Essig Brunch

We will be hybrid again this semester – Fridays 10:00-11:00am. We will meet in-person in 2063 VLSB and on Zoom (asks essig.museum@gmail.com for zoom link). Attendees may gather in 2063 VLSB to view virtual talks as a group.

Essig Brunch is a weekly seminar series, run by Graduate Students in Arthropod Science, featuring local and visiting researchers presenting a wide range of entomology topics. Open to the public. This year’s organizers are Cedric Lee and Freddy Gutierrez. Please contact us at CalEntomology@berkeley.edu if you would like to give a talk or would like to receive announcements for upcoming talks. 

Fall 2024 Schedule

September 6, 2024
Entomology Student Welcome – Social Hour

September 13, 2024 (in-person)
Speaker: Dr. Jonas Wolff, Research Group Leader, University of Greifswald
Title: “400 million years of web construction: how correlated are the evolution of spider and web phenotypes?

September 20, 2024
Speaker: Cancelled
Title: Cancelled

September 27, 2024 (virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Thomas Seeley, Horace White Professor Emeritus, Cornell University
Title: “How a honey bee swarm chooses its home

October 4, 2024 (in-person)
Speaker: Dr. Jon Waters, Professor, University of Otago, New Zealand
Title: “Human-induced evolution of insect colour

October 11, 2024 (virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Shahan Derkarabetian, Curator, San Diego Natural History Museum
Title: “Using machine learning in species delimitation

October 18, 2024 (in-person)
Speaker: Dr. Víctor Ortega-Jiménez, Assistant Professor, UC Berkeley
Title: “No wings required: Leg-mediated aerial control in small animals”

October 25, 2024 (virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Jessica Gambel, Postdoc, US Department of Agriculture
Title: “Ensuring sustainable food systems: effects of environmental change, resource availability, and stakeholder engagement on pollinators.

November 1, 2024 (in-person)
Speaker: Dr. Avalon Owens, Rowland Fellow, Rowland Institute at Harvard
Title: “Dark skies and fireflies: What light pollution means for insect conservation”

November 8, 2024 (virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Jeff Lozier, Professor, University of Alabama
Title: “A bounty of beenomes. Insights into bumble bee demography, adaptation, and speciation from population genetics and new genomic resources”

November 15, 2024 (in person)
Speaker: Rebecca Tarnopol, PhD Candidate (Whiteman Lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Bacterial toxins co-opted by insects through horizontal gene transfer

November 22, 2024 (in-person)
Speaker: Dr. Carolina Reisenman, Research Associate (Whiteman Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Modulation of sensory responses across systems and insects”

November 29, 2024
Happy Thanksgiving (no Essig Brunch)

December 6, 2024 (virtual)
Speaker: Dr. Rodrigo Monjaraz-Ruedas, Postdoc, San Diego State University
Title: “Broken ring speciation in California False Tarantulas (Calisoga: Mygalomorphae)”

 

PREVIOUS TALKS

Spring 2024 Schedule

January 19, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Caroline Williams, Associate Professor, UC Berkeley
Title: “Evolution and physiology of insect flight in wing-polymorphic field crickets”

January 26, 2024
Welcome Back Social Event – No speaker this week.

February 2, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Jackie Lebenzon, Postdoc (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Break it ’til you make it: Exploring flight muscle plasticity in the California variable field cricket”

February 9, 2024
No Essig Brunch seminar this week
Please join us for our Darwin (Evolution) Day tours on Monday, February 12.

February 16, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Monica Sheffer, Postdoc (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Montane grasshopper fitness constraints in changing environments

February 23, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Ciara Kernan, Postdoc (Elias Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Inter- and intraspecific patterns in multimodal signal repertoires of tropical katydids

March 1, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Don Miller, Professor, Chico State University
Title: “Ecology and evolution of Tamalia gall aphids (Aphididae) on their host plants, manzanitas (Arctostaphylos)”

March 8, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Lauren Esposito, Assistant Curator, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Experiments in arachnid phylogenomics and decolonizing biodiversity science”

March 15, 2024
Speaker (in-person):  No Essig Brunch Seminar

March 22, 2024
Speaker (remote): Dr. Erin Brandt, Postdoc (Nirody Lab), University of Chicago
Title: “Why don’t all crickets (Grylloidea) build acoustic tools?

