"Nematodes as Bioindicators of Soil Health and Climate Resiliency."

That's the title of the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar, to be presented Monday, Nov. 25 by Christine Sprunger, associate professor of soil science at Michigan State University (MSU).

Consuming too much added sugar can increase the risk of chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, high blood pressure, and some cancers, according to scientific research.

Now newly published research shows that a key regulatory enzyme inhibitor discovered in the laboratory of UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock can alleviate inflammation linked to health issues that are caused by a high-sugar diet.

André Custodio Franco, assistant professor, Indiana University, Bloomington, will speak on "Deciphering the Soil Macrobiome: Belowground Communities Driving Ecosystem Responses to Global Change" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.

Eleven members of the UC Davis Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA), UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT), will present their research at the Entomological Society of America meeting,  set for Nov. 10-13 in the Phoenix Convention Center (PCC). The theme: "Empowering Tomorrow with Insect Science."

EGSA members delivering presentations include:

Eliza Litsey, a former graduate student in the honey bee lab of Elina Lastro Niño, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT),  will present her exit seminar on "Investigating a Novel Queen Honey Bee Treatment" on Monday, Nov. 4.

Dragonflies and spiders!

The Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Nov. 2 will feature talks by UC Davis doctoral candidates Christofer Brothers, a dragonfly specialist, and Emma “Em” Jochim, a spider specialist.

The event, free and family friendly and the last open house of the year, takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane. Parking is also free.

UC Davis doctoral alumnus and Cornell University emeritus professor Michael Hoffmann, a noted entomologist and climate change educator, warned of the worldwide disastrous effects of climate change when he delivered the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Award Seminar recently in the Putah Creek Lodge.

“The goal of climate change now is simply, let’s not make it worse,” he said. “Our goal is to stabilize it…we need to confront climate change, meet it head on…. As they say, there's no Planet B.”

Entomologist-artist Allen Chew, an associate with the Bohart Museum of Entomology outdid himself with his kraken sculpture of an octopus.

It’s made of cicada molts collected last spring from emergences in the midwest and southeast regions of the United States.

Specifically, they're from Broods XIII and XIX, which are two of the 15 broods of periodical cicadas, Magicicada spp.  

Jolene Saldivar, a UC Davis Chancellor's Postdoctoral Fellow in the lab of Professor Louie Yang, will speak on "Disturbance in Coastal Sage Scrub and the Implications for Migratory Butterflies" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.

Ecologist Andrew Corbett, a research associate with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT), will speak on "In Silico Experiments with the Effect of Natural Habitats on Biological Control in Agricultural Landscapes" at the next department seminar, set for 4:10 p.m., Monday, Oct. 21 in Room 122 of Briggs Hall.

The seminar also will be on Zoom. The link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

UC Davis scientists established a major presence at the 27th International Congress of Entomology (ICE2024), a weeklong conference in Kyoto, Japan that drew more than 4000 researchers from 82 countries. 

ICE2024, themed “New Discoveries Through Consilience,” included plenary lectures, symposia and posters, with science shared, science learned and friendships made.  ICE meets every four years in a different country.

EicOsis Human Health, Inc., a clinical startup co-founded by UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock to alleviate chronic pain without the use of opioids, has been named one of Pepperdine Graziadio Business School’s 2024 Most Fundable Companies. EicOsis is one 18 recipients from a competitive pool of more than 2000 U.S.

Juliana Rangel Posada of Texas A&M University (TAMU), an international leader in honey bee research, will speak on "Don't Compromise: Food Lipid Content Shapes Protein-Lipid Regulation in Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Nurses" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) seminar.

It was an entomologist's dream and a learning experience for non-entomologists.

UC Davis doctoral alumna Fran Keller, a professor at Folsom Lake College and a lecturer in the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, showed collecting equipment, shared entomological knowledge, and emphasized the importance of insect collections when she staffed a station at the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Saturday, Sept. 28. 

Cornell University emeritus professor MIchael Hoffmann, who will deliver the Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar, hosted Monday, Oct. 14 by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will be introduced by his longtime friend and colleague, UC Davis distinguished emeritus professor Frank Zalom.