Frank Zalom never set out to study insect science.

The UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus, an icon in the entomological world, especially in integrated pest management (IPM), grew up thinking that he might be working for the telephone company.

His father, an immigrant from Czechoslovakia, wanted him to obtain a college degree and pursue “a career with the telephone company,” Frank related. “Both of my parents worked for Western Electric, a part of AT&T.”

That proposed career did not happen. When he enrolled at Arizona State University, Frank chose to major in architecture before switching to zoology.

“In high school, I really liked mechanical drawing, and I was pretty good with math,” he told interviewer Marlin Rice on Feb. 14 for a Legends feature appearing in the summer 2023 issue of the American Entomologist, a publication of the 7000-member Entomological Society of America (ESA). “In 1970, there was the first Earth Day, and I got caught up in that. I wanted to do something to save the world from pollution and overpopulation. I became really interested in environmental issues. That's when I switched to zoology. At Arizona State, we collected scorpions for their anti-venom lab, and they would pay us a quarter a scorpion.”

Frank received two degrees from Arizona State, a bachelor's degree in zoology (1973) and a master's degree in ecology (1974), before earning his doctorate in entomology in 1978 from UC Davis, where he studied with major professor and agricultural entomologist Albert “Al” Grigarick.

“Frank was working for the U.S. Forest Service in Davis when he applied for graduate school in entomology,” Grigarick, now 95, said in an interview July 10. “When his application was circulating among our faculty for a major professor, I noticed his thesis was on a backswimmer.  With a background in aquatic entomology, I wondered if he might be interested in doing research in our California rice fields.  He did, was an excellent graduate student and soon got his PhD.  He accepted an academic position at the University of Minnesota (assistant professor, 1979-1980, in the Department of Entomology, Fisheries and Wildlife) but the climate there may have played a role in his decision to apply for an IPM position in Cooperative Extension in California.  I applaud the selection committee that accepted him.  The University of California, California Agriculture, and the discipline of entomology have received countless benefits from his pursuits.  I am very proud of Frank.”

Zalom returned to California, serving as Extension IPM coordinator from 1980 to 1987, advancing to associate director for research in the newly formed Statewide Integrated Pest Management (UC IPM) Program in 1984, and then was promoted to director of UC IPM in 1986, a position he held until 2002 when he returned to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology full time eventually being promoted to Distinguished Professor, Entomologist in the Agricultural Experiment Station, and Extension Entomologist.  Other positions soon followed.

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.

“Distinguished Professor Frank Zalom's pioneering research and deep connection to Extension work have revolutionized integrated pest management,” Helene Dillard, dean of the UC Davis College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, said July 6. “His profound accomplishments serve as a testament to the power of scientific innovation and the transformative impact it can have on the sustainability of California agriculture and beyond.”

Zalom considers himself a “blue-collar entomologist.” As he told Rice: “That's the way I con­sider myself: somebody that doesn't mind getting dirty, who's interested in insects, likes to communicate with people, and wants to solve problems.”

Rice's article, Frank Zalom, Blue Collar California, is one of a series in his “Legends: Life Stories from Legends in Entomology” feature that highlights the careers of noted entomologists who are at least 70 years old and remain active professionally. Zalom is the second UC Davis entomologist to be featured in Legends. Rice chronicled the life and work of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock in the spring 2020 edition. 

“I am honored to follow Bruce as the second member of our department featured in this American Entomologist column,” Zalom said. Among his scores of credentials: Fellow of the Royal Entomological Society (2015), Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2010),and the author of 376 journal articles or book chapters. (See Zalom's full CV on his website at https://entomology.ucdavis.edu/people/frank-zalom). He recently completed a 4-1/2 year term as Editor-in-Chief of ESA's Journal of Economic Entomology. 

Zalom retired from the university in 2018 as a distinguished professor emeritus, but immediately joined the “recall professor” ranks. 

“As a recall professor, I still have quite a few ongoing research projects besides working on impact evaluations of proposed pesticide regulations in an advisory capacity with the California Department of Food and Agriculture's Office of Pesticide Consultation and Analysis,” Zalom said this week.  “The main arthropods that my lab is currently working on are spotted wing drosophila on berry crops and cherries, treehoppers as vectors of grapevine red blotch virus, olive fruit fly, navel orangeworm on almonds, and spider mites.” 