March 29, 2024 – Spring Break Recess – no Essig Brunch

April 5, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Nathan Rank, Professor, Sonoma State University
Title: “Montane leaf beetles and their example of a case study of local adaptation and insect decline

April 12, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Pritam Banerjee, Postdoc (Roderick/Gillespie Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Biomonitoring Made Easy: Environmental DNA over/with Traditional Monitoring”

April 19, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Alexandra Wilson, Professor, University of Miami
Title: “The Host/Symbiont Interface

April 26, 2024
Speaker (remote): Dr. Nicolas Dowdy, Zoology Department, Milwaukee Public Museum
Title: “Unraveling the evolutionary origins of anti-bat sonar jamming in tiger moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae)”

May 3, 2024
Speaker (in-person): Various students from various labs at UC Berkeley
Title: “Undergraduate Research Roundup”

Fall 2023 Schedule

August 25, 2023
Entomology Student Welcome – Social Hour (2063 VLSB)

September 1, 2023
Speaker (virtual): Dr. Jackson Means, Virginia Museum of Natural History (Marek lab, Virginia Tech)
Title: “Taxonomy, Systematics, and Natural History of American Millipedes”

September 8, 2023
Speaker (virtual): Dr. Heather Bruce, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole
Title: “Cryptic Persistence of Insect Abdominal Legs Enabled Diverse Outgrowths with Novel Functions”

September 15, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Peter Oboyski, Essig Museum of Entomology, UC Berkeley
Title: “Essig Museum Roundup: New leadership and new projects”

September 22, 2023
Speaker: (no formal speaker) – @ Essig Museum (1170 VLSB)
Title: Entomology Social Hour

September 29, 2023
Speaker (virtual): Dr. Daniela Zárate, postdoc (Purcell lab), UC Riverside
Title: “Who Built the Supergene? Social supergene evolution and transcriptomics”

October 6, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Sven Weber, postdoc (EvoLab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Arthropods and Environmental DNA

October 13, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Royce Cumming, PhD candidate, City University of New York / AMNH
Topic: Crypsis, Ecology, and Evolution of Leaf Insects (Phyllidae) – YouTube video recording – 45 min

October 20, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Sevan Suni, Assistant Professor, San Francisco University
Title: “Pollination in the Anthropocene”

October 27, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Menglin Wang, Postdoc (Essig Museum)
Ttitle: “Worldwide Historical Biogeography of Termites (Blattodea: Isoptera)

November 3, 2023
Speaker (virtual): Dr. Megan Barkdull, Postdoc (Moreau Lab), Cornell University
Title: “Genomic causes and consequences of worker caste polymorphism in the ants

November 10, 2023
Veterans Day (no Essig Brunch)

November 17, 2023
Social Hour – come chat with students and post docs (bagels & coffee provided)

November 24, 2023
Happy Thanksgiving (no Essig Brunch)

December 1, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Stephanie Coronado, PhD candidate (Pringle lab), UN Reno
Title: “Effects of ant-plant mutualism dynamics on caterpillar community assembly

Spring 2023 Schedule

January 20, 2023Entomology Student Welcome – Social Hour (2063 VLSB)

January 27, 2023
Speaker (remote only): Dr. Orit Peleg, Assistant Professor, U Colorado, Boulder
Title: “The Physics of Honey Bee Swarms”

February 3, 2023
Speaker (remote): Pierre Andre Eyer, Postdoc, Texas A&M
Title: “Sexually antagonistic selection, nestmate recognition, and the rise of invader ants”

February 10, 2023
Speaker (in-person only): video presentation in honor of Evolution Day
Title: TBA

February 17, 2023
Speaker (in-person only): video presentation of KQED Deep Look episodes
Title: various titles featuring UC Berkeley research

February 24, 2023
Speaker (remote): Dr. Monica Sheffer, Postdoc, University of Washington
Title: “Fitness constraints in montane grasshoppers

March 3, 2023
Speaker (remote): Dr. Paul Marek, Associate Professor & Curator, Virginia Tech
Title: “Glow-in-the-dark millipedes, mimicry rings, and the 1,306-legged millipede”

March 10, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Andre Szejner-Sigal, Postdoc, UC Berkeley
Title:”Overwintering aggregations reduce energy use in the ladybeetle Hippodamia convergens

March 17, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Peter Oboyski, Essig Museum of Entomology, UC Berkeley
Title: “Sequencing DNA barcodes for every species of California insect

March 24, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Various speakers
Title: Undergraduate Research at UC Berkeley

March 31, 2023 – Spring Break Recess – no Essig Brunch

April 7, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Phil Ward, Professor of Entomology, UC Davis
Title: “Camponotine ants and their little helpers: evolutionary history of carpenter ants and their endosymbionts”

April 14, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Meghan Laturney, Postdoc (Scott lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Mated related changes in feeding in the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster

April 21, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Robert Dudley, Professor Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
Title: “The evolutionary and biomechanical origins of flight in hexapods

April 28, 2023
Speaker (in-person): Anna Holmquist, Ph.D. finishing talk (Gillespie lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “A tale of two hotspots – the role of ecological and evolutionary processes in shaping arthropod communities of Sulawesi, Indonesia and California, USA”

May 3, 2023 (WEDNESDAY @ 11:00 am, 2063 VLSB)
Speaker (in-person): Sean Perez, Ph.D. finishing talk (Will lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Defensive Chemical Biosynthesis in Bombardier Beetles”

