- (Focus Area) Family
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting its annual "Parasitoid Palooza" from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Oct.19.
The event, free and family friendly, takes place in Room 1125 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.
"An insect parasitoid is a species whose immatures live off of an insect host, often eating it from the inside out," said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator of the Bohart Museum. "It is part of their life cycle and the host generally dies."
Senior museum scientist Steve Heydon, who researches Pteromalids or jewel wasps, will present his work and answer questions. Graduate student Socrates Letana will also field parasite questions from the crowd.
There are some 3,450 described species of Pteromalids, found throughout the world and in virtually all habitats. Many are important as biological control agents.
Also planned at the open house:
- A family craft activity, to be announced
- Sampling of Chirp Chips, from the Bohart Museum's recent entomophagy open house
- Display of orange and black Harlequin beetles (just in time for Halloween) from Jasmin Ramirez Bonilla of the Ian Grettenberger lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology
- Display of pumpkin-eating pests--cucumber beetles--which can be a pest on squashes, cucumbers and other members of the cucurbits family.
The Bohart Museum, directed by Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity.
Special attractions include a “live” petting zoo, featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, praying mantids and tarantulas. Visitors are invited to hold some of the insects and photograph them. The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.
The Bohart Museum holds special open houses throughout the academic year. Its regular hours are from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. The museum is closed to the public on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and on major holidays. Admission is free.
More information on the Bohart Museum is available by contacting (530) 752-0493 or emailing bmuseum@ucdavis.edu or Tabatha Yang at tabyang@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The open houses, scheduled primarily on the third Saturdays (except for the campuswide Biodiversity Museum Day), will take place in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane. They are free, family friendly and open to the public.
All ages are welcome, said Bohart director Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis, and Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator.
The schedule:
Saturday, Sept. 21, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Gobble, Gobble, Munch, Munch, Crunch: Entomophagy" (eating insects)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Parasitoid Palooza!"
Saturday, Nov. 16, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Arthropod Husbandry: Raising Insects for Research and Fun"
Saturday, Jan. 18, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Time Flies When You are Studying Insects: Cutting Edge Student Research"
Saturday, Feb. 15:
Ninth Annual Biodiversity Museum Day
The Bohart is part of the annual campuswide Biodiversity Museum Day, spotlighting museums and collections. This free, educational event offers visitors the opportunity to meet and talk with UC Davis scientists--from undergraduate students to staff to emeritus professors--and "see amazing objects and organisms from the world around us."
Saturday, March 21, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Busy Bees and Their Microbial Friends"
Saturday, April 18
106th Annual UC Davis Picnic Day
Picnic Day begins with the parade opening ceremony at 9:30 a.m., and the parade begins at 10 am. Most events hosted by Picnic Day run from 10 am to 3 p.m. or 4 p.m. All events hosted by Picnic Day start after 9 a.m. and end before 5 p.m.
Saturday, May 16, 1 to 4 p.m.
Theme: "Farmers' Foes and Friends"
Saturday, June 2020 (date and time to be announced)
Theme: "The Eight-Legged Wonders, with the American Arachnological Society"
The Bohart Museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building on Crocker Lane, houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum. It maintains a live "petting zoo," featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks or stick insects, tarantulas, and praying mantids. The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.
Director of the museum is Lynn Kimsey, professor of entomology at UC Davis. The staff includes Steve Heydon, senior museum scientist; Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator; and Jeff Smith, who curates the Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) section.
The museum is open to the public Mondays through Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m., except on holidays. More information on the Bohart Museum is available on the website at http://bohart.ucdavis.edu or by contacting (530) 752-0493 or bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
“I was the seventh of eight children,” related Elvira Galvan Hack, who was born in Arizona but moved to Dixon at age 4. “My mother stayed home with us during the school year, but in the summer, starting when I was in the fifth grade, I and all my siblings and my mom would work in the fields.”
“My parents, Eluterio and Lilia Galvan, made sure that we children grew up happy and healthy and in a loving home filled with family traditions,” Elvira said. “We were—and still are—a close-knit family.”
In high school, Elvira dreamed of a people-oriented profession that would enable her to help others, to make a difference. But her plans stalled; she became a single parent and a high school dropout who cleaned houses for a living.
