"Native bees, including bumble bees are important pollinators but face threats from multiple sources, including agrochemical application," writes UC Davis doctoral student Danielle Rutkowski. "Declining bumble bee populations have been linked to fungicide application, which could directly affect the fungi often found in the stored food and GI tract of healthy bumble bees. Here, we test the hypothesis that fungicides impact bee health by disrupting bumble bee-fungi interactions."

That's the beginning of the abstract of her research presentation, "Fungicide Impacts on Bumble Bees Are Mediated via Effects on Bee-Associated Fungi," that she delivered  Nov. 1 in the mile-high city of Denver at the Entomological Society of America's annual meeting.

Rutkowski, a member of the lab of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and co-advised by community ecologist and professor Rick Karban, was participating in the 10-minute graduate student speech competition.

How did she do? She excelled! Rutkowski won first place, "The President's Prize," in her category, Plant-Insect Ecosytems, Ecology 3.

That's quite an achievement and well-deserved.

The remainder of her abstract: "Using two species, Bombus vosnesenskii and B. impatiens, we test the interactive effect of the fungicide propiconazole and fungal supplementation on the survival, reproduction, and microbiome composition of microcolonies (queenless colonies). We found that both bee species benefitted from fungi, but were differentially affected by fungicides. In B. vosnesenskii, fungicide exposure decreased survival while fungal supplementation mitigated fungicide effects. For B. impatiens, fungicide application had no effect, but fungal supplementation improved survival and offspring production. Fungicides altered fungal microbiome composition in both species, and reduced fungal abundance in B. vosnesenskii microcolonies, but not in B. impatiens, where instead fungal addition actually decreased fungal abundance. Our results highlight species-specific differences in both response to fungicides and the nature of fungal associations with bees, and caution the use of results obtained using one species to predict the responses of other species. These results suggest that fungicides can alter bee- fungi interactions with consequences for bee survival and reproduction, and suggest that exploring the mechanisms of such interactions, including interactions within bee-associated fungal communities, may offer insights into bumble bee biology and bumble bee conservation strategies." (Paper co-authored with Rachel Vannette, Eliza Litsey and Isabelle Maalouf)

Two other outstanding UC Davis doctoral students scored second place in their respective categories in the highly competitive events:

• Maureen Page, with the lab of pollinator ecologist Neal Williams, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology  and Nematology, presented "Optimizing Pollinator-friendly Plant Mixes to Simultaneously Support Wild and Managed Bees." She competed in the category, Plant-Insect Ecosystems: Pollinators. (Hannah McKenzie of Ohio State University won first place, The President's Prize.)
  
  
• Kyle Lewald, with the College of Biological Sciences and the Integrated Genomics and Genetics Graduate Group, but a member of the lab of molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, competed in the category, Systems, Evolution and Biodiversity: Genetics and Molecular Biology. He titled his presentation: "Assembly of Highly Continguous Diploid Genome for the Agricultural Pest, Tuta absoluta." (Amanda Markee of the University of Florida took home first place, The President's Prize.)

Maureen Page's abstract: "Despite the recognized utility of wildflower plantings to support honey bees and wild bees these two goals have largely been pursued separately. Furthermore, pollinator-friendly plant mixes are currently selected using estimates of flower visitation without considering among-plant differences in nutritional quality or how competition among bees might affect plant use. The nutritional composition of pollen and nectar strongly affects bee health and survival and bees use nutritional information to make plant foraging decisions. Additionally, honey bees, which are generally stocked at high densities in crop lands, have been shown to compete with native pollinators for pollen and nectar resources and such competition may lead to changes in plant choice and narrowing of diet breadth. In this study, I use data on flower visitation patterns and the nutritional quality of nectar and pollen from different plant species in conjunction with recently developed optimization models to identify plant mixes that meet the goals of enhancing honey bee nutrition and maximizing support of diverse bee communities while minimizing competition." (Paper co-authored by Professor Neal Williams)

