Entomology Content

Population Decline of Franklin’s Bumble Bee Wasn’t Due to Pathogens, Museum Genomic Research Shows

Andy Fell — October 20, 2025 - 3:38pm

Franklin’s bumble bee (Bombus franklini) once inhabited a remote area spanning northern California and southern Oregon. But the bee’s numbers declined sharply after 1998 and it hasn’t been seen at all since 2006. A new study of the DNA of museum specimens, published this week in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, suggests this decline was most likely due to population bottlenecks and environmental issues such as fire and drought rather than infectious diseases.

Student Entomologists Gain Hands-On Skills in Insect Biology

Jocelyn C Anderson — May 28, 2024 - 9:00am

Discover how student researchers are gaining hands-on biology and entomology skills and protecting pollinators through the Insect Scholars Program.

For This Beetle, ‘Date Night’ Comes Every Other Day

Andy Fell — January 18, 2024 - 8:00am

Life on Earth runs on a 24-hour cycle as the planet turns. Animals and plants have built-in circadian clocks that synchronize metabolism and behavior to this daily cycle. But one beetle is out of sync with the rest of nature.

Climate Catastrophe Produced Instantaneous Evolutionary Change

Andy Fell — October 12, 2023 - 4:19pm

Catastrophic hurricane rainfall provides evidence of spatial sorting as a mechanism for evolution as an alternative to natural selection.

Modern Plants Show More Insect Damage Than Fossilized Plants

Andy Fell — October 14, 2022 - 4:26pm

Despite widespread insect declines, plants are experiencing “unprecedented levels of insect damage” in comparison to their fossilized counterparts, according to new research by a trio of scientists including 51�ԹϺ�� Davis entomologist Emily Meineke.

Three-Year Study Gives Insight into Monarchs and Milkweed

Andy Fell — August 04, 2022 - 10:43am

A three-year study of wild monarch butterflies and milkweed in rural Davis has yielded key insights into factors that constrain monarch development.

Global Study of White Clover Shows Urbanization Driving Evolution

Andy Fell — March 17, 2022 - 5:03pm

A newly published global study of white clover, Trifolium repens, shows how the plant has repeatedly adapted to environmental changes in 160 cities around the world. The study was published March 17 in Science.

Pesticides Can Affect Multiple Generations of Bees

Amy M Quinton — November 29, 2021 - 11:52am

A 51�ԹϺ�� Davis study finds that pesticides not only directly affect bee health, but effects from past exposure can carry over to future generations.

Up to 25% of Non-Native Plant-Eating Insects May Be Undetected

Andy Fell — November 10, 2021 - 4:23pm

Over the past two centuries, thousands of non-native insects have hitchhiked to the United States in packing material, on live plants, and in passenger baggage.

Attack of the Clones: Deep Look at the Lives of Aphids

Andy Fell — October 08, 2021 - 4:24pm

51�ԹϺ�� Cooperative Extension specialist and agricultural entomologist Ian Grettenberger of the 51�ԹϺ�� Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, assisted with the award-winning KQED Deep Look video, Born Pregnant: Aphids Invade with an Onslaught of Clones.