- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
You want to know why flies are fantastic?
They are, you know. Just ask Martin Hauser of the Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch, California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA).
He'll discuss "Why Flies Are Fantastic" at the Northern California Entomology Society meeting, set from 9:15 to 3 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 in the conference room of the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District, 155 Mason Circle, Concord.
Hauser will speak at 11 a.m.
The event, open to club members and their guests, begins at 9:15 a.m. with registration and coffee. Five speakers, including Hauser, are booked on the agenda.
Bob Dowell of CDFA’s Plant-Integrated Pest Control will speak at 9:30 a.m. on the "Distribution, Phenology, Quarantine and Threat of Cherry Worm Fruit Flies in California,” followed at 10:15 a.m. by John Chitambar of the CDFA Plant Pest Diagnostics Branch. Chitambar, a nematologist, will discuss “Nematodes that Cause Economic Losses to Plants and Animals."
The schedule also includes the annual business meeting at 11:45 a.m., and a catered lunch at noon by Kinder’s.
The afternoon speakers: Curtis Takahashi of CDFA’s Integrated Pest Control, discussing “Control of Newly Arrived Exotic Wood Borers” at 1:15 p.m., and Larry Godfrey of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, who will zero in on "Improved Management of Cotton Aphids in Cotton and Citrus: Importance of Overwintering Populations in Pomegranates" at 2 p.m.
The Northern California Entomology Society is comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons. Current president is Leann Horning, an ag technician with the CDFA’s Biocontrol Program. Members will elect new officers--president and vice president-elect--during the business session.
The society meets three times a year: the first Thursday in February, usually in Sacramento; the first Thursday in May, at UC Davis; and the first Thursday in November in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District conference room, Concord. Membership dues are $10 year.
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty serves as the secretary-treasurer. For further information, contact Mussen at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu or telephone him at (530) 752-0472.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Entomologist/integrated pest management specialist Frank Zalom, professor of entomology at the University of California, Davis, will discuss the identification and biology of the light brown apple
moth (LBAM) at the next meeting of the Northern
See the LBAM photos provided by David Williams, principal scientist, Perennial Horticulture, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria, Australia. The male is at the upper right and the female, lower right.
Zalom will highlight two studies that he and his lab conducted on commercial caneberry and strawberry fields in 2009 and 2010 to “evaluate the efficacy of ground-applied mating disruption products for LBAM management.”
The meeting begins at 9:15 a.m. with registration and coffee in the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s Plant Diagnostic Lab, 3288 Meadowview Road, Sacramento.
Zalom, who will speak at 9:45 a.m., is the first in a line-up of five speakers.
Zalom, who directed the UC Statewide IPM Program for 16 years, is a newly elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for “distinguished scholarly, educational and administrative contributions that have significantly advanced the science and application of integrated pest management in agriculture nationally and internationally.” He is also a fellow of the Entomological Society of America and the California Academy of Sciences.
Zalom focuses his research on California specialty crops, including tree crops (almonds, olives, prunes, peaches), small fruits (grapes, strawberries, caneberries), and fruiting vegetables (tomatoes), as well as international IPM programs.
The NorCal Society agenda also includes:
10:30 a.m. “Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies) of Argentina,” Natalia von Ellenrieder, associate insect biosystematist, Plant Pest Diagnostics, CDFA
11:15 a.m.: “Using New Biologically Produced Pesticides in Crop Pest Management,” Christopher Strutz, Crop Production Services, Sacramento
12 Noon: Lunch
1:15 p.m.: “Recent Developments in Controlling Olive Psylla, Euphyllura olivina (Costa),” Charles Pickett, Environmental Research Scientist, Biological Control, CDFA.
2 p.m.: “Impacts of Scale Insects on Humanity,” Gillian Watson, Senior Insect Biosystematist, Plant Pest Diagnostics, CDFA.
The Northern California Entomology Society is comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons. Newly elected president of the society is Leann Horning, an ag technician with the CDFA Biocontrol Program since 1990.
Luncheon reservations ($15 for a chicken meal from Poco Lollo) should be made by Feb. 1 with secretary-treasurer Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty. Mussen may be reached at ecmussen@ucdavis or (530) 752-0472.
The entomology group meets the first Thursday in February at the CDFA complex, Sacramento; the first Thursday in May at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility; UC Davis; and the first Thursday in November at the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District office, Concord. Membership dues are $10 per year.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
And also barbecued marinated ball tip and chicken quarters with barbecued beans and salad.
You can't ask for anything better than that! Bugs on the agenda and ball tip on the plates! (Well, salad, too!)
The occasion: the last Nor Cal meeting of the year. The members and their guests will meet from 9:15 a.m. to 2:30 in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District, 155 Mason Circle, Concord.
One of the hot topics is a newly discovered disease that kills black walnut trees.
Research entomologist Steve Seybold (above) of the Pacific Southwest Research Station, USDA Forest Service, Davis, and an affiliate of the Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, will provide an update on the disease at 10:15 a.m. Caused by a newly described fungus (Geosmithia morbida) spread by the tiny walnut twig beetle (Pityophthorus juglandis), it is known as "thousand cankers disease."
The disease is becoming a "significant problem" in California and seven other western states and could very well spread throughout the United States. It was detected in Tennessee last summer.
