'P' Is for Pollinators

UC Davis graduate student Katharina Ullmann will be among the speakers.

Bee scientists from the UC Davis Department of Entomology will present four of the six talks at the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Pollinator Workshop, set Tuesday, Feb. 21 in Woodland.

The event, free and open to all interested persons, will take place from 9 to 11 a.m. in Norton Hall, 70 Cottonwood St.

Topics will include multiple stresses on honey bees; sustainable pollination strategies for specialty crops; native pollinators and squash and pumpkin pollination; insecticides, honey bees and hybrid onion seed production; and creating habit for pollinators, according to UCCE's Yolo County farm advisor Rachael Long.

The meeting is sponsored by UCCE and the Yolo County Resource Conservation District.

The agenda:

9 to 9:10 a.m.
Introductions and Updates: Rachael Long, farm advisor, UCCE Yolo County

9:10 – 9:35 a.m. 
“Multiple Stresses are Hard on Honey Bees”: Eric Mussen, Extension apiculturist, UC Davis Department of Entomology

9:35 – 10 a.m. 
“Sustainable Pollination Strategies for Specialty Crops”: Neal Williams, assistant professor, UC Davis Department of  Entomology.

10 to 10:20 a.m.
“Native Pollinators and Squash and Pumpkin Pollination”: Katharina Ullmann, graduate student, Neal Williams lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology

10:20 – 10:40 a.m.
“Insecticides Reduce Honeybee Visitation and Pollen Germination in Hybrid Onion Seed Production”: Sandra Gillespie, postdoctoral researcher, Neal Williams lab, UC Davis Department of Entomology.

10:40 – 11 a.m. 
“Creating Habitat for Pollinators”: Jessa Guisse of Sacramento, Pollinator Habitat Restoration specialist, The Xerces Society

Norton Hall is located between the UCCE  office and the Agricultural Commissioner’s office.

For further information, contact Katie Churchill of UCCE, Woodland, at kmchurchill@ucdavis.edu or (530) 666-8143.