April 1, 2008
The apiculturist, whose career spans 31 years at UC Davis, was honored at a luncheon on Tuesday, April 1 in the Embassy Suites, Napa. The association, totaling some 1500 members, represents 10 Western states and part of Canada.
“Eric Mussen has developed a very effective Extension program that uses traditional as well as 21st century techniques,” said PB-ESA president Larry Godfrey, a UC Davis Extension entomologist. “He gives a significant number of presentations every year, publishes a newsletter, and assists people through telephone conversations and one-on-one visits.”
Said entomologist Lynn Kimsey, interim chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology: “Eric has a phenomenal knowledge of honeybees and the beekeeping industry and his activities are critical components of the Department of Entomology activities. He richly deserves the recognition represented by this award.’
Mussen helped spark the rebuilding of the honey bee program at the Harry Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility and the recent Haagen-Dazs research donation of $100,000. He is one of three UC Davis scientists serving on the Häagen-Dazs Ice Cream Bee Board of Directors.
In national demand for his expertise on honey bees, Mussen appeared on Good Morning America on March 12, and has also been interviewed for The Lehrer Hour, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and the television documentary, California Heartland. Coverage also included Sticky Stuff of Modern Marvels, the History Channel.
“Eric is the primary conduit of information on apiculture, certainly for the entire western U.S. and perhaps even broader than that,” Godfrey said.
For the past five years, Mussen has functioned as the “sole University of California entomologist assisting the apiculture industry,” Godfrey said. In doing so, Mussen met “some very difficult challenges,” particularly with the surge of CCD and Africanized honey bees.
The beekeeping industry is crucial to California’s $42 billion agricultural economy, as some 90 different crops, valued at more than $6 billion, require pollination. California accounts for $6 billion of the nation’s $16 billion-pollination industry. This does not include the direct products from apiculture (honey, beeswax, pollen, propoplis and venom) and others) and the indirect value of pollination (such as alfalfa seed production to feed dairy and beef cattle).
California also accounts for half of the nation’s sales of queen-and-packaged-bees stock. The Golden State continually ranks among the top four honey-producing states, along with North Dakota, South Dakota and Florida.
In addition to CCD, Mussen’s expertise is widely sought on scores of other topics, including honey bee nutrition, diseases, pesticides, crop pollination and beekeeping. He serves as the state’s beekeeping industry liaison with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Environmental Protection Agency, California Department of Food and Agriculture, California Department of Pesticide Regulation and Apiary Inspectors of America, a regulatory and enforcement group.
Mussen guest-lectures for the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine; teaches short courses on beekeeping in the Sacramento area; works closely with Farm Advisors and commercial and hobby beekeepers; and consults with commodity boards, including the National Honey Board, Almond Board of California and the California Farm Bureau Federation
Mussen has edited and published a bi-monthly newsletter, “from the U.C. Apiaries,” since he was hired in September, 1976. He and UC Davis entomologist Norman Gary co-founded the Western Apicultural Society (WAS) in 1978, with each serving terms as president. Mussen continues to maintain the WAS Web site on the UC Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources server.
Mussen’s other activities that led to the Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension include reviewing research proposals; writing informative Bee Briefs on the Department of Entomology’s Web site; and serving as the “permanent” secretary-treasurer of the Northern California Entomology Society. He is currently treasurer of the UC Davis scientific honorary society, Sigma Xi.
Widely recognized for his work, Mussen received the California State Beekeepers’ Association’s Distinguished Service Award in 1999; Apiary Inspectors of America’s Exceptional Service Award in 2000, and the California State Beekeeper Association’s Beekeeper of the Year Award in 2006. In 2007, the American Association of Professional Apiculturists honored him with an Award of Excellence in Extension Apiculture, one of only five awards the group has presented in 20 years.
The UC Davis Department of Entomology, headquartered in Briggs Hall, is ranked No. 1 in the country by the Chronicle of Higher Education.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
Jan. 24, 2013
They are the Bohart Museum of Entomology, the Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, the Geology Museum, the Anthropology Museum, and the Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology.
The event, free and open to the public, showcases UC Davis’ impressive research collections and museums, the directors said. Each museum has a research collection that documents the biodiversity of life in California.
All participating museums have active education and outreach programs, but not all the museums are always accessible to the public. On Feb. 2 they will be.
“This will be the only time during the year when many of these collections of rare objects can be visited by the public," said Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis. "Our staff is excited to show off some of our more important specimens. The event is perfect for all ages; we have something for everyone.”
Visitors can go behind-the-scenes to learn how research is conducted, and to see some of the curators’ favorite pieces. They can explore displays and talk with scientists, and participate in fun activities and crafts. The event is billed as a "family event" and an opportunity for people of all ages to see the museums.
The UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day could also be“Super Science Saturday,” because the event is the day before “Super Bowl Sunday.” It is being held in conjunction with the popular Sacramento Association of Museums’ annual “Museum Day,” when all participating museums in the greater Sacramento area, including art museums, history museums and the zoo, offer free admission.
The first-ever UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day originated last year when Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum and Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology approached Ernesto Sandoval of the Botanical Conservatory and asked about the possibility of weekend hours. Then two other centers committed: UC Davis Botanical Conservatory and the UC Davis Center for Plant Diversity.
This year the Geology Museum, the Anthropology Museum joined the Biodiversity Musem Day.
All museums are located on the main UC Davis campus, and parking is free. Visitors are encouraged to stroll around the campus visiting the six different collections (all indoors). Maps, signs and guides will be available at each site.
The locations:
Bohart Museum of Entomology, Room 1124 of Academic Surge, Crocker Lane (formerly California Drive)
Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, 1394 Academic Surge, Crocker Lane
UC Davis Botanical Conservatory, Kleiber Hall Drive
Center for Plant Diversity, Sciences Laboratory Building, off Kleiber Hall Drive, near Briggs Hall
Anthropology Collections, Young Hall, off A Street
Geology Collections, Earth and Physical Sciences Building, across from Academic Surge Building
Related Links:
Download Museum Map, Showing All Locations
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
Jan. 24, 2013
Danielle Wishon, an undergraduate student majoring in entomology, will be showing her bedbug colony at 2 p.m. at the Bohart Museum, located at 1124 Academic Surge on Crocker Lane. Wishon is rearing a colony, now approaching 100 bed bugs, in a research lab in Briggs Hall.
The Sacramento/Stockton/Modesto area ranks 45thin the most bedbug infested U.S. cities, according to a recent report by Orkin. Chicago ranks first, followed by Detroit, Los Angeles, Denver, Cincinnati, Columbus (Ohio), Washington D.C., Cleveland/Akron/Canton, Dallas/Fort Worth, and New York City.
"Aside from the fact that I find them visually adorable, I am interested in the current public panic over their current increase in population around the United States," said Wishon, who took control of the colony in October 2012. "The idea that several little animals will crawl up to you while you sleep and feed on your blood really disturbs most people, despite the fact that they do not transmit any disease."
The event is free and open to the public.
Wishon, who studies with forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey and works in the Bohart Museum with director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, is a past president of the UC Davis Entomology Club and recipient of the department’s 2011 Outstanding Undergraduate Student Award.
The book tells the untold story of the California dogface butterfly (Zerene eurydice), Keller said. Bauer’s illustrations depict the life cycle of this butterfly and the children who helped designate it as the California state insect.
“A glossary in the back highlights key terms,” Keller said. “And there is a set of photographs of the California dogface and another yellow butterfly to help you determine if you have ever really seen the California state insect.”
And you and your child can follow the small caterpillar at the bottom of certain pages as it slowly changes from a caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.”
The net proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to the education, outreach and research programs of the Bohart Museum. The book can also be ordered online at http://www.bohartmuseum.com/the-story-of-the-dogface-butterfly.html
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
Jan. 23, 2013
The seminar will take place from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in Room 1022 of the Life Sciences Addition, corner of Hutchison and Kleiber Hall drives. De Barro will be covering the silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci) from biotype to species. His host is Michael Parrella, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
De Barro, known for his expertise of pest insect ecology and systematics, is the theme leader of the Biosecurity and Invasive Species for CSIRO, or the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, Australia’s national body for scientific research.
His abstract:
“The identity of Bemisia tabaci is a taxonomic question that goes back to 1889 and involves one of the world’s most important pests of agriculture, which despite its importance, has remained a taxonomic puzzle. Each year it destroys billions of dollars worth of crops in both developed and developing economies across Africa, Asia and the Americas. In developing economies, it reduces the ability for communities to be self-sufficient in terms of food production and reduces their capacity to generate the cash essential to alleviating poverty.
“Yet despite its global importance, its taxonomy remains confused. Is it a single species with varying populations that exhibit different biological characteristics (i.e. biotypes) or a complex of morphologically similar species with different biological characteristics? This may seem an esoteric argument, but the answer has a significant bearing on the applicability and transferability of management practices between regions where the pest occurs, as these usually depend on insect biology, behavior, natural enemies interactions and responses to agricultural chemicals; what works for certain populations may be ineffective for other populations. This presentation provides a summary of our understanding of the species complex and some the new learnings that are emerging as a result of the emerging new lens through which top view this pest.”
De Barro joined CSIRO in 1994 as a visiting scientist and went on to establish CSIRO’s research on the newly invading whitefly pest, silverleaf whitefly (Bemisia tabaci MEAM1). He has since built an internationally recognized reputation for his research on this pest, which he describes as “a cryptic species complex that includes two globally invasive whiteflies that have inflicted considerable damage on agriculture around the world.”
