Wanted: the first bumble bee of the year in Yolo or Solano Counties! If you're the first to photograph one and email it to the Bohart Museum of Entomology you'll win the prize: a coffee cup designed with an image of the endangered Franklin's bumble bee.

What's it all about? The Bohart Museum of Entomology is launching its second annual Robbin Thorp Memorial Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest to see who can find and photograph the first bumble bee of 2022 in Yolo or Solano counties.

Participants are to capture an image of a bumble bee in the wild in either of the two counties and email the image to bmuseum@ucdavis.edu, with the details of time, date and place. The image must be recognizable as a bumble bee, said contest coordinator Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and a UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology. 

The winner will receive a coffee cup designed with the endangered bumble bee that the late Robbin Thorp closely monitored—Franklin's bumble bee, Bombus franklini, known to exist in a small area by the California-Oregon border.  UC Davis doctoral alumnus Fran Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College and a Bohart Museum scientist, designed the cup. Bohart scientist Brennen Dyer photographed the specimen.

Thorp, a global authority on bees and a distinguished emeritus  professor of entomology at UC Davis, always looked forward to finding or seeing the first bumble bee of the year in the area. 

The native black-tailed bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus, is the first bumble bee to emerge in the area, according to Thorp. It forages on manzanitas, wild lilacs, wild buckwheats, lupines, penstemons, clovers, and sages, among others.

Thorp served on the UC Davis entomology faculty for 30 years, from 1964 to 1994. Although he achieved emeritus status in 1994, he continued to engage in research, teaching and public service until a few weeks before his death on June 7, 2019 at age 85 at his home in Davis.

The inaugural winner of the contest was UC Davis postdoctoral researcher Charlie Casey Nicholson, who photographed B. melanopygus, in a manzanita patch  at 3:10 p.m., Thursday, Jan. 14, 2021 in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden to claim the honor. 

Nicholson, a researcher in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology labs of Professor Neal Williams, a pollination ecologist, and Extension apiculturist Elina Lastro Niño, is a 2015 alumnus of The Bee Course, where Thorp taught from 2002 through 2018.  The nine-day intensive workshop, geared for conservation biologists and pollination ecologists and considered the world's premiere native bee biology and taxonomic course, takes place annually in Portal, Ariz., at the Southwestern Research Station, part of the American Museum of Natural History, N.Y. 

Kimsey praised Thorp for his expertise, generosity and kindness. Kimsey, who first met Thorp when she was a graduate student at UC Davis, said that although he wasn't her major professor, “my project was on bees and he was incredibly helpful and supportive. His enthusiasm about pollinators and bees in particular actually grew after he retired, and he continued helping students and researchers and was the backbone of so much research. His support and kindness was matched by his undemanding assistance and expertise.”

In 2014, Thorp co-authored two books, Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide (Princeton University) and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists (Heyday).

Thorp,  the last known person to see Franklin's bumble bee in its native habitat, spotted it in 2006 near Mt. Ashland. The bee inhabits--or did--a 13,300-square-mile area within the five-county area of Siskiyou and Trinity in California; and Jackson, Douglas and Josephine in Oregon. 

Thorp sighted 94 Franklin's bumble bees in that area in 1998, but by 2003, the tally had dropped to three. Thorp saw none in 2004 and 2005; one in 2006; and none since. Thorp's determined hunt for the bumble bee resulted in the CNN publication of "The Old Man and the Bee," a spin-off of Hemingway's "The Old Man and the Sea."

Ready for the new year?

The UC Davis Department of Nematology's winter quarter seminars will  take place on Wednesdays at 4:10 p.m., beginning Jan. 5 and continuing through March 9, announced seminar coordinator and nematologist Shahid Siddique, assistant professor. 

Both in-person and virtual seminars will be broadcast via Zoom at https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/99515291076. The in-person seminars will be in 122 Briggs Hall.

First on tap is agroecologist Randa Jabbour of the University of Wyoming, who will present a virtual presentation at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 5 on "Interdisciplinary Collaborations in Pest Management Research--My Alfalfa Weevil Stories." UC Extension agricultural entomologist Ian Grettenberger, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will host the seminar.

"Alfalfa weevil was first found in the Western United States in the early 1900s and continues to be a particularly problematic pest in the Western United States," Jabbour says in her abstract. "I will share current research to improve sustainability of alfalfa weevil management, much of which centers on timing –both harvest timing and pesticide spray timing. I will talk about my favorite things: biological control, interdisciplinarity, farmer perspectives, and new ideas from grad students."

