- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you enjoy taking images of insects and spiders, enter the 65th international Insect Salon competition. The deadline is Oct. 28.
The contest, open to photographers throughout the world, is sponsored by the Peoria Camera Club, Illinois, in conjunction with the Entomological Society of America (ESA) and the Photographic Society of America.
Coordinator Joe Virbickis of the Peoria Camera Club said the images are restricted to insects, spiders, and related arthropods (such as barnacles, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, centipedes, and millipedes.)
You don't have to be an ESA or a PCC member to enter. You can enter four images for a total cost of $10. Entries are restricted to insects, spiders, and related arthropods (such as barnacles, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, centipedes, and millipedes)
The awards:
Best of Show (PSA Gold Medal)
Peoria Camera Club (PCC) Medals: Most Unusual Image; Best Story Telling Image; Best Image by an ESA Member; Best Image by a Non-ESA Member; Best Image by Peoria Camera Club Member.
2022 Best of Show. The Best of Show medal went to Kenneth Gillies of West Lothian, Scotland, United Kingdom, for his “Peppermint Shrimps Inside a Sponge.”
Gillies was joined by the five other top winners:
- Medal for Most Unusual Image: Weihua Ma of Guangzhou City, Guangdong Province, China, for “Pretending to be a Branch.”
- Medal for Best Storytelling Image: Dre Van Mensel of Tielen, Antwerpen, Belgium, for “It's Mine.”
- Medal for Best Image by a ESA member: Kathy Keatley Garvey (yours truly) of UC Davis/Vacaville, Calif., for “Checking You Out.” of a golden dung fly, Scathophaga stercoraria.
- Medal for Best Image by a non-ESA member, Tim Sanders of Bideford, Devon, England, for “At Work.”
- Medal for Best Peoria Camera Club member: Ladean Spring of Creve Coeur, lll., for “Hummingbird Moth.”
See the 2022 winning entries at https://insectsalon.peoriacameraclub.com/results/2022/Html/sect_1.htm
The theme for Entomology 2023 is “Insects and Influence: Advancing Entomology's Impact on People and Policy.” The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889 and located in Annapolis, Md., is the world's largest entomological organization. It 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, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
If you live in California, tagged monarchs from the migratory research project of entomologist David James of Washington State University may be heading your way.
One tagged monarch, a male, fluttered into our Vacaville pollinator garden on Sept. 5, 2016. Citizen scientist Steven Johnson of Ashland, Ore., tagged and released it on Aug. 28. It nectared on Mexican sunflowers (Tithonia rotundifola) and a butterfly bush (Buddleia davidii) before heading to an overwintering site in coastal California.
The tag read “Monarch@wsu.edu A6093.”
James later told us: "So, assuming it didn't travel much on the day you saw it, it flew 285 miles in 7 days or about 40.7 miles per day. Pretty amazing."
If you see a tagged monarch ("quite a few are being tagged in southern Oregon," James says), try to take an image. Then detail the information (where spotted and when) and send it to the WSU entomologist at monarch@wsu.edu. Read more on his Facebook page, Monarch Butterfies in the Pacific Northwest.
Meanwhile, we've been seeing monarchs daily in our garden since late August. We spotted one monarch laying eggs on our tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica, on Aug. 10. (That was her choice of milkweed: she ignored the narrow-leafed milkweed, A. fascicularis; the showy milkweed, A. speciosa; and the butterfly weed, A. tuberosa.)
On Sept. 5, two monarchs, a male and a female, eclosed, while a male monarch patrolled overhead. The newcomers dried their wings and fluttered off. Both managed to escape several predators: Western scrub jays, praying mantises, and assorted crab spiders.
Welcome to the world!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
National Honey Bee Day is Saturday, Aug. 19 and you're invited to join this oh-so-sweet celebration!
Launched in 2009, National Honey Bee Day takes place on the third Saturday of August. The event originated when a small group of beekeepers petitioned the U.S. Department of Agriculture "to honor" the honey bees and beekeepers.
