Cornell University professor Anurag Agrawal, who received his doctorate in population biology from UC Davis while studying with major professor Rick Karban, has been named the recipient of the Entomological Society of America’s 2013 Founders’ Memorial Award.

Agrawal, a professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at Cornell with a joint appointment in the Department of Entomology, will deliver the Founders’ Memorial Award lecture at the ESA’s 61st annual meeting set Nov. 10-13 in Austin, Texas.

The recipient of this annual award addresses the conferees to honor the memory and career of an outstanding entomologist.  Agrawal has selected  Dame Miriam Rothschild (1908-2005), best known for her work with mimicry, and a pioneer in the area of insect chemical ecology.

Agrawal researches plant-insect interactions, including aspects of herbivory, community ecology, phenotypic plasticity, chemical ecology and coevolution. Research projects include work on local biodiversity, ecology of invasive plants, the biology of Monarch butterflies, and the evolution of plant defense strategies.

From the ESA site:
"Dr. Agrawal’s research accomplishments cover the key areas of arthropod community genetics, real-time evolution of plant defense against insects, phylogenetic ecology, plant neighborhood-insect interactions, and insect colonization and induced defense. Over the course of his career to date, he has published more than 100 peer-reviewed papers in high-profile journals such as PNAS, Science, and Nature, and he has edited two key books on insect ecology."

"In the relatively new area of arthropod community genetics, he has addressed natural selection on milkweed defensive traits and how plant genetic variation in these traits influences insect community structure and coexistence. In the area of real time evolution of plant defenses against insects, he has shown that the suppression of insect damage causes the evolution of decreased plant resistance and increased competitive ability. His work in the area of phylogenetic ecology uses a comparative biology approach to address problems ranging from the controls on the success of invasive species to phylogenetic signatures of coevolution. And in the area of plant neighborhood-insect interactions, his ongoing research seeks to partition the relative importance of direct, associational, and trait-mediated effects of competing plants on milkweed and its insect fauna."

Rothschild, a British natural scientist and a leading authority on fleas. authored a book on parasitism, Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. Her father was entomologist Charles Rothschild, whose collection of fleas is in the Rothschild Collection at the British Museum.

"She is best known for her work with mimicry, and she conducted classic studies on the role of carotenoids in insect mimicry," according to information posted on the ESA website. "In addition to her work cataloging the famous Rothschild flea collection, Dame Rothschild was also a pioneer in the area of insect chemical ecology. Her work in particular on mimicry and sequestration of toxic compounds by insects was outstanding. Nature conservation was extremely important to her, and she lobbied strongly in favor of nature reserves."

Agrawal was at UC Davis in January of 2012 to deliver a seminar on "Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Defenses."  His abstract: "In order to address coevolutionary interactions between milkweeds and their root feeding four-eyed beetles, I will present data on reciprocity, fitness tradeoffs, specialization and the genetics of adaptation.  In addition to wonderful natural history, this work sheds light on long-standing theory about how antagonistic interactions proceed in ecological and evolutionary time."

Nearly 3,000 entomologists are expected to attend Entomology 2013. ESA, which has some 6500 members, is the world's largest organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and people in related disciplines. It was founded in 1889.

Bee enthusiasts from the University of California, Davis will be among those represented at the Insect News Network's third annual Bee-A-Thon 3, set from noon to midnight on Wednesday, Aug. 21.

The free multimedia event will pay tribute to the honey bee "and the wonderful world of pollination," said cultural entomologist  Emmet Brady, host of the Davis-based Insect News Network, broadcast on KDRT 95.7 FM Radio, Davis.

"The Bee-a-Thon 3 will take intelligent humans everywhere on a deep dive into the Microcosm and the wonderful symphony of pollination," Brady said.

The event will begin online with a series of videos about honey bees and other members of the Microcosm, including videos created by Brady and clips from previous Bee-a-Thons. 

UC Davis will be represented by Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; and entomologist/artist Diane Ullman and artist Donna Billick, co-founders and co-directors of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program. Mussen,  a member of the department since 1976, is world-renowned for his honey bee expertise. Ullman is the associate dean of undergraduate academic programs in the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and a professor of entomology.  Billick is a self-described rock artist whose work has been shown throughout the world. She created the "Miss Bee Haven" ceramic mosaic sculpture in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis, and the sign that graces the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility.