Fall 2022 Schedule

September 2, 2022
Entomology Student Welcome – Social Hour (2063 VLSB)

September 9, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Sofia Melendez Cartagena, Graduate Student (Combes Lab), UC Davis
Title: “Inter-individual Variation in Circadian Rhythm: Characterizing Varying Clocks and Motif Classification Across species of Sweat Bees”

September 16, 2022
Speaker (remote): Dr. Jackie Lebenzon, Postdoc (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Burning down the powerhouse: Mitochondrial degradation during diapause in the Colorado potato beetle

September 23, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Dr. James Carey, Distinguished Professor, UC Davis
Title: “Insect biodemography in the 21st century: Interdisciplinary perspectives, emerging concepts, and inventive tools”

September 30, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Tyler Douglas, PhD Student (Tarvin Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Modeling the evolution of chemical defense in Drosophila melanogaster

October 7, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Julianne Pelaez, PhD Candidate (Whiteman Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “The evolution of gustatory preferences in herbivorous drosophilids”

October 14, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Biplabendu Das, Postdoc (Gordon Lab), Stanford University
Title: “How do zombie ants keep time? Investigating the role of biological clocks in behavior-modifying diseases”

October 21, 2022
Speaker (remote): Supraja Rajagopal, Graduate Student (Sasaki Lab), University of Georgia
Title: “Reproductive conflict and its effect on collective behaviour in the ant Diacamma indicum

October 28, 2022
Speaker (in-person): Dr. Matthew Van Dam, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Phylogenomics reveals Müllerian mimicry in easter egg weevils (Pachyrhynchus)”

November 4, 2022
Speaker (remote): Dr. Dylan Beal, Postdoc (Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center), Washington State University
Title: “Adapting IPM approaches for spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii) management to eastern Washington State”

November 11, 2022
Veterans Day (no Essig Brunch)

November 18, 2022
Speaker (remote): Dr. Elizabeth Clark, Postdoc (Almeida Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Integrating synchrotron imaging and computational fluid dynamics to illuminate insect feeding mechanics

November 25, 2022
Happy Thanksgiving (no Essig Brunch)

December 2, 2022 (postponed to 27 January 2023)
Speaker (remote): Dr. Orit Peleg, Assistant Professor, U Colorado, Boulder
Title: “The Physics of Honey Bee Swarms”

December 9, 2022 (postponed to 3 February 2023)
Speaker (remote): Pierre Andre Eyer, Postdoc, Texas A&M
Topic: Plasticity in invasive ants

Spring 2022 Schedule

February 11, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Scott Roy, Associate Professor, San Francisco State University
Title: “Origins of haplodiploidy

February 18, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Louie Yang, Professor, UC Davis
Title: “The phenology of milkweed-monarch interactions

February 25, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Emily Meineke, Assistant Professor, UC Davis
Title: “Effects of highway pollution on plant-insect interactions

March 4, 2022
Speaker: Shawn Christensen, PhD Candidate (Vannette Lab), UC Davis
Topic: Nectar-dwelling Acinetobacter and the metabolomics of solitary bee pollen provisions

March 11, 2022
Speaker: Santino Andry, PhD Student, University of Antananarivo, Madagascar (Brook Lab, Univ. Chicago)
Title: “Effect of forest fragmentation on ground dwelling ants

March 18, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Hollis Woodard, Assistant Professor, UC Riverside
Title: “Conservation physiology of bumble bees

March 25, 2022
SPRING RECESS – No Essig Brunch seminar

April 1, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Matt Forister, Professor, University of Nevada, Reno
Topic: “Long-term data, climate change, and prioritizing western butterflies for conservation

April 8, 2021postponed to Fall 2022

April 15, 2022
Speaker: Dr. Ida Naughton, (Holway Lab), UC San Diego
Title: “A multi-species comparison of genetic diversity between island and mainland ant populations

April 22, 2022
Speaker: Brian Whyte, PhD Candidate (Tsutsui Lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Social recognition using behavioral assays and chemical analyses (PhD finishing talk)

April 29, 2022
Speaker: Sara Herrejon, PhD Student (Boots Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “DWV variants among island bee populations

May 6, 2022
Speaker: Tessa Shates, PhD Candidate (Mauck Lab), UC Riverside
Topic: Plant-insect-virus interactions

Fall 2021 Schedule

September 10, 2021
Speakers: Dr. Vince Resh & Dr. Vernard Lewis, ESPM, UC Berkeley
Title: “Entomologists as expert witness”

September 17, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Kevin Roberts, (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Physiological impacts of changing snow cover on montane leaf beetles

September 24, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Natalie Graham, Post Doc (EvoLab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Biodiversity Dynamics During Community Assembly: High-throughput Sequencing of Arthropods on Islands”

October 1, 2021
Speaker: Nina Sokolov, PhD candidate (Boots Lab), Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
Title: “Detecting virus spillover between managed honeybees and native wild bees in a Sierra wildflower system”

