Close-up of a tadpole shrimp. (Photo by Ian Grettenberger)

Agricultural entomologist and Cooperative Extension specialist Ian Grettenberger of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology and his colleagues propose alternative management. 

Grettenberger's poster, “Past Pyrethroids: Alternative Management Approaches for Tadpole Shrimp in Rice,” presented at Entomological Society of America meeting (Oct. 31-Nov. 3) in Denver, offers non-pesticide alternatives, including the use of mosquitofish. 

Collaborative research with UCCE Butte County director and Rice Farming Systems Advisor Luis Espino and UC Davis staff research associate  Kevin Goding, indicates that mosquitofish proved able to suppress shrimp populations.  

“Tadpole shrimp (Triops longicaudatus) are an early-season pest in California rice,” Grettenberger explained in his abstract. “Soon after flooding, eggs hatch and growing shrimp are soon large enough to damage germinating rice seedlings. Currently, pyrethroid insecticides are heavily relied upon for management, as they are in many cropping systems, because of their efficacy and low cost. However, contamination of surface waters is a concern, as is insecticide resistance.”

"We evaluated alternative management strategies that could be used to manage tadpole shrimp,” he wrote. “We tested a number of materials using small metal ring plots and natural shrimp populations. This included several timings of applications to mimic an early, more proactive application along with a later, rescue application, as well as reduced rates of a number of insecticides.”

Ian Grettenberger

Deep Look Video. Tadpole shrimp recently made the national news in two ways, Grettenberger said. First, they made news with the sudden appearance of tadpole shrimp following monsoon rains this summer in an ancient ceremonial ball court at the Wupatki National Monument in northern Arizona (https://www.livescience.com/dinosaur-shrimp-emerge-arizona). In October, KQED's Deep Look released a new video,  “Tadpole Shrimp Are Coming For Your Rice,"  the work of lead producer and cinematographer Josh Cassidy and other members of the Deep Look crew. (See https://youtu.be/T2xnXaX7r3g.) Grettenberger assisted with the project, providing tadpole shrimp and taking some of the video clips used in the five-minute video.  

 “Much of his shooting was in my garage,” the UC Davis entomologist said, “so I get to see just how much effort and care goes into producing these videos. They end up pretty short, but that doesn't mean it is simple to get all the pieces together.”

“This tadpole shrimp is coming for your rice,” the narrator said. “Hungry hordes of them find their way into the  ice fields of California's Central Valley and go to town munching on the young seedlings. But where did they come from, with the ocean so far away? A couple of weeks ago, this was just a dry dusty field. Turns out they were here all along.”

Deep Look referred to them as “time travelers,” as the eggs of shrimp tadpoles can be viable for decades and hatch when the rice growers flood their fields. "At the very least, they have survived as eggs since last season," Grettenberger noted.

The pests are neither tadpoles or shrimp but are fresh-water crustaceans descended from the ocean. “They look like tiny horseshoe crabs,” Grettenberger told Deep Look. “It's obvious when rice fields have lots of tadpole shrimp in them, because they stir up the mud making the water look a bit like chocolate milk. There will also be shrimp zooming around, many upside down at the surface, popping up for a few seconds before disappearing back into the murkiness."

Adult tadpole shrimp cannot survive when the soil dries out. But Grettenberger said their eggs have a rugged outer layer called a “chorion” that protects the eggs from desiccation.

“They've been living this way for hundreds of millions of years-- since before the dinosaurs-- waiting out droughts,  changing climates, even global catastrophes,” KQED relates in the video. “In a world where the future is unpredictable, tadpole shrimp are the ultimate survivors.”

Grettenberger, who joined the UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty in January, 2019, focuses his research on field and vegetable crops; integrated pest management; applied insect ecology; and biological control of pests. 