Kyle Lewald's abstract: "Tuta absoluta represents one of the largest threats to tomato production worldwide. While initially contained to South America throughout the 20th century, T. absoluta were detected in Spain in 2006 before rapidly spreading throughout Europe and Asia over the next decade. To facilitate study of pesticide resistance, adaptation, and control strategies, researchers require a high quality, highly contiguous, and well-annotated genome assembly. The currently published genome assembly was generated using short-read technology for the purpose of developing molecular markers and studying population genetics; however, due to the genome's large size, heterozygosity, and repetitiveness, the assembly was highly fragmented, making it unsuitable for annotation or functional genomic studies. To address this, we extracted DNA from a single T. absoluta individual for sequencing with long-read PacBio HiFi technology to avoid assembly issues expected due to high genetic diversity and repetitiveness. We have now successfully created a diploid assembly that contains 98% of complete BUSCO groups and 99% of initial raw reads, with an N50 of 6Mb. The genome is 3% heterozygous, and is 60% composed of repeat elements, explaining the fragmented nature of the previous assemblies. By annotating this assembly with previously published RNAseq, protein, and repeat-element datasets, we expect this resource to advance efforts in understanding and developing control strategies for this invasive moth." (Paper co-authored with Professor Joanna Chiu) 

At the ESA's annual meetings, students are offered the opportunity to present their research and win prizes. There are several components, ESA says, to the competition: 10-minute papers (oral), posters, and infographics. First-place winners receive a one-year free membership in ESA, a $75 cash prize, and a certificate. Second-winners score a one-year free membership in ESA and a certificate.

The 7000-member organization, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Annapolis, Md.,, is the world's largest organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and others in related disciplines. Its members are in educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. The 2021 ESA president is Michelle Smith of Corteva Agriscience.

You may associate “tasting room” with wine in the Napa Valley, or olive oil in Fairfield, but now there's a tasting room in Woodland to sample honey and mead (honey wine). 

That's Z Specialty Food's newly constructed The HIVE, located at 1221 Harter Ave. Woodland. It's 42 years in the making, including four years of design and construction, said self-described "Queen Bee" Amina Harris of the family-owned business.

A grand opening public celebration, featuring live bands, plant tours, family activities, and honey and mead sales,  as well as food available from the HIVE and local food trucks,  will take place Saturday, Nov. 13 from 1 to 7 p.m., and Sunday, Nov. 14 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. 

Z Specialty Food, home of the Island of the Moon Apiaries, the Moon Shine Trading Company, and The HIVE, specializes in 30-plus honey varietals, including Mexican coffee golden reserve varietal honey, Northwestern blackberry gourmet  varietal honey,  Florida white tupelo honey, and California spring wildflower honey.  Another favorite: starthistle honey, favored by many beekeepers.

“I am passionate about introducing people to taking the time to taste honey properly, noticing every unique color, flavor, aroma and texture that comes through,” Harris said.

Inside the 20,000-square-foot, Zero Net Energy facility is an  "upscale wine tasting room, with a rustic wood rustic-clad bar where visitors stand while an employee behind the bar offers honey samples on tiny plastic spoons," according to an article in Sacramento Magazine. "Each honey is surprisingly unique, with its own distinct color, aroma and flavor profile."

Harris, who serves as the director of the UC Davis Honey and Pollination Center at the Robert Mondavi Institute, said her  husband, the late Ishai "Charles" Zeldner, founded Z Specialty Food in 1979. A  fourth-generation food merchant who worked with a beekeeping operation in Israel while living in the kibbutz, Beit HaShita, he later studied apiculture at UC Davis. He died June 17, 2018 at his home in Davis at age 71.  

"Our late founder, Ishai Zeldner, always wanted a place to host people from all over the world, and blow their minds around the vast array of flavors, colors and textures of varietal honey," the website relates. "Now you can experience the fruits of our labor, from a family business that has been through it all over the last 42 years, and counting."

Son Joshua Zeldner, nectar director of Z Specialty Food, commented about the grand opening celebration: "It's hard to believe we are finally here, a true dream come true..." His dad, he said, "always wanted to have a ‘honey museum' on I-5, and now we do. I am so excited to invite people to experience what we have created, the full circle of plants, bees, honey and mead."

The site includes a courtyard and a pollinator garden.

You may have never seen a tadpole shrimp, but you ought to be concerned about it, especially if you like rice.

It's neither a tadpole nor a shrimp, but a crustacean pest that feasts on rice seedlings in flooded rice fields. 

Rice growers currently rely heavily on pyrethroid insecticides  to manage tadpole shrimp. 

At the Entomological Society of America meeting this week in Denver,  agricultural entomologist and Cooperative Extension specialist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and his colleagues proposed alternative management. 

