- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The top honors went to:
- Doctoral candidate Shawn Christensen and doctoral student Alexia "Lexie" Martin, both of the lab of associate professor and community ecologist Rachel Vannette, vice chair of the department; and
- Doctoral student Iris Quayle of the lab of professor and arachnologist Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair and associate dean, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.
Christensen competed in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems (P-IE) Section, Apiculture; Martin in the P-IE Section, Pollinator Biology; and Quayle in the Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity (SysEB) Section, Biogeography.
Shawn Christensen. Christensen presented "Bee Specific! Solitary Bee (Anthophora bomboides) Hosts a Specialized Core Microbiome through Development."
His abstract: "Host-microbe interactions are important for the development and fitness of many macroorganisms. While social bees are dependent on a vertically transmitted gut microbiome, solitary bees, which comprise the vast majority of species diversity within bees, lack a specialized gut community. We explored the microbiome associated with the complete life cycle of the ground-nesting polylectic solitary bee Anthophora bomboides standfordiana, including bacterial and fungal composition and abundance. In contrast to expectations, we found that immature stages of this solitary bee maintain a distinct core microbiome consisting of Actinobacteria and one yeast species. Stage-specific shifts in microbial abundance and community composition occur most notably during bee diapause, during which the abundance of bacteria and fungi increased dramatically. We tested two adaptive hypotheses regarding the role of the microbiome in bee ecology. First, isolated brood cell Streptomyces strains were found to inhibit growth of multiple often pathogenic filamentous fungi, suggesting a role in pathogen protection during the long period of diapause. Second, sugar alcohol composition changed in tandem with major changes in microbial abundance suggesting links with bee metabolism or overwintering biology. Our results suggest that this Anthophora species hosts a conserved core microbiome that may provide key fitness advantages through larval development and overwintering. Much work remains to examine the nature of bee-microbiome ecology, but our study reframes the conditions thought to promote the evolution and maintenance of symbiosis."
Co-authors: Rachel Vannette and Sriram Srinivas, UC Davis; Quinn McFrederick, UC Riverside; Bryan Danworth, Cornell University; and Stephen Buchmann, University of Arizona
Her abstract: "Bees interact with and in some cases benefit from a diverse community of microbes, which can be obtained through intraspecific interactions or the environment. Due to differences in sociality, bee species vary in their main route of microbial acquisition and their dependence on microbes. Despite the observation that intraspecific transmission of microbes is imperfect and environmental microbes are nearly ubiquitous in flowers, the potential impacts of intraspecific versus floral microbes on overall pollinator health have not been evaluated. This study uses two model bee species - one social (Bombus impatiens) and one solitary (Osmia lignaria)--to assess the establishment and health impacts of floral and intraspecific microbes. 2x2 factorial experiments were performed on B. impatiens microcolonies and O. lignaria females to selectively introduce intraspecific microbes and/or floral microbes. Survivorship and reproduction were measured to assess bee health and fitness, and DNA extractions and amplicon sequencing were performed on bee guts to evaluate microbial establishment. The results of this study will inform how microbes from different acquisition routes establish in the host, shape the gut microbiome, and affect host health. Since many macroorganisms encounter both intraspecific and environmental microbes, this study provides a framework for similar work in other organisms."