Additional Information:

• Resource on tadpole shrimp, UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program (co-authors, the late Larry Godfrey, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology; Luis Espino, UC Cooperative Extension; and Sharon Lawler, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
  
  
• "Effect of Rice Winter Cultural Management Practices on the Size of the Hatching Population of Triops longicaudatus (Notostraca:Triopsidae) in California Rice Fields" (Co-authors Larry Godfrey, Joanna Bloese, and Kevin Goding)

A total of 10 entomology graduate students will deliver presentations in the 10-minute oral student competitions, and two will present posters. The events are scheduled Monday, Nov. 1. 

10-Minute Student Speech Competitions:

• Jill Oberski, doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Phil Ward 
  Category: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Phylogenetics and Phylogenomics 
  Title: "Arid-Adapted Pyramid Aants (Formicidae: Dorymyrmex) Show an Amphitropical Distribution and an Ongoing Radiation."
  
  
• Zachary Griebenow, doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Phil Ward 
  Category: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Parasites and Symbionts 
  Title: "Discovery of a Putative Troglomorphic Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae: Leptanillinae)"
   
• Lacie Newton, doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Jason Bond
  Category: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Phylogentics and Phylogenomics
  Title: "Establishing a Robust Combined-Evidence Phylogeny of the Trapdoor Spider Genus Aptostichus (Araneae: Mygalomorphae: Euctenizidae)" 
  
  
• Lindsey Mack, PhD student who studies with major professor Geoffrey Attardo
  Category: Medical, Urban and Veterinary Entomology:  Mosquitoes, Biting Midges and Flies
  Title: "Gene Expression Temporal Analysis of Pyrethroid Response in Californian Aedes aegypti"
  
  
• Danielle Rutkowski, PhD student who studies with major professor Rachel Vannette
  Category: Plant-Insect Ecosystems: Ecology 3
  Title: "Fungicide Impacts on Bumble Bees are Mediated via Effects on Bee-Associated Fungi"
  
  
• Maureen Page, doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Neal Williams
  Category: Plant-Insect Ecosystems: Pollinators
  Title: "Optimizing Pollinator-friendly Plant Mixes to Simultaneously Support Wild and Managed Bees"
  
  
• Xavier Zahnle, PhD student who studies with major professor Jason Bond
  Category: Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution
  Title: "Deep Homology Influences Llocalized Postembryonic Metamorphosis in Male Genitalia of the Flat-Backed Millipede Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Myriapoda, Diplopoda,Polydesmida,Polydesmidae)"
  
  
• Erin T. Kelly, doctoral candidate who studies with major professor Geoffrey Attardo 
  Category: Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology and Biochemistry
  Title: "Using Metabolomic Analysis to Generate Insights into Pyrethroid Metabolism and Resistance in California Aedes aegypti"
  
  
• Jasmin Ramirez Bonilla, master's student who studies with major professor Ian Grettenberger
  Category: Plant and Insect Ecosystems: Field Crops 3
  Title: "Stripes and spots: Evaluating an Aggregation Pheromone, vittatalactone, for Western Striped (Acalymma trivittatum) and Western Spotted (Diabrotica undecimpunctata undecimpunctata) Cucumber Beetles"
  
  
• Madison Hendrick, PhD student who studies with major professor Ian Gettenberger
  Category: Plant and Insect Ecosystems: Field Crops 1
  Title: "Clarifying Pyrethroid Resistance and Exploring Interactions with Insecticide Use in California Alfalfa Weevil" 
  
  

Posters:

• Mia Lippey, PhD student who studies with major professors Jay Rosenheim and Emily Meineke
  Poster in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section, Behavior and Ecology:  "Effects of Surrounding Landscapes on the Fork-tailed Bush Katydid (Scudderia furcata) in California Citrus"
  
  
• Gabriel "Gabe" Foote, PhD student who initially studied with (the late) Steve Seybold and is now advised by Hugh Safford Region 5 Regional Ecologist/Affiliate Faculty (UC Davis).
  Poster in Plant-Insect Ecosystems Section, Pollinators, "Landscape and Stand Level Factors Affecting Wild Bee Diversity in the Californian Central Sierra Nevada"

Abstracts:
Speech Competition

Jill Oberski 

Jill Oberski

Zachary Griebenow

Zachary Griebenow

Xavier J. Zahnle 
In the arthropod subphylum Myriapoda, localized modification of walking legs is taxonomically widespread. Male millipedes (class Diplopoda) exemplify this phenomenon, with diverse postembryonic walking leg transformations including clasping organs, reduced or hyper-enlarged leg pairs, and intromittent copulatory genitalia called gonopods. Gonopods are fully formed in adult males, but usually develop internally through several stadia.

