- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Remember the massive media frenzy earlier this year when "the murder hornet" became a household word? The media labeled it that, but let's call it AGH. It's a hornet, not some weaponized insect with super powers that belongs in a B-rated movie seen at a Saturday matinee. Drop the drink! Hold the popcorn!
The peer-reviewed publication is the work of two former UC Davis entomologists now with WSU: honey bee geneticist-researcher Susan Cobey, research associate, Department of Entomology, and Timothy Lawrence, associate professor and Island County Extension director (they are a husband-wife team), along with Michael Jensen, associate professor and Pend Oreille County Extension director.
The first four paragraphs zero in on what this is all about:
"The Asian giant hornet (AGH) or Japanese giant hornet, Vespa mandarinia, recently found in British Columbia, Canada, (B. C. Ministry of Agriculture 2019) and in Washington State (McGann 2019), poses a significant threat to European honey bee (EHB), Apis mellifera, colonies and is a public health issue. The AGH is the world's largest species of hornet (Figure 1; Ono et al. 2003), native to temperate and tropical low mountains and forests of eastern Asia (Matsuura 1991). It appears the hornet is well adapted to conditions in the Pacific Northwest.
"If this hornet becomes established, it will have a severe and damaging impact on the honey bee population, the beekeeping industry, the environment, public health, and the economy. It is critical that we identify, trap, and attempt to eliminate this new pest before it becomes established and widespread. Attempts to contain the spread and eradication of this invasive insect will be most effective by trapping queens during early spring before their nests become established. Another strategy is to locate and destroy nests prior to development of virgin queens and drones in the late summer and fall.
"It is critical that surveying and trapping occur before the fall reproductive and dispersal phase of the hornet. Beekeepers in the field are a crucial line of defense in locating, identifying, and trapping the hornets. Yet, everyone should be on the lookout and report any sightings to local authorities and the Washington State Department of Agriculture.
"Here, we will cover how the AGH will impact the honey bee, give the reader a better understanding of the hornet, outline precautions to take, and first aid if attacked by the hornet."
The fact sheet provides crucial information, including what the public and beekeepers need to know, how to trap the hornets, where to report sightings, and information about the life cycle, the stinger, avoidance, and first aid. It details the public health issue and defines "What is a hornet?"
We've heard folks argue that AGH is a "hornet, not a wasp." Noted hymenopterist Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor of entomology at UC Davis, points out that hornets ARE wasps.
WSU Extension defines a hornet this way:
"A hornet is simply a large wasp. Generally, wasps of the class or genus known as Vespa are considered hornets. Interestingly, there are no true hornets (Vespa) native to North America. The European hornet (Vespa crabro) is well established in much of the eastern half of the United States. The European hornet is not a major threat to honey bees."
"Hornets are part of a large order of insects known as Hymenoptera that include bees, wasps, ants, and sawflies. Worldwide, there are more than 115,000 species belonging to the order Hymenoptera (Hunt and Toth 2017). Most of this group of insects are beneficial for pollination and pest control. There are two types of hornets, solitary and social (Lee et al. 2016). Solitary hornets hunt various insects and spiders. Their 'stinger' is primarily used to paralyze their prey. They often lay an egg on the immobilized victim, and when the egg hatches, the larvae consume the still-living host. Solitary wasps generally do not sting humans and usually are not aggressive unless provoked."
"Social wasps, on the other hand, do use their stingers to defend their nests and can be very aggressive and will readily sting. The most common social wasp in the United States is the yellowjacket. The four most common yellowjacket species in Washington are the western yellowjacket (Paravespula pensylvanica), the common yellowjacket (Paravespula vulgaris), the aerial yellowjacket (Dolichovespula arenaria), and the German yellowjacket (Paravespula germanica) (Berry and Mooney 1998; Landolt and Antonelli 2003)."
"The recently introduced Asian giant hornet (AGH) is also a social wasp. When foraging for food in spring, the AGH ;is not highly aggressive—unless its nest is disturbed. Late summer and fall, with the high demand for protein, they become very aggressive when attacking or occupying a honey bee colony."
AGH appeared in the news last month when the Washington State Department of Agriculture announced it had trapped aVespa mandarinia near Birch Bay in Whatcom County. It was trapped July 14 and identified during processing on July 29. "This was the first hornet to be detected in a trap, rather than found in the environment as the state's five previous confirmed sightings were," according to the news release.
