When UC Davis entomology alumnus Gary Lamberti, professor of aquatic science in the Department of Biological Sciences, University of Notre Dame,  and director of the university's Stream and Wetland Ecology Laboratory, accepts a Society for Freshwater Science (SFS) Career Award on May 18 in Grand Rapids, Mich., he will remember the road he traveled from California to Indiana to reach his career destination.

Lamberti received his bachelor's degree in entomology, with high honors, in 1975 from UC Davis, and his doctorate in entomological sciences in 1983 from UC Berkeley, where he wrote his dissertation on "Interactions among Herbivorous Insects, Algae, and Bacteria in a Geothermally Influenced Stream."

"I have wonderful memories of UC Davis, which really started me off on my path to entomology and then aquatic science, but always with a fondness for insects," Lamberti related in a recent email. "All of my entomology professors were great, but individuals that I distinctly remember include Warren Cothran for insect ecology (which convinced me switch from zoology to entomology), Les Ehler for insect classification (urged me to go to Berkeley for my PhD), Norman Gary for insect behavior (great teacher), Robbin Thorp for insect physiology (and my advisor), and of course, Richard Bohart for insect systematics (tough, but kind).  I can definitely say that my time at UC Davis and in the entomology department (I practically lived in Briggs Hall) was the formative period of my life."

"I think I was a junior when I had to take an ecology course for my major and got popped into Warren Cothran's insect ecology course of more than 100 students, which I loved mostly because of him.  Well, some time during the quarter he casually said to us: 'If anyone wants to come out to the alfalfa field where I do my insect research, let me know.'  Well, the next day I showed up at his office and said 'When can we go?'  I think he was stunned because no one ever took him up on it.  But sure enough, he said 'Okay, let's go tomorrow.'  So we went out there with nets and swept the field for insects, and he explained what was going on to me.  He was just inspirational, and later that semester I switched my major to entomology."

Lamberti shared a photo of a 1975 entomology class taught by Thorp. (See below.) The all-male students are displaying their collections. Entomology students then were predominately male, a sign of the times, he noted. Another sign of the times, as depicted in the photo: "Short shorts and a whole lot of moustaches." 

The international award, presented annually, recognizes those who significantly advance the scientific understanding freshwater science. The honor is a highlight of Lamberti's 40-year career.

Lamberti, a Fellow of SFS, served as SFS president in 1997. He joined the University of Notre Dame faculty in 1989 as an assistant professor, advanced to associate professor in 1995, and to professor in 2000. He chaired the department from 2008 to 2014. (See CV)

Lamberti, the Rev. Julius A. Nieuwland Professor of Aquatic Science, has co-edited Methods in Stream Ecology, authored more than 200 publications, and mentored 30 graduate students "and countless undergraduates in his laboratory."

And it all began at UC Davis.

A tip of the net to our trio of UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology award recipients who will be honored when the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA) meets April 10-13 in the Hyatt Regency Sonoma Wine Country. Santa Rosa.

• Medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, will receive the Medical, Urban, and Veterinary Entomology Award
• Doctoral student Erin Taylor Kelly of the Geoffrey Attardo laboratory will receive the Student Leadership Award 
• Undergraduate student Gwendolyn "Gwen" Erdosh of the Louie Yang lab will receive the inaugural Dr. Stephen Garczynski Undergraduate Research Scholarship  

Geoffrey Attardo is a global expert on vectorborne diseases, and renowned for his groundbreaking work on tsetse flies. Attardo, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology in 2017 from the Yale School of Public Health's Department of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases, “excels not only as a researcher, but as a teacher, mentor, scientific illustrator, macro photographer,videographer and science communicator,” said UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock in his letter of nomination. (See news story)

Erin "Taylor" Kelly, who joined the Attardo lab in 2018, is the two-term president of the UC Davis Equity in STEM and Entrepreneurship (ESTEME) and serves as the vice president of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA). "She excels in leadership, as well as in research, academics and public service," wrote SteveNadler, professor and chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, in his letter of nomination.  Known as Taylor, she "is an important role model, sharing her enthusiasm for entomology and other sciences with the public, and eagerly supporting undergraduate students and others on their paths to scientific careers." (See news story)

Gwen Erdosh is a research scholar in the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB) and president of the UC Davis Entomology Club.  The award memorializes a research geneticist at the USDA Agricultural Research Service in Wapato, Wash., with “an unmatched passion for mentoring undergraduate students in their research,” PBESA announced. Garczynski (1960-2019) specialized in the molecular genetics of codling moths and other tree fruit pests.  (See news story)

Entomology Games. The UC Davis Entomology Games team will be competing for regional honors and national representation. The team includes  doctoral candidate Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, captain;  doctoral candidate Jill Oberski of the Ward lab; doctoral student Erin “Taylor” Kelly of the Geoffrey Attardo lab; and doctoral student Madison “Madi” Hendrick of the Ian Grettenberger.