Then it happened. Two of her house-cleaning clients, a University of California, Davis professor and his wife, saw her potential, her love of people, and her passion for learning. They encouraged her to finish high school and attend business college. She did. They loaned her funds for an electric typewriter to polish her skills. She did. She won a $200 scholarship to the business school, gained comprehensive training, and launched her career, first at a Woodland department store and then at UC Davis, where she has served as an academic advisor for undergraduate students for the past 17 years.
'Paying It Forward'
Today, as the beneficiary of a good deed never forgotten, the Dixon resident is “paying it forward” and “making a difference” as the staff academic advisor for students majoring in animal biology, a program housed within the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.
This year she's been singled out for not one--but two--awards for exemplary service:
- The Eleanor and Harry Walker Advising Awards Program, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES), selected her for the 2019 staff advisor award. Her mentor, forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, master advisor in the Animal Biology Program, won the faculty advising award.
- The UC Davis Staff Assembly selected her (and six other individuals and four teams) for a campuswide Citation for Excellence Award. Her award, an honorable mention in the highly competitive individual service category, comes with a certificate and a monetary prize. (See news story)
Lauded as “going above and beyond” to advocate for and mentor her students, Elvira remains passionate about helping them succeed professionally, socially and developmentally. Her colleagues and peers praise her drive and determination to help others; her comprehensive training and dedication; her caring attitude; and her strong family ties and trust.
“Elvira is likely the best academic advisor ever,” said Kimsey, an adjunct professor and lecturer in the Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. “Not only is she completely conversant with all the rules and regulations of the major, but understands the latitude of flexibility built into their application in a very human way. She is connected with all the administrative functionaries necessary to efficiently accomplish any task in a timely manner. For the confused or troubled student, she is the first and last resort for the solution of problems not only of an academic or administrative kind but those of a deeply personal nature as well. She keeps them on track, outlining their options, helping them decide on their future professions, and the direction their life should take. She has been invaluable to me as the master advisor. She really does care about a student's fate. Moreover we have had great fun doing these tasks together.”
Her supervisor, chief administrative officer Nora Orozco, said that Elvira creates a welcoming environment in her office, meeting individually with her students to help them hurdle the many challenges they face.
Many animal biology majors seek careers as physicians, veterinarians, wildlife scientists or researchers. The students are diverse: they range from first-generation college students to undocumented immigrants, and they span all socioeconomic levels.
Elvira Galvan Hack was hired in October 2007 as the new undergraduate staff advisor for the animal biology major, then located in the Department of Nematology. "In 2007 we never had an undergraduate major--only graduate programs, and Professor Ed Lewis (now with the University of Idaho) was the master advisor."
"In 2007 when I was hired, I was given the opportunity to start our undergraduate advising office from scratch," she related. "I worked on putting procedures together for our new advising practices. I contacted each of our students and introduced myself, letting them know where their new advising office was located." She compiled an electronic mailing list or ListServe to distribute messages to the subscribers. She engaged in "one-on-one advising with each student to get to know them and to gather information on how we as a department, and I as their advisor, could serve them better."
Hack held an open house in both the winter and spring quarters, where she presented information about the academic requirements; explained academic planning changes; and provided information on what classes they needed to take—and when—to enable them to complete their degree more efficiently and effectively.
When the nematology department merged with the entomology department in 2012 to form the Department of Entomology and Nematology, adjunct professor Bob Kimsey became the master advisor of the animal biology program. “Elvira has been invaluable to me as the master advisor,” Kimsey reiterated.
The animal biology students describe her as kind, generous, trustworthy and helpful. They seek assistance on issues ranging from homesickness, roommate discord, financial strife and food insecurities, to sexual assault, domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts.
'You Can Do This'
If they're feeling overwhelmed, she soothes them with: “If you are doing the best you can, you're doing great.” If they're feeling depressed, she will encourage them with “Look at everything you've accomplished! You can do this!”
“During my first quarter as a transfer student, I went through some extreme life changes and emotional rollercoasters,” one student said. “I would end up in her office crying my eyes out and in distraught, but she always calmed me down and helped me reach out for other help to get me through my rough patch.”
Another student described Elvira “as by far the most helpful, kind and encouraging adviser I have met at UC Davis. Being a first-generation college student, I require extra help in understanding and executing graduation requirements and other criteria for my future career goals.”
Elvira's path from high school dropout to a professional career included 15 years with a Woodland department store, where she advanced from sales associate, customer service representative, key auditor, and office coordinator to finally, human resources manager.