Co-author: Rachel Vannette, UC Davis
Her abstract: "In the Namib Desert, one of the largest and oldest deserts, the genus Onymacris contains a rarity for darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae) – the presence of eight species with striking ‘white' elytra (ranging from stark white to tan/striped). This study seeks to examine the phylogenetic relationships among white Onymacris species to test whether multiple derivations of white elytra is due to convergence or introgression. Population genomic data (3RAD) was generated from all white species of Onymacris with intraspecific sampling for four widespread species (O. marginipennis, O. bicolor, O. candidipennis, O. langi cornelii). Phylogenetic trees were inferred from 995 loci using concatenated and coalescent-based methods. The analyses supported two clades: langi and bicolor each of which contain species with pure white elytra. Variational autoencoder (VAE) clustering analysis shows a pattern of genetically isolated populations (bicolor) and gene flow indicating introgression (langi). These analyses also infer a potential new Angolan species sister to O. marginipennis in need of evaluation. Ancestral character state and biogeographic reconstruction resolve the timing of white species' color expression against the backdrop of sand sea emergence and increased aridity in the Namib, a landscape renown for ‘pocket speciation' and an impressive amount of darkling beetle diversity accounting for nearly 80% of the known endemic beetle fauna. Dynamic coloration provides a fascinating system through which to examine the role of ecological pressures and evolutionary mechanisms but requires a phylogenetic framework to understand organisms' potential adaptations to extreme environments, which is increasingly vital in the face of global trends aridity trends."
Co-authors: Lisa Chamberland, James Starrett and Jason Bond, UC Davis
The full list of student winners--first, second and third places--is here.
Founded in 1889, ESA is the largest entomological organization in the world. Its more than 7,000 members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Alberts, a research fellow at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, will present her talk, "Assassin Fly (Diptera: Asilidae) Systematics and Predator Ecology," at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Nov. 13 on Zoom only. The Zoom link:
https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672
"Assassin flies (Diptera: Asilidae) are a diverse family that plays an essential ecological role as top aerial and venomous predators," she writes in her abstract. "Little is known about the evolution of their predatory habits. This study provides a novel phylogenetic hypothesis of Asilidae along with prey preference and ancestral state reconstruction in a maximum likelihood framework. This study is based on 176 assassin fly species, 35 Asiloidea outgroup species, 3,400 prey preference records accumulated from literature and museum collections, and approximately 7,913 bp of nuclear DNA from five genes (18S and 28S rDNA, AATS, CAD, and EF-1a protein-encoding DNA) and mitochondrial DNA from one gene (COI)."
"Of the 12 asilid subfamilies included in the analysis the monophyly of six was supported," she continued. "We used ancestral state reconstruction and stochastic character mapping to test whether a polyphagous arthropod predator is the ancestral state for Asilidae. Assassin flies are polyphagous arthropod predators, with specialized arthropod prey preferences evolving 20 independently across the Asilidae phylogeny. I will also summarize my other dissertation chapter, a review of Nearctic Saropogon with a new species description."
Alberts, who does research in systematics, phylogenetics, insect biotechnology, genomics, speciation, and macroevolution, received her doctorate from UC Davis in 2023. She and her husband, George, and their two children are residents of Silver Spring, Md.
A native of Plainfield, N.H, Charlotte is a 2015 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y., where she majored in conservation biology and developed an interest in assassin flies--and in celebrating World Robber Fly Day every April 30.
Why assassin flies? “I chose assassin flies because I fell in love researching them as an undergraduate at St. Lawrence University,” she said. "They are fascinating flies and I like that they can immediately change someone's perspective of flies. They are venomous, predatory flies that eat other insects! And they sometimes even look exactly like the creatures they eat. Example: bumble bees!”
Seminar coordinator is Brian Johnson, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. For Zoom technical issues, he may be reached at brnjohnson@ucdavis.edu. The list of seminars is posted here.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
When the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES) honored UC Davis distinguished professor Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology, as the recipient of its 2023 Exceptional Faculty Award, she was asked to trace her interest in insects and to recall some of her fondest UC Davis memories.
One of the funniest memories, Kimsey related, occurred at Briggs Hall in 1986 when noted UC Davis entomology professor Richard "Doc" Bohart (1913-2007) received a 21-Insect Net Salute at the campuswide dedication of the museum in his honor. Entomology faculty and students lined up with their insect nets, forming an archway as Doc Bohart sauntered through. UC Davis Chancellor James Meyer (1922-2002) conducted the dedication. At the time, Kimsey was a postdoctoral scholar in the Doc Bohart lab. He had earlier served as her major professor.
