Like a moth to a flame….

The Bohart Museum of Entomology is hosting its annual Moth Night, free and open to the public, on Saturday, July 20. 

The event, held in conjunction with National Moth Night, is set from 7 to 11 p.m. in Room 1124 of the Academic Surge Building, 455 Crocker Lane, and outside. A blacklighting display--UV lights on a white sheet--will be set up to draw moths and other night-flying insects. 

The seven faculty members honored at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's recent retirement luncheon at the Alumni Center amassed 247 years of service to the department:

"Congratulations on reaching this wonderful milestone! Today is a moment to celebrate and connect with fellow classmates, families and loved ones, and feel the support from our entire UC Davis family."

"When you came to UC Davis, you joined a community that’s driven to make the world a better place. You understood that academics are paramount, and you discovered that the college experience is about so much more. You learned to outgrow the expected, to exceed what’s needed and to do what’s just. And you did it all during some of the most challenging times in recent history."

The Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) shared some of the spotlight at the recent conference of the international Association for Communication Excellence (ACE), a professional organization that supports and showcases science communication in agriculture, natural resources, and life and human sciences.

UC Davis distinguished professor Richard "Rick" Karban, retiring in June after a 42-year career with the Department of Entomology and Nematology, is an international authority on plant communication, a noted author and an exemplary mentor, Professor Neal Williams told the crowd attending the department's June 11th retirement luncheon at the UC Davis Alumni Center.

The date is set for the recently postponed Thomas and Nina Leigh Distinguished Alumni Award Seminar. Noted entomologist and climate change author Michael Hoffmann, emeritus professor of Cornell University, will deliver the seminar on Monday, Oct. 14 in the Putah Creek Lodge.

The event, to include a social, lecture and dinner, begins at 4 p.m. The lodge is located at 685 Putah Creek Lodge Drive.

A dedicated aquatic entomologist. Curious, reliable and "always has your back."

So said UC Davis emeritus professor Hugh Dingle when he praised UC Davis professor emerita Sharon Lawler at the department's June 11th retirement event at the UC Davis Alumni Center.

Lawler retired in January 2023 after a 28-year career with the department.

UC Davis distinguished professor emerita Lynn Kimsey, entomologist, taxonomist and 34-year director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology,  is "an amazing scientist, science communicator and friend."

Forensic entomologist Robert Kimsey, an associate adjunct professor and continuing lecturer since 1990 with the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, received appreciation, accolades and applause at the department's recent retirement celebration on the Moss Patio, UC Davis Alumni Center.

Students of UC Davis distinguished professor James R. Carey continued their winning ways in the annual campuswide Norma J. Lang Prize for Undergraduate Information Research by nailing first and third place in the highly competitive category, Science, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM).

Microbes found in the immature stages of a solitary bee that nests in sand cliffs along Pacific Coast beaches may be helping the bee defend itself from pathogens and protect it from cold stress, according to newly published research led by microbiologist Shawn Christensen of the Rachel Vannette Lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology.

"When an Africanized honey bee stung Robert E. Page, Jr., in the eye, the excruciating pain did not diminish his love for the insects. A pioneer in the field of honey bee social behavior and evolutionary genetics, Page’s passion for research has spanned forty-three years and continues today. He is considered a pioneer in the field and one of the current top bee scientists. A colleague stated that Page is 'arguably the most influential honey bee biologist of the past 30 years.'"

UC Davis Distinguished Professor Diane Ullman, a 29-year member of the Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, drew accolades and applause at the department's retirement event on June 11 at the UC Davis Alumni Center.

"Everything she does is world class," urban landscape entomologist and assistant professor Emily Meineke told the crowd.

"A giant in our department" and "a scholar in every sense of the word."

That's how UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Frank Zalom characterized  retiring faculty member James R. Carey at the Department of Entomology and Nematology's retirement event on June 11 at the UC Davis Alumni Center.

(Editor's Note: This is the first in a series of articles featuring the seven retiring faculty honored at the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology's Retirement Event on Tuesday, June 11, 2024  at the UC Davis Alumni Center. Their length of service totals 248 years.)