“Beginning in 1980 and continuing through today, Zalom has focused his extension and research activities on California specialty crops, including tree crops, small fruits, and fruiting vegetables,” Rice wrote. “The IPM strategies and tactics Zalom has developed include monitoring procedures, thresholds, pest development and population models, biological control, cultural control, and use of less toxic pesticides, which have become standard practice and part of the University of California IPM guidelines for these crops.” 

Rice added: “The Zalom lab has responded to numerous newly identified or invasive pests in the last two decades, with research projects on glassy-winged sharpshooter, olive fruit fly, a new biotype of greenhouse whitefly, light brown apple moth, grapevine red blotch disease, brown marmorated stink bug, and spotted-wing drosophila, among others.” 

Some excerpts from the American Entomologist article, as shared by Rice: 

What was your first memorable experience with an insect?

“I was raised in Arizona, and it may have been when I was six or seven years old. We had very sandy soils, and we'd see cone-shaped pits with an antlion in the bottom. We'd drop other insects in there for them to grab. That was the first time I ever thought much about insects.”

Entomology eventually grabbed you. How did that happen?

“In those days, there were a lot of required ‘-ology' type classes. I took general entomology, taught by Frank Hasbrouck. I did well in the class and thought it was interesting. Another class I took was aquatic insects; that was taught from an ecology perspective. I liked working with insects, but I never imagined I would do anything related to entomology when I finished. I also did a summer job at the USDA cotton lab in Phoenix, working with their sterile male release program and sweeping cotton fields for pink bollworms. I did it for a job, but I learned more about research.” 

What was your greatest challenge as an undergraduate or graduate student?

“Just to figure out where I would be going with a career. I always had this ‘working for the telephone company' mentality, which I did not want to do. If you don't come from an academic background, you only associate professional jobs with doctors, lawyers, teachers, and teaching was something I knew I could do. As I started to mature academically, I realized there's a whole world out there I wasn't aware of. More things than being a doctor, lawyer, or teacher.” 

You are officially retired but still working as a recall professor. When I hear the word ‘recall,' I think of something that is broken or not functioning correctly, like an automotive part. I assume that's not what recall means here?

“No, although there are days when I feel like I am not quite functioning properly. At UC, you can get recalled and paid part-time, and in my case, it allows me to keep my lab and most importantly to stay active in research. The funding comes from the California Department of Food and Agriculture primarily for consulting on pesticide uses, alternatives, and impacts of proposed regulations. This is helpful for the state because I have a solid understanding of pests and pest management in California crops, and I have established a good deal of mutual trust and understanding with growers' groups. In this role, I can impact pesticide policy and help maintain some of the most critical chemical uses.” 

What is your philosophy of extension?

“It's about putting your foot in the other person's shoes. I try to understand the grower's perspective and needs, then approach the job like problem solving. Although I've always tried to reduce the negative impacts of pesticides, I also work towards implementable alternatives. The growers appreciate it. They know I'm not trying to take the pesticides from them without offering an alternative. That was a concern from the ag industry early in the UCIPM program, which was funded by the state legislature to reduce pesticide use, and the growers were worried that it would contribute to more regulation.” 

You've made several seminal contributions to entomology. Is there one that you consider a crowning achievement?

“Playing a role in getting the UC IPM program recognized as an integral part of the university system and gaining its acceptance by growers. But I didn't do this by myself, of course. We had a team of very talented people who were passionate about IPM and worked well together. I was fortunate to help facilitate it and keep the momentum going.” 

You studied numerous insects. What's a favorite and why?

“The spotted-wing drosophila is my favorite. There's just so much that can be done with it. It's easy to rear, has a short generation time, and an economic problem. And it's a Drosophila after all, so it brought me back to population genetics, which I enjoyed many years ago. Working with geneticist Joanna Chiu has enabled me to learn about molecular techniques. She's great to work with and is patient with an old guy like me.” 

Chiu, who became chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on July 1, 2023, commented July 6: “Frank has been an amazing and supportive mentor and friend since the day I met him. He welcomed me with open arms into the department when I first started as an assistant professor and introduced me to research in Agricultural Entomology. Given my postdoctoral training in biomedical sciences in the Drosophila model, I must have sounded so naive when we first started our now decade-long collaboration on the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii, but he has always been so patient as a mentor. He is literally a walking encyclopedia; I have learned so much from him and continue to do so every single time I talk to him. I have been so lucky to have Frank as a mentor!" 