The Entomology Games is a lively question-and-answer, college bowl-style competition on entomological facts played between university-sponsored student teams. It was formerly known as the Linnaean Games. The preliminary round is from 5 to 6 p.m., April 10. Plans are to hold three rounds with questions from each of the 10 categories: Biological Control, Behavior and Ecology, Economic and Applied Entomology, Medical-Urban-Veterinary Entomology, Morphology and Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Systematics and Evolution, Integrated Pest Management and Plant-Insect Interactions, History of Entomology, and Entomology in Popular Culture.  (See UC Davis news story) 

The final round is from 8 to 10 p.m., April 11.  Both the championship team and the runner-up team will represent PBESA at the Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting, Nov. 13-16 in Vancouver, British Columbia. Last year's national champion was the University of Hawaii, which edged Texas A&M University.

UC Davis has scored three national championships since 2015. In 2018, the University of California team won the national championship, defeating Texas A&M. The team included captain Ralph Washington Jr., then a UC Berkeley graduate student with a bachelor's degree in entomology from UC Davis; doctoral students Brendon Boudinot, Jill Oberski and Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, and doctoral student Emily Bick of the Christian Nansen lab.

UC Davis won the national competition in both 2016 and 2015, defeating the University of Georgia in 2016, and the University of Florida in 2015. 

A number of other UC Davis faculty and students will participate in the PBESA meeting. (See schedule.)

PBESA encompasses 11 Western states, parts of Canada and Mexico and several U.S. territories.

• In the United States: Alaska, Arizona, California, Hawai'i, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming
• U.S. Territories: American Samoa, the Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Johnston Atoll, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Midway Islands, Wake Island
• In Canada: Alberta, British Columbia, Northwest Territories, Saskatchewan, Yukon
• In Mexico: Baja California, Baja California Sur, Sinaloa, Sonora

 

They're not exactly cute, cuddly little critters.

Some folks say they look like miniature alligators or "ugly, spiky orange-and-black buggy thingies."

Many a novice gardener has glanced at them, smashed them, and yelled "Gotcha! Now stay outta my garden, y'hear?

What they killed were the larvae of lady beetles, aka ladybugs (family Coccinellidae). They're beneficial insects, the good guys (and gals). Both the adults and the larvae of lady beetles feast on aphids and other soft-bodied insects such as scales and mites. 

They are not your enemy.  

And if there are kids in your family, show them this time-lapse video of the Ladybug Life Cycle by TSST. That would be "The Kid Should See This."

"One ladybug can eat up to 5,000 insects in its lifetime!" says TSST. "Most ladybugs have oval, dome-shaped bodies with six short legs. Depending on the species, they can have spots, stripes, or no markings at all."

Spoiler alert: You can't say that "no animals were harmed in the making of this video." Yes, there's some cannibalism. It's not good to be the last egg hatched. 

The alliteration doesn't get much better--bees buzzing on breathtaking berry blossoms.

Berry blossoms are in full bloom in the UC Davis Ecological Garden of the Student Farm, part of the UC Agricultural Sustainabilty Institute. 

The Ecological Garden is "a half-acre garden comprised of flowers, vegetables, herbs, fruit trees, vines,insectary plants, chickens, California native plants, worm composting, and aerobic composting systems," according to the website. "Students maintain the space as they learn and share gardening techniques and general principles of ecological horticulture. In addition to the diverse plantings, the Ecological Garden program includes seed saving efforts, self-taught medicinal herb processing and use, and flower production. The Ecological Garden is the central site for the Kids in the Garden Program that hosts farm field trips for school groups and also the site for workshops and activities of the UC Davis School Gardening Program."

It's also a site where entomology students of Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a UC Davis distinguished professor with the Department of Entomology and Nematology learn about about insects. Her field trips are quite popular.

And the bees? They may very well "bee" from the apiary at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road.

So there you have it. Bee Biology Bees Buzzing on Breathtakingly Beautiful Berry Blossoms.

A berry, berry good sign of spring!