The society's agenda:
9:15 a.m.
Registration for club members and guests, with coffee
9:30 a.m.
“Bedding Plant/Container Color Alliance in California,” Christine Casey, UC Davis
10:15 a.m.
“Thousand Cankers Disease” by Steve Seybold of the USDA Forest Service and an affiliate of the UC Davis Department of Entomology
11 a.m.
“Statewide Invasive Insect and Mite Activities, 2009-2010, by Kevin Hoffman, Pest Detection and Emergency Projects, California Department of Food and Agriculture
11:45 a.m.
Annual business meeting; election of officers
12 Noon
Catered lunch by Kinder’s Custom Meats (barbecued marinated ball tip and chicken quarters with barbecued beans, tossed green salad, potato and fresh fruit salads, assorted soft drinks and cookie for $15)
1:15 p.m.
“UC Berkeley Drywood Termite Inspection Research Update” by Robin Tabuchi of UC Berkeley
2 p.m.
“Oriental Fruit Moth Parasitoid" by UC Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Program Advisor Walter Bentley, UC Kearney Agricultural Center, Pariier
The Northern California Entomology Society meets three times a year: the first Thursday in February in Sacramento; the first Thursday in May, at UC Davis; and the first Thursday in November in Concord. Membership is open to the public; dues are $10 year. The president is agricultural biologist Matthew Slattengren of the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture.
Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty serves as the secretary-treasurer and is taking reservations for the luncheon. He may be reached at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu or call (530) 752-0472.
The society is comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons.
The officers are hoping to build up membership in the organization, so if you have a keen interest in bugs--or what's bugging California--sign up!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's one of the topics at the next meeting of the Northern California Entomology Society, to be held from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, May 6 in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis.
It promises to be lively.
And bugly.
Matter of fact, the meetings are almost always lively. Entomologists have a keen sense of humor.
Take, for instance, "The Good, the Bad, the Bugly: Controlling Pests in Home Gardens." Baldo Villegas of the California Department of Food and Agriculture will be presenting that talk at 11:15.
Two UC Davis entomologists, James R. Carey (photo above) and Robbin Thorp (photo below), will speak--Carey on the medfly and Thorp on native pollinators.
Carey, a professor of entomology who specializes in insect biodemography and invasion biology, will present his talk on “Insect Invasion Biology: Overview of the General Principles and Case Study of the Medfly in California” at 9:45 a.m.
Thorp, an emeritus professor of entomology who continues his research at his Laidlaw facility office, will discuss "Native Bees as Pollinators” at 10:30 a.m.
Other speakers are
--Ralph Fonseca of the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture, will speak at 1:15 p.m. on “Personal Protective Equipment, Including UC Exemptions.”
--Humberto Izquierdo of the Napa County Department of Agriculture, will give a talk on “European Grapevine Moth Update” at 2 p.m.
A catered lunch will be served at noon. Or, attendees can bring their own lunch. There's still time to attend and/or order lunch if you contact the society's secretary-treasurer, Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0472.
The Northern California Entomology Society seeks new members; you don't have to be an entomologist to join. The group meets three times a year: the first Thursday in February, usually in Sacramento; the first Thursday in May, at UC Davis; and the first Thursday in November in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District conference room, Concord.
The president is agricultural biologist Matthew Slattengren of the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture.
And oh, yes, membership dues are only $10 a year.
That's the "good" part of the "The Good, The Bad and the Bugly."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Dragonflies, damselflies, dermestids and native bees.
Does an entomological life get any better than this?
Those are some of the topics to be discussed at the next meeting of the Northern California Entomological Society, set for Thursday, Feb. 4 in the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Plant Diagnostic Lab building, 3288 Meadowview Road, Sacramento.
The meeting, to be held from 9:15 to approximately 3 p.m., is open to all interested persons. Membership dues are $10 a year, according to secretary-treasurer Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist and a member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty (ecmussen@ucdavis.edu).
Patrick Foley, a theoretical population biologist and pollination biologist at California State University, Sacramento, will present a talk on "Native Bees of the American and Consumnes River."
The schedule:9:15 a.m.: Registration and coffee
9:45: “Native Bees of the American and Cosumnes Rivers” – Patrick Foley, Sacramento State University.
10:30: “Spotted Winged Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii: Research, Integrated Pest Management and Control” – Janet Caprile, Contra Costa County UC Cooperative Extension.
11:15: “Section 18 Pesticide Registration” – Margaret Reiff, Pesticide Registration, Department of Pesticide Regulation.
12:00 : Lunch (orders will be taken at the meeting) – $15
1:15 p.m.: “Neo-Tropical Odonata” (Odonata is an order of insects encompassing dragonflies (Anisoptera) and damselflies (Zygoptera). – Rosser Garrison, CDFA
2 p.m.: “Tour of CDFA Insect Collection with Special Emphasis on Controlling Dermestids and Other Destroyers of Museum Specimens” – Stephen D. Gaimari, CDFA
The Northern California Entomology Society meets three times a year: the first Thursday in February; the first Thursday in May, at UC Davis; and the first Thursday in November in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District conference room, Concord. Agricultural biologist Matthew Slattengren of the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture serves as president.
The society is comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons.