March 23, 2010
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| Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor and vice chair of the UC Davis Department of Entomology, greets A. G. Kawamura on the capitol steps. At right, ready to hand him a honey gift, is Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen of the UC Davis Deprtment of Entomology faculty. (Photos by Kathy Keatley Garvey) |
SACRAMENTO—UC Davis Department of Entomology faculty helped spread the word about honey bees at the annual California Agriculture Day, held Tuesday, March 23 on the state capitol grounds.
Lynn Kimsey, director of the Bohart Museum of Entomology and professor and vice chair of the Entomology Department, and Extension apiculturist Eric Mussen, member of the entomology faculty and parliamentarian of the California State Beekeepers’ Association (CSBA), assisted at the CSBA beekeeping booth.
Bees pollinate one-third of the American diet, including fruits, vegetables and almonds, and without bees, there would be no agriculture day, they said.
Brian Fishback of Wilton, president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’ Association, explained the activity inside the glassed-in bee observation hive. Fishback pointed out the queen bee, workers and drones.
Five-year-old Cristian De La Rosa of Sacramento watched wide-eyed. “He really likes the bees,” his mother said.
The annual event drew dozens of booths and thousands of visitors, including legislators, farmers, growers, 4-H’ers, FFA members and urban residents.
Kimsey and Mussen helped hand out 2600 free honey bee sticks, along with honey bee fact sheets and pollination information and answered questions from the public. They met briefly with A. G. Kawamura, California secretary of agriculture in the morning. Later that afternoon, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, accompanied by Kawamura, stopped at the beekeepers’ booth to admire the bee observation booth.
In his youth, Kawamura kept bees but was troubled by a bee disease, American foulbrood.
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| Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (center) and Secretary of Agriculture A. G. Kawamura listen to beekeeper Brian Fishback (foreground), president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers' Association. |
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| Brian Fishback (right), president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers' Association, shows a crowd a bee observation hive. |
Crystal Hubbard of Häagen-Dazs, sharing the CSBA booth, handed out 1500 free servings of Häagen-Dazsice cream. Some 40 percent of the ice cream brand’s flavors depend on honey bee pollination, she said. Häagen-Dazs funds UC Davis bee research, including the work of Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Research Postdoctoral Scholar Michelle Flenniken, and two bee friendly gardens, the Häagen-Dazs Honey Bee Haven and Campus Buzzway, planted last year at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis.
Among those staffing the beekeeper booth were Jackie Park-Burris of Palo Cedro, chair of the California State Apiary Board and past president of the California State Beekeepers’ Association; Roger Everett of Porterville, president of California State Beekeepers’ Association; Mike Tolmachoff of Madera, president of the Central Valley Beekeepers’ Association and his beekeeper wife/member Donna Tolmachoff; Brian Fishback of Wilton, president of the Sacramento Area Beekeepers’ Association; and Carlen Jupe, secretary-treasurer of CSBA.
The event, coordinated by the California Department of Agriculture with the California Women for Agriculture and the California Foundation for Agriculture in the Classroom, recognizes California’s agriculture community by showcasing scores of commodities produced in the state.
It’s also a day for the agricultural community to show its appreciation of Californians by bringing together state legislators, government leaders and the public for a half day of ag education and healthy treats, according to CDFA spokesman Steve Lyle.
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--Kathy Keatley Garvey
Communications specialist
UC Davis Department of Entomology
(530) 754-6894