What does Zalom, as a long-time Extension entomologist, see as the future for Extension? He told Rice: “…I think extension is tremendously important and it is one of the things that has made the land-grant university system unique in the world. Five years ago, I might have said, ‘The future's bleak in California.' And if California's budget problems got really bad, I'm not sure that it would survive. The campus and county links were becoming increasingly strained as retirements were greatly reducing the numbers of specialists and farm advisors, and the ability to respond to problems locally became increasingly difficult. The traditional extension model didn't reflect the current way information is being transferred, either. In California, there are well-established crop consultants that advise growers and large farming operations with their own crop and pest management staffs. Recently, budgets have increased in extension and people are being hired again. But many new positions reflect working on more thematic problems like fire and climate. Roles have shifted for extension, with farm advisors and specialists assuming more of the traditional experiment station applied research role. California extension is in transition.” 

Other questions and answers published in the American Entomologist article include:

Do you think the future is bright, but just different?

“I think it is bright, because there remains a need for university-based applied research programs. The traditional extension programs where you'd regularly meet with growers—there's going to be a different model for that. More electronic transfer of information, more electronic meetings, but it loses something.” 

What great question in agricultural entomology or agricultural policy would you like to see addressed before you call it quits?

“The biggest challenge is invasive species. Accepting that they will get established and how will you manage them from a practical and policy standpoint. They're probably not going to be eradicated, so less emphasis on eradication and more on management. And dealing with trade issues, which are deeply political. How do we manage invaders on a world scale to keep them out of the chain of trade? I would like to see policymakers address that at some point. But right now, it's a losing battle.”

Any other questions to address?

“Another is the potential for using pesticides on a prescription basis. If an insecticide presents a human health or environmental hazard, maybe somebody should be trained and licensed to prescribe its used safely under less risky circumstances. That's a policy to consider instead of eliminating the ability to use pesticides that have value. Ultimately, too many materials are lost because the ag industry fights use restrictions right to the end. Maybe proposing prescription use is some way of maintaining useful products.”

As president, you issued some Grand Challenges. Do you feel like those gained any traction?

“They got people talking about important issues that the entomological community can address, so in that respect, I think it did. It also helped ESA's global initiative by partnering with other international societies, particularly with the Entomological Society of Brazil. I noticed the Royal Entomological Society has established a Grand Challenges initiative to identify how to improve the human condition.”

What book would you recommend graduate students read?

 “A good one is Life on a Little-Known Planet: A Biologist's View of Insects and Their World [by Howard Ensign Evans]. It tells why insects are important and the research that led to important discoveries. If you're not interested in that sort of thing, then maybe you shouldn't be studying entomology or pursuing it as a career.

In the Rice interview, Zalom also touched on his family. “Family comes first in my life, then work. I still bring a lot of entomology-related work home with me. Honestly, it's pretty bad. (Laughs). I may have gotten a job in marine biology, but I wouldn't have been any happier.” 

Zalom is married to the former Janet Smilanick, who received her master's degree from UC Davis in the 1970s. Her major professor was chemical ecologist Martin Birch (1944-2009), who served on the UC Davis faculty from 1973 to 1981, chairing the department from 1979 to 1981 before accepting a faculty position at the University of Oxford. 

The couple married when Janet was Professor Marjorie Hoy's staff research associate at UC Berkeley. Hoy was also featured in an American Entomologist ‘Legends' article in fall 2019. The Zaloms have two children (Martina, an oncologist and Frank Nicholas “Nick,” a lawyer) and four grandchildren, ranging in age from two months to 11 years.

Neither Martina nor Nick expressed interest in following in their parents' entomological footsteps.

Martina, who received her bachelor of science degree in bioengineering from UC Berkeley and her medical degree from UC San Diego, is an oncologist/hematologist with Kaiser Permanante, Roseville. She served on the staff at Olive View/UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles, before returning to the Sacramento area about four years ago.

Nick, who received his bachelor of science degree in economics from the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, and his law degree from Georgetown University, Washington, D.C., is a senior associate with the law firm of Orrick, Herrington, and Sutcliffe in Sacramento. Nick served three deployments as an officer in U.S. Navy, doing drug interdiction in central and South America and port security in the Persian Gulf. Like Martina, he also returned to the Sacramento area about four years ago.

Meanwhile, Zalom has added another position to his curriculum vitae: he recently accepted a position with the USDA's National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA-NIFA) as Panel Manager for the 1890 Capacity Building Grants Program.

His footprints and legacy in the entomological world continue.

UC Davis doctoral candidate Erin "Taylor" Kelly of the laboratory of medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo will present her exit seminar on "Investigating the Metabolic Underpinnings of Pyrethroid Resistance in California Aedes aegypti" at 3:30 p.m., Thursday, June 8 in 366 Briggs Hall and also on Zoom.