"Because the number of Asian giant hornet workers increases as a colony develops, residents should be most likely to see an Asian giant hornet in August and September," the news release related. "If you think you have seen one, report it at agr.wa.gov/hornets. Provide as much detail as you can about what you saw and where. Also, include a photo if you can safely obtain one, and if you come across a dead specimen keep it for potential testing. You can visit WSDA's website at agr.wa.gov/hornets to learn more about Asian giant hornets. You can also submit questions the WSDA Pest Program at hornets@agr.wa.gov or 1-800-443-6684."
At least we never saw a 64-point bold, all-capped, World War II-sized newspaper headline that screamed "MURDER HORNET TRAPPED!"
But some of the misidentifications of Vespa mandarinia flowing in are incredible. Check out Stephane de Greef's Facebook page on "Is This a Murder Hornet?" The latest one spotlighted is a...wait for it...beetle.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Together they won a total of seven communication awards in a competition hosted by the international Association for Communication Excellence in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Life and Human Sciences (ACE).
Steve Elliott, communications coordinator for the Western Integrated Pest Management Center, Davis, won one silver (second-place) and two bronze (third-place) for his writing and photography;
- Writing for the Web, silver award for “IPM in Yellowstone”
- Photo Essay, bronze award for “Growing in Guam”
- Social media, bronze award for single blog post, “To Communicate Better, Start with Audience”
Kathy Keatley Garvey, communications specialist for the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, won two silvers for her writing and photography;
- Writing for Newspapers, silver award for “Paying It Forward,” about the successful career of award-winning academic advisor Elvira Galvan Hack
- Picture Story, silver award for “Kira Meets a Stick Insect” (at Bohart Museum of Entomology)
Diane Nelson, communication specialist for the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, won a bronze for her writing:
- Writing for the Web, bronze award for "Can Science Save Citrus?"
Ricardo Vela, Miguel Sanchez and Norma de la Vega of UC ANR's News and Information Outreach in Spanish won a bronze award for a video:
- Diversity 6, Electronic Media and Audio for Targeted Audiences, bronze award for Breakfast - Desayuno de Campeones - English and Spanish videos
The awards will be presented Wednesday, June 24 during ACE's virtual conference, which opened June 22 and continues through June 25.
ACE is an international association of communicators, educators and information technologists who focus on communicating research-based information. The organization offers professional development and networking for individuals who extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The first Yolo County resident to test positive for COVID-19 will join physicians and scientists at the UC Davis-based COVID-19 public awareness webinar set from 1:30 to 4 p.m., on Thursday, April 23, on YouTube Live at covidactionplan.com.
Marilyn Stebbins, 58, of Davis, a UC San Francisco pharmacist, will participate, announced webinar organizer-moderator Walter Leal, UC Davis distinguished professor of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, College of Biological Sciences and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
The webinar, to include experts in immunology, infectious diseases, pathology and emergency medicine, is free and open to the public. Registration is underway at http://zoompresentation.com, where advance questions can be submitted. The webinar also will include live questions.
Looking back, Stebbins related she began getting coldlike symptoms prior to a family skiing trip to Sandpoint, Idaho. An airline flight took her and her husband from Sacramento to Spokane, Wash. Upon returning home, she sought medical care for what she thought was the flu. She was tested for COVID-19 on March 3, and was informed March 4 she was positive. She was hospitalized for three days with what she calls the “worst illness I've ever had.”
In her story, “My COVID-19 Journey,” which appears on the UCSF School of Pharmacy website, https://bit.ly/2x1pqIe, Stebbins describes herself as “a healthy, fit, 58-year-old woman who enjoys distance trail running, weekly circuit training, and Pilates. I'd completed a 30K trail race just before the departure date for my vacation and looked forward to a 50K race two weeks after my return home.”
Controversy erupted when a Yolo County Health Department press release inaccurately described her as “an older woman with underlying health conditions.”
Stebbins said her symptoms included headache, diarrhea, nausea, coughing, and chills but “I never had a fever.” Family members, including her husband, who were with her on the skiing trip, have not contracted the disease.
The webinar is expected to draw a widespread audience. Chancellor Gary May will give the introduction. The main speakers are UC Davis physician-scientists Emanuel Maverakis, Stuart Cohen and Nathan Kuppermann; UC Davis veterinarian-scientist Nicole Baumgarth; physician Ron Chapman, Yolo County Health Officer; and pediatrician State Sen. Richard Pan, District 6 chair, Senate Committee on Health.
UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey of the Department of Entomology and Nematolgoy will share his modeling expertise. UC Davis You-Lo Hsieh, distinguished professor, UC Davis Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering, and an expert on textiles and clothing, will explain the differences between regular masks, surgical masks, and N95 masks.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Have you ever seen a plume moth?