Xavier Zahnle

Special attention was paid to the origin and insertion points of muscles as potential points of topological continuity preserved through development. Additionally, a series of juvenile male Pseudopolydesmus stadia was imaged using µCT to investigate the structural transformation of the future gonopod appendage pair. Topological continuity of muscles between walking legs and gonopods could be established for only a few muscles. Moreover, the developmental series revealed near-complete obliteration of appendicular muscles before adult gonopod formation begins, disproving the hypothesis that gonopod muscles are physically retained serialhomologs of those in the walking legs. Therefore, the few structural similarities between muscles in walking legs and gonopods are more likely due to the structure being preserved from the ancestral node of gonopod-bearing millipedes (deep homology) than to developmental continuity within the individual. (Co-authors of paper are Professor Jason Bond and Megan Ma.)  

Lacie Newton

The trapdoor spider genus Aptostichus comprises forty-one species, most of which are primarily restricted to the California Floristic Province, a known biodiversity hotspot; however, four species inhabit Nevada, Arizona, and Oaxaca, Mexico. Aptostichus range widely in size and coloration as well as occupy a variety of habitats ranging from arid deserts to coastal dunes to high elevation alpine habitat. Additionally, Aptostichus has a relatively high amount of species diversity when compared to other euctenizid genera and the majority of other mygalomorph groups. High species diversity and inhabiting a diversity of habitats underscore the pattern of an adaptive radiation in the genus, making them ideal organisms for investigating speciation pattern and process, character evolution, and adaptation. A previous study by Bond (2012) constructed a morphology-only phylogeny of the genus with uncertainty for several interspecific relationships. Building on this previous morphological work, we increased taxon sampling to include a recently described species (41 total) and used a sequence capture method (i.e.,ultra conserved elements) to generate genomic-scale data. We were successful in sequencing UCEs from historical ethanol-preserved museum specimens; thus, we were able to include rare and presumed extinct Aptostichus species in both molecular and morphological datasets. From our datasets we established a robust ‘combined-evidence' phylogeny to provide a framework for exploring evolutionary phenomena. Specifically, we evaluate diversification rates within the genus, the evolution of characters associated with different habitat types (i.e., coastal dunes and desert), and how the patterns of diversification were potentially affected by geological events and ecological differences. (Paper is co-authored by James Starrett and Professor Jason Bond)

Lindsey Mack

Lindsey Mack

Aedes aegypti, the vector of Zika and dengue, established in California in 2013 and have spread to 22 counties across the state. These mosquitoes arrived with resistance to pyrethroids, the primary class of insecticides used for public health applications. Pyrethroids act on the insect voltage gated sodium channels causing prolonged depolarization and death. Resistance is developed through mutations at the target site or over-expression of detoxifying enzymes like cytochrome P450s and glutathione-S-transferases (GSTs), however over 100 genes code for P450s in mosquitoes. To identify putative resistance mediating enzymes as well as the overall genetic response to insecticide exposure, mosquitoes were exposed to permethrin for 1 hour, then placed in a cage and collected 6, 10, and 24 hours post exposure for Tag-seq. The analysis identified 20 cytochrome P450s and 6 GSTs with significant increases in expression. Enzymes associated with oxidation-reduction reactions were overrepresented across time points suggesting the response results in significant oxidative stress. Another significant feature revealed upregulation of enzymes required for fundamental metabolic activities including glycolysis, the pentose phosphate shunt, and lipid metabolism. Overall, these findings reveal that these mosquitoes have a strong genetic response to insecticide exposure. In addition, this response appears to require activation of other fundamental metabolic pathways to reduce the associated oxidative stress and maintain the demand for energy generated by these activities. These results provide evidence of metabolic resistance in this population, new enzymatic targets for investigation, and new questions to pursue as to the resistance profile of these invasive Californian populations.Gene expression temporal analysis of pyrethroid response in Californian Aedes aegypti. (Paper co-authored by Geoffey Attardo)