Grettenberger's poster, “Past Pyrethroids: Alternative Management Approaches for Tadpole Shrimp in Rice,” offers non-pesticide alternatives, including the use of mosquitofish. 

Collaborative research with UCCE Butte County director and Rice Farming Systems Advisor Luis Espino and UC Davis staff research associate  Kevin Goding, indicates that mosquitofish proved able to suppress shrimp populations.  

“Tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) are an early-season pest in California rice,” Grettenberger explained in his abstract. “Soon after flooding, eggs hatch and growing shrimp are soon large enough to damage germinating rice seedlings. Currently, pyrethroid insecticides are heavily relied upon for management, as they are in many cropping systems, because of their efficacy and low cost. However, contamination of surface waters is a concern, as is insecticide resistance.”

"We evaluated alternative management strategies that could be used to manage tadpole shrimp,” he wrote. “We tested a number of materials using small metal ring plots and natural shrimp populations. This included several timings of applications to mimic an early, more proactive application along with a later, rescue application, as well as reduced rates of a number of insecticides.”

 “In addition, we used large square metal plots to evaluate if a fish released for mosquito control, mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis), could suppress shrimp populations. We found that a number of materials could suppress shrimp populations, while unregistered materials did not provide sufficient control. Mosquitofish also proved able to suppress shrimp populations, although extremely high shrimp populations could escape predation and shrimp could outgrow risk to predators. These results could help a field crop industry move beyond pyrethroids, which will be important to address issues of environmental contamination or regulatory changes as well as changes in susceptibility.” 

Deep Look Video. Tadpole shrimp recently made the national news in two ways, Grettenberger said. First, they made news with the sudden appearance of tadpole shrimp following monsoon rains this summer in an ancient ceremonial ball court at the Wupatki National Monument in northern Arizona (https://www.livescience.com/dinosaur-shrimp-emerge-arizona). In October, KQED's Deep Look released a new video,  “Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Rice,"  the work of lead producer and cinematographer Josh Cassidy and other members of the Deep Look crew. (See https://youtu.be/T2xnXaX7r3g.) Grettenberger assisted with the project, providing tadpole shrimp and taking some of the video clips used in the five-minute video.  

 “Much of his shooting was in my garage,” the UC Davis entomologist said, “so I get to see just how much effort and care goes into producing these videos. They end up pretty short, but that doesn't mean it is simple to get all the pieces together.”

“This tadpole shrimp is coming for your rice,” the narrator said. “Hungry hordes of them find their way into the  ice fields of California's Central Valley and go to town munching on the young seedlings. But where did they come from, with the ocean so far away? A couple of weeks ago, this was just a dry dusty field. Turns out they were here all along.”

Deep Look referred to them as “time travelers,” as the eggs of shrimp tadpoles can be viable for decades and hatch when the rice growers flood their fields. "At the very least, they have survived as eggs since last season," Grettenberger noted.

The pests are neither tadpoles or shrimp but are fresh-water crustaceans descended from the ocean. “They look like tiny horseshoe crabs,” Grettenberger told Deep Look. “It's obvious when rice fields have lots of tadpole shrimp in them, because they stir up the mud making the water look a bit like chocolate milk. There will also be shrimp zooming around, many upside down at the surface, popping up for a few seconds before disappearing back into the murkiness."

Adult tadpole shrimp cannot survive when the soil dries out. But Grettenberger said their eggs have a rugged outer layer called a “chorion” that protects the eggs from desiccation.

“They've been living this way for hundreds of millions of years-- since before the dinosaurs-- waiting out droughts,  changing climates, even global catastrophes,” KQED relates in the video. “In a world where the future is unpredictable, tadpole shrimp are the ultimate survivors.”

Grettenberger, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty in January, 2019, focuses his research on field and vegetable crops; integrated pest management; applied insect ecology; and biological control of pests. 

Additional Information:

• Resource on tadpole shrimp, UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (co-authors, the late Larry Godfrey, Cooperative Extension specialist, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; Luis Espino, UC Cooperative Extension; and Sharon Lawler, professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
  
  
• "Effect of Rice Winter Cultural Management Practices on the Size of the Hatching Population of Triops longicaudatus (Notostraca:Triopsidae) in California Rice Fields" (Co-authors Larry Godfrey, Joanna Bloese, and Kevin Goding)