- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hello, Friday Fly Day!
It's time to post an image of syrphid fly, aka hover fly or flower fly.
We took this dorsal view of a syrphid fly in January of 2009.
This syrphid fly, probably as Syrphus opinator, was warming its flight muscles in the Ruth Risdon Storer Garden, part of the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. These flies are often mistaken for honey bees.
Interested in flower flies and their biological control roles? You'll want to read entomologist Robert Bugg's piece on "Flower Flies (Syrphidae) and Other Biological Control Agents for Aphids in Vegetable Crops" (Publication 8285, May 2008, University of California, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources.) Bugg, who holds a doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, and his four co-authors illustrated the 25-page research article with photos that will help you recognize many of the syrphids.
At the time Bugg was a senior analyst, agricutural ecology, UC Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program, UC Davis. Perfect name for an entomologist, don't you think?
Happy Friday Fly Day!
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Professor Thorp (1933-2019), a 30-year member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology and a worldwide authority on bees, was a tireless advocate of bumble bee conservation. During his retirement, he co-authored Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University, 2014) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday, 2014).
And every summer from 2002 to 2018, Thorp volunteered his time and expertise to teach at The Bee Course, an annual workshop sponsored by the American Museum of Natural History and held at the Southwestern Research Station, Portal, Ariz.
Thorp also served as the regional co-chair of the Wild Bee Specialist Group of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and sounded the alarm about bumble bee declines, including Franklin's bumble bee, Bombus franklini, found only in its narrow distribution range of southern Oregon and northern California. Thorp last saw it near Mt. Ashland in 2006 and it is is now feared extinct or at the brink of extinction. The bee inhabits--or did--a 13,300-square-mile area confined to five counties--Siskiyou and Trinity counties in California; and Jackson, Douglas and Josephine counties in Oregon.
Enter the California Bumble Bee Atlas (CBBA), a collaboration of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), Sacramento, and the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation, headquartered in Portland, Ore. Launched in March 2022, the Atlas is a "collaborative community science effort to track and conserve the state's native bumble bee species," according to Dylan Winkler, bumble bee scientific aide for the CDFW's Wildlife Diversity Program.
Back in September 2021, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced that the American bumble bee, "whose populations have plummeted by nearly 90 percent, may warrant Endangered Species Act protection." The announcement kicked off a one-year status assessment of the species. (See news story)
If you're interested in bumble bee conservation, take note. Winkler will lead a "Bumble Bee Walk" from 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, May 28 in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden. The goal is to teach interested participants how to survey bumble bees. You can pre-register at https://arcg.is/0PDyO4. Organizers plan to cap attendance at 20 people. Details about this Atlas event and several more scheduled in June:
- Saturday, May 28: UC Davis Arboretum, Davis, CA (Yolo County), parking at Putah Creek Lodge Parking Lot, Garrod Drive, Davis, CA 95616. Tour of the native plant gardens and the forest along Putah Creek from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Saturday, June 4: The Gardens at Lake Merritt, 666 Bellevue Avenue, Oakland, CA (Alameda County). Tour of the gardens from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.
- Sunday, June 5: College of Marin at Kentfield (Marin County), parking at covered Lots 6/7 off College Ave, Kentfield, CA 94904. Details: Meet at bridge over Corte Madera Creek. Tour of the campus native plants from 10 a.m. to noon.
- Saturday, June 18: Soil Born Farms, Rancho Cordova, CA (Sacramento County), parking at Soil Born Farms: American River Ranch, 2140 Chase Drive, Rancho Cordova, CA 95670. As part of National Pollinator Week, the group will tour the gardens from 10 a.m. to noon. Closed-toed shoes required.
Of the 50 species of bumble bees found in North America, an estimated 25 inhabit California. Overall, a quarter is at risk, according to the Atlas website. The decline is attributed to "loss or fragmentation of habitat, pesticide exposure, climate change, overgrazing, competition with honey bees, low genetic diversity, and perhaps most significant of all, the introduction and distribution of pathogens through commercial honey bee and bumble bee colonies used for crop pollination. All of these factors likely interact, increasing pollinator vulnerability. To support bumble bees, it is critical to protect existing habitat while creating and maintaining new habitat."
