall Drive from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and an open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Briggs Hall will be the site of a pollination pavillion, maggot art, cockroach races, fly-tying, face-painting, honey tasting, and a bee observation hive, and displays about ants, mosquitoes, aquatic insects and forest insects. The Bug Doctor booth ("The Doctor Is in") will be staffed by faculty and graduate students, while UC Davis forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, aka "The Fly Man of Alcatraz," will man the Dr. Death table.
The UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) will give away lady beetles, aka ladybugs, to kids to take home to their gardens. Lady beetles are beneficial insects and will make short work of your aphids. UC IPM also will provide advice on how to manage home and garden pests with environmentally sound methods.
At the pollinator pavilion, you can get up close and personal with butterflies, bees and other pollinators and learn how to protect our pollinators.
At the maggot art table, youths are invited to dip maggots into water-soluble paint and coax them to "create art" on a piece of white paper. Voila! Suitable for framing. And what a great conversation piece!
At the cockroach races, you are invited to cheer for your favorite roach. Everyone has a favorite roach, don't they?
You can also purchase a popular insect-themed t-shirt from the Entomology Graduate Student Association. Think beetles, bees, and wanna-bees.
Mosquitoes? They're invited, too. The Sacramento-Yolo Mosquito and Vector Control District will provide an educational exhibit about mosquito abatement.
Another popular exhibit at Briggs Hall is fly-tying by the Fly Fishers of Davis. They'll show you how to tie a fly.
At the Bohart Museum, the focus will be on "real insects as mimics." You'll see flies that look like bees--and bees that look like flies. In addition, you can hold and photograph the critters in the live "petting zoo," including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, and rose-haired tarantulas. The gift shop, featuring t-shirts, books, posters, insect collecting equipment, will be open.
All in all, it promises to be a picnic that will "bug ya." That's the plan!