Among the others to be interviewed will be Kim Flottum, longtime editor of Bee Culture magazine.

The schedule includes:

• a pollination fundraising luncheon, with a honey-inspired menu, from noon to 1 p.m. at Monticello Seasonal Cuisine, 630 G St. (not broadcast).
• fruit presentations from 1 to 1:30 p.m. at the Davis Food Co-Op, 620 G St.; (not broadcast)
• a live broadcast from 2 to 4 p.m. on Davis Community Television public access Channel 15
• a radio/video feed from KDRT, 95.7 FM, from 4 to 6 p.m.
• BATMAP (Bee-a-Thon Monster After Party) billed as the world’s first Pollinator Party from 7 to 10 p.m. at the Davis Media Access, 1623 Fifth St., and featuring music by Eminent Bee. Admission is free, but guests must come adorned as an insect, spider or flower.
• a lounge chat from 10 p.m. to midnight at deVere’s Irish Pub, 217 E St.

The pollination luncheon at Monticello Seasonal Cuisine, a fundraising event for Davis Media Access, will include a special honey menu prepared by the owners. Brady will be offering a special preview of his forthcoming book “The Insect Tribe: Who? What? Why?” 

Brady says the art-science event is designed to ignite a community about the full story about honey bees and other pollinators — "not just the science, but the art, the anthropology, the technology and design, the pop culture."

“The interdependence we have with insects — especially bees — is profound and complex and most people are only discussing half the story," said Brady, who holds a bachelor’s degree in biology from Hiram (Hiram, Ohio) College. "The key word is biocomplexity — how human behavior fits into the global ecology. It’s also about how insects inspire and amaze our society. That will all be covered on the show.”

Brady described the Bee-a-Thon as timely; Time magazine just published a cover story on  “beepocalpyse.”

The complete schedule:

Noon - 1 p.m.

A pollination fundraising luncheon at the Monticello Seasonal Cuisine, 630 G St.

1 p.m. – 2 p.m.

The broadcast continues online with more videos and interviews pre-recorded for the event. 

1 p.m. – 1:20

Melon Chat at Davis Food Cooperative (not broadcast). This is a special presentation about the unique connection between melons and honey bees, and the dramatic impact they had on the formation of the United States.

2 – 4 p.m.: Broadcast from the Studios of DCTV in Davis, CA

2 p.m. - Live Introduction for the Bee-a-Thon 3 and the lay-out of the event. 

2:10 p.m. - Green Screen: Meet the Honey Bee

2:15  p.m.- Visit to Redwood Barn to see live bees with guest Doneice Woody-Harlan of Henry’s Bullfrog Bees with a bee observation hive

2:25 p.m. - Symbols of the Insect Tribe  / BUFFER

2:30 p.m. - Interview: Professor Diane Ullman, co-founder and co-director of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion. She is the associate dean of undergraduate academic programs in the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and an entomology professor (live)

2:40 p.m. - First musical artist - To be announced

2:45 p.m. -  Interview: Patrick Adams of Blue Moon Bees and the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Yuki Kamashi, Japanese Beekeeper (pre-recorded)

2:55 p.m. - Pollinator Video: with Derek Downey of the UC Davis Bee Sanctuary, located next to the Dome Cooperative Housing (pre-recorded)

3 p.m. -  Interview: Professor Ille Gebeshuber of the University of Vienna from Kuala Lampur, Malaysia (pre-recorded)

3:10 p.m. Roving Camera - Graffiti artist Joey Stumpe and ceramic mosaic artist Donna Billick, co-founder and co-director of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program (live)

3:20 p.m. - Green Screen Video - How a Honey bees Flies

3:30 p.m. - Interview: Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture magazine, described as the definitive magazine for the beekeeping industry in the U.S. (pre-recorded)

3:40 p.m. Interview: Marina Marchese, founder of the American Honey Tasting Society and owner of the Red Bee Honey (Pre-recorded)

3:45 p.m. - Roving Cam: Don Shor, owner of Redwood Barn Nursery and radio host of the Davis Garden Show (live)

