April 23, 2012
DAVIS--Bed bugs may be little, but they are a big problem--infestations are rampant locally, nationally and globally, says Tanya Drlik, integrated pest management (IPM) coordinator of Contra Costa County who will speak at the University of California, Davis campus at the May 3rd meeting of the Northern California Entomology Society.
“We’ve had a reprieve from bed bugs for about 50 years, but now they’re back,” said Drlik, who will discuss “The Resurgence of Bed Bugs and Current Effective Control Methods” at 9:45 a.m. in the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facilityon Bee Biology Road.
The society--membership is open to the general public--will meet from 9:15 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Drlik is one of five speakers on topics ranging from bed bugs to lacewings to endangered species.
Drlik, who formed the Bed Bug Task Force to help prepare Contra Costa County to meet the challenges of the mounting bed bug infestation, says that bed bugs “have no regard for wealth or class—everyone is vulnerable. Bed bugs can be found all across the country in apartment buildings, hotels and motels, private residences, hospitals, waiting rooms, fire station, taxis and buses…and the list goes on. They’ve infested four-star hotels and penthouses as well as homeless shelters and rundown apartment buildings.”
“Judging by history and the experience of other jurisdictions across the country, the problem is only going to increase, and more and more public buildings and homes will experience infestations,” said Drlik, who has a master’s degree in ecosystem management and nearly 40 years of experience in the field of IPM.
“Bed bugs are difficult to control because of their small size, their secretive nature and their growing resistance to the pesticides we have at our disposal. Poverty, clutter, and poor housekeeping do not cause bed bug infestations, but they make eliminating infestations much more difficult.”
Bed bugs “can be seen in epidemic proportions in some areas of the United States, including New York City and central and southwestern Ohio,” said Drlik, adding that since 2004, New York City has experienced a 2277 percent increase in complaints about bed bugs in the five boroughs (source: New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development). “Colleagues in the Franklin County Health Department in central Ohio have commented to us that they were completely unprepared for the rapidity with which bed bugs spread throughout their county.”
“Bed bugs are far more common in urban areas, and the poor, the elderly, and the mentally ill suffer disproportionately because they do not have the funds, the information, and often the wherewithal, to eliminate infestations,” she said.
The Nor-Cal Entomology Society agenda:
9:15 a.m.: Registration for club members and guests (with coffee). Dues, $10 per year, can be paid at the meeting.
9:45 a.m.: “Resurgence of Bed Bugs and Current Effective Control Methods” – Tanya Drlik, Contra Costa County Health Services Department.
10:30 a.m.: “Protecting Invertebrates Listed as Threatened or Endangered Species in California” – Darlene McGriff, California Natural Diversity Database (California Department of Fish and Game).
11:15 a.m.: “California Forest Insect Conditions Going into 2012” – Cynthia Snyder, U.S. Forest Service, Shasta-McCloud Management Unit.
12 p.m. Lunch (see below)
1 p.m.: “PG&E’s Use of Safe Harbor Agreements and Programmatic Permits to Protect Endangered Organisms on Utility Rights of Way” – Peter Beesley, PG&E.
1:45 p.m.: “In-Depth Look at Lacewings, an Augmentative California Biological Control Agent” – Shaun Winterton, California Department of Food and Agriculture Biological Control Program.
2:30 p.m. :Adjourn
The Department of Pesticide Regulation will grant continuing education hours: two and a half hours of "laws," and an hour and a half of “other,” according to Nor Cal Entomology Society president Bob Case of Concord, retired deputy agricultural commissioner from the Contra Costa County Department of Agriculture.
Luncheon reservations ($15) should be made by Friday, April 27 with secretary-treasurer Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist at the UC Davis Department of Entomology, at ecmussen@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0472.
The Northern California Entomology Society, comprised of university faculty, researchers, pest abatement professionals, students and other interested persons, meets three times a year: in February at the California Department of Food and Agriculture Plant Diagnostic Lab; in May at the Laidlaw facility; and in November at the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District office.
