|
January 2010
Faculty News
Dr. Christine Miller was invited to serve as an Editorial Board Member and a Reviewing Editor for the
Journal of Evolutionary Biology for the years 2010-2014.
Dr. Norman Leppla became an ESA Fellow at the Entomological Society of America (ESA) annual
meeting in Indianapolis during 13-16 December. This award was in recognition of his efforts "in the field
of integrated pest management, emphasizing biological control and associated insect rearing techniques."
Dr. Marc Branham served as the 2009 President of the Systematics, Evolution and Biodiversity Section
of the ESA. His term of office expired at the Section's final business meeting at the recent annual meeting.
He also served on the Program Committee for the meeting. Dr. Branham recently was elected Councilor of
the Coleopterists Society for 2010-2011.
Thomas Fasulo was pleasantly surprised to discover that the State of Georgia has authorized our CD-
ROM-based training tutorials for licensed pesticide applicator recertification for several years. This makes
five such states, including Florida, that use these tutorials for applicator license renewal and technician
training. The Georgia Pest Control Association initiated this through their state's structural oversight board,
but Fasulo found out when the board that recertifies other types of pesticide licenses also approved the
tutorials.
Student News
Ph.D. student Thomas Chouvenc received the 2009 Nutting Award, presented by the International Union
for the Study of Social Insects- North American Section. The William L. and Ruth D. Nutting Award is
named in honor of the late Bill Nutting, an outstanding termite biologist who made major contributions to
termite biology, both through his own research and mentoring of students, and in honor of Ruth Nutting for
her support of Bill's work."
At the recent ESA meeting, Thomas Chouvenc received 1st place for his presentation in "Structural,
Veterinary and Public Health Systems" with "Differential cellular encapsulation in six termite species
against the infection ofMetarhizium anisopliae."
The Entomology and Nematology Student Organization (ENSO) organized a practice and comment
session on December 10th for students preparing to present at the annual ESA conference. Eight students
presented 10 to 12 minute talks on their research. A $100 travel grant was gifted on behalf of ENSO for the
best presentation, as deemed by a committee of professors. While all eight talks were without a doubt
excellent, we would like to congratulate Sharon Clemmensen, the winner of the travel grant. We would
also like to thank our panel of judges Drs. James Maruniak, Norman Leppla, and Marc Branham for
all of their help in making this session possible. Dan Fitzpatrick, ENSO President
Ph.D. students Margie Pfiester and Matt Lehnert were married on 11 December 2009. With 100+
graduate students, we should be surprised this doesn't happen more often. Did either of them (or both?)
take Dr. Miller's course on Sexual Selection?
Ph.D. student Roxanne Burrus won first prize at the ESA's Student Competition for the President's Prize
in the Structural, Veterinary, and Public Health Systems section's Veterinary and Stored Product Pest's
grouping. Her co-advisors are Drs. Jerry Hogsette and Phillip Kaufman.
Ph.D. student Harsimran Rosie Gill received a $300 CALS James Davidson Graduate Student
Scholarship to attend the recent ESA meeting.
Ph.D. student Teresia Nyoike received the first prize in the student poster competition (Ecology section) at
the ESA meeting.
Alumni News
Three recent graduates of our department were honored by the Entomological Society of America for their
achievements at its recent meeting.
Dr. Karla Addesso (Ph.D., '07) was awarded the Henry & Silvia Richardson Research Grant by the
Entomological Foundation for her research on semiochemical-based pest management of the pepper
weevil, Anthonomus eugenii.
Dr. Jennifer Zaspel (Ph.D. '08) was recognized with the Snodgrass Memorial Research Award for
her research on the systematics of the fruit-piercing and blood-feeding moths of the subfamily
Calpinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).
Emily Torlak (M.S. '09), one of the first graduates of our distance Master's program, was awarded
the President's Prize for Outstanding Achievement in Secondary Education.
Congratulations! Dr. Heather McAuslane Graduate Student Coordinator
Eugenio Nearns (M.S. '06) is the 2009 recipient of the J.G. Edwards Prize. This prize is awarded
annually by the Coleopterists Society for the best published paper dealing with the systematics or biology
of Coleoptera based upon a master's thesis published in the preceding calendar year. The paper of note is:
Nearns EH, Branham MA. 2008. Revision and phylogeny of the tribes Curiini LeConte and Plectromerini
Nearns & Branham, new tribe (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae). Memoirs of the American
Entomological Society 47: 1-117.