3:55  p.m. – Rachel Edler, designer of Bee-a-Thon graphic media and owner of Rachel Edler Designs (pre-recorded)

4-6 pm: Broadcast from the Studios of KDRT 95.7 FM

4:00 p.m. - KDRT, 95.7 FM – Introduction of the Insect Tribe

4:05 p.m. - Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist and world-renowned bee expert from UC Davis (live)

4:20  p.m. - Ria de Grassi, director of federal policy, California Farm Bureau Federation  (live)

4:30 p.m. - Musical Break

4:35 p.m. - Mike Somers, state director of Pesticide Watch and Pesticide Watch Education Fund  (live)

4:45 p.m. - Celeste Ets-Hokin, creator of the Pollinator Gardens at Lake Merritt, Oakland, CA (live)

4:55 p.m. - Musical Break

5:00 p.m. - Eddie Dunbar, founder of the Insect Sciences Museum of California (live)

5:10  p.m.- Musician  - To be announced

5:15  p.m. -Teen interview - UC Davis Bio Boot Camp youth Bjorn Bush and Jack Henderson (live)

5:25 pm -Artists Corner: Tattoo Art with Jenn Ponci and Sara Ely, co-director of the Davis Music Festival (live)

5:35 p.m. - Kamal Lemseffer, computer analyst at UC Davis  (live)

5:45 p.m. Close

5:58 sign-off

6 – 7 p.m.

Broadcast continues online at www.insectnewsnetwork.com with a series of videos about honey bees and other members of the Microcosm, including videos created by host Emmet Brady.

7 – 10 p.m.

Live video stream of the BATMAP (Bee-a-Thon Monster After Party) the world’s first Pollinator Party, and featuring music by Eminent Bee. This will take place at Davis Media Access, 1623. Admission is free, but guests must come adorned as an insect, a spider or a flower. Donations are asked to support the Davis Media Access.

10 p.m. – Midnight

Lounge chat at deVere’s Irish Pub, 217 E St., Davis, with members of the Insect Tribe (not broadcast)

For more information, contact Brady at info@insectnewsnetwork.com. The telephone number for the Davis Media Access is (530) 757-2419.

DAVIS--Here’s a sweet way to help honey bee research at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis.

Häagen-Dazs has come up with a creative way to do so and it involves downloading a free concerto timer app on your I-Phone or I-Pad, pointing it at the lid of the brand's ice cream, and listening to a two-minute concerto until the ice cream is softened or tempered.

Two minutes is perfect for allowing the ice cream to soften or temper, the ice cream specialists say.

For every download of the concerto timer, Häagen-Dazs will donate $5 toward UC Davis bee research, up to $75,000.

Häagen-Dazs, in announcing (Aug. 8) the introduction of the Häagen-Dazs Concerto Timer app, described it as "the first iOS mobile app to integrate detailed 3D Kinect technology and video data that delivers a cutting edge augmented reality experience."

According to a press release, “The Concerto Timer app features two-minute-long music concertos that help consumers understand the exact amount of time needed to prepare their Häagen-Dazs ice cream in order to get the full, rich consistency and allow all the flavors to fully bloom. Allowing the ice cream to soften slightly – also called tempering – for two minutes enhances the texture and exposes fans to the craftsmanship of premium ingredients that is characteristic of Häagen-Dazs ice cream, gelato, sorbet and frozen yogurt."

“Waiting is not an easy task for ice cream lovers, but the process is transformed when users point their iPhone with the Concerto Timer app at one to two Häagen-Dazs cartons. The augmented reality feature showcases a perfectly timed, two-minute concert of Bach Inventions No. 14 performed by a violinist and cellist – all while users wait for the ice cream to temper. By the end of the concerto, the ice cream will have softened to a perfect consistency. “

Said Cady Behles, Häagen-Dazs brand manager: “The app concept came directly from our brand loyalists who recognized the necessity of tempering to enjoy all of the flavors in our ice cream. We took their feedback and developed an advanced mobile experience – something never seen before in the ice cream industry – that would be functional and also entertain them during the optimal time period.”

"Traditionally, augmented reality technology has involved flat video or low polygon 3D objects with a very limited and robotic range of motion," according to the news release. "Unlike other augmented reality apps, the Concerto Timer app integrates detailed 3D Kinect and video data."