Download PDF on agenda/directions/lunch
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Directions to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility: From the east: Take I-80 through Davis to the Hwy 113 North, Woodland exit. Go north toward Woodland on 113, but take the immediate next exit (Hutchison – UC Davis) and fork to the left. Turn left on Hutchison, back over 113 (away from the main campus), and continue west about 1.3 miles. When you see the small green sign with a white airplane and arrow pointing to the left, turn left on Hopkins Road. Proceed south on Hopkins to the end of the farm field on the left. Turn left on Bee Biology Road. The first building on the right is Bee Biology. Parking is free in front of the building or between the olives on both sides of the road. |
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Lunch ($15) Per Person: The lunches, from Noah's New York Bagels, are "sandwich or salad box lunches” and come with potato salad, dill pickle and fresh baked cookie. Bread choices are multigrain whole wheat; harvest grain;. potato; marbled rye; and cornmeal rye bread. Bagel choices include foccacia, challah, or regular and “thin-sliced,” large diameter bagels. Also plain, sourdough, egg, whole wheat, whole wheat sesame, pretzel, poppyseed, sesame, peppercorn potato, “everything” bagels and a “tuscan” bread. Additional: you can order a fresh fruit “cup” or a yogurt parfait to accompany the meal. |
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
April 20, 2012
DAVIS--Nature’s Gallery, the colorful project of the Art/Science Fusion Programthat drew raves in Washington, D.C., has a new home—a forever home.
The stunning mosaic mural of 140 ceramic tiles depicting plants and insects once graced the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C. Now it’s a permanent part of the Ruth Storer Garden, UC Davis Arboretum, on Garrod Drive. It anchors what is to be Nature's Gallery Court.
A grand opening for donors, honorees, project supporters and their guests is scheduled on Saturday, June 9 from 10 a.m. to noon.
The mosaic mural drew more than 300,000 visitors when it was displayed in the summer of 2007 in the U.S. Botanic Garden on the Capitol Mall, Washington, D.C.
Handcrafted by UC Davis staff, faculty and community members, under the umbrella of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program, it features interlocking tiles showing the diversity of plants and insects in California.
The installation in the Storer Garden is nearing completion, according to Diane Ullman and Donna Billick, co-founders and directors of the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program. The last remaining part: the donor tiles.
Donors who contribute either $500 for an insect tile (6x8 inches) or $1500 for a plant tile (16x21 inches) will have their names etched on a tile on the donor wall. Each tile will be inscribed with the scientific name of the insect or botanical name of the plant, along with the donor name(s). At the onset, 76 plant tiles and 54 insect tiles were available, but as of Friday, April 27, only a few remain. (See website for information on what's available or contact Suzanne Ullensvang, resource development manager at (530) 752-8324 or sullensvang@ucdavis.edu.
The Art-Science Fusion program includes design faculty, science faculty, museum educators, professional artists, and UC Davis students. Ullman is a professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and associate dean for undergraduate academic programs at the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Billick is a self-described "rock artist." Among her work: the ceramic bee sculpture in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven at UC Davis.
The Ruth Risdon Storer Garden, named for Yolo County’s first pediatrician and an avid gardener, is designed for year-round color with low water use and low maintenance. It includes many Arboretum All-Stars, or recommended plants for Valley-wise gardens.
The project attracted nationwide publicity when Ullman and Billick were invited to display the interlocking mural in the U.S. Botanic Garden to reveal “the relevance of public gardens to the future of our nation,” a botanical garden spokesperson said.
Information from the UC Davis Arboretum website: "With no admission fee, the UC Davis Arboretum is open and accessible to hundreds of thousands of visitors each year. In addition, many people hold important events in the Arboretum gardens. Nature’s Gallery Court, near the White Flower Garden and Gazebo and the nationally-significant Shields Oak Grove, will host celebrations and special events year round. The Court will also serve as an integral part of the Arboretum’s youth and adult education programs."
"The Court is also a celebration of collaboration. Its overall design was created by landscape architect and UC Davis alumnus Ron Lutsko, recent recipient of an Award of Excellence from the American Society of Landscape Architects. His plan highlights the Nature’s Gallery mural—a creation of many hands—through a collaboration between the UC Davis Arboretum and the Art-Science Fusion Program created by associate dean and entomology professor Diane Ullman of the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and renowned artist Donna Billick, a graduate of the UC Davis Art Department."
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
April 18, 2012
DAVIS--What's Mother's Day without moths and caterpillars?
