Dec. 1, 2011

Graduate student Emily Bzdyk is the artist behind "Entomology's Most Wanted" and graduate student Nicholas Herold was "the concept guy." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Close-up of "Entomology's Most Wanted."

DAVIS--“Most Wanted” fugitives try to escape justice.

But the four “Most Wanted” fugitives targeted by the Entomology Graduate Students’ Association (EGSA) at the University of California, Davis, can neither run nor hide. Nor bite or sting.

Their mug shots—or “bug shots” are plastered all over a prize-winning t-shirt.  

Entomology graduate students Nicholas Herold and Emily Bzydk won the EGSA’s annual t-shirt contest by featuring “bug shots” of “Entomology’s Most Wanted”: the malaria mosquito (Anopheles gambiae), the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta) bed bug, (Cimex lecturalius), and the housefly (Musca domestica). They’re among the most hated of insects.

EGSA began offering the shirt for sale at the Entomological Society of America’s 59th annual meeting, held recently in Reno, It's now available to the public.

Herold, “the concept guy for the T-shirt,” said his idea for "Entomology's Most Wanted" really began with the mosquito. “People have been requesting a mosquito shirt for years now, but I didn't want it to be just a mosquito. So I started thinking about other pests, and from there the ‘Most Wanted’ idea was born.”

“The trick was in choosing insects that are in the public eye,” Herold said. “I didn't want to mix agricultural and household pests, so that eliminated a bunch of options, and I wanted a mix of different orders. In retrospect, maybe I would have thought about a cockroach instead of the housefly, but I have something of a soft-spot for roaches. They've gotten enough bad publicity over the years. And everybody hates houseflies.”

Nicholas Herold was "the concept guy" behind the design.

Herold, who works in the Insect Systematics lab launched by professors Penny Gullan and Peter Cranston (his major professor) in Academic Surge, is a third-year graduate student. His research interests are phylogeny and biogeography in chironomids (non-biting midges).

Bzdyk, based in the Bohart Museum of Entomology in Academic Surge, said she and Nicholas “communicated back and forth as the design took shape to make sure I was getting the idea as he envisioned it.”

“ I used my experience with this type of design and scientific illustration to make something that I thought would capture the humor of the mug shots or ‘bug shots’ while still being informative and relatively accurate,” said Bzdyk, also  known as a talented scientific artist, photographer and jewelry maker..

Bzdyk, who studies with major professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum and professor of entomology at UC Davis, plans to complete her master’s degree this year. She is working on leafcutter bees (Litomegachile) and is drawing the bees for an identification key.  To help fund her research, she sells her hand-crafted insect jewelry, including necklaces and earrings, at the Bohart Museum.

Herold and Bzdyk  each received a t-shirt for winning the EGSA contest. Bzdyk also won the 2010 contest with her depiction of a “Wanna Bee (Hemaris diffinis, snowberry clearwing moth)."

The t-shirt sells for $15 and is available for purchase by emailing graduate student/malaria researcher Jenny Carlson at  jencarlson@ucdavis.edu.

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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894

Dec. 7, 2011

Denise Ferkey

DAVIS---Denise Ferkey, assistant professor, State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, will lead off the UC Davis Department of Entomology's winter seminar series with her talk on Nematodes: "Regulation of Chemosensory Signaling in C. elegans" on Wednesday, Jan. 11 from 12:10 to 1 p.m. in 122 Briggs. Hosts are Valerie Williamson and Ed Lewis.

Of her nematode research, Ferkey says: "Our research is directed toward understanding the regulatory mechanisms that control animal behavior. Using C. elegans sensory behavior (e.g. chemosensation) as a model, we study the regulation of G protein-coupled signal transduction pathways as well as the mechanisms by which the neurotransmitter dopamine modulates signaling and behavior.”

Ferkey received her bachelor of science degree in biology (minor in mathematics) from St. Norbert College, De Pere, WI, graduating summa cum laude in the honors program. She was named the "Outstanding Biology Graduate" and also won the William J. O’Callaghan Award to Outstanding Graduate in Arts and Sciences.

She earned her doctorate degree from the Department of Biochemistry, University of Washington, Seattle, in 2002. Her thesis:  "Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3 (GSK-3) Regulation During Early Xenopus laevis Development."

Assistant professors Louie Yang and Joanna Chiu are coordinating the seminar. Most of the talks (except for Jan. 11 and March 21) will be webcast and then can be viewed on UCTV. Professor James R. Carey is spearheading the project.

The list of speakers:

Jan. 11: Denise Ferkey, assistant professor, State University of New York (SUNY), Buffalo, will speak on "Regulation of Chemosensory Signaling in C. elegans."
Hosts: Valerie Williamson, professor of nematology, and Ed Lewis, professor of nematology and entomology and acting chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology.
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Webcast and posted on UCTV: No.

