Backyard Orchard News

Analyze This!

A chimpanzee holds a monarch butterfly in a ceramic art work titled “Darwin.”  

Human hands cradle insects and assorted objects in a ceramic work titled “Analyze This.”

Those are just two of the art works featured in a juried show under way at  the Pence Gallery, 212 D St., Davis. The show, sponsored by the UC Davis Art/Science Fusion Program and the Pence Gallery,  explores the connection between art and science. The show opened March 10 and runs through April 12. 

You can view the art, listen to music and talk to artists at the free public reception set for 7 to 9 p.m., Friday, March 13 at the gallery. The art is amazing,  said Art/Science Fusion Program co-director Diane Ullman, associate dean undergraduate academic programs of the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and professor of entomology at the UC Davis Department of Entomology. 

Among the work exhibited in the show is that of Catherine Chalmers, one of the distinguished series of speakers in the Consilience of Art and Science Colloquium, sponsored by Art/Science Fusion, which is part of the Science and Society Program, UC Davis College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. 

The “Darwin” piece is the work of ceramic artist by Nuala Creed of Petaluma. Of her art Creed says: “As he sits holding butterflies and the jawbone of an animal, the chimp gazes directly at the viewer. His offering to us, his next of kin, is his curiosity of the natural world. His intelligence is shown by his inquisitiveness. His name is Darwin, in honor of Charles Darwin, whose work helped us realize that we humans are not above nature, but are of nature. The chimp may be asking us to observe our natural world, to be the scientists that may help save our planet.” 

 

The “Analzye This” piece is by Ann Savageau, associate professor of design at UC Davis.  Savageau  explains: “This is Art analyzing Science analyzing Nature.  It makes visible the analytical methodology at the heart of the scientific endeavor. We take our measuring, probing, dissecting, and classifying for granted, as "the way things are".  We forget that these are recent cultural constructs. “   

Another ceramic work, “Twins,” by Marnia Johnston of San Mateo, appears to be twin insects. Johnston says of it: “Much of my work looks at the physiology, psychology and culture surrounding humans and our relationships with other organisms. I research the direct and indirect impact we have on them based on our unconscious environmental decisions. ‘Twins’ suggests the effects of pseudo-hormones produced by industry waste, topical steroids from male hair products, and other cosmetic products, on the physiology of organisms in our environment."

And it’s all a part of the Consilience of Art and Science Colloquium. What is consilience, you ask? William Whewell (1794-1866), who coined the term in 1840, described it as the linking together of facts and principles from different disciplines to form a broad, comprehensive theory that spans the realms of knowledge. 

 

E. O. Wilson brought consilience into the modern lexicon with his highly acclaimed book, Consilience: The Unity of Knowledge.

 

Darwin

DARWIN--This piece at the Pence Gallery, Davis, is the work of ceramic artist Nuala Creed of Petaluma. Of her art she says: “As he sits holding butterflies and the jawbone of an animal, the chimp gazes directly at the viewer. His offering to us, his next of kin, is his curiosity of the natural world. His intelligence is shown by his inquisitiveness. His name is Darwin, in honor of Charles Darwin, whose work helped us realize that we humans are not above nature, but are of nature. The chimp may be asking us to observe our natural world, to be the scientists that may help save our planet.” (Photo courtesy of Diane Ullman)

Analyze This

ANALYZE THIS--The piece at the Pence Gallery, Davis, is by Ann Savageau, associate professor of design at UC Davis. She explains: “This is Art analyzing Science analyzing Nature. It makes visible the analytical methodology at the heart of the scientific endeavor. We take our measuring, probing, dissecting, and classifying for granted, as "the way things are". We forget that these are recent cultural constructs." (Photo Courtesy of Diane Ullman)

Largest Carabid Beetle in California

Tomorrow's a good day to learn about carabid beetles.

Kipling "Kip" Will, associate professor of insect systematics,  Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley,  will discuss his research at a noon seminar, Wednesday, March 11 in 122 Briggs Hall, UC Davis.

His topic: "The Phylogeny of Pterostichine Carabid Beetles and the Diversification of Continental Island Faunas." His lecture is the last in a series of 10 winter seminars sponsored by the UC Davis Department of Entomology. It's free and open to the public. The host is UC Davis doctoral candidate Rebekah O'Flaherty, known for coining Maggot Art.

At a recent seminar at Oregon State University, the scientist said: "Since the rise of Adephaga 240 million years ago, carabid beetles have crept, wedged, scurried, stank and even exploded their way to evolutionary success. Often lumped into a single pile as generalists predators, the family actually includes vegans and vampires, cannibals and caregivers and more."