Danielle Rutkowski 

Danielle Rutkowski

Native bees including bumble bees are important pollinators but face threats from multiple sources, including agrochemical application. Declining bumble bee populations have been linked to fungicide application, which could directly affect the fungi often found in the stored food and GI tract of healthy bumble bees. Here, we test the hypothesis that fungicides impact bee health by disrupting bumble bee -fungi interactions. Using two species, Bombus vosnesenskii and B. impatiens, we test the interactive effect of the fungicide propiconazole and fungal supplementation on the survival, reproduction, and microbiome composition of microcolonies (queenless colonies). We found that both bee species benefitted from fungi, but were differentially affected by fungicides. In B. vosnesenskii, fungicide exposure decreased survival while fungal supplementation mitigated fungicide effects. For B. impatiens, fungicide application had no effect, but fungal supplementation improved survival and offspring production. Fungicides altered fungal microbiome composition in both species, and reduced fungal abundance in B. vosnesenskii microcolonies, but not in B. impatiens, where instead fungal addition actually decreased fungal abundance. Our results highlight species-specific differences in both response to fungicides and the nature of fungal associations with bees, and caution the use of results obtained using one species to predict the responses of other species. These results suggest that fungicides can alter bee- fungi interactions with consequences for bee survival and reproduction, and suggest that exploring the mechanisms of such interactions, including interactions within bee-associated fungal communities, may offer insights into bumble bee biology and bumble bee conservation strategies. (Paper co-authors are associate professor Rachel Vannette, Eliza Litsey and Isabelle Maalouf)

Maureen Page

Maureen Page

Despite the recognized utility of wildflower plantings to support honey bees and wild bees these two goals have largely been pursued separately. Furthermore, pollinator-friendly plant mixes are currently selected using estimates of flower visitation without considering among-plant differences in nutritional quality or how competition among bees might affect plant use. The nutritional composition of pollen and nectar strongly affects bee health and survival and bees use nutritional information to make plant foraging decisions. Additionally, honey bees, which are generally stocked at high densities in crop lands, have been shown to compete with native pollinators for pollen and nectar resources and such competition may lead to changes in plant choice and narrowing of diet breadth. In this study, I use data on flower visitation patterns and the nutritional quality of nectar and pollen from different plant species in conjunction with recently developed optimization models to identify plant mixes that meet the goals of enhancing honey bee nutrition and maximizing support of diverse bee communities while minimizing competition. (Paper co-authored by Professor Neal Williams)  

Erin Taylor Kelly

Resistance to pyrethroid based insecticides has facilitated the rapid spread of Aedes aegypti mosquitoes throughout California. Aedes aegypti demonstrate both metabolic and target site resistance mechanisms to insecticides, but precise mechanisms of pyrethroid detoxification are not yet well described and appear to vary between and within populations. For our study, we produced F2 generation colonies representing two genetically distinct populations of Aedes aegypti from the San Joaquin Valley and from Southern California. These two populations were then subjected to a modified CDC bottle-assay with Deltamethrin, a pyrethroid insecticide. Following Deltamethrin exposure, we observed knock-down times and collected samples from the upper and lower knock-down quartiles, representing susceptible and resistant insects. We apportioned 10 pools of 5 adult female Aedes aegypti organized by population and susceptible or resistant and submitted them to the West Coast Metabolomics center for high-throughput metabolomic analysis. This technique offers a snapshot of the insects' metabolomes, revealing different levels of activity and demands on metabolic pathways. We analyzed the data in MetaboAnalyst to look for differences between the susceptible and resistant insects and shared features between the two study populations. These analyses revealed that the susceptible individuals from both populations had higher levels of biomarkers associated with oxidative stress. Further research could shed new light on how invasive California Aedes aegypti are detoxifying pyrethroids and ultimately allow for the discovery of better targeted vector control that exploits the mosquitoes' metabolic vulnerabilities (Paper is co-authored by assistant professor Geoffrey Attardo)

