December 2004

Faculty News

At the recent faculty meeting, Dr. John Capinera reported that Dr. Phil Kaufman accepted the veterinary entomology position and plans to arrive in May. Also, Dr. Fred Fishel of the University of Missouri accepted the Pesticide Information Coordinator position and will start in about March-April. Dr. Fishel is a weed scientist and, while he will be affiliated with agronomy, this position directly impacts our disciplines as well.

First license plates, then furniture, and now insects... Dr. Lance Osborne worked with the Seminole County (Florida) Correctional Facility to create a program whereby inmates raise beneficial arthropods that attack insect pests or feed on troublesome weeds in Florida. Raising these beneficials, many of which are not being raised by commercial enterprises, results in income and new, marketable skills for the inmates as well as numerous benefits for growers and consumers. See http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/seminole.htm for details.

Dr. Marjorie Hoy received the Outstanding Scientist award for 2004 from the International Organization for Biological Control (IOBC) at the Entomological Society of America (ESA) meeting, in Salt Lake City last month, where Dr. Richard T. Roush, Dr. Hoy's first Ph.D. student, reviewed her career; a reception followed the IOBC meeting and symposium.

Dr. Marc Branham attended the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Collections Network, in Salt Lake City last month, and will be co-organizing next year's meeting in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, with Drs. Paul Goldstein and Jackie Miller (of the UF/IFAS McGuire Lepidoptera Center.)

Pi Chi Omega honored Dr. Gene Gerberg with an Honorary Membership in October. Pi Chi Omega is a professional fraternity devoted to the advancement of structural pest control.

Dr. Joseph Noling, a nematologist at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center, was recently awarded the 2004 Florida Strawberry Growers Association Public Service Award. The award was presented in recognition of Noling's "tireless efforts and dedicated service to Florida's strawberry industry." Noling is involved in research and extension nematode programs for fruit and vegetable crops. He is conducting research on alternatives to methyl bromide, a fumigant that is being phased out in the U.S., and is often consulted for information on this topic by government and industry groups.

Student News

On 15 November, Ph.D. student Julieta Brambila began working for USDA-APHIS as Entomologist (Identifier). However, Julieta will remain in Gainesville, in association with the Florida State Collection of Arthropods (FSCA). She was working for FSCA while continuing work on her dissertation. Until she reports a new e-mail address, you can contact Julieta at julie2821@hotmail.com.

Graduate students Jennifer Meyer and Jason Meyer attended the recent ESA meeting. Jennifer presented a poster on "P-element Mediated Transformation of Drosophila melanogaster with the Yeast Metallothionein Gene, CUP1, to Assess the Potential for Genetic Improvement of Beneficial Insects in Florida Citrus." Jason presented a poster on "Comparison of Microbial Endosymbionts in a Parasitoid-Host System for Evidence of Horizontal Transfer."

Ph.D. student Cara Congdon was a runner-up in the 2004 ESA Student Poster Competition. The title of the poster was "St. Augustinegrass Growth Response to Three Levels of Irrigation and Blissus insularis Densities."

Alumni News

Dr. Hanife Genc reports that both she and Levent, her husband, are now assistant professors at Canakkale Onsekiz Mart Universitesi in Turkey. Hanife is a member of the Plant Protection Department (Entomology), where she teaches general entomology courses and does research in insect pest management. Hanife says that their daughter Destina, who was born in the U.S., attends the university's kindergarten and misses Chinese food. You can reach Hanife at hgenc@comu.edu.tr.

Over 120 people attended a luncheon to celebrate the 90th birthday of Dr. Jim Griffiths at the Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. Dr. Griffiths was a member of the UF/IFAS faculty and an entomologist at CREC from 1946-1951. Dr. Griffiths is still active as the managing director of Citrus Grower Associates in Lakeland. Friends and colleagues at the luncheon remarked on his keen intellect and tireless energy in representing the interests of the Florida citrus industry on trade, economic, environmental and other issues.

Publications

Fasulo TR. (2004). Ornamental caterpillars - computer tutorial. Bug Tutorials. UF/IFAS. SW 176.

Fasulo TR. (2004). Stinging caterpillars - computer tutorial. Bug Tutorials. UF/IFAS. SW 175.

Jeyaprakash A, Hoy MA. 2004. Multiple displacement amplification in combination with high-fidelity PCR improves detection of bacteria from single females or eggs of Metaseiulus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari: Phytoseiidae). Journal of Invertebrate Pathology 86:111-116.

Fasulo TR, Kern WH, Koehler PG, Short DE. (2004). Pests In and Around the Home. (Version 2). UF/IFAS. SW 126.

Vazquez RJ, Porter SD, Briano JA. 2004. Host specificity of a biotype of the fire ant decapitating fly Pseudacteon curvatus (Diptera: Phoridae) from northern Argentina. Environmental Entomology 33:1436-1441.

