Agriculture

A celebration of life for Robbin Thorp, a global and legendary authority on bees and a distinguished emeritus professor of entomology at UC Davis, will take place from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, Oct.

The hard work put in every summer by leafcutter bees was spotlighted by KQED Science, which took a Deep Look at an introduced pollinator that makes bountiful alfalfa seed production possible in California.

From honey bees to bumble bees to nematodes to mosquitoes to walnut twig beetles... Nine speakers are booked for the fall quarter seminars sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology. The seminars begin Wednesday, Sept. 25 and continue through Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Let's see...John Casida, Bruce Hammock and now Thomas Sparks. You probably recognize their names as exemplary scientists affiliated with the University of California system. They all meshed entomology, chemistry and toxicology and biochemistry.

Farmers who are considering growing romaine hearts or organic strawberries in California's Central Coast region can get some help determining whether the crop will pencil out for them.

There's not much of a generation gap when it comes to recipients of the prestigious Kenneth A. Spencer Award of the American Chemical Society (ACS).

Lisa Tate is coming into her own in helping manage her family's farms in Ventura County. In addition to avocado and citrus, she is one of the pioneers of coffee growing in the coastal California, a fledgling industry in specialty crops.

If you like or grow citrus, you ought to be worried about the worldwide threat of the deadly citrus greening disease (Huanglongbing or HLB) caused by infected Asian citrus psyllids (ACP). The global economic toll is already estimated in the billions.

UC Davis-trained entomologist Jessica Gillung is nothing short of amazing--from research to leadership to public service.

(Update: The seminars are now uploaded for public viewing. See links.) The UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology will launch its fall quarter seminars on Wednesday, Sept. 25.