The CA&ES awards dinner, held Nov. 2 in the Athletic Recreation Center (ARC) Ballroom, celebrated five award recipients. In addition to Kimsey, spotlighted were: Alumnus of the Year, James Finch, 1989; Early Career Alumnus, Jeffrey Sparks 2014; Distinguished Friend of the College, Tony Turkovich; and Exceptional Staff Award, Lisa Nash Holmes.
CA&ES Dean Helene Dillard praised the recipients for serving "their communities and the university in a way that exemplifies the spirit of our college and the campus." Prior to the award presentations, the crowd watched a video of each recipient.
Why did she choose to study at UC Davis? "It was one place in the state that had an entomology program," said Kimsey, who holds two entomology degrees from UC Davis: a bachelor's degree (1976) and a doctorate (1979). "I got to pursue my bug interests. I know it was kind of weird, but even as a little kid it was fun." A portrait of her at age 5, holding an insect net, graces the Bohart Museum.
"Uc Davis," Kimsey added, "has been my home for decades."
Kimsey, a recognized authority on insect biodiversity, systematics and biogeography of parasitic wasps, urban entomology, civil forensic entomology, and arthropod-related industrial hygiene, is a 34-year member of the UC Davis entomology faculty. She has directed the Bohart Museum since 1990.
When "Doc" Bohart founded the museum in 1946, it included only 400 insect specimens at its Briggs Hall location. Under Kimsey's tenure, it has grown to a global collection of eight million insect specimens in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, and is the seventh largest insect collection in North America.
"The importance of what Dr. Kimsey does and the importance of insect specimens in museums cannot be overstated," wrote nematologist Steve Nadler, professor and then chair of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, in his letter of nomination. "They are a valuable resource for the agricultural community, public health, forensic entomology, medicine and criminology, environmental biology, and the pest control industry, as well as the public."
Nadler described Kimsey as a visionary with a “let's-do-this” viewpoint that defines her. "Her work is nothing short of exemplary; she has made the museum the place to be—not only for scientific collaborators but for the public."
The Bohart draws an average of 15,000 visitors a year, adds an average of 30,000 new specimens annually, and loans an average 7000 specimens yearly to scientists worldwide. It supports campus classes with specimens, live insects and exhibits in keeping with its mission: “Understanding, documenting and communicating terrestrial arthropod diversity.”
It is also the home of an insect-themed gift shop (proceeds benefit the Bohart's educational activities) and a live “petting zoo” that includes Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas.
The nomination packet included letters of support from numerous colleagues and friends. They included longtime colleague Arnold Menke of Bisbee, Ariz., whose major professor, like Kimsey, was Doc Bohart; professor Jason Bond, the Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and CA&ES associate dean; Frank Zalom, UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus; James Carpenter, American Museum of Natural History curator; and Fran Keller, who was Kimsey's doctoral student.
Wrote Bond: "Professor Kimsey is an internationally recognized expert in insect systematics and taxonomy who specializes in the evolution and taxonomy of two wasp families. She has made an incredible number of contributions to the field of insect systematics that includes > 120 peer reviewed papers, along with a number of book chapters, books, and monographs...Her publications are found in among the top journals appropriate for her field."
"Lynn is an outstanding taxonomist with many publications on various wasp groups, and other insects," wrote Menke. "She has international recognition for her taxonomic work. Included in her bibliography are several books including the world revision of the wasp family Chrysididae with R. M. Bohart in 1990 which is a landmark publication."
Menke praised Kimsey for developing "an outstanding public relations situation," adding that "She has fostered in children (and adults) an appreciation of insects and their world. Lynn has all sorts of living creatures for them to touch and experience first hand. Because of this Lynn has caused many students to take entomology as a career. I know of no other entomological institution that has done what Kimsey has in the Bohart Museum. High school students are interns in the museum, as are undergraduates. Lynn also guides the study of her graduate students at the museum. In addition, she publishes a newsletter in full color (Bohart Museum Society Newsletter) in which she covers stories about insects that are very informative. For example, one of the last issues has an article on fleas which is comprehensive, and doubtless of great interest to people who have encountered these noxious creatures."