Jasmin Ramirez Bonilla 

Jasmin Ramirez Bonilla

The western striped cucumber beetle, Acalymma trivittatum, and western spotted cucumber beetle, Diabrotica undecimpunctata undecimpunctata, are key pests of fresh market melons in northern CA. While both species are of concern the most detrimental species is the western striped cucumber beetle due to its affinity for smooth melon varieties such as honeydews and cantaloupes. The adults and the larvae feed on the fruit rind, creating scars and rendering the fruit unmarketable. Current management is mostly limited to intensive foliar applications of broad-spectrum insecticides. Although growers scout the fields, they do not possess effective monitoring strategies. Fortunately, an aggregation pheromone has been identified (vittatalactone) and synthesized for an eastern species, the striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum). In this study, we examined and evaluated the attractiveness of vittatalactone to western cucumber beetles for two consecutive years (2020-2021). This field experiment was replicated across two organic sites in the Sacramento Valley, CA. Both trials consisted of deploying clear sticky traps that were either baited with vittatalactone or unbaited. In addition, we tested the effect of a commercial floral lure combined with the aggregation pheromone (2020) and the floral lure alone in a factorial design in 2021. We found that beetle captures are highly dependent on the growth stage of the crop (i.e., seedling, vegetative, or fruit). The highest captures appeared to be at the end of the season when the crop was harvested. These findings contribute to the future of vittatalactone as a useful monitoring tool and as an attract-and-kill approach. (Paper is co-authored by Donald Weber, Amber Vinchesi-Vahl and Ian Grettenberger) 

Madison Hendrick

Madison Hendrick

The alfalfa weevil (Hypera postica) is the primary pest of alfalfa across the Western United States. However, weevils in California are not easily controlled using biological, cultural, or other methods of control. Ultimately, weevil management is limited to chemical control, and there are relatively few Modes of Action (MoAs) registered for alfalfa weevil in California. The lack of chemical options further limits control options for this pest and increases risks of resistance development. Unfortunately, due to the limitations of both options and application cost, pyrethroid resistance is already an issue in some regions. As part of an ongoing project, in 2020 and 2021 we performed bioassay to assess resistance in alfalfa weevil populations across California. The assays were conducted by coating the inside of glass vials with the most-used pyrethroid, lambda-cyhalothrin, and placing weevils inside to expose them. The dose-response assays produced LC50s, which were used to quantify the level of resistance in each population. These results include data from susceptible regions, regions with known or suspected resistance, and potentially new area of concern. Additionally, the LC50s have been linked with the California Department of Pesticide Regulation pesticide use reports to find the relationship between history of pesticide use and resistance using a preliminary model. This project will address current resistance issues and help growers make science-based, proactive management decisions that will prolong the efficacy of current control options. Resistance management and monitoring in alfalfa may also translate to use in other cropping systems. (Paper is co-authored by Kevin Wanner and Ian Grettenberger)  

Abstracts:
Posters

Mia Uppey

Mia Lippey

Globally, humans are introducing large expanses of crop plants into natural areas, such that agricultural landscapes are now patchworks of resources with which native herbivores have no prior experience. When novel crop host plants are introduced, the cues that once signaled a high-quality host may no longer be reliable, and adult insects may oviposit on host plants that are actually unsuitable for the development of their offspring. These anthropogenic “habitat traps'' can thus attract pest populations that rely on immigration from surrounding habitats to persist. In such cases, identifying putative source plants in the surrounding landscape is critical for pest management. Here, we examine how surrounding land use affects abundances of the fork-tailed bush katydid, a key pest of California citrus. Though katydids feed heavily on introduced citrus, they survive poorly when raised on citrus alone. Therefore, we predict that host plants in surrounding landscapes contribute to the persistence of katydids in citrus groves. California citrus groves are situated in a wide array of land uses, including myriad non-citrus crops, citrus groves of diverse cultivars, developed urban and suburban land, rangeland, and more natural areas. To improve katydid management, we used an ecoinformatics approach to determine which of these surrounding landscape types support the population buildup of katydids. Our results suggest that specific land use types surrounding citrus groves mediate the buildup of a damaging pest."

