Lesley Hamamoto, a biologist from Sacramento, has been awarded the title of the 2026 winner of the Robbin Thorp Memorial First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest. She received her prize—a unique coffee cup featuring the endangered Franklin’s bumblebee—during a recent visit to the Bohart Museum of Entomology at the University of California, Davis.
The contest, which began in 2021, honors the legacy of Professor Robbin Thorp, a prominent figure in pollinator conservation who passed away in 2019. Hamamoto’s winning entry was a photograph of a black-tailed bumble bee, known scientifically as Bombus melanopygus, taken on January 2, 2026, at 09:59 a.m. She captured the image while the bee was nectaring on manzanita in the UC Davis Arboretum and Public Garden.
Celebrating Conservation and Community
The award ceremony featured Lynn Kimsey, a Distinguished Professor Emerita who directed the Bohart Museum for 34 years, and Tabatha Yang, the museum’s education and outreach coordinator. They presented Hamamoto with the coffee cup, which is adorned with an illustration of Franklin’s bumblebee, a species that Thorp studied extensively. This bumblebee is now considered feared extinct after Thorp monitored its population along the California-Oregon border for two decades, with his last observations occurring in 2006.
Hamamoto’s victory in the contest stems from her passion for bumble bees and native plants. As a biologist with the California Department of Water Resources since 2008, she actively participates in the California Bumble Bee Atlas and serves as the president of the Sacramento Valley Chapter of the California Native Plant Society. Her strong ties to UC Davis include being an alumna and having taken classes taught by both Thorp and Kimsey.
A Legacy of Pollinator Advocacy
The First-Bumble-Bee-of-the-Year Contest encourages community engagement in pollinator conservation by inviting participants to photograph and submit images of the first bumblebee sighted each year in Yolo and Solano counties. Contest rules dictate that the first individual to submit a qualifying photograph or video wins.
Thorp, who retired from active faculty duty in 1994 after 30 years of service, continued his research on bumble bees until shortly before his death at the age of 85. His influence extends beyond academia; he co-authored important works including Bumble Bees of North America: An Identification Guide and California Bees and Blooms: A Guide for Gardeners and Naturalists. Every January, he eagerly anticipated the arrival of the first bumblebee, a moment that Hamamoto now embodies as the contest’s latest winner.
The Bohart Museum continues to serve as a vital resource for both education and research on entomology, fostering a deeper understanding of the essential role that pollinators play in our ecosystems. Hamamoto’s achievement not only celebrates her dedication but also pays tribute to Thorp’s legacy, highlighting the ongoing importance of protecting these vital species.
