- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Being named a Fellow of the 6000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA) is like winning the Pulitzer Prize in the bug world.
So many talented entomologists out there. So few awards. And even fewer prestigious awards.
When the ESA today announced its 10 Fellows for 2011, two University of California, Davis professors were on the list: Diane E. Ullman, who doubles as the associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and James R. Carey, considered the world’s foremost authority on arthropod demography and a world expert on the invasion biology of tephritid fruit flies, particularly the Mediterranean fruit fly.
Ullman's research revolves around insects that transmit plant pathogens, in particular plant viruses. She is best known for advancing international knowledge of interactions between thrips and tospoviruses and aphids and citrus tristeza virus.
With the additions of Ullman and Carey, the number of ESA Fellows in the UC Davis Department of Entomology totals 15 since 1947, quite an accomplishment for one department.
Read about the Ullman/Carey accomplishments on the UC Davis Department of Entomology website.
Three others affiliated with the UC System made the list:
--Anthony A. James, a distinguished professor of microbiology and molecular genetics in the School of Medicine and Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, School of Biological Sciences at UC Irvine.
--Brad Mullens, professor of entomology, College of Agricultural Sciences, UC Riverside, and
--Fred Stephen, who began his forest entomology career at UC Berkeley and is now a professor of entomology at the University of Arkansas
Elsewhere throughout the country, the coveted honor went to Susan Brown, professor of biology at Kansas State University; Angela Douglas, professor of insect physiology and toxicology at Cornell University; Frank Gilstrap, former biology control faculty member with Texas A&M and now retired; Naomi Pierce, Hessel professor of biology at Harvard University; and Marlin Rice, former professor at Iowa State University and now a senior research scientist with Pioneer H-Bred International in Johnston, Iowa.
The 10 new Fellows will be inducted at the ESA's 59th Annual Meeting, set Nov. 13-16, 2011 in Reno, Nev.
The Fellow awards are quite prestigious as the ESA Governing Board can select no more than 10 each year. The society, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines.
Headquartered in Lanham, MD, the organization is affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, and hobbyists.
Some folks toast their accomplishments with a bottle of champagne. We suspect these 10 newly selected Fellows might just tip...an insect net.
![Diane Ullman, entomology professor and associate dean at UC Davis, is a newly elected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Diane Ullman, entomology professor and associate dean at UC Davis, is a newly elected Fellow of the Entomological Society of America. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/7810.jpg)
![Professor James R. Carey of UC Davis, considered the world’s foremost authority on arthropod demography, is a newly selected ESA Fellow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Professor James R. Carey of UC Davis, considered the world’s foremost authority on arthropod demography, is a newly selected ESA Fellow. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/7811.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
There's something about maggots that non-forensic entomologists don't like.
"Those are the larvae of a fly," a mother told her inquiring daughter last Saturday at the Maggot Art table at Briggs Hall, UC Davis campus. The occasion: the 97th annual UC Davis Picnic Day.
Maggot Art? It's been part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology's featured Picnic-Day attractions since 2003.
It started with graduate student Rebecca O'Flaherty, who coined the name, "Maggot Art," and established it as an educational curriculum. She's taught youths and adults alike to dip a maggot in non-toxic, water-based paint and let it crawl (or guide its movements) on white paper. Voila! Maggot Art!
“The beauty of the Maggot Art program,” O'Flaherty told us a few years ago, “is its ability to give hands-on, non-threatening experience with an insect that most people fear or loathe.”
So last Saturday, scores of children crowded around the table awaiting their turns. Once finished, they literally danced away with their masterpieces.
Can't you just see the result? A favorite aunt or uncle comes to visit and there's a colorful "painting" on the refrigerator.
"What's that?"
"Maggot Art."
That's definitely a conversation piece.
Anyway, one of the Maggot Art artists at UC Davis Picnic Day was entomologist-artist Diane Ullman, associate dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor in the UC Davis Department of Entomology. Ullman and colleague Donna Billick co-founded and co-direct the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and on occasion invited O'Flaherty into their classrooms to teach Maggot Art.