Gabriel Foote

Gabriel Foote

Flower-visiting insects provide essential pollination services to herbaceous plant communities in temperate coniferous forests, thereby helping to maintain food webs and support the overall functional diversity of these systems. To guide conservation efforts for forest-associated populations in western North America, ecologists have investigated the effects of both natural (drought, insect outbreaks, wildfire) and anthropogenic (forestry operations) disturbances on local insect pollinator abundance and diversity. However, studies comparing their community responses to the different types of forest disturbance (i.e.,abiotic versus biotic or anthropogenic) that have co-occurred within an individual forest landscape are few. To address this knowledge gap, we sampled the insect pollinator community during the summer of 2020 in undisturbed forest stands, combined with neighboring stands that underwent recent (post-2015) disturbance (drought, tree harvest, wildfire) located in mid-montane forest landscapes of the Californian central Sierra Nevada. In short, disturbed stands had a higher diversity of pollinators compared to neighboring, undisturbed stands. However, the magnitude of these differences varied by both disturbance type and severity. Overall, these results indicate that allowing for certain disturbances (e.g., moderate severity wildfires) that reduce shrub cover, expose bare ground surfaces and promote herbaceous plant growth on the forest floor may be optimal mechanisms for land managers to passively create beneficial habitat for insect pollinators in thisecoregion.

Kyle Lewald, College of Biological Sciences and Member of the Joanna Chiu Lab

Kyle Lewald

Kyle Lewald, a doctoral student researcher affiliated with the College of Biological Sciences, and a member of the lab of molecular geneticist and physiologist Joanna Chiu, professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will compete in the category, Systems, Evolution and Biodiversity: Genetics and Molecular Biology. A member of the Integrated Genomics and Genetics Graduate Group, Lewald will discuss his research, "Assembly of Highly Continguous Diploid Genome for the Agricultural Pest, Tuta absoluta."

Tuta absoluta represents one of the largest threats to tomato production worldwide. While initially contained to South America throughout the 20th century, T. absoluta were detected in Spain in 2006 before rapidly spreading throughout Europe and Asia over the next decade. To facilitate study of pesticide resistance, adaptation, and control strategies, researchers require a high quality, highly contiguous, and well-annotated genome assembly. The currently published genome assembly was generated using short-read technology for the purpose of developing molecular markers and studying population genetics; however, due to the genome's large size, heterozygosity, and repetitiveness, the assembly was highly fragmented, making it unsuitable for annotation or functional genomic studies. To address this, we extracted DNA from a single T. absoluta individual for sequencing with long-read PacBio HiFi technology to avoid assembly issues expected due to high genetic diversity and repetitiveness. We have now successfully created a diploid assembly that contains 98% of complete BUSCO groups and 99% of initial raw reads, with an N50 of 6Mb. The genome is 3% heterozygous, and is 60% composed of repeat elements, explaining the fragmented nature of the previous assemblies. By annotating this assembly with previously published RNAseq, protein, and repeat-element datasets, we expect this resource to advance efforts in understanding and developing control strategies for this invasive moth. (Co-author is Joanna Chiu)

The 7000-member Entomological Society of America, founded in 1889 and headquartered in Annapolis, Md.,, is the world's largest organization serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and others in

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The Bohart-motif cake featured monarch, morpho and dogface butterflies, along with a dragonfly and assorted beetles. It is atop a replica of an insect-specimen drawer. It was proclaimed "too pretty to cut." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Rain dampened the Crocker Lane event but not the enthusiasm as the crowd toasted the work of the Bohart Museum and its director Lynn Kimsey, UC Davis distinguished professor of entomology. She has administered the Bohart Museum since 1990.

