UC Davis distinguished professor Bruce Hammock, described as “an incredible mentor and legendary scientist,” is a newly announced recipient of the 2024 Graduate Studies Distinguished Graduate and Postdoctoral Mentoring Award. 

High school and university instructors who address climate change, including those at the University of California, Davis, should focus more on active learning and living laboratories “to promote student empowerment and mitigate growing concerns about mental health and climate anxiety among young people,” says Professor Christian Nansen of the Department of Entomology and Nematology.

UC Davis bee researchers will be featured when the Bohart Museum of Entomology hosts an open house themed "Bees: Both Wild and Managed" from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, May 19 in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane.

“It should be a great event!” said Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator. “There is a lot of interest in bees this time of year. The format will be tabling with direct conversations with visitors.” The event is free and family friendly. Parking is also free.

UC Davis doctoral candidate Danielle Rutkowski, who studies with community ecologists Rachel Vannette, associate professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and distinguished professor Rick Karban, will present her exit seminar on "Identity and Functions of Symbiotic Fungi Associated with Social Bees" on

UC Davis doctoral candidate Shawn Christensen, who studies ecology and evolution through a microbial lens in the laboratory of community ecologist Rachel Vannette, is the 2024 recipient of the Merton Love Ecology and Dissertation Award, an annual award that celebrates the university’s most outstanding doctoral dissertation in the fields of ecology and evolutionary biology.

Mosquitoes are often annoying and sometimes can be deadly.

Medical entomologist-geneticist Geoffrey Attardo, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, will discuss the risks of mosquito-borne diseases in California at a free seminar sponsored by the Center for Land-Based Learning (CLBL) on “Natural Mosquito Control” on Wednesday, May 15.

Applied insect ecologist Alejandro Del-Pozo, assistant professor at  Virginia Tech, will speak on “Expanding the Toolbox: Applied Research for Improving Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Specialty Crops” at the next seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Molecular geneticist- physicist Joanna Chiu, professor and chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, took home one of the highest academic awards presented at the recent meeting of the Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America, held in the city of Waikoloa Beach, Hawaii. 

Her award: the Distinction in Student Mentoring Award. 

Due to an inclement weather forecast, the annual California Honey Festival will reelocate this year from downtown Woodland to the nearby Yolo County Fairgrounds, 1250 East Gum Ave. 

The free and family friendly event, co-sponsored by the University of California, Davis, takes place from 10 to 7 p.m., Saturday, May 4. Parking is also free, a spokesperson said.  The festival traditionally draws a crowd of some 40,000.

UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Leal of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and former professor and chair of the Department of Entomology, is a newly elected member of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), becoming the second UC Davis entomologist selected for “one of the highest honosr a scientist can achieve.”

The Barbie craze, in the form of a rosy pink moth on a hot pink T-shirt, swept Briggs Hall, home of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, during the campuswide 110th annual UC Davis Picnic Day 

Most of the entomology students wore pink “Bugbie” shirts--illustrated with a rosy maple moth,  Dryocampa rubicunda--as they staffed the "bug" activities.

Briggs Hall got pinked.

UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, recently received a rousing 21-insect net salute for her entomological expertise and for her 34 years as director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

What's the latest information about bee biodiversity trends in North America?

Assistant professor Laura "Melissa" Guzman of the University of Southern California (USC) will speak on "Using Occupancy Models to Infer Trends of Bee Biodiversity in North America" at the April 29th seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology, is being honored with an inaugural Chancellor's Outstanding Staff Award "in recognition of her exceptional initiative to create a significant positive impact on the UC Davis community over the past 18 months."

Nora Orozco, chief administrative officer for the Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) and the Department of Plant Pathology (PLP), served by the Phoenix Cluster, is the recipient of a UC Davis Staff Assembly's 2024 Citation for Excellence award for outstanding supervision.

The team spearheading the nomination included administrators, faculty, and members of the Phoenix Cluster advising team and the ENT awards committee.