On the recommendation of a colleague, Elvira joined the UC Davis workforce in 2001. She initially worked as a front desk receptionist and as an undergraduate staff advisor for the Department of History before accepting a position with the Department of Nematology (now the Department of Entomology and Nematology) and Plant Pathology in 2007.
Her animal biology students know that her office is open. She is their dream catcher. She encourages them to meet their goals and guides them to realize their dreams. “I always makes time for my students,” she says. “I have an open door policy so I am accessible to students when they need it the most.”
One graduating student told her that her office was her “happy place”: “You always made me feel better. I felt like I could talk to you about anything. You took time to get to know me, my family, and we would laugh and talk about family. You understood.”
Elvira also understands food insecurities; she provides nutritious snacks for them in a corner of her office and provides a list of resources where they can get free or low-cost food.
Helping a Homeless Student
One memory stands out. “I had a student who revealed she was living in her friend's car in a grocery store parking lot because her new place to live wasn't ready yet I offered her help in finding a place to stay but she declined. I invited her to sleep on my couch and she declined. Said her new apartment would be ready soon. Two nights later at 12:15 a.m., I received a call from her, very upset, and saying she was going to be arrested. The security guard saw that she was living in a car in the grocery store parking lot and threatened to have her arrested. I told her to tell him I was on my way and not to do anything until I got there. He gave her an hour to be gone or he would call the police. I got there, calmed her down, and we moved the car. I told her to ‘grab what you will need because you're coming home with me.' She stayed and slept on my couch for four days until she could move to her apartment.”
In many respects, Elvira considers her students part of her own family, which includes three daughters, Jennifer Torres and Elaine Hack of Woodland, and Sierra Hack of Vacaville; and four grandchildren, Amaya, Alyssia and Aryanna Torres of Woodland and Aaden Matthew Brazelton of Vacaville.
The close-knit family includes Elvira's siblings, Joaquin Galvan of Dixon; twins Lydia Rodrigues of Tucson, Ariz., and Lilia Felix of Silverdale, Wash.; Bonifacio Galvan of Sonora (He started his now-thriving company, Galvan Fly Reels, http://galvanflyreels.com) in his garage; Virginia "Virgie" Freitas of Vallejo; Sandra Galvan of Elmira; and Amanda Galvan of Dixon. "We are all 18 to 24 months apart," Elvira said.
Her oldest daughter, Jennifer, works in the UC Davis Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. An older brother, Joaquin, recently retired from UC Davis as a retention coordinator with the Student Academic Success Center.
Blazing Her Own Path
Elvira not only followed in Joaquin's footsteps, but is blazing her own path. As a certified academic advisor, she manages, with faculty, the Science and Society Program; manages the Career Discovery Group, part of Science and Society; and works closely with the dean's office as an advisor in the contemporary leadership minor.
Highly trained in customer service, mental health, diversity and inclusion, social justice and other issues, Hack keeps current with policies and procedures by participating in workshops, classes and other projects. She is active in scores of campus committees. She served on the campuswide Undergraduate Academic Advising Counsel, which supports academic advising at UC Davis and provides advising recommendations to the Office of Academic Advising, the Vice Provost and Dean for Undergraduate Education, Division of Student Affairs and the Council of Associate Deans.
In addition, Elvira serves as a member of the First-Year Work Group, collaborating with CA&ES advisors to design workshops to better serve first-year students.
“I love my job,” Elvira says. “I am blessed. I am living my dream of paying it forward and making a difference.”
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Hack won an award in the highly competitive Individual Service Award category, announced Lauren Thomas and Darolyn Striley, co-chairs of the Staff Assembly's Citations of Excellence Committee.
Lisa Papagni, assistant director of Student Housing and Dining Services, won the Individual Service Award in the campuswide competition. Hack, a student academic advisor II, received an honorable mention along with Jaqueline Dyson, administrative assistant III in the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing.
The annual Citation for Excellence Program singles out outstanding staff for their exemplary work in one of four areas: innovation, research, supervision and service. They all receive monetary prizes and certificates.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Ralph Hexter will present the awards to seven individuals and four teams. All are nominated confidentially. Also celebrated at the invitation-only event will be winners of staff scholarships and staff dependent scholarships.