HoneyLove.org, a Los Angeles-based honey bee educational non-profit organization, manages National Honey Bee Day and boosts "the educational outreach, community action and advocacy efforts to protect the health and well-being of honey bees," according to its website.
California Master Beekeeper Program. While we're honoring bees, we should also honor the UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP), founded and directed by Elina Lastro Niño,associate professor of Cooperative Extension and a member of the faculty of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
"The award seeks to highlight teams who actively develop and encourage faculty/staff partnerships and as a result are able to make notable contributions to UC Davis that contribute to the University's Mission of Teaching, Research, and Service; and who exemplify outstanding achievement and/or service," according to Staff Assembly officials.
At the time of the nomination (March 15, 2023), CAMBP had
- Given 32,000 hours of volunteer time (Beneficial Educational Experiences) and served 186,630 individuals in education, outreach and beekeeping mentorship. If a volunteer hour is worth $26.87, the program has given $859,840 back to the state of California in service of science-based beekeeping and honey bee health.
- Enrolled 185 Honey Bee Ambassadors (a level established in 2021), 494 Apprentice, 93 Journey level candidates and certified 20 Master level beekeepers. There are 12 members in 2023 participating in their Master Capstone projects.
- Recorded 3752 hours since the team began tracking Continuing Education Experiences in 2020.
- Embarked on a project updating a safety manual.
National Honey Bee Day is also a good opportunity to learn about bees, our mini-agricultural workers that pollinate one-third of the food we eat.
The book includes 16 color plates (images contributed by Kathy Keatley Garvey), spotlighting a bee egg, bee castes, swarms and almond pollination, among others.
Princeton University Press bills the book as "the first up-to-date general reference of its kind published in decades. It is a must-have resource for social insect biologists, scientifically savvy beekeepers, and any scientist interested in bees as a model system."
Among his many honors and recognitions, Johnson was part of The UC Davis Bee Team that won the 2012 Team Award from the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America. Other members: Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (1944-2022); systematist/hymenopterist Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology; native pollinator specialist Robbin Thorp (1933-2019) emeritus professor of entomology; and pollination ecologist Neal Williams (now professor) who specializes in pollination and bee biology.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Congrats to the University of California recipients of awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information.
ACE officials recently handed out gold, silver and bronze awards at their 107th annual conference, held in Asheville, N.C. ACE's first conference occurred July 10, 1913, when land-grant college agricultural editors gathered at the University of Illinois.
And now, the California winners:
The University of California Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (UC IPM) won the gold award in the Information Technology category, Instructional Design for a Non-Academic Public Online Course, for its “Self-Paced Online Course: Urban Pyrethroid and Fipronil Use-Runoff and Surface Water Protection.”
The team: Petr Kosina, Cheryl Reynolds, Robert Budd, Aniela Burant, Carlos Gutierrez, Karey Windbiel-Rojas and Loren Oki.
The course, for pest management professionals who work primarily in structural pest control or landscape maintenance, “presents information on the Surface Water Protection Regulations that were put into place to reduce the amount of pyrethroids in surface water runoff. It discusses the types of applications allowed under the regulations as well as those that are prohibited and those that are exempt." The course, available for free, must be completed by Dec. 30 of the current year.
Kathy Keatley Garvey (yours truly), communication specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won a bronze award (third place) in the pictorial series category. Her submission included a series of monarch images published July 27, 2022 on her Bug Squad blog, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources website.
Headlined “Monarch Butterflies: Closer to Extinction,” the blog included photos of a monarch egg, caterpillar, chrysalis and male and female butterflies, all images she captured in her family's pollinator garden in Vacaville.
The blog dealt with International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) announcement on July 21, 2022 that the migratory monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus) is now on its "Red List of Threatened Species as Endangered--threatened by habitat destruction and climate change."