Winkler says "we will be using butterfly nets to catch bees, then move them to small vials, and chill them in coolers with ice, so we can take ID'able photographs of them before releasing." The full protocol is at https://www.cabumblebeeatlas.org/point-surveys.html
What bumble bees might you see May 28 in the Arboretum? Bombus vosnesenskii, the yellow-faced bumble bee, and B. melanopygus, the black-tailed bumble bee. "There is a record of B. crotchii at the arboretum from last year around the same date, which is rare and would be amazing to see!" Winkler said.
The project is funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service through the Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Fund. Funding is also provided by the Bureau of Land Management and several private foundations. Read more about the project and the list of coordinators here.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Admission and parking are free, but visitors must adhere to the COVID-19 Campus Ready guidelines. Masks will be required in accordance with campus policies, organizers said. (See news story)
It's a science-based event featuring scores of exhibits and it's an opportunity for visitors to chat with the scientists. Eleven UC Davis museums and collections will showcase their displays, ranging from stick insects to hawks to yeast cultures:
- Arboretum and Public Garden
- Bee Haven
- Bohart Museum of Entomology
- Botanical Conservatory
- California Raptor Center
- Center for Plant Diversity
- Department of Anthropology Museum
- Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology
- Nematode Collection
- Paleontology Collection
- Phaff Yeast Culture Collection
In addition to the central exposition, several side tours are planned. Destinations: Bohart Museum of Entomology, Bee Garden, Botanical Conservatory and the Yeast Culture Collection. The newest addition?
The Texas Tree Trials project is an exciting one. In the face of climate change, what trees should we plant in the Sacramento Valley region that could might do better in our triple-digit temperatures and ensuing drought? What trees are the most resilient?
As Urban Tree Stewardship interns Akanksha Pabari and Karla Tapia of Learning by Leading write on the Arboretum website: "As climate change becomes a more urgent issue and global temperatures continue to rise, 58% of our current urban tree species are predicted to be to be unsuitable for the projected 2100 climate in the Sacramento Valley region (McBride & Lacán, 20181). To prepare for this monumental loss, the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is working hard to establish a more resilient and climate-adapted tree canopy. With support from the Saratoga Horticultural Research Endowment, the Texas Tree Trials will provide the long-term research needed to adapt by testing the drought and heat tolerance of 40 new and underutilized tree species from west and central Texas. The knowledge and selections from these field trials will help the Sacramento Valley region diversify its urban forest to ensure its resilience in a changing world."
The team collected seeds from west and central Texas, referencing climate models.
Some of the trees are virtual "food banks" for insects.
"Many of the trees are keystone oaks that support tons of insects," Davis related. "There are also some flowering trees like Mexican buckeye (Ungnadia speciosa) and mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa) that are amazing for pollinators." Check out the full list here.
The mesquite tree, for example, attracts honey bees and native bees that forage for nectar and pollen. It's also the host plan for several species of butterflies.
"Through this research, the Arboretum and Public Garden hopes to expand the availability of promising, climate-adapted, and resilient trees to ensure that our beautiful and vibrant tree canopy continues to flourish," the Pabari-Tapla team wrote. "So next time you visit the Arboretum and Public Garden, be sure to stop by and enjoy the new planting site with all of the novel trees that will hopefully shade us for generations to come."
In the meantime, get out those walking shoes for the March 6th Texas Tree Trials Tour (TTTT)!
And if you'd like to help support the Biodiversity Museum Day Crowdfund, which ends at 12:50 p.m., Feb. 18, you can access the project at https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. Donors can be anonymous in name or contribution, or can donate in honor of or in memory of someone. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, said the two project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis. The goal is $5000.
"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," they said. "The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day is traditionally held on the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, last year's event was virtual, and this year's event is centrally located in the Conference Center. For more information, access the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day website and/or connect with Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
What is the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?
It's a free, open-to-the-public, science-based day that annually takes place the Saturday of Presidents' Day weekend and showcases nearly a dozen museums or collections. It's an opportunity for campus visitors to see exhibits and displays at various points on campus and converse with the scientists.
This year is the 11th annual. However, due to COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and UC Davis policies, the 2022 Biodiversity Museum Day will be held at one site--the UC Davis Conference Center, 550 Alumni Lane--and will be from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday, March 6. What's also different? It's geared for undergraduates and other members of the UC Davis community instead of the general public from surrounding counties. (The general public can look forward to the UC Davis Picnic Day on April 23, 2022 when many of the same museums and collections are scheduled to be featured.)