Publications
Chouvenc T, Su N-Y, Robert A. 2009. Susceptibility of seven termite species (Isoptera) to the
entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Sociobiology 54: 723-748.
Obenauer PJ, Buss LJ, Kaufman PE. 2009. Utilizing Auto-montageTM technology for identifying field-
collected container-inhabiting mosquito eggs. Journal of the American Mosquito Control Association 25:
517-520.
Stelinski LL, Czokajlo D. 2010. Suppression of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella, with an attract-and-
kill formulation. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 134: 69-77.
Watts SL, Fitzpatrick DM, Maruniak JE. 2009. Blood meal identification from Florida mosquitoes
(Diptera: Culicidae). Florida Entomologist 92: 619-622.
Nyoike TW, Liburd OE. 2010. Effect of living (buckwheat) and UV reflective mulches with and without
imidacloprid on whiteflies, aphids and marketable yields of zucchini squash. International Journal of Pest
Management 56: 31-39.
Weibelzahl E, Liburd OE. 2009. Epizootic of Acalitus vaccinii (Acari: Eriophyidea) caused by Hirsutella
thompsonii on southern highbush blueberry in north-central Florida. Florida Entomologist 92: 601-607.
Liburd OE. 2009. Fostering collaboration and linkages with our Latin American and Caribbean neighbors.
Florida Entomologist 92: 689-690.
Cuda JP. 2009. Book review: Muniappan, Reddy, GVP, Raman A. (eds.). Biological Control of Tropical
Weeds using Arthropods. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. Florida Entomologist 92: 675-676.
Cuda JP, Medal JC, Gillmore JL, Habeck DH, Pedrosa-Macedo JH. 2009. Fundamental host range of
Pseudophilothrips ichini sensu lato (Thysanoptera: Phlaeothripidae), a candidate biological control agent
of Schinus terebinthifolius (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) in the USA. Environmental Entomology 38: 1642-
1652.
Manrique V, Cuda JP, Overholt WA. 2009. Effect of herbivory on growth and biomass allocation of
Brazilian peppertree (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae) seedlings in the laboratory. Biocontrol Science and
Technology 19: 657-667.
Bybee SM, Zaspel JM, Beucke KA, Scott CH, Smith B, Branham MA. 2010. Is molecular data
supplanting morphological data in modem phylogenetic studies? Systematic Entomology 35: 2-5.
Spring 2010 Entomology and Nematology Seminars
The seminar series is held on Thursday afternoons in room 1031. Refreshments are served at 3:45 pm, and
the seminar begins at 4:00 pm. For a listing of the speakers and their presentations for Spring 2010, see the
department's seminar Web site at http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/seminar/.
Meetings and Presentations
On 16-18 November, Drs. Alejandro Ar6valo and Jawwad Qureshi, of the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida
Reseach and Education Center in Immokalee, were invited to present their research at the Citrus
Huanglongbing and Potato Zebra Chip conference in McAllen, Texas. Dr. Qureshi spoke on "Integrating
biological control in the management program for Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera:
Psyllidae)," and Dr. Arevalo discussed the "Efficiency of three monitoring methods for Asian citrus
psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama, populations on commercial and research plots in Florida" and an
"Update on the Citrus Greening Bibliographical Database." The database now has over 1761 references,
789 of which have links to the original article. To add an article that is not yet linked, or if you would like
to contribute information, have questions or provide suggestions, please contact them at Greening.
Database@ifas.ufl.edu.
Dr. James P. Cuda was invited to participate in a Strategic Management of Invasive Species in the
Southeastern United States workshop sponsored by the Department of Defense. The workshop, held in
Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 7-11 December, provided participants with the knowledge and resources
which will enable them to improve land stewardship by building partnerships and effectively addressing
invasive species problems with an emphasis on terrestrial plants of the southeast. Cuda gave a presentation
"Biological control for invasive plant management in the Southeast."