Will kindly provided us with a photo of Pterostichus lama, which he describes as "the largest carabid beetle in California and as big as any in North America." It has no common name, he said.

This image was taken by one of his students, Ainsley Seago. It also graces Will's lab Web site.

Carabid beetle

This is a photo of Pterostichus lama, which UC Berkeley scientist Kipling "Kip" Will describes as "the largest carabid beetle in California and as big as any in North America." It was taken by one of his students, Ainsley Seago.

Better than Cotton Candy

The skies brightened last weekend and the rain-weary honey bees returned to the nectarine blossoms in our yard

They were in the pink again!

Capturing images of the bees gathering nectar and pollen is more fun than eating cotton candy at a county fair.

Springlike day.

Radiant pink flowers.

Industrious honey bees.

What more could anyone ask for a garden party?

Honey bee

A HONEY OF A BEE, packed with pollen, heads for the nectarine blossoms. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Nectar Seeker

NECTAR-SEEKING honey bee singles out a nectarine blossom to visit. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Gafvey)

Tucked in

TUCKED IN--A honey bee, immersed in a nectarine blossom, positions herself for flight. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Pistol Packin' Mamas

Pistol packin’ mamas have nothing on honey bees.

 

Have you ever seen the pollen load that a honey bee carries?

 

What's pollen? It's the fine, powder-like material produced by the anthers of flowering plants, or the grains that contain the male reproductive cells of a seed plant.

 

The worker bees carry pollen in special pollen baskets on their legs. The baskets are  concave surfaces fringed with bristles or curved hairs to hold the pollen in place.

 

Only the worker bees have pollen baskets. The queen bee and the drones (males) have none.

 

"Honey bees derive their protein, vitamins, minerals and some carbohydrates from pollens," UC Davis Extension Apiculturist Eric Mussen writes in Bee Briefs. "Since no single pollen source provides all their nutritional needs, honey bees must have a number of pollens available to them to remain healthy and to produce the royal jelly required to feed the queen and rear brood."

 

Worker bees feed the brood "beebread," a mixture of nectar and pollen.

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Yesterday the honey bees on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at UC Davis buzzed around the almond blossoms, gathering nectar and pollen. 

 

It's amazing--truly amazing-how much pollen honey bees can pack in those pollen baskets.  

Pollen load

POLLEN LOAD--A pollen-packing bee at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility visits an almond blossom. This photo was taken March 5. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Packing pollen

PACKING POLLEN--A worker bee packs pollen in her pollen basket as she visits almond blossoms on the grounds of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Thursday, March 5. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Turning Around

TURNING AROUND--This honey bee on the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility grounds turns around to gather nectar from an almond blossom. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

BYOV--And That Means?

The honey bee population is declining throughout the world, but not the interest in the art of queen rearing.

 

The annual class taught by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey, manager of the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility at the University of California, Davis, filled up within a week and 25 are on the waiting list for next year.

 

It’s so popular that Cobey may teach two classes in 2010: one for commercial beekeepers and one for hobbyists.

 

The class, set March 17-19, includes two days of classroom and hands-on beekeeping, and an optional tour on March 19 of large scale commercial queen production facilities in northern California.

The class “is designed to provide an understanding and appreciation of what it takes to rear high-quality queens,” said Cobey, who accepts only 20 students per course.

Cobey, whose background includes operation of a commercial queen production and bee breeding business,  will present information on bee biology and principles of queen rearing.

“The beekeepers will be involved in the various steps of the process including setting up cell builders, grafting, handling queen cells and establishing mating nucs (nucleus hives),” Cobey said. She also discuss the importance of drone production and establishing mating areas.

Her queen bee instrumental insemination classes at UC Davis draw students from throughout the world.  Cobey will teach “Instrumental Insemination and Bee Breeding Workshop” April 14, 15 and 16, and the “Advanced Workshop on the Technique of Instrumental Insemination” April 22 and 23. The list of registrants includes beekeepers from Japan, Israel and Chile.

For the art of queen rearing class, it’s BYOV.

That means “bring your own veil.”

 

Teaching a class

SUSAN COBEY shows a frame to the students in her 2008 class, "The Art of Queen Rearing." (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Framed

FRAMED--This is a close-up of a frame from one of the hives at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

Queen cells

CLOSE-UP OF QUEEN CELLS--This frame shows the peanut-shaped queen cells. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)

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