West Nile Virus, Bed Bugs, Pesticide Poisoning and Exotic Pests to be Covered at Northern  California Entomology Club Meeting

William Reisen

The meeting, set from 9:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 155 Mason Circle, is open to any one interested in entomology, said club president and mosquito researcher Debbie Dritz of the Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis.
The event begins at 9:15 a.m. with registration and coffee, followed by a five-speaker program. The business session is at 11:45, and a catered barbecue luncheon will be served at noon.

Research entomologist William Reisen of the Center for Vectorborne Diseases, UC Davis, will speak at 1:15 p.m. on “Mechanisms that May Enable the Persistence and Amplification of West Nile Virus in California.”

He will discuss the West Nile invasion in California, transmission cycles, communal crow roosts, role of water in infection, and overwintering mechanisms. Reisen doubles as an adjunct professor with the Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

The speaker line-up:

9:30 a.m.: “Monitoring Pest Damage to Cotton Using Remote Sensing” by Dominic Reisig, a doctorate student in entomology at UC Davis

10:15 a.m.: “Identification and Control of California Bed Bugs,” by Jeff Smith, West Sacramento, pest control workshop instructor with Univar, a chemical distributor company

11 a.m.: “Laws and Common Sense Protect Pesticide Applicators and Researchers” by John Lamb, pharmacologist, Poison Control Center, UC Davis Medical Center, Sacramento

1:15 p.m.:   "Mechanisms that May Enable the Persistence and Amplification of West Nile Virus in California” by William Reisen, research entomologist, Center for Vectorborne Diseases, UC Davis

2 p.m.:   "Exotic Pest Introductions and Eradication Techniques:  2006” by Bob Dowell,  supervisor, Integrated Pest Control, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento

Kinder’s Custom Meats, Concord, will cater the luncheon, serving a barbecue of  marinated ball tip steak or chicken, with beans, tossed green salad, potato, fresh fruit salad, cookie and drink for $15. No reservations are required.

Further information on the club is available from Dritz at (530) 754-9448 or dadritz@ucdavis.edu  or from honey bee specialist Eric Mussen, extension apiculturist, Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis Department of Entomology, at  (530) 752-0472 or ecmussen@ucdavis.edu.

The Northern California Entomology Club meets the first Thursdays of February, May and November. The group meets in February at the Hungry Hunter, Fairfield; in May at Sudwerk, Davis, and in November at the Contra Costa Mosquito and Vector Control District office, Concord. Membership dues are $10 year.