Dr. Marjorie A. Hoy attended the ESA annual meeting and presented an invited symposium presentation
on "Classical biological control of the red palm mite."
While attending the ESA meeting, Dr. James P. Cuda presented the poster "Biology and fundamental host
range of the stem boring weevil Apocnemidophorus pipitzi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a new candidate
for biological control of Brazilian peppertree, Schinus terebinthifolius." It was co-authored by Judy
Gillmore and Drs. Julio Medal and William Overholt.
Ph.D. student Clare Scott presented "The contribution of morphology to a phylogenetic analysis of
Crambidia (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae: Arctiinae): a preliminary investigation" at the ESA meeting.
Grants
Ph.D. students Teresia Nyoike and Elena Rhodes received $250 travel grants from the Graduate Student
Council to attend the ESA meeting.
Graduate students Teresia Nyoike, Elena Rhodes and Craig Roubos received $200 travel grants from the
Florida Entomological Society to attend the ESA meeting.
Segments
Stephen Brown is the Horticulture Program Leader for the University of Florida's Cooperative Extension
Service in Fort Myers, Florida. He produced and then posted a video on YouTube showing the damage that
palmetto weevils can do to palms. Click here to view the video.
A new Indie film untangles the web of cultural and historical ties underlying Japan's deep fascination with
insects. To see the trailer, click here.
Florida butterflies and their preservation make the pages of the Gainesville Sun. Click here to read the
article.
Ever wonder why bees always have a safe landing? Click here for the answer.
Broucci, the Czech word for beetles, is the name of a classic children's book by Jan Karafiat published in
the early 1870s, and is also used for "traditional Czech figures of fairylike insect people" based on the
characters in the book. In English, the title is often translated as Fireflies. During World War II, the
inmates of the Nazi Theresienstadt concentration camp dramatized and performed their own version of the
book. For more details, click here.
Bug Quote
Through and through the inspired leaves
Ye maggots, make your windings;
But, oh! respect his lordship's taste,
And spare his golden bindings.
Robert Burns
(who was actually referring to book-boring beetle larvae)
Departmental Vans
The department has several vans available for general use. Personnel are reminded that when returning
vans after the administration office has closed, the vans should be locked and the keys deposited in the
"mail slot" on the administration office door. This ensures that people who reserved the vans for the next
day have immediate access to the keys. Placing the keys under the driver's seat in an unlocked van is not an
acceptable substitute. The worst case scenario in this case is a stolen van to which no one has access.
Keeping the keys in your pocket, lab or office until you remember to turn them in is also discourteous to
others as it might affect their work schedule.
Reading Room
The Reading Room Committee again reminds us that no one is allowed to take materials out of the reading
room, and no one is allowed to take food or drink in. You are also reminded that Reading Room users are
monitored on closed-circuit TV. In addition, the Department just spent $450,000 to install one of the latest
scanners that allows us to see what is hidden under your clothing. (Just kidding!) The committee requests
that you tidy up after yourself before leaving the room. Those who wish to use the in-room copier should
visit the stock room and obtain a PIN from Nick Hostettler.
Cartoons
Many comic Web sites limit the length of time a panel appears to just 30 days. Others may require you to
register to view previous panels, which you may not wish to do. In either case, the sooner you visit the site,
the greater chance you have to view the following:
After the long holiday break, it is common for your adviser to act differently. Do not let it worry you. Click
here for details.
During the holidays, our graduate students likely gorged themselves at their parents' and relatives' tables.
But now that they are back at school, it is time once again to revert to their regular diet by adhering to the
USDA's Graduate Student Food Pyramid.
Newsletter Minutiae
Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. Departmental faculty, staff, students and alumni can submit news
anytime to fasulo@ufl.edu. Issues usually are published by early mid-month. Submit items for an issue by
the 7th of that month.
UF-Bugnews-L listserv subscribers receive notices when issues are posted on the newsletter Web site at
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/news, which has instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing. Pam
Howell and Nancy Sanders review the newsletter for errors. Thomas Fasulo does the HTML coding.
In the last 12 months, the newsletter Web site recorded 115,154 page views.
January 2010.
Entomology and Nematology Home Page I I
m
Newsletter Homepage I
|
RSS