His research has developed insights into the pest’s biology and ecology. In addition, he has considerable experience in biological control of the silverleaf whitefly and was responsible for the Australian introduction of the parasitoid, Eretmocerus hayati, proven to be a highly effective control agent.
In addition to his research on whiteflies, de Barro has been closely involved in research on biosecurity threat identification and prioritization. As part of this research. he developed an interest in risk analysis and applied that to the assessment of risks posed by the release of Wolbachia-infected mosquito, Aedes aegypti. This has since seen a growing interest in the association between vector ecology and human health.
De Barro received his bachelor of agricultural science degree, with honors, in entomology and biochemistry, from the University of Adelaide, South Australia, in 1985. He received his doctorate from the University of Adelaide in 1992.
De Barro has published more than 70 papers in journals such as:
- Science
- Bioscience
- Nature Communications
- Annual Review of Entomology
- PLOS One
- Biological Invasions
- Journal of Animal Ecology
- Journal of Applied Ecology
- Ecological Applications
- Molecular Ecology and Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution
- Annals of the Entomological Society of America
- Bulletin of Entomological Research.
Awarded the CSIRO medal for research achievement, de Barro is currently an adjunct professor in the Department of Biological Invasion, Institute of Plant Protection, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences. He is also an editor of Bulletin of Entomological Research.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
Jan. 22, 2013
And it all has to do with butterflies and beer.
Shapiro collected the first cabbage white butterfly of the New Year on both of Obama’s inauguration days, Jan. 20, 2009 and Jan. 21, 2013.
“The constitution mandates the swearing-in for Jan. 20, though it does not require Pieris rapae to emerge on that date,” he quipped.
“Thank you, Mr. President!”
Shapiro, a professor of evolution and ecology who has monitored the butterflies of Central California for more than three decades, sponsors his annual “Beer for a Butterfly” contest to draw attention to the first flight of the cabbage white butterfly (Pieris rapae). Since 1972, he has awarded a pitcher of beer or its equivalent to the first person collecting the first cabbage white of the New Year within the three-county area of Yolo, Sacramento and Solano.
Shapiro, who is in the field 200 days a year, has won the contest every year except for the three times his graduate students, “my fiercest competitors,” took the prize.
Will Shapiro share his beer with the President? “I'd be delighted to buy Obama a beer, but I suspect he has better things to do with his time!”
Of his 2013 find, Shapiro said; “I knew at 9 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 21 that this would be the day--the air just felt different; the sun already felt warm, although the morning low at my place (Davis) had been 32 Fahrenheit at 6:50 a.m. “That was the first time in 12 mornings that it hadn't gone below freezing.”
Shapiro arrived at his West Sacramento field site at 11:30 a.m., as the temperature hovered at 59 degrees. By 1:45, the temperature would top out at 66.
Shapiro prowled around the butterfly’s host plants, including wild radish and wild mustard. “Most of the annual Brassicaceae (mustard family), and milk thistle showed frost burn.”
At 1:01 p.m. a male rapae showed up. “It was flying from east to west along the north side of the railroad tracks, just east of the I-80 overpass,” said Shapiro, who was walking along the south tracks. “Unfortunately, at the exact same moment, a fast freight was approaching from the east and I was not about to race it across the tracks! As the train roared by, the butterfly rose straight up and flew over the overpass.”
“I've known all along that the day would come when I would see the first rapae but be unable to catch it,” Shapiro said. “The protocol for such an eventuality is: I count the sight record, but keep the contest open until someone actually catches one and turns it in. I figured this would be the year I'd have to do that. But after the train passed, I milled around looking to see if it would return.”
It did. “At 1:15 it appeared out of nowhere--I think it descended vertically from above--and went directly to where it had been when I first saw it.” He caught it immediately. “It's a male of proper (post-diapause) January phenotype. I waited around until 2 p.m. but saw no more rapae -- just one Red Admiral. So, two species, two individuals for the day.”
Shapiro’s first catch of 2013 was actually on Jan. 1 at the same site, but “it was a slopover from the fall brood.” He declared the contest still under way.
Shapiro, who shares his butterfly monitoring information on his Art's Butterfly World website, holds a doctorate in entomology from Cornell University, and is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Royal Entomological Society and the California Academy of Sciences. He is also the recipient of UC Davis outstanding teacher and advisor awards.
As for his graduate students, the first to defeat him in his “Beer for a Butterfly” contest was Adam Porter in 1983. Sherri Graves and Rick Van Buskirk followed in the late 1990s.
This year’s competition, however, proved especially satisfying, given that 12 days of freezing temperatures preceded the catch and it occurred again on President Obama’s Inauguration Day.
“Pieris rapae is out, and I can ‘stand down,’ said Shapiro, declaring “It’s now officially spring.”
And as for sharing a beer with President Obama, that still stands, too.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