Last Saturday, when Ullman volunteered to staff the Maggot Art table, she found a little time to create her own insect art--again.
"It's just like old times," she said.
![This work, Maggot Art, is by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) This work, Maggot Art, is by entomologist/artist Diane Ullman. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/6838.jpg)
![Entomologist/artist Diane Ullman (left) at work with Maggot Art. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) Entomologist/artist Diane Ullman (left) at work with Maggot Art. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/6839.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
![kiddspecimenssmall kiddspecimenssmall](http://ucanr.org/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5919.jpg)
The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and the Pence Gallery, Davis, are co-sponsoring a “Consilience of Art and Science Exhibit,” set Jan. 14-Feb. 27, at the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis.
This will include several special events: a reception on Jan. 14 from 6 to 9 p.m.; a talk by Byron Wolfe, photographer and professor of art at California State University, Chico, who will discuss the work of pioneer photographer Eadweard Muybridge; and a juror’s walk-through from 6 to 7 p.m., Feb. 11. All are free and open to the public. (See more information.)
Diane Ullman, co-founder and co-director of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, and James Housefield, professor of design at UC Davis, juried the show, which drew artists from California, including Davis and northern California; New Mexico, Oregon, Washington state, and New York.
“The artwork we received from artists across the nation explores the creative nexus where art and science interconnect," said Ullman, associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and professor of entomology. "The exhibit is visually and intellectually exciting and we commend the Pence Gallery for sponsoring it.”
Said Housefield: "Artists' investigations of the forms, structures, practices, and philosophies of science have provided long provided ways for the general public to dream about what art and science can become. We are very fortunate that the resources of the University of California, the arts communities of Davis, and a national array of contemporary artists come together in the space where art and science meet. I hope that this version of the 'Consilience' exhibition will spark more conversations about the ways that artists and scientists may inspire one another."
One of the works, by Joanna Kidd of Davis, is titled "Specimens." It is comprised of three wall cases and a floor case. Specimens are small human sculptures (see top photo), all pinned and displayed as they would be in an insect collection.
So very creative!
Housefield's comment about the ways that artists and scientists can inspire one another definitely holds true with "Specimens."
![ENTOMOLOGIST-ARTIST Diane Ullman served as a juror for ENTOMOLOGIST-ARTIST Diane Ullman served as a juror for](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5916.jpg)
![PROFESSOR OF DESIGN James Housefield of UC Davis juried the art show with entomologist-artist Diane Ullman. (Photo by Taylor Lahey) PROFESSOR OF DESIGN James Housefield of UC Davis juried the art show with entomologist-artist Diane Ullman. (Photo by Taylor Lahey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5917.jpg)
!['SPECIMENS' by artist Johanna Kidd of Davis is comprised of three wall cases and a floor case. Specimens are small human sculptures, all pinned and displayed as they would be in an insect collection. (Photo provided by Johanna Kidd) 'SPECIMENS' by artist Johanna Kidd of Davis is comprised of three wall cases and a floor case. Specimens are small human sculptures, all pinned and displayed as they would be in an insect collection. (Photo provided by Johanna Kidd)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5918.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
A gigantic bee sculpture and bee hive columns are major attractions at the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of the California, Davis.
The grand opening of the half-acre bee friendly garden took place Sept. 11 but the garden is open year around at no charge. Located on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus, it is proving to be a major campus destination.
The key goals of the haven are to provide a year-around food source for the Laidlaw bees and other pollinators; to raise public awareness about the plight of honey bees; to encourage visitors to plant bee-friendly gardens of their own; and to serve as a research site.
Noted artist Donna Billick created the six-foot-long sculpture, "Miss Bee Haven," located beneath an almond tree. The UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program provided the ceramic tiles around the bench and the bee hive columns.