The UC Davis museum traces its origins back in 1946 to two Schmitt boxes filled with insect specimens collected by noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007), UC Davis professor of entomology and museum founder. Named the Bohart Museum in 1982, it is now the home of nearly eight million insect specimens, collected worldwide.  

“We should take a moment to not only express our appreciation of the Bohart Museum and the legacy that Dr. Richard Bohart left, but to all the work Lynn has done to make events like this possible and to continue the important work,” emcee Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair and professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, told the crowd. 

Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon and his wife, Anita, came dressed as steampunk figures. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

“Collections have a tremendous educational value,” Bond said, “and they also have amazing research value as well. Discoveries of new species don't actually happen in the field, they happen in the museum collections. New species on the average spend about 25 years on the shelf before a graduate student, undergraduate student or a researcher pulls them off shelf and describes or discovers them.” 

UC Davis entomology student Gwendolyn "Gwen" Erdosh arrived in a monarch costume. She has nearly 30 million followers on Instagram as gwentomologist. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

He offered a toast to Kimsey, who in turn praised the thousands of collectors “who have their names” on the specimens. “We've been doing this for a long time. Eventually we'll be able to serve the public again like we should. Otherwise it would just be a dead collection in a building somewhere.” 

Kimsey interviewed “Doc” Bohart, then 82, in 1996 as part of the Aggie Videos collection. (See https://bit.ly/2Zv8rvO.) Bohart, who began his UC Davis career in 1946, chaired the Department of Entomology from 1963 to 1967.

Unparalleled Research. “His scientific research on insect taxonomy and systematics is unparalleled,” Kimsey wrote on the Bohart website. “His publications include three of the most important books on the systematics of the Hymenoptera, including the well-used volume  Sphecid Wasps of the World. His journal publications total over 200 articles. He revised many groups of insects, discovered new host-associations or geographic ranges, and described many new species." 

Kimsey, an alumnus of UC Davis, received her undergraduate degree in 1975 and doctorate in 1979. She joined the UC Davis faculty in 1989. A two-term president of the International Hymenopterists, and a recognized global authority on the systematics, biogeography and biology of the wasp families, Tiphiidae and Chrysididae, she won the 2020 C. W. Woodworth Award, the highest award given by the Pacific Branch of the Entomological Society of America, for "her 31 years of outstanding accomplishments in research, teaching, education, outreach and public service."

Ellen Lange, UC Davis lecturer in linguistics, arrived in a Groucho Marx costume, complete with mask. Her late husband, Harry Lange, was a UC Davis emeritus professor of entomology. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Entomologist and UC Davis biology manager Ivana Li prepared and served a buffet. Kimsey cut a specially decorated cake, adorned with images of a monarch, a morpho and a dogface butterfly (the state insect), a dragonfly, and assorted beetles. Tiffany Warrick of CreaTions N EvenTs, Rancho Cordova, created the cake and dozens of Bohart-motif cupcakes. 

The costumes drew smiles of approval and delight. Bohart senior museum scientist Steve Heydon and his wife, Anita, came dressed as steampunk figures; Bohart education and outreach coordinator Tabatha Yang donned a horse fly costume; entomology major Gwendolyn "Gwen" Erdosh portrayed a monarch butterfly; and UC Davis entomology graduate Benjamin Maples (now a California Department of Food and Agriculture scientist) walked in wearing a lampshade. 

Entomologist Jeff Smith, curator of the Lepidoptera collection at the Bohart Museum, came as Jeff Smith. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

With crayons and ink pens, attendees drew insects and pasted them on a piñata, formed in the shape of the number 75. Then, cheered by the crowd, they took turns whacking it, spilling out Halloween candies, and mementos from the UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 

Financial support. Bond urged the crowd to help support the outreach mission of the museum. Bohart Museum scientists are seeking donations for their traveling insect specimen displays. They aim to raise $5000 by 11:59 p.m., Oct. 31 for their UC Davis CrowdFund project to purchase traveling display boxes for their specimens, which include bees, butterflies and beetles. These are portable glass-topped display boxes that travel throughout Northern California to school classrooms, youth group meetings, festivals, events, museums, hospitals--and more--to help people learn about the exciting world of insect science.