October 8, 2021
Speaker: Neil Tsutsui Lab
Title: “Ongoing research in evolution, ecology, and behavior of social insects”

October 15, 2021
Speaker: Sean Perez, PhD candidate (Will Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “The role of the microbiome in bombardier beetle chemistry

October 22, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Damian Elias, UC Berkeley
Title: “Rethinking communication and sexual selection in spiders”

October 29, 2021
Postponed to December 10, 2021

November 5, 2021
Speaker: Andrew Saintsing, PhD candidate (Full Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “The cost of leg loss in cockroaches

November 12, 2021
Speaker: Kyle Leathers, PhD Candidate (Ruhi Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Climate change-induced low flows alter Sierra Nevada stream macroinvertebrate food webs and phenology

November 19, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Carolina Reisenman, Associate Researcher (Scott Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Chemosensory adaptations to host specialization in drosophilid flies

November 26, 2021
Happy Thanksgiving (no Essig Brunch)

December 3, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Daniele Cornara, Post Doc (Almeida Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Electronic monitoring of feeding behavior / pathogen transmission”

December 10, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Samridhi Chaturvedi, Post Doc (Whiteman Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Ecology and genetics explain climate adaptation in Timema stick insects

Spring 2021 Schedule

February 12, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Peter Oboyski, Essig Museum of Entomology
Title: “Darwin Day – Evolution under the microscope

February 19, 2021
Speaker: Adriana Lomeli, UC Riverside
Title: “Decoding the mosquito taste system, one sensillum at a time”

February 26, 2021
Speaker: Hanna Kahl, PhD candidate (Rosenheim Lab), UC Davis
Title: “Developing a pest management strategy for earwigs in Citrus

March 5, 2021
Speaker: Xavier Zahnle, PhD candidate (Bond Lab), UC Davis
Title: “Need for ‘Pedes: 3D (3D Imaging Illuminates Millipede Genital Morphology & Development)

March 12, 2021
Speaker: Scott Clem, PhD candidate (Harmon-Threatt Lab), University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Title: “Where do they come from? Examining North American hover fly (Diptera: Syrphidae) migration using stable deuterium isotopes (δ2H)

March 19, 2021 (date for this speaker subject to change)
Speaker: Maria Müller Theissen, PhD candidate (Altizer Lab), University of Georgia
Title: “Cross-species transmission dynamics and determinants of host range: Milkweed butterflies and their protozoan parasites as a case study”

March 26, 2021
SPRING RECESS – No Essig Brunch seminar

April 2, 2021 (date for this speaker subject to change)
Speaker: Dr. Kenny Chapin, Post Doc (Dornhaus Lab), University of Arizona
Topic: Arachnid Behavior/Population Genetics

April 9, 2021 (date for this speaker subject to change)
Speaker: Dr. Mercedes Burns, University of Maryland – Baltimore County
Title: “Three tales of arachnid genomes: Sequencing, sex, and silks”

April 16, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Margarita Lopez-Uribe, Penn State University
Title: “Squash Bees: Origin, diversification, and ecological interactions

April 23, 2021
Speaker: Dr. Jessica Ware, American Museum of Natural History
Topic: Evolution of behavioral and physiological adaptations in Odonata

April 30, 2021
Speaker: Azucena Lucatero, PhD Candidate (Philpott Lab), UC Santa Cruz
Title: “Interactions between insects, plants, and people in urban gardens

May 7, 2021 (date for this speaker subject to change)
Speaker: Mari West, PhD Candidate (Purcell Lab), UC Riverside
Title: “What’s size got to do with it? Task performance in ants lacking distinct morphological worker subcastes

May 14, 2021 – Cancelled
Speaker: Dr. Senay Yitbarek, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Title: “VectorbiTE RCN: The Vector Behavior in Transmission Ecology Research Coordination Network”

Fall 2020 Schedule

October 30, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Samuel Ramsey,  Post Doc, USDA Bee Lab, Maryland
Title: “Varroa feeds on hemolymph and two other alternative facts

November 6, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Henry Chung, Michigan State University
Title: “Insect cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) and the evolution of desiccation resistance

November 13, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn, San Francisco State University
Title: “Climate change in Sierra bumble bees

November 20, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Claudineia Costa, UC Riverside
Title “Different phytophysiognomies and the population dynamics of orchid bees (Apidae, Euglossini)”

November 27, 2020
Thanksgiving – no Essig Brunch

December 4, 2020 – postponed to spring semester
Speaker: Priscilla Seabourn, PhD candidate, University of Hawaii, Manoa
Title: “Aedes albopictus microbiome derive from environmental sources and partition across distinct host tissues”

December 11, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Aide Macias-Muñoz, UC Santa Barbara
Title: “Adapting to diurnal and nocturnal light environments: Vision in butterflies and moths

Spring 2020 Schedule

January 30, 2020
Coffee Social – Catch up with friends and colleagues

February , 2020
Speaker: Sandra Schachat, PhD candidate, Stanford University
Title: “A peak in insect diversity before the rise of angiosperms: disentangling the roles of parasitoids and pollinators”

February 14, 2020
Coffee Social – Catch up with friends and colleagues

February 21, 2020
Speaker: Aaron Pomerantz, PhD candidate (Patel lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Making it Clear: Evolution and Development of Wing Transparency in Lepidoptera”

February 28, 2020
Speaker: Dr. Giovanni Rapacciuolo, Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability, Cal Academy
Title: “Detecting spatiotemporal biodiversity change from unstructured opportunistic data

March 6, 2019 – Will be rescheduled for next semester
Speaker: Dr. Andrew Zink, Dept. Ecology & Evolution, San Francisco State University
Title: “Maternal care and egg cannibalism in the maritime earwig”

March 13, 2020 – Will be rescheduled for next semester
Speaker: Dr. Lauren Esposito, Curator, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Scorpiomics: Ecology, Evolution and Biogeography of Scorpions”

March 20, 2020 – Rescheduled for May 1, 2020
Speaker: Katie Sanko (Tsutsui lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Evolution of kidnapper ants

March 27, 2020
SPRING BREAK – No Essig Brunch

April 3, 2020 – Will be rescheduled for next semester
Speaker: Dr. Gretchen LeBuhn, Dept. Ecology & Evolution, San Francisco State University
Title: TBA

April 10, 2020 – Will be rescheduled for next semester
Speaker: Dr. Edward Conner, Dept. Ecology & Evolution, San Francisco State University
Title: “Insects Use a 3-Hormone Cocktail to Manipulate their Host-Plants”

April 17, 2020
Speaker: Elisa Visher, PhD candidate (Boots lab) UC Berkeley
Title: “A trade-off to resistance in the Indian meal moth: Right-side up and upside-down

April 24, 2020
Speaker: Marissa Sandoval (Whiteman lab, National Museum of Natural History), UC Berkeley
Title: “Are these wasps as old as we think? Phylogeny and historical biogeograthy of Labeninae (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae)”

April 24, 2020 – Will be rescheduled for next semester
Speaker: Celia Curtis, Scientific Illustrator
Title: “Tales of an insect illustrator and dinosaur artist”

May 1, 2020
Speaker: Katie Sanko (Tsutsui lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Evolution of kidnapper ants

Fall 2019 Schedule

September 6, 2019
Coffee Social – Catch up with friends and colleagues

September 13, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Megumi Fuse, Professor, SF State University
Title: “Defensive responses in Manduca sexta as a model for pain”

September 20, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Allison Hansen, Assistant Professor, UC Riverside
Title: “The impact of diet on an herbivore-microbe symbioses”

September 27, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Teruyuki Matsunaga, Post Doc (Whiteman lab) UC Berkeley
Topic: Evolutionary genetics of insect-plant interactions

October 4, 2019
Speaker: Paul Rude, Essig Museum of Entomology
Title: “Exploring the insect diversity of the Baja peninsula: Neopalpa donaldtrumpi and other discoveries”

October 11, 2019 – Cancelled due to power outage
Speaker: Dr. Giovanni Rapacciuolo, Institute for Biodiversity Science & Sustainability, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Detecting spatiotemporal biodiversity change from unstructured opportunistic data”

October 18, 2019
Speaker: Nina Sokolov, Graduate Student (Boots lab) UC Berkeley
Title: “Bees? Honeybee disease transmission to native bees”

October 25, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Jason Bond, Professor, UC Davis
Topic: Evolutionary diversification of terrestrial arthropods

November 1, 2019
Coffee Social

November 8, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Brent Sinclair, Professor, Western University – Ontario
Title: “Overwintering biology of forest and agricultural pest insects”

November 15, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Salil Bidaye, Post Doc (Scott Lab) UC Berkeley
Title: “Building remote-controlled flies to understand locomotion control in Drosophila

November 22, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Vince Resh, Professor, UC Berkeley
Title: “An unsuccessful retirement …”

November 29, 2019
Happy Thanksgiving (no Essig Brunch)

Spring 2019 Schedule

January 18, 2019
Coffee Social – Catch up with friends and colleagues

January 25, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Michelle Trautwein, Curator, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “The evolution and diversity of human face mites”

February 1, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Meghan LaTurney, Post Doc (Scott Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Maximizing life after love: mechanisms regulating reproduction and feeding in female fruit flies”

February 8, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Guillermo de Mendoza, Post Doc (Ruhi Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Aquatic invertebrates as ecological models and indicators: experiences with mountain lakes and subarctic streams”

February 15, 2019
Speaker: Kevin Roberts, PhD candidate (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “The role of snow cover in modulating winter energy use and cold stress in a montane beetle”