Billick and entomologist Diane Ullman co-founded and co-direct the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program. Ullman, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, serves as the associate dean for Undergraduate Academic Programs, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Plans are in the works for more art from the Art/Science Fusion Program to bee-utify this bee friendly garden.
![BEE SCULPTURE, titled BEE SCULPTURE, titled](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5366.jpg)
![SIDE VIEW of the bee sculpture shows the names of major donors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) SIDE VIEW of the bee sculpture shows the names of major donors. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5367.jpg)
![CLOSE-UP of one of the bee hive columns at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The garden is open year-around. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) CLOSE-UP of one of the bee hive columns at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The garden is open year-around. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/5368.jpg)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
![sarahdalrympleforweb sarahdalrympleforweb](http://ucanr.org/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4921.jpg)
Now they are thinking inside and outside the hive.
Visitors to the grand opening celebration of the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, set from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 11, will see two columns of bee hives or “bee boxes” gracing the entrance to the half-acre bee friendly garden, located at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis.
“They’re fantastic,” said bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey. “They’re beyond fantastic—the art work is awesome. Not only is the quality of artwork highly impressive, the coverage and accuracy of the honey bee life cycle and activities depicted are extremely well done.”
Cobey is right. They are amazingly bee-utiful.
The colorfully painted bee hives are the work of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, co-founded and co-directed by Ullman and Billick. Ullman is an entomology professor and associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and Billick is a noted artist who holds a bachelor’s degree in genetics and a master’s degree in fine arts.
Dalrymple, a UC Davis entomology graduate student, served as the teachers’ assistant for the program’s Graphics and Communications Studio section.
As part of their research, the students enrolled in the class visited the Laidlaw facility, learning about bees from Cobey and staff research associate-beekeeper Elizabeth Frost.
“From my view, watching this come together has been a highlight, as the students asked their numerous questions seeking accuracy and sought the experience of opening a colony and observing bees in their numerous duties,” Cobey said. “The delight and amazement of students holding a frame of brood, watching a new bee emerge from her cell, feed larvae or pack in pollen for first time, is also is a thrill for me.”
Each sculpture is stacked with seven real bee hives, so real that curious Laidlaw bees try to enter them. One column depicts life inside the hive, and the other column, life outside the hive. Among the images: a queen bee laying eggs, nurse maids caring for the brood, and foragers collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water.
The half-acre bee friendly garden, open year around at no charge, includes a 6-foot-long honey bee, created by Billick and funded by Wells Fargo. It's a worker bee appropriately placed beneath an almond tree.
Ceramic tiles on the bench below the bee were created by undergraduate students in a freshmen seminar for Davis Honors Challenge students; community members; and sixth grade students at Korematsu Elementary School, Davis.
Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, once said that the honey bee haven is sure to become "a campus destination."
She "bee" right.
(See this web page for more information on the grand opening.)
![THE TWO BEEHIVE columns installed at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven involved intricate work. Here Diane Ullman, Eric Mussen and Donna Billick adjust the structure. Ullman and Billick are the co-founders and co-directors of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program that created the art for the haven. Mussen is an Extension apiculturist and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) THE TWO BEEHIVE columns installed at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven involved intricate work. Here Diane Ullman, Eric Mussen and Donna Billick adjust the structure. Ullman and Billick are the co-founders and co-directors of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program that created the art for the haven. Mussen is an Extension apiculturist and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4926.jpg)
![INSTALLING a beehive column in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven are Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen and UC Davis entomology professor Diane Ullman, associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) INSTALLING a beehive column in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven are Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen and UC Davis entomology professor Diane Ullman, associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4927.jpg)
![TWO SETS of hands raise a bee box at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The trio of Eric Mussen, Diane Ullman and Donna Billick installed the two beehive columns, which grace the entrance to the bee friendly garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) TWO SETS of hands raise a bee box at the Haagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven. The trio of Eric Mussen, Diane Ullman and Donna Billick installed the two beehive columns, which grace the entrance to the bee friendly garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/4928.jpg)