Three affiliates of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology nominated Hack for the award: forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, master advisor for the animal biology major; chief administrative officer Nora Orozco, her supervisor; and communications specialist Kathy Keatley Garvey.
They wrote that Hack, a 17-year academic advisor at UC Davis, goes above and beyond to advocate for and mentor students. Hack empathizes with the needs of others, an empathy honed by her own life experiences and the desire to “pay it forward.” As a youth--the daughter of farmworkers--she toiled in agricultural fields in Dixon, picking bell peppers and sorting tomatoes. And as a single parent/high school dropout, she cleaned houses for a living. Her life took a sharp career turn when two of her clients, a UC Davis professor and his wife, encouraged her to finish high school and attend business college. They loaned her money for an electric typewriter. Ever since then, Hack, the beneficiary of a good deed never forgotten, has vowed to “pay it forward”--to help others as others have helped her.
Kimsey, the master faculty advisor of the animal biology program, says “Elvira is likely the best academic advisor ever. Not only is she completely conversant with all the rules and regulations of the major, but understands the latitude of flexibility built into their application in a very human way. She is connected with all the administrative functionaries necessary to efficiently accomplish any task in a timely manner. For the confused or troubled student, she is the first and last resort for the solution of problems not only of an academic or administrative kind but those of a deeply personal nature as well. She keeps them on track, outlining their options, helping them decide on their future professions, and the direction their life should take. She has been invaluable to me as the master advisor. She really does care about a student's fate. Moreover we have had great fun doing these tasks together.”
Orozco related that Hack creates a welcoming environment, meeting individually with students to help them through the many hurdles at UC Davis. She is warm, caring and compassionate, she wrote. When a student comes in with serious issues, Hack calms them, encouraging them to be the best you can. She tells them: “If you are doing the best you can, you're doing great.”
Hack “provides resources to help them,” her nominators wrote. If they're feeling depressed, she will encourage them with “Look at everything you've accomplished!”
Her students describe her as kind, generous, trustworthy and helpful. They seek assistance on issues ranging from homesickness, roommate discord, financial strife and food insecurities, to sexual assault, domestic abuse and suicidal thoughts.
“During my first quarter as a transfer student, I went through some extreme life changes and emotional rollercoasters,” wrote one student. “I would end up in her office crying my eyes out and in distraught, but she always calmed me down and helped me reach out for other help to get me through my rough patch.”
Another student described Hack “as by far the most helpful, kind and encouraging adviser I have met at UC Davis. Being a first generation college student, I require extra help in understanding and executing graduation requirements and other criteria for my future career goals.”
Elvira Galvan Hack was hired in October 2007 as the new undergraduate staff advisor for the animal biology major, then located in the Department of Nematology. "In 2007 we were the Department of Plant Pathology and Nematology," Hack recalled, "and Professor Ed Lewis (now with the University of Idaho) was the master advisor. Plant Pathology and Nematology had never had an undergraduate major--only graduate programs."
"In 2007 when I was hired, I was given the opportunity to start our undergraduate advising office from scratch," she said. "I worked on putting procedures together for our new advising practices. I contacted students and we put a new list serve together. I contacted each of our students and introduced myself, letting them know where their new advising office was located." She engaged in "one-on-one advising with each of our students in order to get to know them and to get information on how we as a department, and I as their advisor, could serve them better."
Hack held an open house in the winter and spring quarters. She designed an information seminar about the major requirements; explained academic planning changes; and redesigned the order in which they should take classes to enable them to complete their degree in the standard time.
The awards ceremony also will honor four other individual winners of Citation for Excellence awards:
Innovation: Laura Young, student affairs officer, Graduate Studies
Honorable Mention: Shawn DeArmond, web architect, Information and Educational Technology (IET) Enterprise Applications and Infrastructure Services
Research: Jennie Konsella-Norene, assistant director of Global Professional Programs, Global Affairs
Supervision: Bradley Harding, interim director of Enterprise Student Applications, IET Enterprise Student Applications
Winners of the four team awards—all equal winners—are Veteran Self-Identification Campaign Working Group; Dairy Teaching and Research Staff Team; Financial Aid and Scholarships Information Technology (IT) Team; and UC Davis Library Human Library Committee Services (See list of team members)
- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
The Bohart Museum of Entomology will host its annual Moth Night--free and family friendly--from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 3. The event takes place the week following National Moth Week, July 20-28.
