- 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
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.