Halbert SE, Manjunath KL. 2004. Asian citrus psyllids (Sternorrhyncha: Psyllidae) and greening disease of citrus: A literature review and assessment of risk in Florida. Florida Entomologist 87:330-353.

Halbert SE, Genc H, Cevik B, Brown LG, Rosales IM, Manjunath KL, Pomerinke M, Davison DA, Lee RF, Niblett CL. 2004. Distribution and characterization of Citrus tristeza virus in south Florida following establishment of Toxoptera citricida. Plant Disease 88:935-941.

Halbert SE, Núñez C. 2004. Distribution of the Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Rhynchota: Psyllidae) in the Caribbean Basin. Florida Entomologist 87:401-402.

Halbert SE. 2004. The genus Greenidea (Rhynchota: Aphididae) in the United States. Florida Entomologist 87:159-163.

Halbert SE, Hibbard KL, Voegtlin DJ. 2004. Schizaphis minuta (van der Goot) (Homoptera: Aphididae), new to the United States. Insecta Mundi 15:56.

Halbert SE, Brambila J. 2004. Dipsocoridae (Heteroptera) found for the first time in Florida. Insecta Mundi 16:24.

Voegtlin DJ, Halbert SE, Qiao G.-x. 2004. A guide to separating Aphis glycines Matsumura and morphologically similar species that share its hosts. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 97:227-232.

Nuessly G, Nagata R, Beiriger R, Scully B, Halbert S. 2004. Aphid damaging seashore Paspalum. Florida Turf Digest 21:24.

Halbert SE, Nuessly GS. 2004. Species composition of Florida aphid fauna. Pages 147-150 In Simon J-C, Dedryver CA, Rispe C, Hullé‚ M, (Eds.), Aphids in a new millennium. Proceedings of the VIth International Symposium on Aphids. Versailles, INRA Editions.

Zappala L, Hoy MA. 2004. Reproductive strategies and parasitization behavior of Ageniaspis citricola, a parasitoid of the citrus leafminer Phyllocnistis citrella. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 113:135-143.

Frank FL, Liburd OE. 2004. Comparison of living and synthetic mulches in zucchini. Citrus and Vegetable Magazine 69:24-27.

Liburd OE, Seferina GG, Weihman SW. (2004). Insect pests of grapes in Florida. EDIS. ENY 713. UF/IFAS. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/IN527

Liburd OE. 2004. The effectiveness of various insecticides to control blueberry gall midge. Berry/Vegetable Times 4 (March):2-4.

Liburd OE, Seferina GG. 2004. Grape root borer: Life stages and IPM strategies in Florida. UF/IFAS Fact Sheet SP 330. 2 pp.

Liburd OE, Seferina GG. (2004). Insect pest of grapes in the southeastern United States. UF/IFAS Pest Alert. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/pestalert/insect_pests_of_grapes.pdf

Liburd OE, Sarzynski EM, Krewer G. 2004. Results of gall midge control experiments in Bacon Co. and recommendations for control. Proceedings of the Southeastern Regional Fruit and Vegetable Conference. Savannah, Georgia. 5 pp.

Crow WT. (November 2004). Stubby-root nematode, Trichodorus obtusus Cobb. UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-340. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/nematode/stubbyroot/trichodorus_obtusus.htm

Crow WT. (November 2004). Stubby-root nematode, Paratrichodorus minor (Colbran) Siddiqi UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-339. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/nematode/stubbyroot/paratrichodorus_minor.htm

Turner JC, Buss EA. (November 2004). Northern red-oak kermes scale, Allokermes kingii (Cockerell). UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-338. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/scales/kermes_scale.htm

Cuda JP, Habeck DH, Hight SD, Medal JC, Pedrosa-Macedo JH. 2004. Brazilian Peppertree, Schinus terebinthfolius: Sumac Family-Anacardiaceae, pp. 439-441. In Coombs E, Clark J, Piper G, Cofrancesco A. (eds.), Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR.

Cuda JP, Coile NC, Gandolfo D, Medal JD, Mullahey JJ. 2004. Tropical Soda Apple, Solanum viarum: Nightshade Family-Solanaceae, pp. 396-401. In Coombs E, Clark J, Piper G, Cofrancesco A. (eds.), Biological Control of Invasive Plants in the United States. Oregon State University Press, Corvallis, OR.

Hight SD, Cuda JP, Medal JC. (2004). Brazilian Peppertree. Invasive Plants of the Eastern United States. http://www.invasive.org/eastern/biocontrol/24BrazilianPeppertree.html

Dittrich RL, Macedo JHP, Cuda JP, Biondo AW. 2004. Brazilian peppertree sawfly larvae toxicity in bovines. Vet. Pathol 41: 553.