Blacklighting will take place just outside the museum, located in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. For blacklighting, the Bohart scientists use a hanging white sheet that's illuminated by ultraviolet (UV) light and powered by a generator. Throughout the evening, visitors can see what insects are attracted to the white sheets.
Several scientists will be on hand to discuss moths and answer questions. They include senior museum scientist SteveHeydon of theBohart Museum; Jeff Smith, curator of the the moth and butterfly specimens; andBohart associates "Moth Man" John DeBenedictis and GregKareofelas. The best time to see the moths in the light traps is later in the evening, closer to 9:30 or 10, according to LynnKimsey, director of the museum, andTabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. Indoor activities--checking out the displays and participating in the craft activity--are planned prior to theblacklighting.Bohart associate Emma Cluff curated a hallway display featuring silkworm moths and silk that links entomology and culture. The silkworm moths are from the Bohart museum collection, and the silk cloth has been donated by silkworm moth authority Richard Peigler, a biology professor at the University of the Incarnate Word, San Antonio, Texas. "He sent us a collection of more than 10 pieces of cloth and several pieces of jewelry that utilize cocoons," Cluff said. "He has sent similar collections of cloth to other research institutions."
"These textiles represent work that has been done for centuries, and in some cases millennia, throughout Asia," Cluff said. "The relationship between these artists and the insects that provide their materials is beautiful and elaborate and we wanted to bring it to light."
The free family craft activity will involve creating silk moth cocoon necklaces. "Kids will be able to color and string white cocoons and make necklaces or bracelets with them," Cluff said.
Free refreshments--hot chocolate and cookies-- will be served.
Last year more than 140 spectators attended Moth Night. The first insects to show up were the scarab beetles or "June bugs" (referring to certain species of scarabs). Beetle expert Fran Keller, assistant professor at Folsom Lake College who received her doctorate in entomology from UC Davis, identified the first scarab beetle to arrive as a Polyphylla sp. or lined June beetle.
Bohart associate and "Moth Man" John De Benedictis listed the species sighted at Moth Night by family. Among them:
- NOCTUIDAE: Spodoptera exigua (Beet Armyworm Moth), Proxenus sp. (probably P. mindara)
- GEOMETRIDAE: Prochoerodes truxaliata
- PYRALIDAE: Ehestiodes gilvescentella
- TORTRICIDAE: Cydia latiferreana (Filbertworm Moth), Grapholita prunivora (Lesser Appleworm Moth)
- GELECHIIDAE: Leucogniella sp. (probably L. distincta)
- TINEDAE: Oinophila v-flava
- ACROLOPHIDAE: Amydria sp. (cannot tell genus or species without dissecting. Likely Pseudopsalta confusella.)
DeBenedictis said a young girl collected the Prochoerodes truxaliata, a moth that feeds on coyote bush as a caterpillar.
Some facts about moths, from the National Moth Week website:Why moths?
- Moths are among the most diverse and successful organisms on earth.
- Scientists estimate there are 150,000 to more than 500,000 moth species.
- Their colors and patterns are either dazzling or so cryptic that they define camouflage. Shapes and sizes span the gamut from as small as a pinhead to as large as an adult's hand.
- Most moths are nocturnal--others fly like butterflies during the day.
- Finding moths can be as simple as leaving a porch light on and checking it after dark. Serious moth aficionados use special lights and baits to attract them.
The Bohart Museum houses a global collection of nearly eight million specimens. It is also the home of the seventh largest insect collection in North America, and the California Insect Survey, a storehouse of the insect biodiversity. Noted entomologist Richard M. Bohart (1913-2007) founded the museum. It maintains a live "petting zoo," featuring Madagascar hissing cockroaches, walking sticks, tarantulas, and praying mantids. The museum's gift shop, open year around, includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, books, jewelry, posters, insect-collecting equipment and insect-themed candy.
The Bohart Museum's regular hours have changed for the summer season. As of July 3, the Bohart is hosting 30-minute tours starting at 2:30 and 3:30 pm. No reservations are required and all ages are welcome. Admission is free, but donations are always welcomed. The Bohart is open to walk-in visitors Monday through Thursday from 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed from 9 a.m. to noon to walk-in visits (the insect museum conducts many tours and outreach programs during those times).
More information on the Bohart Museum is available on the website or by contacting (530) 752-0493 or email bmuseum@ucdavis.edu.