UC Davis professor emeritus Bruce Frederick Eldridge, an internationally recognized medical entomologist whose exemplary military,  academic and administrative career spanned more than six decades, died Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Davis at age 91. 

Felicity Muth, assistant professor, Department of Neurobiology, Physiology and Behavior, UC Davis College of Biological Sciences, will give a special presentation via Zoom on “How Do Animals Think? Some Insights from Bumble Bees” from 3:10 to 4:30 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 20.

The presentation will be on Zoom only. Access link.  

UC Davis distinguished professor Walter Soares Leal soared from a self-described “rough childhood” in his native Brazil to become an internationally recognized scientist celebrated for his research on chemical communication and olfaction in insects.

But in his early childhood, he disliked insects, especially the cockroaches that crawled into his mouth while he was sleeping, and mosquitoes that bit him when he was and wasn’t.

Mitzy Porras, assistant professor of global change ecology in the Department of Biology,  San Francisco State University, will present a UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology seminar on Feb. 10 on "Manipulation of Plant and Insect Phenotypes."

Porras will speak at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Feb. 10 in 122 Briggs Hall and via Zoom. The Zoom link: https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672/

The Pacific Branch, Entomological Society of America (PBESA), singled out three members of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology, and a UC Davis doctoral alumnus for special awards. The complete list was announced today (Feb. 5).

What's on tap for the 14th annual UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day on Saturday, Feb. 8?

It's a Super Science Day and an opportunity to explore, discover and connect, says chair Tabatha Yang, education and outreach coordinator for the Bohart Museum of Entomology and a co-founder of Biodiversity Museum Day. It's an opportunity to chat with the scientists. The event is free and family friendly.

What can visitors expect to see?  

Nematologist Christopher Pagan of lab of UC Davis distinguished professor Steve Nadler will present his exit seminar on "Soil Nematode Community Analysis: Insights from 28S Metabarcoding" at 4:10 p.m., Monday, Feb. 3 in 122 Briggs Hall and also on Zoom (https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672).

Pagan received his doctorate on Sept. 13, 2024. 

UC Davis distinguished professor emeritus Art Shapiro has done it again.

He won the 2025 Beer-for-a-Butterfly Contest, a scientific research project he’s sponsored since 1972 to seek the first cabbage white butterfly of the year in the three-county area of Sacramento, Yolo and Solano. 

The person who collects the first live butterfly, Pieris rapae,  and is judged the winner, receives a pitcher of beer or its equivalent.

Shapiro will be drinking his own beer.

A monarch-counting expedition to Glen Cove Waterfront Park, Vallejo, led to the winning entry in the 5th annual Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year contest, sponsored by the Bohart Museum of Entomology. 

Michael Kwong of Sacramento and Kaylen Teves of Vallejo, members of the Western Monarch Count, were counting monarch butterflies on Jan. 11 at the waterfront park when they spotted a yellow-faced bumble bee, Bombus vosnesenskii, sunning on an oak leaf.

Plant pathologist and nematologist Jiue-in Yang, UC Riverside assistant professor of nematology, will speak on "Artificial Intelligence and Biological Control for Plant-Parasitic Nematodes Management" at the next UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology (ENT) seminar, set for 4:10 p.m., Monday, Jan. 27 in Room 122 Briggs Hall.

The Zoom link is https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/95882849672.