Jabbour says her overall research "is to utilize ecological interactions to design sustainable agricultural systems. Specifically, I study 1) pest management in cropping systems, 2) the effect of biodiversity and habitat heterogeneity on ecosystem services, and 3) the role of farmer decision-making in agricultural management, in collaboration with social scientists. Here in Wyoming, I plan to develop research projects in these areas in relevant field crop and forage systems, in collaboration with faculty and Extension professionals here at the University and with others in the region."

Jabbour holds a bachelor of science degree (2003) from the Rochester Institute of Technology and a doctorate from Pennsylvania State University, where she focused on the biological pest control of insects. She served as a postdoctoral scholar from 2009 to 2010 at Washington State University, where "I studied the effects of pathogen diversity on host mortality of the Colorado potato beetle, gaining perspective in both biodiversity-ecosystem functioning research and the practical realities of 'big ag' potato fields." She completed a second post-doctoral position at the University of Maine, where she engaged in  "balanced teaching and research responsibilities."

Jabbour's research at the University of Maine, in collaboration with social scientists and her supervisor Eric Gallandt, characterized New England organic farmer weed management philosophies, she wrote on her website. "This project was a great opportunity for me to incorporate the human dimension of pest management into my ecological research. I also collaborated with MS student Sonja Birthisel to quantify sources of variation of weed seed predation rates in a diverse Maine agricultural landscape. I particularly appreciate learning from the extensive experience of farmers, and I am passionate about supporting local food systems. I enjoy exploring the dramatic landscapes of the West, and feel as if I have just barely begun traveling around the big wondrous expanse that is my new home in Wyoming-- lots of ground to cover! In my spare time, I enjoy hiking, road trips, cooking, yoga, trying to be a runner again, and reading all sorts of things."

For the full schedule, see this page. For seminar technical issues, Siddique may be reached at ssiddique@ucdavis.edu.

It's beginning to look a lot like...chrysalis.

It didn't "look at all like chrysalis" this year in our pollinator garden in Vacaville, Calif. We spotted only one monarch--repeat, only one monarch--and it fluttered around and finally oviposited on our milkweed.  

The eggs vanished. Maybe the lady beetles, aka ladybugs, feasted on them. Milkweed bugs, spiders, wasps, mantids, ants and other critters also prey on the eggs and neonate larvae.  And then there are the parasitoids, such as tachinid flies.  (See research article and a chart in Scientific Reports showing a diverse list of predators covering nine orders, from Dermaptera to Orthoptera.)

Anyway. Zero. Zilch. Nada.

But the clusters of overwintering monarchs along coastal California tell a different story. The Western Monarch Thanksgiving Count, the work of the Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation and its volunteers, revealed more than 200,000 monarchs in 2021. Compare that to Thanksgiving Count in 2020 when the tally hit a record low of less than 2000--and fears of the "E" word (Extinction) flared.  

‘Twas the night before chrysalis 
And all through the...

Stop! I hear something on the roof! Is that, you, Santa? You say you picked up a orange-and-black winged hitchhiker in Santa Cruz? And you're going to care for it? Thanks, buddy!

Meanwhile, we wish you a Merry Chrysalis! (And a Happy New Year!)

"It's wasp time! This is a beewolf! Have you ever heard of beewolves? Well, neither had I until I discovered a bunch of them nectaring on Queen Anne's Lace flowers near my apartment complex! Have you noticed a pattern in the insects I post? A lot of them prey on bees. Bees must be quite tasty and nutritious!"

So began Gwentomologist on her Instagram account.

"Beewolves are in the genus Philanthus," she continued. "This species is Philanthus multimaculatus. They are in the family Crabronidae. This species is native to the west coast of the United States. Beewolf wasp adults eat nectar from flowers, but the larvae are carnivores! The females dig out tunnels in the soil for their young. They catch and sting bees, then bring them into the nest. They lay their eggs in this little nest and block it off so it is protected. The wasp larvae feed on the provisions their mother provided for them, and then emerge in the summer as adults, to start the cycle again!"

She added: "I just love their green eyes so pretty! These wasps are important pollinators, just like bees, and they control the bee populations. As bees decline in population size, these wasps also suffer."

Who is Gwentomologist? 

She's 21-year-old Gwendolyn “Gwen” Erdosh, a UC Davis entomology major and undergraduate researcher with more than 22,000 followers on Instagram, where she shares her fascination, passion and growing scientific knowledge of entomology with the intensity of a moth heading for light. 

Erdosh, president of the UC Davis Entomology Club, a scholar in the campuswide Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology (RSPIB), the recipient of a Provost's Undergraduate Fellowship (PUF) research award,  and a volunteer at the Bohart Museum of Entomology, brims with enthusiasm.  nd growing scientific knowledge of entomology with the intensity of a moth heading for light. 