Or has a plume moth ever seen you?
We spotted a pterophorid plume moth (family Pterophoridae) yesterday on our back door in Vacaville, Calif. The t-shaped moth stayed in the same spot the entire day, from dawn to dusk, even when we entered and exited the door multiple times.
Its shape is what makes it unusual. Butterfly expert Art Shapiro, distinguished professor of evolution and ecology at the University of California, Davis, told us awhile back that the "T-square shape is classic."
In some respects, the pterophorid plume moth is fit to a "T."
At rest, the plume moth holds its slender wings at right angles to body, giving it a T-shaped profile.
In his book, California Insects, UC Berkeley entomologist Jerry Powell (now emeritus) explains why they're called plume moths..."because the forewings are deeply notched and the hindwings are divided into three linear parts, each with long scale fringes. When perched, the insects roll the forewings around the folded hindwing plumes, resulting in peculiar sticklike or craneflylike appearance, unlike any other moth."
Most are nocturnal and are attracted to lights, Powell adds. (Like porch lights!)
Its ancestors lived millions of years ago. Wikipedia tells us that a fossil species from the extant genus Merrifieldia originates from the Oligocene of France. The Oligocene, a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period, occurred 33.9 million to 23 million years ago. Today some 160 species of plume moths live in North America.
So why did the plume moth visit us? Well, it's a common moth. The adults feed on nectar and pollen (plenty of that in our pollinator garden) and caterpillars of some of the species chew the leaves of garden plants, including geraniums and snapdragons (we have both).
We also have artichokes, and the larvae of one species, the artichoke plume moth, can be a pest when the vegetable is grown as a perennial, according to the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program website.
One thing is for sure: once you see the plume moth, you'll always recognize it.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Meanwhile, in between social distancing, what's happening in the world of insects?
We were surprised to see a skipper butterfly today (March 25) foraging in our bed of mustard in Vacaville, Calif.
Butterfly guru Art Shapiro, UC Davis distinguished professor of evolution and ecology, identified it as an "Umber Skipper, Poanes melane, a riparian species I haven't seen at any of my sites yet! It typically flies first in early to mid-April."
With thoughts of Shapiro's Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest (first person who collects the first-of-the-year cabbage white butterfly in the three-county area of Sacramento, Solano and Yolo wins a pitcher of beer or its equivalent), I mentioned that I finally beat him!
"I'd say go get a beer, but the bars are closed," Shapiro quipped. "Last year's first records of melane were very late (first iv.24) , as were 2018 (first v.10!). In the East Bay it usually comes out around now. Are you sure you weren't in North Berkeley? At Gates Canyon (Vacaville), my earliest is iii.26.88, which is my earliest anywhere on my transect! During the drought it was fairly early--iv.15.14 and iv.10.15."
Shapiro writes on his website: "Although common in parts of the Bay Area where it is an urban 'lawn skipper,' on our transect this is entirely a species of riparian forest and is generally uncommon or even rare. It perches in dappled light and shade along streamsides, generally well off the ground. Its upper limit of residency at the latitude of I-80 seems to be about 3000'. There is no evident variation. Two to three broods in our area, April-October; flight season longer in Bay Area. Host plants presumably native riparian grasses, but not identified. In Berkeley, it breeds happily on Bermuda Grass, which seems to have not discovered farther inland. Adults visit Yerba Santa, Dogbane, Milkweed, Thistles, Yellow Star Thistle, California Buckeye, Coyote Brush, etc., etc."
Shapiro has monitored butterfly population trends on a transect across central California since 1972 and maintains a research website. The 10 sites stretch from the Sacramento River Delta through the Sacramento Valley and Sierra Nevada mountains to the high desert of the Western Great Basin. The largest and oldest database in North America, it was recently cited by British conservation biologist Chris Thomas in a worldwide study of insect biomass.
And then another surprise! My photographer-naturalist friend, Allan Jones of Davis, captured some images of an Anise Swallowtail (Papilio zelicaon) Saturday, March 21 in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee garden on Bee Biology Road, west of the central campus. Jones also saw a bumble bee, Bombus melanopygus (female), and a first-of-the-season Eucera frater (male) in the haven.
Said Shapiro: "Zelicaon has been rare hereabouts for about 20 years. It is not unusual to see it the 3rd week of February in dry years. It's been earlier than average this year: Suisun Marsh, iii.26; Old Davis Road (near Low-Water Bridge) ii.28; Gates Canyon (near Vacaville) ii.29, North Sacramento iii.3, Rancho Cordova iii.4."
Meanwhile, back to social distancing!