Wrote Garvey:
“The good news? That the iconic monarch landed on the Red List, which means opening safeguards to protect it."
“The bad news? Being on the list means that it's closer to extinction. The other bad news? The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, has not yet listed it as endangered or threatened, only that it's a candidate for its list of endangered and threatened wildlife."
“The sad news? The IUCN Red List now includes 147,517 species, of which 41,459 are threatened with extinction."
Garvey launched the Bug Squad on Aug. 6, 2008 and writes it every night, Monday through Friday. The insect blog draws worldwide rankings and accolades.
The ACE winners represent universities or higher institutions of learning in 18 states: Alabama, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Tennessee, Virginia and Wyoming. (See list)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Mussen (1944-2022) was an institution. He was a global authority of honey bees. He was family to everyone. He joined our UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in 1976, and although he retired in 2014, he continued his work.
So, every year since 2010 I've posted the "Thirteen Bugs of Christmas," and it seems right that I do so again.
Here's the story: Back in 2010, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen (now emeritus) and yours truly of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology decided that "The 12 Days of Christmas" ought to be replaced with insects.
Why not? "Entomology" means "insect science," and it's the holiday season so why not change "five gold rings" to "five golden bees?" And add some other insects and pests, as well.
Note that the original "Twelve Days of Christmas," published in 1780, features no insects. Zero. Zilch. Nada. Just a partridge in a pear tree, 2 turtle doves, 3 French hens, 4 calling birds, 5 gold rings, 6 geese-a-laying, 7 swans-a-swimming, 8 maids a'milking, 9 ladies dancing, 10 lords-a-leaping, and 11 pipers piping.
Didn't seem fair.
So "five gold rings" became "five golden bees." Mussen sang the innovative song at the department's holiday party. The lyrics went viral when U.S. News picked it up:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a psyllid in a pear tree.
On the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 2 tortoises beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 8 ants a'milking aphids, 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 9 mayflies dancing, 8 ants a'milking aphids, 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the tenth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 10 locusts leaping, 9 mayflies dancing, 8 ants a'milking aphids, 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 11 queen bees piping, 10 locusts leaping, 9 mayflies dancing, 8 ants a'milking aphids, 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me 12 deathwatch beetles drumming, 11 queen bees piping, 10 locusts leaping, 9 mayflies dancing, 8 ants a'milking aphids, 7 boatmen swimming, 6 lice a'laying, 5 golden bees, 4 calling cicadas, 3 French flies, 2 tortoise beetles and a psyllid in a pear tree
"On the 13th day of Christmas, Californians woke to see:?? 13 Kaphra beetles, ?12 Diaprepes weevils, ?11 citrus psyllids, ?10 Tropilaelaps clareae, ?9 melon fruit flies, 8 Aedes aegypti, 7 ash tree borers, 6 six spotted-wing Drosophila, 5 ?five gypsy moths, 4 Japanese beetles, 3 imported fire ants, 2 brown apple moths, and a medfly in a pear tree."
Today the song is still making the rounds, but with some different pests--pests that challenge the entomologists in the California Department of Food and Agriculture:
On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, a psyllid in a pear tree.
One the second day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, two peach fruit flies
On the third day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, three false codling moths
On the fourth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, four peach fruit flies
On the fifth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five gypsy moths
On the sixth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, six white striped fruit flies
On the seventh day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, seven imported fire ants
On the eighth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eight longhorn beetles
On the ninth day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, nine melon fruit flies
On the 10th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, ten brown apple moths
On the 11th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, eleven citrus psyllids
On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, twelve guava fruit flies.
On the 13th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, thirteen Japanese beetles
And, then, of course, there's that dratted pest, the Varroa destructor (varroa mite) from Asia, which arrived in the United States in 1987. Known as the No. 1 enemy of beekeepers, this external parasitic mite not only sucks a bee's lifeblood, but can transmit debilitating viruses. This is not what you want for Christmas--or any other time.
Rest in peace, Eric. We miss you.