February 22, 2019
Coffee Social – Catch up with friends and colleagues

March 1, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Sevan Suni, Assistant Professor, University of San Francisco
Title: “Evolutionary ecology of plants and pollinators in a changing world”

March 8, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Xiaolin Chen, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Title: “The biology, phylogeny and evolution of the stalk-eyed fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae)”

March 15, 2019
Speaker: Aidee Guzman, Graduate Student (Kremen Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Diverse plates and picky eaters: On-farm diversification in an agriculturally dominated landscape positively influences specialist pollinators”

March 22, 2019
Speaker: Stefan van der Walt, Research Fellow, UC Berkeley Institute for Data Science
Title: “Accelerating discovery in Natural History through modern computation”

March 29, 2019
SPRING BREAK – No Essig Brunch

April 5, 2019
Speaker: Tim O’Connor, PhD candidate (Whiteman Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Ecological drivers and evolutionary genetics of crypsis polymorphism in desert grasshoppers”

April 12, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Matt Daugherty, Extension Specialist, UC Riverside
Title: “Does associational susceptibility by an invasive herbivore and weed explain declines of a native shrub?”

April 19, 2019
Speaker: Adrian Lu, PhD candidate (Kremen Lab) UC Berkeley
Title: “Conservation biological control: predation rates, arthropod movement, and pesticide application”

April 26, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Adam Zeilinger, Associate Specialist (ESPM), UC Berkeley
Title: “Disentangling the behavioral components of feeding preference: Implications for spread of a vector-borne plant pathogen”

May 3, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Maria Tonione, Dr. Neil Tsutsui, (ESPM), UC Berkeley
Topic: Ant behavior, ecology, and evolution

May 10, 2019
Entomology Undergraduate Research Symposium – 10 minute talks

May 17, 2019
Speaker: Erin Brandt, PhD candidate (Elias Lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Courtship systems in jumping spiders (KQED Deep Look video

Fall 2018 Schedule

August 31, 2018
Entomology Faculty Showcase – Research Highlights
Speakers: Nick Mills, Rodrigo Almeida, Mike Boots, Gordon Frankie

September 7, 2018
Entomology Faculty Showcase – Research Highlights
Speakers: Damian Elias, Noah Whiteman, Caroline Williams, Claire Kremen, and Elizabeth Cash

September 14, 2018
Speaker: Dr. Rachel Stubbington, associate professor at Nottingham Trent University
Title: “Beyond drylands: aquatic invertebrates in the temporary streams of cool, wet England”

September 21, 2018
Speaker: Cindy Preto, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Title: “Biology and behavior of Spissistilus festinus (Membracidae) in Californian vineyards”

September 28, 2018
Speaker: Benji Kessler, Graduate Student (Elias Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Spider sense and sensibility”

October 5, 2018
Speaker: Olivia Winokur, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Title: “Understanding mosquito-borne virus risk in California”

October 12, 2018
Speaker: Dr. Maj Rundlöf, Visiting Scholar, UC Davis
Title: “Flowers and pesticides as drivers of bee diversity, pollination services and pest abundance in agricultural landscapes”

October 19, 2018
Speaker: Aaron Pomerantz, Graduate Student (Patel Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Jungle Genomics: applying portable DNA sequencing technologies to fieldwork and science education”

October 26, 2018
Speaker: Joanna Bloese, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Title: “Insights into the practical use of biological controls in modern IPM programs”

November 2, 2018
Speaker: Nick Booster, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Title: “Not feeling well? Maybe don’t eat your kids: a search for the putative etiologic agent of increased egg cannibalism in the beneficial insect Geocoris pallens

November 9, 2018
Speaker: Dr. Curtis Ewing, CalFire Entomologist
Title: “Nitidulid beetles native to the South Pacific, scolytine beetles mostly introduced to Hawai’i associated with rapid Ōhi’a death, and other adventures with Coleopterans”

November 16, 2018
Speaker: Kevin Roberts, PhD candidate (Williams Lab), UC Berkeley
Topic: Cold adaptation and overwintering in leaf beetles

November 23, 2018
Thanksgiving Break – No Essig Brunch Seminar

November 30, 2018
Speaker: Emily Bick, Graduate Student, UC Davis
Title: “The use of simulation models to minimize Lygus spp. (Miridae) pests in strawberry agroecosystems”

December 7, 2018
Speaker: Sara Emery, PhD candidate (Mills Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: TBA

Spring 2018 Schedule

January 19, 2018
Welcome back coffee social

January 26, 2018
Speaker: Stephanie Loria, Post Doc, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Systematics and Biogeography of Southeast Asian Scorpions”

February 2, 2018
Speaker: Yume Imada, Research Scholar, Labandeira Lab, Smithsonian
Title: “Biology, diversity, evolution of bryophyte–arthropod associations”

February 9, 2018
Speaker: Dan Friedman, PhD Student (Gordon lab), Stanford University
Topic: The neurophysiology of collective behavior in ants