"The world's primary arboviral vector, Aedes aegypti, was reintroduced into California in 2013," Kelly says in her abstract. "Its re-establishment throughout the state appears to be due, in part, to the failure of pyrethroid insecticides applied for adult mosquito control. My dissertation work examines 1) population dynamics within the state 2) how mosquito metabolism is impacted by pyrethroid exposure and 3) how a pyrethroid susceptible reference strain of Aedes aegypti differs physiologically from a wild California Ae. aegypti population. This research describes a successful story of ˆexclusion and generated novel hypotheses about the physiological underpinnings of the fitness costs and tradeoffs observed in insects withthepyrethroid resistance phenotype. Additionally, I explore novel targets for insecticide synergism."

UC Davis medical entomologist Anthony Cornel, who leads the Mosquito Control Research Laboratory in Parlier, works with Taylor on insecticide resistance in mosquitoes. “Taylor's PhD project is challenging as she endeavors to tease apart the biochemical and genetic factors that cause resistance to some commonly used insecticides to control Aedes aegypti," Cornel wrote.  "Ae. aegypti is considered the second most dangerous insect worldwide because of its role in transmission of dengue, yellow fever, Zika and Chikungunya viruses which cause considerable morbidity and mortality. Hence, it is an important organism to study especially to eventually improve measures to control this mosquito."

Kelly is president of the Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA), and served two terms as president of the UC Davis Equity in STEM and Entrepreneurship (ESTEME).

Active in the Entomological Society of America, Kelly was a member of the UC Davis team that won the national Entomology Games championship in 2022. The UC Davis team included three other doctoral candidates from the Department of Entomology and Nematology: Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, captain;  Jill Oberski of the Ward laboratory; and  Madison “Madi” Hendrick of the Ian Grettenberger lab.The event is a lively question-and-answer, college bowl-style competition on entomological facts played between university-sponsored student teams. The question categories include biological control, behavior and ecology, economic and applied entomology, medical, urban and veterinary entomology, morphology and physiology, biochemistry and toxicology, systematics and evolution integrated pest management and insect/plant interactions. 

Other academic highlights:

• Kelly was selected the recipient of the 2022 Student Leadership Award from the Pacific Branch of ESA, which encompasses 11 Western states, parts of Canada and Mexico and several U.S. territories. (See news story)
• She won a first-place award at the 2021 Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting with her poster, “Metabolic Snapshot: Using Metabolomics to Compare Near-Wild and Colonized Aedes aegypti.” 

Taylor, who joined the Attardo lab in 2018, holds a bachelor of science degree in biology, with a minor in chemistry, from Santa Clara University, where she served as president of the campuswide Biology Club and led STEM projects, encouraging and guiding underrepresented students to seek careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). 

Her future plans? "I'm pursuing vector ecologist positions within California vector control programs!"

(Editor's Note: For the Zoom password, contact associate professor Geoffrey Attardo at gmattardo@ucdavis.edu or Taylor Kelly at etkelly@ucdavis.edu.)

 

Doctoral candidate Danielle Rutkowski won a President's Prize for her research presentation. President's Prize. (ESA Photo)

Smile! You're on the ESA Camera!

The Entomological Society of America (ESA) has shared images taken at its joint meeting with the Entomological Society of Canada and the Entomological Society of British Columbia, held Nov. 13-16 in Vancouver, B.C. The theme: "Entomology as Inspiration: Insects through Art, Science, and Culture."

UC Davis did well. Highlights included:

• The UC Davis Entomology Games Team edged out Alabama's Auburn University 75 to 70 to win the national championship at the Entomology Games. The team was comprised of four doctoral candidates from the Department of Entomology and Nematology:  Zachary Griebenow of the Phil Ward lab, captain;  Jill Oberski of the Ward laboratory; Erin “Taylor” Kelly of the Geoffrey Attardo lab; and  Madison “Madi” Hendrick of the Ian Grettenberger lab.
  
  This is the fourth national championship for UC Davis since 2015. The event is a lively question-and-answer, college bowl-style competition on entomological facts played between university-sponsored student teams. The question categories are biological control, behavior and ecology, economic and applied entomology, medical, urban and veterinary entomology, morphology and physiology, biochemistry and toxicology, systematics and evolution integrated pest management and insect/plant interactions
  
  
• Doctoral candidates Danielle Rutkowski and Zachary Griebenow of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology won the President's Prize or first-place honors for their individual research presentations. Doctoral candidate Lindsey Mack and doctoral student Adelaine “Addie” Abrams scored second-place for their research presentations in the highly competitive program. 
  
  Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor, and distinguished professor Richard “Rick” Karban, spoke on “The Mechanism Behind Beneficial Effects of Bee-Associated Fungi on Bumble Bee Health,” at her presentation in the category, Graduate School Plant-Insect Ecosytems: Pollinators. This was her second consecutive President's Prize.
  
  
  

  Doctoral candidate Lindsey Mack of the Geoffrey Attardo lab scored second place in the student research presentations. (ESA Photo)
  Griebenow, who studies with major professor and ant specialist Phil Ward, (Griebenow also captained the UC Davis Entomology Games Team in its national championship win at the Entomology Games or Bug Bowl) explained  “Systematic Revision of the Obscure Ant Subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Reciprocally Informed by Phylogenomic Inference and Morphological Data.” His category: Graduate School Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution 1
  
  Mack, who studies with medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, covered “Three Dimensional Analysis of Vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypi Using Synchrotron X-Ray MicroCT” in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Physiology.
  
  Abrams, who studies with Extension agricultural entomologist and assistant professor Ian Grettenberger (she is a member of the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group), titled her research, “Hitting the Mark: Precision Pesticide Applications for the Control of Aphids in California Lettuce" in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Integrated Pest Management

UC Davis medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo spoke on "Effects of Wildfire Ash on Oviposition-Site Selection and Larval Development in the Yellow Fever Mosquito Aedes aegypti."

In addition, in the annual international Insect Salon photography competition, ESA member and communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology won the ESA medal for her image of a golden dung fly.

The 2023 ESA meeting will take place Nov. 5-8, 2023 in National Harbor, MD.  The theme is "Insects and Influence: Advancing Entomology's Impact on People and Policy."

The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members,  affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government, are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.

Doctoral candidates Danielle Rutkowski and Zachary Griebenow of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology won the President's Prize or first-place honors for their individual research presentations at the 2022 Joint  Meeting of the Entomological Societies of America, Canada, and British Columbia, held Nov. 13-16 in Vancouver, British Columbia.

This was Rutkowski's second consecutive President's Prize. 

Doctoral candidate Lindsey Mack and doctoral student Adelaine “Addie” Abrams scored second-place for their research presentations in the highly competitive program. 

Their topics ranged from bumble bees (Rutkowski) and ants (Griebenow) to mosquitoes (Mack) and thrips and aphids (Abrams). 

At the Entomological Society of America (ESA) annual meetings, students are offered the opportunity to present their research and win prizes. They can compete in 10-minute papers (oral), posters, or infographics. The President's Prize winners receive a one-year paid membership in ESA, a $75 cash prize, and a certificate. Second-winners score a one-year free membership in ESA and a certificate. 

Danielle Rutkowski 
Danielle Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor, and distinguished professor Richard “Rick” Karban, spoke on “The Mechanism Behind Beneficial Effects of Bee-Associated Fungi on Bumble Bee Health,” at her presentation in the category, Graduate School Plant-Insect Ecosytems: Pollinators.

Her abstract: "Bees often interact with fungi, including at flowers and within bee nests. We have previously found that supplementing bumble bee colonies with these bee-associated fungi improves bee survival and increases reproductive output, but the mechanisms behind these effects are unclear. This research aimed to determine the mechanisms underlying positive impacts of fungal supplementation in the bumble bee, Bombus impatiens. We tested two hypotheses regarding possible nutritional benefits provided by bee-associated fungi. These included the role of fungi as a direct food source to bees, and the production of nutritionally important metabolites by fungi. To test these mechanisms, we created microcolonies bumble bees and exposed each microcolony to one of four treatment groups. These four treatments were created based on the presence of fungal cells and the presence of fungal metabolites. We found that bee survival and reproduction were unaffected by treatment, with trends of decreased survival and reproduction when fungi were present. This contradicts previous results we've found using this bumble bee species, where fungi had a positive impact. It is possible that this disparity in results is due to differences in pathogen pressure between the two experiments, as bees in the first experiment were exposed to large amounts of pathogen through provided pollen, including Ascosphaera and Aspergillus. This pollen was sterilized for subsequent experiments, reducing pathogen load. Therefore, it is possible that bee-associated fungi benefit bees through pathogen inhibition, and future work exploring this hypothesis is necessary to fully understand the role of these fungi in bumble bee health."