Participating collections at the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day include, but are not limited to, the Bohart Museum of Entomology, Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, Arboretum and Public Garden, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, California Raptor Center, Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, Nematode Collections, and Department of Anthropology Museum.
At the March 6th event, COVID guidelines for UC Davis, Yolo County and the state of California--including appropriate mask wearing, UC Davis symptom surveys, vaccination records or negative COVID tests--will be followed.
But back to "bee my valentine."
Honey bees are an integral to at least three of the museums/collections:
- The Bohart Museum of Entomology, part of the UC Davis Department of Entomology andNematology, houses a worldwide collection of eight million insect specimens, including honey bees, bumble bees, sweat bees and more. The insect museum is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, but it's currently closed to the public due to COVID pandemic.
- The Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden operated by the UC Davis Department of Entomology andNematology, is located next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. The late Robbin Thorp, distinguished emeritus professor of entomology, recorded more than 80 species of bees here.
- The UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden is a 100-acre site that's the pride and joy of the campus community. It's frequented by nature lovers, walkers, hikers and bicyclists, among others--and bees! The 100-acre site also boasts the much applauded 100 Arboretum All-Stars.
How can you help the bees as well as other fauna and the flora associated with UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day?
A UC Davis Crowdfunding Project is underway until 11:59 p.m., Feb. 28. Contributions from $5 on up are welcome, said project managers Tabatha Yang, education and public outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, and Rachel Davis, a GATEways horticulturist and museum scientist at the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
"Donations will not only help us sustain the free, in-person event, it will enable our student interns to take science outreach to a whole new level," they said. "The goal of our event is to connect people from all walks of life to science and the biodiversity surrounding them. All donors will be recognized on the Biodiversity Museum Day social media accounts with a shout-out post."
Any amount is appreciated: $5 will get you into the Fantastic Yeasts category; $10, the Sprout (Valley Oaks) category; $25, the Bumble Bee category; and $50, the Jeweled Spider Fly category. Other categories include Atlati, California Condor, and Smilodon. The goal: $5000.
Key expenses include:
- Volunteer support ($2000)
- Event rentals ($1500)
- Event materials ($1500)
To donate, access https://bit.ly/3HPhSaA. You can be anonymous in name or contribution, or you can have your name listed on the donor wall in honor of someone, or in memory of someone.
Or you can just say "Bee my Valentine."
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Well, if your name is Allan Jones of Davis, Calif., and you capture images of insects throughout the year--especially at the 100-acre UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden and the half-acre Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road--and you like to carve pumpkins as an art form, you know that insects and pumpkins go together. They go together very well.
Almost every year Jones carves fanciful pumpkins showcased in the Common Grounds coffee house at 2171 Cowell Blvd., Suite F. "So amazing!" said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology at UC Davis, who recently stopped by the coffee house and admired Jones' creations.
"They generally are based on some coffee-related theme," Jones related. "This year I drew on a photo that lingered in my mind of a praying mantis leaning around a sunflower to go shopping for bees. It's a trick or treat, or maybe a bad-things-brewing situation."
"So I've gone back and found the source photo and it is nothing like the pumpkin image I've conjured from memory. But the story is still pretty much on point with artistic liberties taken with insect and flower anatomy."
How he does it: "I 'surface carve' each pumpkin like a wood carving with a v-gouge, then color them. This way they last a month or more as coffee house decorations. Most are coffee-joke pumpkins but I also like to carve natural subjects for fun, too."
An alumnus of UC Davis, Allan became an Aggie in 1961, receiving degrees in English and German in 1966, and his master's in English in 1972. He joined the doctoral program in 1973 "but I quit in 1974, making my summer job of inspecting tomatoes my career for 43 seasons (with California Department of Food and Agriculture for half of my career and then working with CDFA on an independent advisory board). I did some workmanlike macro photography of tomato defects and wider shots of the inspection process for training.“
Allan spent the ‘70s in Dixon, and the ‘80s and ‘90s in Sacramento “before moving back to Davis after 2000.”
The UC Davis alumnus also created art with the UC Davis Art and Science Fusion Program, launched and directed by the duo of entomology professor Diane Ullman of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and self-described "rock artist" Donna Billick of Davis. Their campus and community projects are permanent displayed over much of the UC Davis campus, including the Arboretum and the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's bee garden, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven.