- 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
Myfany Turpin of the University of Sydney will speak on "Grub's Up! The Category of Edible Insect Larvae in Central Australian Aboriginal Languages" at the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology's virtual seminar at 4:10 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 7.
This is the first of a series of fall seminars hosted by the department and coordinated by Ian Grettenberger, Cooperative Extension specialist and assistant professor.
"Dr. Turpin is a linguist and musicologist that has worked on the use of insects as aboriginal food sources," Grettenberger said.
Her abstract: "Edible insect larvae constitute a large part of the traditional Australian Aboriginal diet. Perhaps the most widely known example is the ‘Witchetty grub' (Endoxyla spp.). These played a role similar to that of a pacifier for infants being weaned. The term ‘witchetty' is the common name of the tree whose roots this popular grub dwells in (Acacia kempeana). The naming of specific larvae based on their host tree is a common naming strategy in the Aboriginal language Kaytetye, for which there are some 25 ethnospecies. This paper draws on Kaytetye people's knowledge, uses and naming of ethnospecies within the 'edible insect larvae' food class, which is one of five Kaytetye food classes."
In an article on "Edible Insect Larvae in Kaytetye: Their Nomenclature and Significance," published in March 2017 in the Journal of Ethnobiology, she wrote: "Insects have traditionally constituted an important source of food in many cultures, but changes in dietary practices and other lifestyle traits are threatening the transmission of insect-related knowledge and vocabulary to younger generations of Indigenous Australians. This paper describes the rich cultural and culinary traditions surrounding an important insect group, namely a class of edible insect larvae consumed by a desert community in central Australia. Twenty-nine different edible insect larvae are named in the Kaytetye language, with the names encoding the identity of the host plant on which the larvae are found. We describe the complexities involved in the naming system, paying special attention to cultural and linguistic factors. The difficulties in the scientific identification of these ethnotaxa are discussed, as are the significance of our data to (1) questions of universal patterns in ethnoclassification and nomenclature and (2) the purported lack of binomially-labeled folk species in the languages of hunter-gatherer societies."
Turpin, with the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, has been working on Australian Aboriginal songs and languages since 1996, according to her website. "Her research interests include the relationship between language and music, especially of lesser-known cultures; and identifying ways to support the continuation of endangered languages and performance arts. More specifically, her work examines Aboriginal song-poetry and its relationship to spoken languages. She is also involved in linguistic documentation of the Aboriginal language Kaytetye as well as Indigenous ecological knowledge and the lexicon in Arandic languages."
Turpin's hosts are evolutionary ecologists and biologists Scott Carroll and Jenella Loye of the Institute for Contemporary Evolution who engage in Carroll-Loye Biological Research. The scientists are affiliated with the Sharon Lawler lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
"I've visited her pioneering entomophagy studies among the remnant, so-called 'remote' central Australian peoples," said Carroll. "Academic entomologists know almost nothing about the biology of these insects. I learned that Giant Moth witchetty grubs are the most delicious, energy-packed animals I have ever eaten. Myf will tell us about these and many more that have been central to the diets of Australians. I am looking forward to this exciting interdisciplinary seminar."
Link to form for Zoom link and instructions: https://forms.
For technical issues, contact Grettenberger at imgrettenberger@ucdavis.edu. For more information on the seminar speaker, contact Scott Carroll or Jenella Loye at scott@carroll-loye.com.
