The national entomology community, including faculty, students, staff and alumni of the UC Davis Entomology and Nematology, is mourning the passing of UC Riverside entomologist emeritus Marshall Wain Johnson of Clovis, who died June 29 from complications due to a fall, according to his wife Lynn LeBeck. 

More than 1,218 members of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), including 61 Nobel laureates and 46 recipients of the National Medal of Science, have signed a letter urging Congress to reject the FY26 science budget cuts that threaten U.S. leadership in science, health, and national security. The letter was delivered on July 16, 2025. The link to the video is at https://youtu.be/Vkv0vI6jCnM.

Let's go mothing!

The Bohart Museum of Entomology will host its annual Moth Night on Saturday, July 12 from 7 to 11 at its facility in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis, and on the grounds.

The event, free and family friendly, is in keeping with National Moth Week, set July 19-27, in celebration of the beauty, diversity, and ecological importance of moths.   

Several Nobel Laureates and two dozen other scholars who participated in a July 1st UC Davis-based webinar offered "valuable insights into the urgent threats facing scientific research in the U.S., along with the broader consequences for public health, innovation, and global leadership," said UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal.

More than two dozen of the world’s top scientists, including four Nobel Laureates and several national organization presidents,  will participate in the UC Davis-based webinar,  “Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research” on Tuesday, July 1.

It's off to Africa for six months to research darkling beetles.

And Iris Quayle could not be more excited.

Nobel Laureate Randy Schekman, a Distinguished Professor in the UC Berkeley Department of Molecular and Cell Biology will keynote a UC Davis-based webinar,  “Beyond the Headlines: The Invisible Power of Academic Research” on Tuesday, July 1.

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“A hidden gem.”

That’s how the Vacaville Museum Guild president described the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's newly renovated UC Davis Bee Haven.

Several area agricultural communicators who won gold, or first-place awards, from the international Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), will be honored at the ACE conference set June 16-18 in Milwaukee, Wis.

ACE is an association of communications professionals and educators who "extend knowledge about agriculture, natural resources, and life and human science," according to its website.

(Editor's Note: See James R. Carey's '10 Principles of Writing' Below)

"Insects, Art, and the Sound of a Silent Crisis."

That's the theme of a seminar to be presented by medical entomologist Lee Rafuse Haines, associate research professor, University of Notre Dame, on Monday, June 2 to the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.  

Her seminar begins at 4:10 p.m. in 122 Briggs Hall and also will be on Zoom. The Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672

It focused on the bees.

And what an educational and entertaining experience it was for the some 600 to 650 people attending a mini-festival at The Hive, Woodland, on Saturday, May 3--the day that the 2025 California Honey Festival was planned, but "not to bee." 

UC Davis postdoctoral scholar Mark Stukel will present a seminar on his research involving "the singing cicadas" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar.

"Insects: Life Stages" will set the theme of the Bohart Museum of Entomology open house on Sunday afternoon, May 18.

The event, free and family friendly, takes place from 1 to 4 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, UC Davis campus.

The UC Davis-based California Master Beekeeper Program (CAMBP) has scheduled two bee courses: one on queen-rearing techniques and the other on instrumental insemination. 

Both will be held in the E. L. Niño Lab of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, located at 1 Bee Biology Road, UC Davis.