Traditional mosquito repellent sprays emit an unpleasant smell, feel greasy, and clash with personal fragrance. Why not generate a non-greasy mosquito repellent with a lightweight fragrance and market it in the cosmetic industry? 

The Celebration of the Life and Legacy of UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Hammock, internationally renowned scientist and legendary faculty member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, will take place at 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10 in California Hall, UC Davis campus.

It’s not often that a Nobel laureate visits a UC Davis undergraduate classroom, but this year, a biochemistry class in Kleiber Hall struck “gold”—twice.

Not one, but two Nobel laureates chronicled their scientific careers and answered questions during their virtual visits to UC Davis Distinguished Professor Walter Leal’s winter quarter class, “Structure and Function of Biomolecules.”

Ready for "Eight-Legged Encounters?"

The Bohart Museum of Entomology will host an open house, themed "Eight-Legged Encounters" from 1 to 4 p.m., Sunday, March 15.

Chairing the event, which is free and family friendly, are doctoral candidate Emma "Em" Jochim of the Jason Bond lab and UC Davis alumnus Felix Duley, a junior specialist in the Bond lab and Bohart Museum.

UC Davis alumna, entomologist, professor, biotech founder and author Nazzy Pakpour, PhD, co-founder and chief executive officer of Yeast Bay Bio, will present a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on "Curiosity Made the Scientist" at 12:10 p.m., Wednesday, March 11 in 122 Briggs Hall.

Todd Holmes, professor of physiology and biophysics at the UC Irvine School of Medicine, will discuss how "Non-Image Forming Visual Mechanisms Drive Animal Behaviors" at a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology on Wednesday, March 4 in 122 Briggs Hall.

He will present his seminar at 12:10 p.m. It also will be on Zoom: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Evolutionary ecologist and UC Davis alumna Jessica M. Aguilar, a postdoctoral scholar at Stanford University who studies the evolution of diet detoxification in insects, will be the speaker at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on Wednesday, Feb. 25. 

All systems are "go" for the 15th Annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set Saturday, Feb. 21.

The legendary UC Davis Distinguished Professor Bruce Dupree Hammock (1947-2026), internationally recognized for his scientific research in chemistry, toxicology, biochemistry, entomology and human health, died Jan. 5, 2026 at age 78. A 45-year member of the UC Davis faculty, he was an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Inventors, among other honors.

Two newly installed large-scale murals located behind the UC Davis Arboretum's Plant Nursery on Garrod Drive will be unveiled at a grand opening celebration at 3 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 21 during the 15th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day.

Adelaine "Addie" Abrams, who will receive her doctorate in entomology at the end of the UC Davis quarter,  will present her exit seminar on "Same Pests, New Tricks: Precision Technologies for Integrative Pest Management of Aphids and Thrips in California Lettuce" on Friday, Feb. 27 at 11:30 a.m. in 122 Briggs Hall.

It also will be on Zoom: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/94173209963

Postdoctoral scholar and mosquito ecologist Benjamin Nyman of the UC Riverside Department of Entomology will speak on "Ecological Explorations in the Mosquito Surveillance Landscape" at a seminar hosted by the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology at 12:10 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 18 in 122 Briggs Hall.

His seminar also will be on Zoom at https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.

Postdoctoral fellow Vera Putker of the laboratory of nematologist Shahid Siddique, associate professor, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, is the newly announced recipient of a highly competitive Rubicon Fellowship, administered by the Dutch Research Council (NWO) of The Netherlands.

The 15th Annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day, set Saturday, Feb. 21 and featuring 12 museums or collections across campus,  is a "Super Science Day" where you watch a carnivorous plant eat a fly,  pet a stick insect, photograph a bald eagle, time-travel two billion years, stare down a T. rex, learn how to plant a pollinator garden, try your hand at flintnapping, laugh at yeast jokes, and take home seed cookies for the pollinators. 

There’s so much to do and see that those attending the 15th Annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 21 shouldn't try to visit all 12 museums and collections within the 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. time frame, but single out several.

"We recommend you decide on several museums and collections and concentrate on them," said committee chair Tabatha Yang, the Bohart Museum of Entomology's education and outreach coordinator.