The nominating team also described Kimsey as a favorite among the news media, with her ability to translate complex subjects into lay language, and her love of people. Over her 34 years at UC Davis, she has granted thousands of interviews to news outlets, including British Broadcasting System, New York Times, National Geographic, Associated Press, and Los Angeles Times.
Kimsey served as president of the International Society of Hymenopterists from 2002-2004, and as a member of the board of directors of the Natural Science Collections Alliance in 2000 and 2001. The Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of Ameica (PBESA) singled her out for its highest honor, the C. W. Woodworth Award, in 2020. She received the PBESA Systematics, Evolution, and Biodiversity Award in 2014 and was a member of 'The Bee Team' that won the PBESA Outstanding Team Award in 2013. The UC Davis Academic Senate honored her with its Distinguished Scholarly Public Service Award in 2016 in recognition of her outstanding work.
Kimsey served as the vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology in 2005-2006 and again in 2009-2010 and chaired the department in 2008-2009. She plans to retire in 2024 but will continue her research and public service at the Bohart Museum.
Related Story:
Amazing Story About What Entomologist Lynn Kimsey Recorded in San Francisco Bay 50 Years Ago--Bug Squad blog, Aug. 23, 2021
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Theme of annual ESA meeting, taking place Nov. 5-8 at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Md. is "Insects and Influence: Advancing Entomology's Impact on People and Policy."
Among those participating is UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor Frank Zalom. A highly celebrated entomologist, Zalom is an ESA Fellow (2008), past ESA president (2014), and he holds ESA's highest honor, Honorary Member (2021), an honor achieved by only four other UC Davis entomologists: Harry Lange, 1990; Don MacLean, 1993; Bruce Eldridge, 1996; and John Edman, 2001. He continues his research as a recall professor.
Evolutionary biologist Scott Carroll and his wife, entomologist Jenella Loye, both research associates of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and owners of Carroll-Loye Biological Research (CLBR) are also among the participants.
Carroll is the co-author of the newly published “Spatial Sorting Promotes Rapid (mal) Adaptation in the Red-Shouldered Soapberry Bug after Hurricane-Driven Local Extinctions” in the journal, Nature Ecology and Evolution that is drawing worldwide attention.
Officers of ESA, all women scientists, are:
- President: Marianne Alleyne, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Vice President: Jennifer Henke, Coachella Valley Mosquito and Vector Control District
- Vice President-Elect: Lina Bernaola, Texas A&M University
- Past President: Jessica Ware, American Museum of Natural History
Founded in 1889, ESA is the largest entomological organization in the world. Its more than 7,000 members are affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government.
"The premier event of the Society is its annual meeting. Each year approximately 3,500 entomologists and other scientists gather to exchange scientific information. A program of symposia, conferences, submitted papers, and continuing education seminars provides attendees the opportunity to hear and present research results. The meeting also provides a chance to interact informally with peers and prospective employers."--ESA website.
(Editor's Note: Access the ESA program and the list of UC Davis attendees (go to the online program at https://entomology2023.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The committee recently settled on the date. The inaugural event took place during the Presidents' Day weekend.
The museums and collections will participate at their various sites on campus. They will include Phaff Yeast Culture Collection, Bohart Museum of Entomology, Museum of Wildlife and Fish Biology, Arboretum and Public Garden, California Raptor Center, Earth and Planetary Sciences Paleontology Collections, Botanical Conservatory, Center for Plant Diversity, Nematode Collections, Marine Invertebrate Teaching Collection. and Department of Anthropology Museum.
"Each year more than 200 volunteers--students, staff and faculty--from across campus help more 4,000 visitors--including other UC Davis students, staff and faculty--learn about biodiversity through our amazing biological collections," said UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology.
Yang, with Brennen Dyer, collections manager for the Bohart Museum and Melissa Cruz Hernandez, outreach and leadership program manager for the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden, recently coordinated a Crowdfunding project raising funds for the event.
