"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).

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.  

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.

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.

A soil arthropod ecology seminar by associate professor Kyle Wickings of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, New York State Agricultural Experiment Station, Cornell University, will launch the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's fall seminar series.

Wickings will speak on “Composition and Function of Soil Invertebrate Communities in Residential Greenspaces” at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Sept. 30 in 122 Briggs Hall.

The Bohart Museum of Entomology will host an open house, "Museum ABCs: Arthropods, Bohart and Collecting," from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 28, in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane.

The event, open to the public, is free and family friendly. Parking is also free.

Nora Orozco, chief administrative officer for the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) and the Department of Plant Pathology (PLP),  drew widespread applause and congratulations at the UC Davis Staff Assembly's annual awards ceremony honoring "Citation for Excellence" recipients.

Orozco received a highly competitive Citation for Excellence for outstanding supervision.

The ceremony took place in the courtyard of the residence of Chancellor Gary May, who congratulated all the winners. 

“Working in Dr Shahid Siddique’s lab was an absolutely amazing experience.”—Anderson Van Dang.

“The lab environment was very high energy and upbeat. I'm so glad I was a temporary part of such a strong and inclusive community.”—Mason Walline.