Cuda JP, Ferriter AM, Langeland KA, Pernas TJ, Schmitz DC. 2004. Conceptual model of an ecologically based management plan for Brazilian peppertree in Florida. First National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration: Sustainable Ecosystem Restoration Through Integration of Science, Planning and Policy, Program Abstracts: 96.

Howard FW, Merida MA. (December 2004). Mahogany shoot borer, Hypsipyla grandella (Zeller). UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-336. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/moths/mahogany_borer-English.htm

Howard FW, Merida MA. (December 2004). El taladrador de las meli ceas, Hypsipyla grandella (Zeller). UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-337. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/moths/Mahogany_borer-Spanish.htm

ENSO-sponsored Scholarship

The Entomology and Nematology Student Organization (ENSO) started an international malaria scholarship fund to support African graduate students studying malaria. Malaria infects 300 to 500 million people annually worldwide (more than live in the USA) and kills one to two million people each year. Africa is the hardest hit and the problem is compounded by the spreads of AIDS. Those in need have become heavily dependent on money from aid organizations, if the money reaches them at all. The fund was created to help African students, trying to solve this terrible problem, pursue graduate degrees in their respective countries. The fund will hopefully create less dependence on aid organizations while generating well-needed infrastructure. Contact Justin Harbison (jharbi@ufl.edu), or any of the ENSO officers for further information.

Grants

Dr. Oscar Liburd received a grant from the University of Florida, IFAS IPM program for $5,862 to continue his work developing a pest management program for flower thrips in southern highbush blueberries.

Dr. James P. Cuda received a grant for $29,600 from the University's School of Natural Resources and Environment Seed Funding Grant Program to investigate the feasibility of using the F1 sterile insect technique for conducting field host range testing of the torticid Episimus utilis, a leaf defoliating caterpillar of Brazilian peppertree. Onour E. Moeri, one of Cuda's graduate students, is conducting the research.

Meetings and Presentations

The Biological Institute, Campinas, Sao Paulo, Brazil invited Dr. Khuong B. Nguyen to teach a class in Taxonomy of Entomopathogenic Nematodes from 20 October to 4 November 2004. There were about 30 scientists attending the class. All expenses of the trip were paid by the Biological Institute.

Dr. Marjorie A. Hoy attended the recent ESA meeting and presented an invited talk, "Molecular and Population Genetic Methods for Maintaining the Quality of Mass-reared Insects" in the program symposium "Legacy and Future of Biotechnology in Insect Rearing."

Postdoctoral Scientist Dr. Un Taek Lim presented a poster, "A Biological Study on Semielacher petiolatus, a Parasitoid of Citrus Leafminer" at the ESA meeting.

Drs. Clay McCoy and Robin Stuart, and Angel Hoyte and Ian Jackson hosted Dr. Angie Rivenshield's pest management class from Florida Southern College at the Citrus Research and Education Center on Nov. 30. The class viewed demonstrations of Diaprepes root weevils, Diaprepes damage on citrus, and learned about IPM strategies for this pest.

Dr. Marc Branham presented a talk titled "Rhagophthalmidae or Phengodidae - rhagophthalmids and their larviform females" at the ESA meeting.

Dr. Gene Gerberg helped host a Japanese luncheon at the ESA meeting. A number of the faculty and students enjoyed the food and drink.

Dr. Amanda Hodges, through the Southern Plant Diagnostic Network (see http://spdn.ifas.ufl.edu/index.htm), coordinated a 'Homoptera' identification workshop on 9-11 December 2004 in Gainesville, FL at the Entomology and Nematology Department. Eight national specialists from Auburn University, Central Missouri State University, FDACS-DPI, Illinois Natural History Survey, USDA-APHIS, and USDA-ARS led the training. UF/IFAS alumnus Dr. Greg Evans, was one of the specialist speakers presenting. A total of 30 participants primarily from land grant universities in various states or U.S. territories including Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Puerto Rico, and Virginia attended. In addition to land grant university diagnosticians or extension specialists in attendance, three USDA-APHIS regional identifiers, one industry representative, and one USDA-CSREES representative attended. UF attendees included Dr. Catharine Mannion, Dr. Bill Howard, Lyle Buss, and Holly Glenn. Various staff provided within-department coordination assistance including Lyle Buss, Steve Lasley, Myrna Litchfield, and Nick Hostettler. Drs. Susan Halbert and Greg Hodges of FDACS-DPI provided coordination of specimens for the training session.

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the Annual Meeting of the Florida State Beekeepers held in Chipley, FL, 11-13 November. Cuda gave a presentation to the Board of Directors regarding the proposed release of the defoliating sawfly Heteroperreyia hubrichi Malaise, a South American insect for biological control of Brazilian peppertree. The purpose of the presentation was an attempt to resolve conflicts of interest between beekeepers who value Brazilian peppertree as a nectar/pollen source and land managers who view the plant as a highly invasive weed.