February 16, 2018
Speaker: Adam Zeilinger, Associate Specialist (Almeida lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Vector behavior and plant defense influence pathogen spread:
The epidemiology of Xylella fastidiosa in grapevines with novel resistance traits”

February 23, 2018
Speaker: Miguel Altieri, Professor Emeritus, ESPM, UC Berkeley
Title: “Habitat management: overcoming monoculture barriers for biological control”

March 2, 2018
Speaker: Gabriela Ponce, Graduate Student, San Francisco State University
Title: “A fly in a gall: A closer look at gall induction”

March 9, 2018
Speaker: Peter Oboyski, Essig Museum of Entomology, UC Berkeley
Title: “A multi-taxon biodiversity survey of Sulawesi, Indonesia: Introduction to the Lepidoptera”

March 16, 2018
Speaker: Maria Tonione, PhD Candidate (Tsutsui lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Thermal adaptaion and genomics in a cold specialized ant”

March 23, 2018
Speaker: Ross Vander Vorste, Post Doc (Carlson lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Back to the future: How temporal storage influences aquatic invertebrate community resilience to river drying”

March 30, 2018
— No Essig Brunch (Spring Break) —

April 6, 2018
Speaker: Emily Kearney, PhD Candidate (Kremen lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Food of the Gods: Exploring pollination services and pollinator communities in Theobroma cacao

April 13, 2018
Speaker: Gordon Bennett, Professor, UC Merced
Topic: Insect-microbe symbioses

April 20, 2018
Speaker: Robert Dudley, Professor, Integrative Biology, UC Berkeley
Title: “Gliding ants, aerial arthropods, a flapping robot, and the origins of animal flight”

April 27, 2018
Speaker: Susan Kennedy, PhD Candidate (Gillespie lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Trophic niche differentiation within the adaptive radiation of Hawaiian Tetragnatha spiders.”

May 4, 2018
Undergraduate Research Symposium

Fall 2017 Schedule

September 1, 2017
Speaker: Sean Perez, Graduate Student (Will lab), ESPM – UC Berkeley
Title: “The life of a field technician”

September 8, 2017
Coffee Social

September 15, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Rodrigo Almeida, Professor, ESPM-UC Berkeley
Title: “Xylella fastidiosa outbreaks in Europe: a tale of fake news, alternative facts, and plant disease”

September 22, 2017
Speaker: Brian Whyte, PhD candidate (Tsutsui lab), ESPM-UC Berkeley
Title: “Comparative social evolution of ants, trematodes, and a surprising amount of other things”

September 29, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Marianna Karageorgi, Post Doc (Whiteman lab), IB-UC Berkeley
Title: “Olfactory specialization contributes in the making of the fruit pest Drosophila suzukii.”

October 6, 2017
Speaker: Ignacio Escalante, PhD candidate (Elias lab), ESPM-UC Berkeley
Title: “Life after leg loss: locomotion, ecology and sexual behavior of daddy long-legs”

October 13, 2017
Speaker: Lewis Bartlett, Visiting Scholar (Boots lab), IB-UC Berkeley
Title: “Honeybees and disease – lessons for both apiculture and epidemiology”

October 20, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Noriyuki Suzuki, Post Doc (Gillespie lab), ESPM-UC Berkeley
Title: “Identifying invasive species from native Hawaiian arthropod community using metabarcoding data”

October 27, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Tyler Schartel, Post Doc (Daugherty lab), UC Riverside
Title: “Understanding the niches of invasive consumers”

November 3, 2017
Speaker: Lisa Treidel, PhD student (Williams lab), IB-UC Berkeley
Topic: Physiological adaptations in field crickets

November 10, 2017
HOLIDAY – Veteran’s Day

November 17, 2017
Speaker: Marie-Claire Monier Chelini, Post doc (Edwards lab), UC Merced
Title: “Disentangling proximate and evolutionary drivers of sexual size dimorphism”

November 23, 2017
HOLIDAY – Thanksgiving

December 8, 2017
Speaker: Erin Brandt, PhD candidate (Elias lab), ESPM-UC Berkeley
Topic: Natural and sexual selection in jumping spiders

December 8, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Henrik Krehenwinkel, Post doc (Gillespie lab), ESPM-UC Berkeley
Topic: Next generation approaches to community genomics

December 15, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Darko Cotoras, Post doc, California Academy of Science / UC Santa Cruz
Title: “Improvement and application of ancient DNA methods to study spider radiations on Pacific Islands”

Spring 2017 Schedule

January 13, 2017
Coffee Social

January 20, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Carolina Reisenman, Associate Researcher, MCB, UC Berkeley
Title: “Kissing bugs and risk of Chagas Disease transmission in southwestern USA, and tools for monitoring and control ”

January 27, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Daniel Thompson, Assistant Professor, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Title: “Endemic butterflies of the Spring Mountains, Nevada: habitat selection, phylogeography, and responses to fire”