Jan. 18: Anurag Agrawal, professor of ecology at Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., will speak on "Evolutionary Ecology of Plant Defenses."
Host: Andrew Merwin of the Michael Parrella lab.
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Jan. 25: Mary Louise Flint, Cooperative Extension specialist and associate director for Urban and Community IPM, UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, will speak on "Educating the Urban Public about Insect Pests and their Management."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: None
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Feb. 1: T’ai Roulston, research associate professor and curator, State Arboretum of Virginia, will speak on "Pollen as a Resource for Pollinators: What Governs Quality?"
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Neal Williams, assistant professor of entomology.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Feb. 8: Damian Elias, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, will speak on "Multimodal Communication in Jumping Spiders."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Leslie Saul of the Neal Williams lab.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Feb. 15: Jamesina J. Scott, district manager and research director, Lake County Vector Control District, will speak on  "Aedes japonicus -- Tracking an Invasive Mosquito We Knew Very Little About."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Brittany Mills of the William Reisen lab.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Feb. 22: Jennifer Thaler, associate professor, Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., will speak on "Tri-Trophic Plant-Insect Interactions in Solanaceous Plants."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Billy Krimmel of the Jay Rosenheim lab
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

Feb. 29: Jay Rosenheim, professor of entomology at UC Davis, will speak on "Insect Ecology in Natural and Agricultural Systems."
Site: 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Kelly Hamby of the Frank Zalom lab.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

March 7: Candice Stafford, graduate student researcher in the Diane Ullman lab, will speak on "A Virus at the Helm: Infection with Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Modifies Thrips Feeding Behavior."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Diane Ullman, professor of entomology and associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

March 14: Ulrich Mueller, W. M. Wheeler Lost-Pines Professor of Integrative Biology, University of Texas, Austin, will speak on "Ant-Microbe Interaction and Evolution."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Marek Borowiec of the Phil Ward lab.
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: Yes

March 21: Stephen Welter, professor, Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management, UC Berkeley, and associate dean of instruction and student affairs, will speak on "Pheromone Mating Disruption Systems for Management of Insects in Perennial Crops:  New Successes with Old Problems."
Site: 12:10 to 1 p.m., 122 Briggs Hall.
Host: Steve Seybold, UC Davis Department of Entomology affiliate
Webcast and Posted on UCTV: No.

Contact information:
Louie Yang: (530) 754-3261 or lhyang@ucdavis.edu
Joanna Chiu: (530) 752-1839 or jcchiu@ucdavis.edu

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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894

June 1, 2012

Stephanie Calloway is the recipient of the UC Davis Outstanding Senior in Entomology.

DAVIS--Stephanie Calloway, who will receive her bachelor’s degree in entomology June 17 from UC Davis, has been named the UC Davis Outstanding Senior in Entomology. She was nominated for the Cal Aggie Alumni Association award by her master advisor Sharon Lawler, professor of entomology.

Calloway was honored at the recent UC Davis Department of Entomology barbecue.

“Stephanie has distinguished herself not only by her academic excellence, but also by her extensive research achievements and outreach to the public,” Lawler wrote in her letter of nomination.

Calloway, who researches the diversity and abundance of tardigrades or “water bears,” transferred to UC Davis from Fresno City College (FCC), where she won a Bruce and Merry Johnston Endowed Scholarship for the Sciences. While at FCC, she began independent research on a National Science Foundation-funded project on tardigrades.

Tardigrades,  eight-legged animals in the phylum, Tardigrada (the word means “slow walker” referring to its bearlike gait) are found all over the world. They can survive at extreme temperatures, from nearly absolute zero to 304 degrees F.

 “These tiny animals live in moist habitats, but they have fascinating adaptations to extremes of heat and cold,” Lawler explained. “Stephanie’s first papers emerged from this work after she transferred to UC Davis.”  Calloway is the first author of a publication in which she described a new species of tardigrade from Alaska, and she is the second author of a paper comparing urban and rural tardigrade communities.

tardigrade

Lawler described her as “an outgoing and engaged young scientist who has continued to impress her faculty mentors at both UC Davis and UC Merced. “She has performed studies of the aquatic invertebrates of Yosemite, curation of the UC Davis ant collection with Professor Phil Ward, and she is now working with Professor Alan Hastings, UC Davis Department of Environmental Science and Policy. Her current independent research project focuses on how maternal effects influence the population dynamics of flour beetles.”

In addition, Calloway shares her great love of natural ecosystems with others, Lawler noted. Calloway held a volunteer outreach and education position with the Sierra Foothill Conservancy, leading educational nature hikes for schoolchildren and other members of the public. She also volunteered with Adventure Risk Challenge, a literary/environmental study program for high school students who speak English as a second language.

“Those of us who were privileged to have taught Stephanie Calloway in the classroom found her to be talented, perceptive and very helpful to her peers--in short, the kind of student we look forward to teaching,” Lawler said. “She will be an alumna who brings great credit to UC Davis for her community spirit, service activities and research achievements.”

 Calloway, who plans to pursue graduate studies in the fall of 2013, described her time at UC Davis as “amazing.”

“The professors I have had here have been no less than fantastic, and I appreciate them all so much.” 