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the joint 55th Annual Meeting of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists and 39th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Veterinary Clinical Pathology held in Orlando, FL, 13-17 November. Cuda was a co-author on a poster presentation entitled, "Brazilian Peppertree Sawfly Larvae Toxicity in Bovines."

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the 9th Annual Exotic Species Workshop held in Naples, FL, 1 December. Cuda gave an invited presentation titled, "Ecologically Based Management of Brazilian Peppertree in Florida: A Theoretical Approach."

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the First National Conference on Ecosystem Restoration held in Orlando, FL, 6-10 December. Cuda presented a poster entitled, "Conceptual Model for Ecologically Based Management of Brazilian Peppertree in Florida."

Onour E. Moeri attended the Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America held in Salt Lake City, Utah, 14-17 November. Onour presented a poster entitled, "Application of the F1 Sterile Insect Technique (F1SIT) for Field Host Range Testing of the South American Leafrolling Tortricid Episimus utilis, a Candidate for Classical Biological Control of Brazilian peppertree." The presentation was co-authored by Drs. James P. Cuda, William A. Overholt, Stephanie Bloem and James E. Carpenter.

Fumigation School

The UF/IFAS School of Structural Fumigation recently completed its first term at the Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center after moving from Broward Community College. Forty-four students, half attending from outside Florida, from as far away as Canada, Curacao, Hawaii, New York, Panama, and Trinidad, each paid $475 to enroll in the week-long program; the only one of its kind in the world. FLREC director Dr. Van Waddill and assistant extension dean Dr. Joan Dusky addressed the students and welcomed them into the UF-IFAS community.

During the 15-19 November school, students attended lectures, participated in group workshops and demonstrations, and observed the workings of an actual fumigation conducted by UF graduate Jeff Edwards. Renny Perez, a pest management professional from Miami and the school's director since 1994, recognized the advantages of moving the school to UF after 16 years at BCC. The FLREC venue offers excellent classroom and outdoor facilities and is home to four of the school's instructors, Drs. Brian Cabrera, Bill Kern, Rudi Scheffrahn, and Nan-Yao Su.

Fourteen additional instructors from Dow Chemical (Vikane manufacturer), the fumigation industry (both practitioners and suppliers), and regulators from FDACS, USDA, and DOT volunteered to share their expertise on this technically demanding category of pest control. Students each received a copy of the latest IFAS extension publication, "The Florida Fumigation Manual" by Scheffrahn, Cabrera, and Kern, which made its debut at the school. Proceeds from the fumigation school will go into a scholarship fund for graduate studies in entomology at FLREC. (Note: The above manual will soon be available through the UF/IFAS Bookstore.)

Bug Quote

"Nothing is made in vain, but the fly came near it." - Mark Twain

Hyphen or Not?

Homalodisca coagulata was commonly called the "glassy-winged sharpshooter," but this was not an authorized common name. In fact, the 1987 edition of the ESA Common Names of Insects and Related Organisms eliminated most of the hyphens from numerous authorized common names. So, does that mean H. coagulata should be called the "glassywinged sharpshooter"? You might have made an argument for that, but not any longer. This past summer, Dr. Chris Tipping of the UF/IFAS North Florida REC submitted an application to the ESA Common Names Committee to formally call the species "glassy-winged sharpshooter." The application was accepted. So does this mean hyphens are back in vogue?

On the other hand... "Fowler's Modern English Usage as far back as 1930 was advising that 'whenever reasonable', the hyphen should be dropped, and the 2003 edition of the Oxford Dictionary of English suggests that it is headed for extinction." - from Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss (p. 174).

Featured Creatures

This UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology and FDACS Division of Plant Industry Web site is available at http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/. During the last 12 months, the Featured Creatures Web site recorded 1,382,092 distinct visitors and 2,768,572 page views. During the recent Homoptera Workshop, entomologists from a number of universities (Texas A&M, Cornell, University of Kentucky, etc.) sought out Tom Fasulo to tell him how useful Featured Creatures was to them, their departments and their clients. Kentucky is developing a similar Web site and its representative sat down with Tom to discuss how our department created, maintains and promotes Featured Creatures.

Recently new text and/or photographs were added to horsehair worms.

Newsletter Minutia

Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. Send submissions to him at fasulo@ufl.edu. Issues are published the middle of each month. Submit items for an issue by the 7th of that month.

Printed copies are distributed only within Building 970. UF-Bugnews-l listserv subscribers receive notices when HTML and PDF copies are posted on the newsletter Web site at http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/news/ , which has instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing. Andy Koehler codes the HTML version.

During the last twelve months, the newsletter Web site recorded 33,363 distinct visitors and 57,428 page views. The newsletter listserv has 234 subscribers.

December 2004.