February 3, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Javier Ceja Navarro, Post Doc, Earth & Environmental Sciences, UC Berkeley
Title: “Arthropod-microbiome interactions and their role in the host’s environmental adaptation”

February 10, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Fang Ouyang, Professor, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Title: “Population dynamics of an insect (Cotton Bollworm: Helicoverpa armigera), their driving factors and management strategy in a biologically-diversified landscape ecosystem”

February 17, 2017
Speaker: Aaron Pomerantz, Graduate Student (Patel Lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Accidental Amalgamation – Science Communication, Field Entomology, and Ecotourism”

February 24, 2017
Speaker: Philipp Brand, Graduate Student (Ramirez lab), UC Davis
Title: “Evolution of chemical communication systems in orchid bees”

 March 3, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Josh Gibson, Post Doc (Tsutsui lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Aggression and metabolism in hybrid honey bees”

March 10, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Tue Jorgensen, Post Doc (Stillman lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Understanding the calanoid copepod Acartia tonsa: genome, transcriptome and embryological observations”

March 17, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Elizabeth Cash, Post Doc (Tsutsui lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “The evolution of nestmate recognition and the ontogeny of territoriality in ants.”

March 24, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Durrell Kapan, Senior Research Fellow, California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Islands of invasion: ecological history of mosquitoes in Hawaii”

March 31, 2017
** Spring Break – no Essig Brunch **

April 7, 2017
Speaker: Dr. Elina Niño, Cooperative Extension Apiculture Specialist, UC Davis
Topic: “Understanding individual and colony-level stressors and developing solutions for honey bee health and beekeepers”

April 14, 2017
Speaker: Tim O’Connor, Graduate Student (Whiteman lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Polyploid speciation in plants: consequences for biogeography and diversification of herbivorous insects”

April 21, 2017
Speaker: Rachel Thayer, Graduate Student (Patel lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Genetic and evolutionary bases for thin film structural coloration in the Buckeye butterfly”

April 28, 2017
Speaker: Natalie Stauffer-Olsen, PhD candidate (O’Grady & Resh labs), UC Berkeley
Title: (PhD finishing talk) “Spatial and Temporal Variability in Benthic Invertebrate Assemblages and Genetics in a Lake and Stream System”

May 5, 2017
Speaker: Maddie Girard, PhD candidate (Rosemblum lab), UC Berkeley
Title: “Sexual Selection and Signal Evolution in Peacock Spiders (Genus: Maratus)”

Fall 2016 Schedule

September 2, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Katharina Ullman, Xerces Society – Integrated Crop Pollination
Title: “Working with researchers and stakeholders to support invertebrate conservation”

September 9, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Noah Whiteman, Associate Professor, Integrative Biology – UC Berkeley
Title: “Adaptive evolution of an ancient detoxification pathway in an herbivorous insect”

September 16, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Jan Buellesbach, Post doc (Tsutsui lab) – UC Berkeley
Title: “Sex pheromone variation and speciation – from phenotypic to genetic architecture”

September 23, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Adam Zeilinger, Post doc (Almeida lab) – UC Berkeley
Title: “Using museum specimen occupancy data to understand and predict insect pest outbreaks in California”

September 30, 2016
No Seminar (due to the International Congress of Entomology 2016 in Orlando FL)

October 7, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte, Asst. Prof., National Centre for Biological Sciences, India
Title: “Ecological/evolutionary dynamics in mimetic communities”

October 14, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Aman Gill, Post doc (Will lab) – UC Berkeley
Title: “The evolution of chemical defense in ground beetles: genetic basis, biosynthetic pathways and molecular evolution of carabid quinone production”

October 21, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Sarah Crews, Post doc (Esposito lab) – California Academy of Sciences
Title: “Biomechanics of hunting in selenopid spiders”

October 28, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Malcolm Rosenthal, Post doc (Elias lab) – UC Berkeley
Title: “Mating in a variable world: the implications of environmental variation for male and female mating behavior in a wolf spider.”

November 4, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Zachary Stahlschmidt, Assistant Professor, University of the Pacific
Title: “Phenotypic plasticity in insects: integrating tradeoffs and the environment.”

November 11, 2016
No Seminar – Veterans Day

November 18, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Nick Keiser, Postdoc – Rice Academy (Houston, TX)
Title: “Group composition begets conflicting dynamics of collective behavior and bacterial transmission in social spiders.”

November 25, 2016
No Seminar – Thanksgiving break

December 2, 2016
Speaker: Allan Cabrera, Graduate Student – O’Grady lab, UC Berkeley
Title: “Lush forests and dark caves: Systematics of a harvestman subfamily and landscape genomics of a cave obligate species.”

December 9, 2016
Speaker: Dr. Francis Ratnieks, Professor of Apiculture & Social Insects, University of Sussex
Title: “How can we help bees via research? The Sussex plan for honey bee health and well being.”