Zachary Griebenow
Zach Griebenow, who studies with major professor and ant specialist Phil Ward, (Griebenow also captained the UC Davis Entomology Games Team in its national championship win at the Entomology Games or Bug Bowl) explained  “Systematic Revision of the Obscure Ant Subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), Reciprocally Informed by Phylogenomic Inference and Morphological Data.” His category: Graduate School Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity: Evolution 1.

His abstract: "Ants belonging to the subfamily Leptanillinae (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) are sister to nearly all other extant ants. Miniscule and subterranean, little is known of their behavior. Contrary to the collecting bias observed in most ants, male leptanilline specimens are acquired more easily than workers or queens. The sexes are almost never collected in association, and many subclades within the Leptanillinae are known from male specimens only. Our comprehension of evolutionary relationships among the Leptanillinae is further obstructed by oft-bizarre derivation in male phenotypes that are too disparate for phylogeny to be intuited from morphology alone. These restrictions plague our understanding of the Leptanillinae with probable taxonomic redundancy. My thesis aims at leptanilline taxonomy that reflects phylogeny, inferred from both genotype and phenotype, and integrates morphological data from both sexes. Here I present the results of (1) phylogenomic inference from ultra-conserved elements (UCEs), compensating for potential systematic biases in these data, representing 63 terminals; and (2) Bayesian total-evidence inferences from a handful of loci, jointly with discrete male morphological characters coded in binary non-additive or multistate fashion. Notably, these analyses identify worker specimens belonging to the genera Noonilla and Yavnella, which were heretofore known only from males. Given such discoveries across the Leptanillinae, the number of valid leptanilline genera is reduced from seven to three in order to create a genus-level classification that upholds monophyly along with diagnostic utility." 

Lindsey Mack
Mack, who studies with medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, assistant professor, covered “Three Dimensional Analysis of Vitellogenesis in Aedes aegypi Using Synchrotron X-Ray MicroCT” in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Physiology.

Her abstract: "Traditional methods of viewing the internal anatomy of insects require some degree of tissue manipulation and/or destruction. Using synchrotron-based x-ray phase contrast microCT (pcMicroCT) avoids this issue and has the capability to produce high contrast, three dimensional images. Our lab is using this technique to study the morphological changes occurring in the mosquito Aedes aegypti during its reproductive cycle. Ae. aegypti is the primary global arbovirus vector, present on all continents except Antarctica. Their ability to spread these viruses is tightly linked with their ability to reproduce, as the production of eggs in this species is initiated by blood feeding. Amazingly, this species produces a full cohort of eggs (typically 50-100) in just 3 days' time following a blood meal. This rapid development represents dramatic shifts in physiological processes that result in massive volumetric changes to internal anatomy over time. To explore these changes thoroughly, a time course of microCT scans were completed over the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides a virtual representation of the volumetric, conformational, and positional changes occurring in tissues important for reproduction across the vitellogenic period. This dataset provides the field of vector biology with a detailed three-dimensional internal atlas of the processes of vitellogenesis in Ae. aegypti."

Addie Abrams
Abrams, who studies with Extension agricultural entomologist and assistant professor Ian Grettenberger (she is a member of the Horticulture and Agronomy Graduate Group), titled her research, “Hitting the Mark: Precision Pesticide Applications for the Control of Aphids in California Lettuce" in the category, Graduate School Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology: Integrated Pest Management.

Her abstract: "Commercial lettuce production in California's central coast represents 70 percent of the production in the United States. Recent discoveries of some chemistries in ground and surface water in the Salinas valley region have placed the insecticidal chemistries used by the industry at risk of increased regulation. Automated thinner-sprayers use plant-detection sensors to apply chemical sprays directly to individual lettuce plants, so that the same amount of product to plants as a standard broadcast sprayer while potentially reducing the amount of pesticide applied per acre by up to 90 percent. Field experiments testing this technology for the control of western flower thrips (Frankliniella occidentalis) and aphids, lettuce-currant aphid (Nasovonia ribisnigri) and others, were conducted to compare the efficacy of automated sprays to a conventional broadcast application system. Experiments were conducted in conventionally managed organic romaine lettuce fields using a complete randomized block design. Prior to and at regular intervals after treatment, heads were sampled from experimental and control plots to assess pest pressure. Results from this experiment validate the use of the automated sprayers to apply insecticides for the control of aphid and thrips pests in lettuce and will be discussed in the context of developing best-use-practices for this technology."

The 7000-member ESA, founded in 1889, is the largest organization in the world serving the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. Its members,  affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government, are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.

(See all of student competition winners on ESA site)