Moth specimens and a fun caterpillar craft will highlight a pre-“Moth’er's Day” open house at the Bohart Museum of Entomology from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, May 12.
The museum is located in Room 1124 of Academic Surge on California Drive, University of California, Davis campus. The event is free and open to the public.
Entomologist and museum associate Jeff Smith will show visitors a “behind-the-scenes” look at the Bohart’s moth collection.
Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator, said youngsters and adults alike can make caterpillars from colorful “scrunched-up paper” and chopsticks. "They're a lot of fun," she said.
The Bohart Museum also features a year-around live “petting zoo” with such permanent residents as walking sticks, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and a rose-haired tarantula.
In addition, the gift shop will be open so visitors can buy Mom such gifts as jewelry, T-shirts, sweatshirts, coffe mugs, posters, insect candy and insect nets.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of more than seven million insect specimens, the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and 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 May 12 event is the second to the last weekend open house for the academic year. The remaining open house is Sunday, June 3 when the museum will open its doors from 1 to 4 p.m. for “Bug Light, Bug Bright…First Bug I See Tonight.”
Bohart officials annually schedule weekend open houses so that families and others who cannot attend on the weekdays can do so on the weekends. The Bohart’s regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 5 p.m., Monday through Thursday. It is closed on Fridays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
More information is available on the Bohart website or by contacting Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu or (530) 752-0493. Due to limited space, group tours will not be booked during the weekend hours.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
April 18, 2012
DAVIS--UC Davis researcher Ian Pearse, who completed requirements for his doctorate in entomology in December 2011, is the recipient of the 2012 Merton Love Award for the Outstanding Dissertation in Ecology and Evolution.
Pearse, with the Rick Karban lab, researches the ecology of plants and herbivores.
Pearse will receive a $400 stipend, have his name engraved on the Merton Love plaque, and will present a Department of Ecology and Evolution lecture in June.
The lecture is set for 4:10 p.m., Thursday, June 7 in Room 1003 of Giedt Hall. (See seminar schedule.)
The annual award goes to the most outstanding UC Davis doctoral dissertation in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology, said Department of Entomology assistant professor Louie Yang, a member of the Ecology and Evolution seminar committee that judges the applicants. Applicants are solicited from all relevant graduate groups each spring from students who are finishing in the upcoming summer or have finished during the previous year.
“Ian's dissertation was focused on predicting novel trophic interactions between herbivores and non-native plants,” said Yang. “Throughout his dissertation, Ian has shown a willingness to tackle difficult questions with independence and creativity. He has applied a wide range of approaches in his research, including phylogenetic comparative methods, manipulative experiments and large-scale observational studies.”
Yang said that Pearse “has been exceptionally productive in both his independent and collaborative research, and has become a valued colleague and participant in the ecology and evolution community at UC Davis. In addition to his research activities, Ian has also shown a strong interest in developing his skills as a teacher, especially in field courses.”
The award is named for Robert Merton Love (1909-2004), an internationally renowned range scientist and agronomist. A UC Davis faculty member from 1940 to 1994, Love chaired the Department of Agronomy and Range Science from 1959 to 1970, retiring in 1976. Later, in his retirement years, he chaired both the Graduate Group in Ecology and the Graduate Group in Range and Wildlands Science. (See his work as a major figure in the history of plant breeding at UC Davis.)
Pearse presented a UC Davis Department of Entomology seminar on April 4 on "The Use of Non-Native Plants by Native Herbivores."
His abstract: “As human-aided range expansions and climate change alter the distributions of both plants and their herbivores, novel interactions between organisms will become some of the most pressing issues that can be addressed by modern ecologists. It would be very useful to have a strong theoretical framework for predicting novel herbivore-plant interactions before they happen and to have a mechanistic understanding of why some interactions occur while others do not. I outline a theoretical framework for predicting plant-herbivore interactions, and I illustrate examples of plant traits and relationships that affect the colonization of non-native oak trees by herbivores. I show that, in the oak genus, phylogenetic relationships between plant species drive herbivore interactions, and that this trend is governed by subtle plant traits that are often overlooked as defenses.
Pearse received his bachelor's degree at the University of Illinois, Urbana.