UC Davis medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo (right), a global authority on tsetse flies, chats with Professor Jason Bond, a global authority on spiders. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Donors can do so in memory of someone, a place, or a favorite insect. Bond donated $500 in honor of Lynn Kimsey, and Lynn Kimsey donated $500 in memory of the founder, Richard M. Bohart. The donation page and map are at https://bit.ly/3v4MoaJ  

The Bohart Museum, currently closed to the public due to COVID-19 precautions, is located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. In addition to its insect collection, which is the seventh largest in North America, the museum houses a live “petting zoo,” comprised of Madagascar hissing cockroaches, stick insects and tarantulas, and a gift shop (now online), stocked with insect-themed t-shirts, hoodies, jewelry, books, posters and other items. Further information is on the website at https://bohart.ucdavis.edu.

Professor Jason Bond, the Evert and Marion Schlinger Endowed Chair, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the newly appointed Associate Dean for Research and Outreach for Agricultural Sciences, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 

"Jason's position is effective today, Oct 25," announced Dean Helene Dillard. "Jason succeeds Anita Oberbauer, who was reappointed earlier this summer as executive associate dean for the college."

"He has a long history at land-grant institutions, beginning with his Ph.D. in evolutionary systematics and genetics at Virginia Tech and later as a postdoctoral researcher at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago," she related. 

In an email to fellow members of his department today, Bond wrote: "Like everyone, the events over the last year and half related to the pandemic, like how we communicate science, global change, and the massive social problems these issues are revealing, have really left an impression on me, and consequently feeling like I should be doing more. I have been impressed with Dean Dillard and the group that she has advising her, and am really excited about the opportunity to help facilitate the research, outreach, and DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) missions of the College in a meaningful way."

Bond added that he has "no intention of abandoning my research/systematics program, teaching, or other Departmental obligations."  He noted that he and his wife, Kristen (who coordinates a nurse training program for Dignity Health) graduated their only daughter this past June from Davis High School and "we are now empty nesters."

Professor Bond joined the UC Davis faculty in 2018 from Auburn University, where he directed the Auburn University Museum of Natural History (2011–2016),  and served as professor and chair of the Auburn Department of Biological Sciences (2016–2018).  He played a major role in the design and construction of a new state-of-the-art collections facility. He also directed the Alabama Natural Heritage Program, guiding its conservation activities of endangered and threatened species in the Southeast.

Bond was recently named co-editor-in-chief of the journal Insect Systematics and Diversity (ISD), published by the Entomological Society of America, and will serve a four-year term, starting Jan. 1. His credentials also include associate editor of Systematic Biology (2019–present) and editor of New World Mygalomorphae for Zootaxa (2016–present).

In his research, Bond specializes in the evolutionary diversification of terrestrial arthropods, specifically spiders, millipedes, and tenebrionid beetles; and researches the landscape scale genomics of California species, with an emphasis on understanding the impact of global change on biodiversity. (See Bond laboratory.) He is also a  principal investigator associated with the California Conservation Genomics Project, a state-funded initiative with a single goal: to produce the most comprehensive, multispecies, genomic dataset ever assembled to help manage regional biodiversity. 

Born in Johnson City, Tenn., Jason spent his childhood in Lewisville, N.C., a small town just outside of Winston-Salem. His American roots run deep; his ancestors made munitions for George Washington's army. His father grew up on the campus of East Tennessee State University, where his grandfather served as head of facilities. “The Bond Building” bears his name. 

Jason received his bachelor's degree in biological sciences, cum laude, in 1993 from Western Carolina University, Cullowhee, and his master's degree in biology in 1995 from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg. He earned his doctorate in evolutionary systematics and genetics in 1999 from Virginia Tech.

A veteran of  the U.S. Army, Bond served for a number of years as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter crew chief. 

See Spotlight on Jason Bond.