Gwen launched her Instagram account in 2013 to share her passion for moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera).  “Back then, it was one of only a few accounts that focused on such a niche interest," she said. "It quickly grew in popularity and a community of insect-obsessed teenager formed, all with similar goals. Through social media, we were able to make amazing connections, which I still have today. Eventually, my passion expanded from just Lepidoptera to a fascination with every type of arthropod on the planet!” 

On her account, she posts "my own macro-photographs with detailed captions about the featured insect. My goal is to not only teach others, but also learn a lot myself. I also post fun and engaging videos to encourage others to pursue entomology. Many times, people have told me that my page helped them decide that they wanted to pursue entomology as a career! I love being able to spread the love of insects to others, and will continue to be active on my page.” Additionally, she maintains a YouTube account as “gwentomologist.” 

She captures the images with either her Nikon D3200 with a Sigma105 mm f/2.8 EX macro lens, or her Iphone 11.   

A 2018 graduate of Los Gatos High School, Santa Clara County, and a UC Davis student since 2019, Gwen anticipates receiving her bachelor's degree in 2023. In February 2020, she applied for—and was accepted—into the highly competitive RSPIB program, which aims to provide undergraduates with closely mentored research experiences in biology. She studies with community ecologist and professor Louie Yang, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, one of the three RSPIB founders. 

“I actually first met Gwen when she was still in high school,” said Professor Yang. “She was doing a research project with monarch butterflies and emailed me with a few questions. Even then, I was impressed with her knowledge, focus and determination, and was glad to hear when she came to UC Davis. She applied to the Research Scholars Program in Insect Biology early on, and was a stand-out student in my ENT 105 Insect Ecology class in 2020. It has been great to have Gwen in our lab, and to see her continuing to develop as a scientist.”  

Gwen's interest in entomology began with caterpillars. 

“Ever since I can remember, I have always loved caterpillars,” Gwen said. “As a little kid, I would collect any caterpillar I saw and raise it to adulthood.” Amazed that a caterpillar could "magically change” into a moth or butterfly, she decided “to make a book matching every caterpillar to its adult. I did my own research online and in books I had, and soon was quite knowledgeable about Lepidoptera."

"The summer before 9th grade, I attended Bio Boot camp, the summer camp for kids led by the Bohart Museum, and Tabatha Yang (education and outreach coordinator). “This was the experience that led me to choose entomology as a career. During this camp, I learned everything about entomology and had a chance to meet real entomologists at UC Davis, and do field work. I fell in love with it and kept coming back each summer for the camp.”

Gwen said she is most interested in four insect orders: Hymenoptera, Neuroptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera. “I also really like Mygalomorphs. I am really fascinated by parasitoids, and hope to do research with parasitoids (wasps, flies, etc.) in the future.”  

Following her UC Davis graduation, she plans “to work abroad for a year in South America doing research. I then want to apply for graduate school in the United States. I may decide to get my masters first in systematics, and then decide if I want to get my PhD in insect ecology or insect systematics. I cannot decide between the two. However, I definitely want to pursue a career as a professor and researcher.”

Her pre-UC Davis life includes:

• 2016. As a 15-year-old high school student, Gwen traveled to the Bohart Museum in 2016 for its annual Moth Night and conferred with many of the scientists. 
  
  
• 2017. At age 16, she served an entomology internship at Cornell University, where her work included identifying microlepidoptra in the family Tortricidae; sampling monarch butterflies for Ophryocystis elektroscirrha (OE) spores; catching and tagging the gray petaltail dragonfly (Petalurid) at a local state park; and collecting, identifying and presenting moths for a Moth Night program at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History. 
  
  
• 2018. At age 17, Gwen gained experience at a five-week internship in the summer of 2018 at the Monteverde Butterfly Gardens in Costa Rica, where she studied insects, conducted tours, and cared for the arthropods in the insectarium.

Although sometimes mistaken for a teenager--“I look young for my age and I'm 5' 1”--Gwen doesn't let that stop her. “I now have accepted who I am and I do not let what others think of me affect me or my goals. I am glad that I am unique!” 

"Gwen is one of those students who instantly shows you her enthusiasm and enjoyment of entomology and it is just this kind of person who we hope will continue in this important field of science," said entomologist Jeff Smith, who curates the Bohart Museum's Lepidoptera collection. "For those of us looking ahead at the oncoming 'golden years' we need to ensure that there will be competent young scientists who will continue the research and who will discover so many more fascinating things about the world of ‘bugs.' Gwen clearly will be one of these, and I am proud to be associated with her.”