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
April 18, 2012
DAVIS--When you listen to the rainforest, what does it tell you about ourselves and our world?
In keeping with Earth Day, a unique art/science fusion program titled “Mentawai: Listening to the Rainforest,” will be presented at 7 p.m. on Sunday, April 22 in the UC Davis Main Theatre. The event, free and open to the public, is affiliated with the UC Davis Department of Theatre and Dance and the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program. Doors open at 6:30 p.m.
The program is the work of scholar/performer Linda Burman-Hall, professor of music/ethnomusicology at UC Santa Cruz and biologist Richard Tenaza, professor of biological sciences, University of the Pacific, Stockton. Tenaza received his doctorate in zoology from UC Davis in 1974.
Burman-Hall will present an electronic sound collage composition and videography, coupled with Tenaza’s field recordings and photography of threatened and endangered species in Indonesia’s Mentawai Islands, located more than 100 miles west of Sumatra.
In the abstract, Burman-Hall asks: “What does the rainforest tell us about ourselves and the world? In the Mentawai Islands of Indonesia, wildlife communicates using a complete spectrum of sound that exceeds the range and timbre of a western orchestra. More than 50 meters overhead, female gibbons sing expressive duets in the tree-tops. Hundreds of unique species of birds, frogs, and insects also call and chorus, and in the midst of this sonorous world live indigenous tribes who have listened to the rainforest and existed harmoniously with its flora and fauna for millennia.”
“This promises to be a fantastic multimedia program,” said entomologist Diane Ullman, professor and former chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, and the associate dean for undergraduate academic programs in the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. Ullman co-founded and co-directs the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program with self-described “rock artist” Donna Billick of Davis.
“Mentawai, Listening to the Rainforest, is a extraordinary opportunity to enhance environmental literacy,” said Billick, who will represent the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program on the five-member panel of respondents offering their views on the multimedia work. “Listening engages all our senses to a heightened awareness that brings consciousness into the present moment. This approach to research, using sound image and videography, is as good as it can be. I applaud Linda Burman-Hall and Richard Tenaza for drifting out into the Art/Science borderland to bring back the Mentawai gifts.”
Billick, a noted artist, created the six-foot-long bee sculpture in the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis.
The respondents panel also includes UC Davis faculty members Lynne Isbell, professor of anthropology; Andrew Marshall, associate professor of anthropology; Sarah Hrdy, professor emerita of anthropology, Henry Spiller, associate professor of music (ethnomusicology).
The program will showcase a number of wildlife that live in the rainforest. Among the insects will be Tenaza’s photos of nasute termites (as identified by noted insect photographer Alex Wild, research scholar at the University of Illinois); Malay Lacewing butterflies (Cethosia hypsea) of the Nymphalidae family, and “The Cruiser” Vindula erota species of nymphalid butterfly (identified by Arthur Shapiro of UC Davis).
Burman-Hall, the artistic director of the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival, has performed a wide range of music throughout the United States, in Canada, The Netherlands, Germany and Indonesia-- from works of the medieval mystic Hildegard of Bingen to world premieres of multi-cultural, experimental and computer music.
For performance research and recordings, Burman-Hall has received individual and team grants from National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts, and University of California Pacific Rim Research Program. She has been featured on National Public Radio and in other news media.
Linda Burman-Hall's recordings are available on Musical Heritage, Centaur, Helicon and Wildboar labels.
Tenaza, a wildlife biologist, photographer, world traveler and adventurer, has conducted research in the Arctic, Antarctica, Africa, South America, China, and throughout Southeast Asia with a focus on Indonesia. He specializes in primates and has worked extensively to document and preserve Kloss's gibbon (Hylobates klossii) of Mentawai. Tenaza, who received his bachelor’s degree in biology from San Francisco State University in 1964 before enrolling as a graduate student at UC Davis, says on his website:
“When I was a child I didn’t fantasize about being a fireman or policeman or president or movie actor. I didn’t fantasize about material possession or wealth either. What I fantasized about were wild animals and wild people in wild places. I fantasized about photographing birds and writing their stories. I fantasized about water buffalo and rice paddies and houses on stilts. I fantasized about living in rain forests and walking on frozen seas. I’ve been very, very fortunate in having been able to live out many of those childhood fantasies.”
--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