"The app captures the nuances of the real violin and cello performances, enhanced with expressive particles, resulting in an ethereal and unique creative style. This approach allows the musicians to move with a fluid natural motion in 3D space."

"Developed by creative agency Goodby Silverstein & Partners and digital production company JAM3, the Häagen-Dazs Concerto Timer app is now available for download in the iTunes App Store."

Some 50 percent of Häagen-Dazs flavors are honey-bee dependent. “Honey bee colonies – which are responsible for one third of the world’s food supply — are dying at an alarming rate, posing a serious risk to our natural food supply, including many of the ingredients that define Häagen-Dazs ice cream,” according to the press release.

Häagen-Dazs has a long partnership with UC Davis. It launched the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven, a half-acre bee friendly garden that was planted in 2009 next to the Laidlaw facility. The brand also funded  Häagen-Dazs Postdoctoral Fellow, Michelle Flenniken, an insect virus researcher formerly based at UC San Francisco. She is now a research assistant professor in the Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology, Montana State University.

DAVIS--The Bohart Museum of Entomology, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus, will host eight weekend open houses during the 2013-2014 academic year. Themes include “Live from the Bohart!” “Beauty and Beetles,” “Snuggle Bugs” and “Arachnids: Awesome or Awful?”

All will be held from 1 to 4 p.m., with two exceptions. The open house on Saturday, Feb. 8 during UC Davis Biodiversity Day will be from noon to 4 p.m.  On the campuswide UC Davis Picnic Day, Saturday, April 12, the hours at the Bohart Museum are from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Bohart Museum open houses are free and open to the public. The first is on Saturday, Sept. 21 when the theme is “Live from the Bohart!” It will feature how to rear white cabbage flies and other insects.

The schedule of open houses:

Saturday, Sept. 21
Theme: "Live from the Bohart!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 23
Theme: "Beauty and Beetles"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 12
Theme: "Snuggle Bugs"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, Feb. 8
Theme: "Biodiversity Museum Day"
Hours: Noon to 4 p.m.
This event will be held in conjunction with the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Herbarium, Botanical Conservatory, Anthropology Collection and Geology and will take place at each of those locations.  (All are free and open to the public.)

Sunday, March 2
Theme: "Garden Heroes!"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, April 12:
Theme: “UC Davis Picnic Day: 100 Years”
Hours: 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Sunday, May 4
Theme: "Moth-er's Day"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

Saturday, July 26
Theme: "Arachnids: Awesome or Awful?"
Hours: 1 to 4 p.m.

New addition:The December Event
Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013
Hours: Noon to 3 p.m.

The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million insect specimens and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America. It is also the home of the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum in 1946.

The insect museum includes a gift shop, stocked with T-shirts, posters, insect nets, books, and other items, that also can be purchased online.  Another attraction is the live "petting zoo," complete with Madagascar hissing cockroaches and walking sticks. Visitors enjoy holding and photographing them.

The museum’s regular public hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. Group tours can be arranged with Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and UC Davis holidays.

The Bohart Museum is located near the intersection of La Rue Road and Crocker Lane.

Those who would like to join the Bohart Museum Society, a campus and community support organization dedicated to supporting the mission of the museum, can do so by accessing http://bohart.ucdavis.edu/html/about_society.html.

 “You can help support the museum and its educational programs by becoming a member,” Kimsey said. “The Bohart Museum and the Bohart Museum Society are dedicated to teaching, research and public service.  Our current growth is financed by memberships and contributions.” Membership and donations directly support the following programs and activities:  

Visiting Scientist Program
Each year, two or three short-term fellowships are awarded to systematists to come and study the museum collections.

High School Student Internships
The Society funds summer internships for high school students to learn about insects, curation, collecting and other aspects of entomology.

Associates Program
This program is designed to give special recognition to society members who donate their time and expertise to improving the museum's collections, or through collecting activities.

Benefits of Membership include a subscription to the Bohart Museum Society quarterly newsletter;  invitation to “members only” special events and programs, including the Halloween open house; select member discounts on gift shop merchandise; access to the collections, and free information and identification services from staff; and the use of the museum library of entomological books and periodicals.