Calloway, a graduate of Clovis High School, east of Fresno, recalls that an introductory biology course at FCC was all it took to “fall in love with the life sciences." Then, after taking a zoology class, "I was sold on insects." While at FCC,  she received the award for “Best Undergraduate Presentation” at the Central California Research Symposium for her work on urban and rural tardigrades.

“I was very lucky to work on the NSF tardigrade grant during my years at FCC and UC Davis,” Calloway said.

Interested in a variety of science projects, she's worked on high-elevation stream insects, including caddisflies "I fell in love iwth the little guys); collected mangrove gastropods in Malayasia and Brunei, Southeast Asia; and this summer will be working with Dave Rizzo, UC Davis Plant Pathology, on pest-host interactions in old-growth forests in the Teakettle Wilderness, Sierra Nevada.   

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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894

Jan. 3, 2012

Eric Mussen will be the keynote speaker at the American Honey Producers' Association this week in Phoenix. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

DAVIS--Noted honey bee expert Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist with the UC Davis Department of Entomology, will discuss three decades of beekeeping when he delivers the keynote address on Thursday, Jan. 5 at the 43rd annual American Honey Producers’ Association Convention in Phoenix.

Mussen will speak on “Never Expect Business as Usual” in the Sheraton Crescent Hotel. He will cover pests, parasites, pesticides, diseases, malnutrition and stress.

Mussen, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 1976, will also touch on the newly announced threat to honey bees, the parasitic phorid fly (Apocephalus borealis). San Francisco State University researchers, in work published Jan. 3 in the Public Library of Science (PLoS One) journal, found that the parasitic fly lays its eggs in the honey bees; it was previously known to parasitize bumble bees, but not honey bees.

The infested bees reportedly fly around like zombies and cannot return to their hives.
“This information explains why some, infested, honey bee adults leave the colony at night and are not likely to come back,” Mussen said. “The percent infestation level is not high enough to cause a Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) loss, by itself. However, anything that further stresses the bee population and increases bee losses can contribute to CCD.”

Mussen said the fly “may be contributing to the loss of adult bees from colonies, but that probably is happening, also, in colonies that are not collapsing.  CCD seems to be an additive malady, so losses to fly parasitism can join the other stresses.  It does not appear to be a dominant factor. ”

The San Francisco researchers detected the fly parasite in some commercial hives in California and South Dakota.  Mussen said that without surveys, “we would not know for sure how widespread it is.  However, it is likely that a bumble bee parasite would be distributed at least as widespread as its bumble bee hosts.”

Mussen said he does not consider the fly a significant threat.  “Honey bees have an amazing ability to ‘make up for’ unanticipated losses--like exposures to bee-toxic agrichemicals in the fields--to the adult population by rearing more brood than would be expected at that time of the year to return to normal populations size.  So, if the colony is shrinking, abnormally, the bees often can re-establish the normal size by rearing ‘extra’ brood.  However, depending upon the inherent genetic abilities of a specific colony to tolerate fly parasitism, some colonies might be prone to developing parasite levels that are overwhelming, and actually succumb to the infestations.”

Mussen, emphasizing he does not see the phorids as a major threat, said that perhaps “all the other stresses that we have been studying have combined to impair the immune system of the bees.  Then, whatever mechanism in the bees' bodies that used to prevent successful parasitism by the fly no longer is working as well.  Nearly every facet we have studied--microbes, mite feeding, exposure to pesticides, etc.--all have had a suppressing effect on the honey bee immune system.  The current U.S. environment seems to be very stressful to honey bees.”

Bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Among the other speakers at the Jan. 4-8 convention will be bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, who has a dual appointment at UC Davis and Washington State University. She will discuss “The Introduction of Honey Bee Germplasm and Re-Establishment of Apis Mellifera Caucasica” on Saturday, Jan. 7.

Asked about the phorids, Cobey said she learned a year ago of the San Francisco-based study. “I’m still not sure how widespread it is or how much of a problem it may be…another contributing factor in the (bee health) puzzle.”

Colony collapse disorder (CCD), first noticed in the winter of 2006, is a mysterious malady characterized by worker bees abandoning the hive. Mussen believes it is a combination of factors that suppress the immune system: pests, parasites, pesticides, diseases, malnutrition and stress.

“It’s a complex issue,” he said at a fall 2007 seminar at UC Davis when he chronicled bee health. “But one thing is certain:  It seems unlikely that we will find a specific, new and different reason for why bees are dying.”

Hive abandonment not a new occurrence, Mussen said the 2007 seminar.  “Similar phenomena have been observed since 1869. It persisted in 1963, 1964 and 1965 and was called Spring Dwindling, Fall Collapse and Autumn Collapse. Then in 1975, it was called Disappearing Disease.  But the disease wasn’t what was disappearing. The bees were.”

Although the cause of CCD is unknown, scientists have noted the high number of viruses and other pathogens, pesticides and parasites present in CCD colonies, as compared to non-CCD colonies. The high levels contribute to weakened immune systems, making the bees more susceptible to pests and pathogens.

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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894