- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
That's one of the topics when the Northern California Entomology Society meets on Thursday, Nov. 1 from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District, 155 Mason Circle, Concord.
The group, comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons, will gather at 9:15 a.m. for registration and coffee.
First on the agenda is Kipling “Kip” Will, associate professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management (ESPM), UC Berkeley, who will discuss “The Transition from Classical Alpha Taxonomy to Beta Taxonomy of Insects” at 9:30 a.m.
Nick Mills, professor of insect population ecology at ESPM and curator of UC Berkeley’s Essig Museum of Entomology, will cover “Important Considerations When Contemplating Biological Control of Pests” at 10:15 a.m.
Speaking at 11 a.m. will be Carlos Argurto, Pestec Integrated Pest Management Provider, San Francisco, on “Contra Costa County IPM Program, Including New DPR (Department of Pesticide Regulation) Regulations for Surface Water Protection in Outdoor Non-Agricultural Settings.”
A luncheon catered by Kinder’s Custom Meats will be served at noon for a cost of $20 per person. (Advance reservations must be made with Nor Cal Entomology Society treasurer Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology, at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu or by calling (530) 752-047.)
The afternoon session will include research entomologist Patrick Moran of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Albany, speaking at 1:15 on “Using Insects to Control Invasive Weeds in California.”
The last speaker of the day is Stephen Colbert of DuPont Crop Protection, Escalon. At 2 p.m., he will discuss “What’s Behind the Label?” Colbert is active in the California Weed Science Society, based in Salinas.
The society meets three times a year: the first Thursday of February at the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), Sacramento; the first Thursday of May in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis; and the first Thursday of November in the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District conference room, Concord.
Membership is open to the public; dues are $10 year, said society president Robert “Bob” Case of Concord, retired deputy agricultural commissioner from the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture.
If you're interested in joining, contact Mussen at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu.