July 2006

Faculty News

Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford, Professor Emeritus and former extension beekeeping specialist, is portraying the lead role of John Adams, in the musical 1776 at the High Springs Community Theater's 24 June - 23 July. Performances are Friday and Saturday at 8:00 p.m. and Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Visit his Web site at http://beeactor.vze.com/ for more details on his acting career and other interests, including his continual involvement with apiculture worldwide. Tom once played the role of John Quincy Adams, John Adams' son, in a production of The Amistad Case, so playgoers will notice the "family resemblance."

Dr. Rajagopalbabu Srinivasan (also known as Babu) recently joined Dr. Marjorie A. Hoy's laboratory as a postdoctoral scientist. Dr. Srinivasan completed his Ph.D. at the University of Idaho where he worked on "Influence of hairy nightshade on potato-potato leafroll virus pathosystem." His major professor was alumnus Dr. Juan Manual Alvarez (Ph.D. 2000).

Michele Linette, Lisa Hightower, Bill Zettler, and Dr. Jennifer Gillett received an UF/IFAS 2005 Silver IMAGE Award, in the Educational Materials category, for "Mission Icy Hot, Ooze, Spore Wars, Virulent, Yuck, and Nematodes." This was a distance education lab series for PLP 3002, General Plant Pathology. It included instructional DVD's and printed material.

Staff News

"Poster Girl" Jane Medley, her actual title is Senior Art and Graphics Specialist, recently drafted new posters for the two kiosks in the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory. Dr. Tom Walker states that "...both posters are more enticing to view, thanks to Jane's graphic skills. They are also easier to print and replace." To view one of the new posters, check out the east side of the kiosk in the Natural Area Park. Since Jane works to some degree on many of the posters generated by this department for meetings, presentations and for-sale items, it was nice of Dr. Walker, and typical of him, to express appreciation for one of her latest projects.

Art and Publications Specialist Mike Sanford announced his acceptance of another job and will leave the department in this month. Although Mike spent five years concealed in the far corner cubicle of the reception area, his graphical efforts were appreciated throughout the department.

Student News

Olga Kostromytska, a M.S. student with Dr. Eileen Buss, was awarded the Col. Frank Ward Memorial Scholarship by the Florida Turfgrass Association, which comes with a nice cash award. Olga will receive the award at the association's annual conference and show in Bonita Springs on 14 September. This scholarship recognizes her excellent grades and hard work as a student in a turfgrass science.

Ph.D. student Jennifer M. Zaspel was one of three students awarded the Henry K. Clench award for best student paper at the Annual Meeting of the Lepidopterists' Society. Her paper was "Two independent origins of skin-piercing and blood-feeding in the vampire moth genus Calyptra (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)." Dr. Marc Branham was co-author.

The following undergraduate students qualified for the Dean's List for the Spring 2006 semester: Jessica Awad, Jerome Dewberry, Stephen Illsley, Kimberly Jameson, Valerie McManus, Daniel Pitt, and Samuel Watson. Congratulations to all of them! Each will receive a certificate to note this achievement.

Publications

Gyeltshen J, Hodges AC. (May 2006). Fuller rose weevil, Pantomorus cervinus (Boheman). Featured Creatures. EENY-375. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/beetles/fuller_rose_beetle.htm

Mead FW. (May 2006). False-mastic psylla, Ceropsylla sideroxyli Riley. Featured Creatures. EENY-370. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/false-mastic_psylla.htm

Zhou X, Tarver MR, Bennett GW, Oi FM, Scharf ME. 2006. Two hexamerin genes from the termite R. flavipes: sequence, expression, and proposed functions in caste regulation. GENE 376: 47-58.

Scharf ME, Nguyen SN, Song C. 2006. Evaluation of volatile low molecular weight insecticides using Drosophila melanogaster as a model. Pest Management Science 62: 655-663.

Saarinen EV. 2006. Differences in worker caste behaviour of Oecophylla smaragdina (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in response to larvae of Anthene emolus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 88:391-395.

Weihman SW, Liburd OE. 2006. Mating disruption and attract-and-kill- as reduced-risk strategies for control of grape root borer, Vitacea polistiformis (Lepidoptera:Sesiidae) in Florida vineyards. Florida Entomologist 89: 245-250.

Meetings and Presentations

Drs. Jacqueline Miller and Thomas Emmel organized a joint meeting of the Lepidopterists' Society, the Association for Tropical Lepidoptera, and the Southern Lepidopterists' Society in Gainesville, 14-18 June, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center. The combined meeting had participants from 13 countries.

Ph.D. student Emily Saarinen co-organized the second annual student symposium on "Lepidopteran Conduct: Developments in Ethology," at the combined Lepidoptera meeting. She also presented the paper "A Tale of Two Lycaenids: Symbioses from Malaysia and Florida."

Dr. Dave Carlson, Adjunct Associate Professor, presented an invited lecture on "Mating Behavior in Diptera: Sex Pheromones of Flies," at the FAO/IAEA Interregional Training Course on "The Use of the Sterile Insect and Related Techniques for the Integrated Area-wide Management of Insect Pests." University of Florida, Gainesville, FL; 5 June.

Dr. Marjorie A. Hoy attended the Caribbean Food Crops Society meetings in San Juan, Puerto Rico, 9-14 July, where she spoke on "Classical Biological Control of Pests in Citrus in Florida and the Caribbean: Interconnections and Sustainability."

Drs. Norm Leppla and Jennifer Gillett presented a poster on "IPM Florida Building Through Partnerships: The UF, IFAS Statewide IPM Program," at the National Extension Technology (NETC) Conference, Gainesville, 8-11 May.

Also at NETC, Drs. Jennifer Gillett, Norm Leppla, Amanda Hodges and Joan Dusky gave the presentation "Cost Effective In-Service Training Via Interstate Videoconferencing."

Drs Jennifer Gillett and Norm Leppla set up an information booth on "IPM Florida Partnerships: The UF/ IFAS Statewide IPM Program" at the IFAS Extension Symposium, Gainesville, 15-18 May. While there, they distributed 110 IPM Florida DVD's, 200 IPM Florida hand lenses and 500 Fire Ant IPM Guides.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett, Gary Brinen, Dr. Eileen Buss, Dr. Bily Crow, Dr. Phil Harmon, Pam Mattis, S. Williams and Dr. Barbra Larson provided Instructor Training for Landscape IPM Short Course at the IFAS Extension Symposium, 16 May.

Dr. Norm Leppla, Dr. Jennifer Gillett and DPM student Heidi HansPetersen were authors of the invited presentation "Mass Production and Quality of Biological Control Agents," at the IV Congreso Control Biologico, Cali, Colombia, 1 June.

Ph.D. student Jim Dunford presented the poster "The distribution and genitalic morphology of Speyeria atlantis and Speyeria hesperis (Nymphalidae: Heliconiinae)" at the Annual Meeting of The Lepidopterists' Society.

Dr. Julio Medal was an invited speaker a the IV International Neotropical Region Meeting on Biological Control held at the International Center of Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia during 31 May - 2 June. His one-hour plenary section presentation focused on "Overview of Biological Control of Invasive Plants." The meeting had approximately 250 participants from 32 countries.

Dr. Julio Medal organized the Third Latin-American Short-Course on Biological Control of Weeds' held 12-15 June in Managua, Nicaragua. He also gave three presentations: History of Biological Control of Invasive Plants, Procedures to Initiate a Weed Biocontrol Program, and Host-Specificity & Risk Assessment. This intensive course, dedicated to the memory of USDA-ARS Argentinean researcher Daniel Gandolfo, included 11 speakers and 43 trainees from twelve countries (Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Mexico, Paraguay, Venezuela, St. Vincent & Grenadines, USA). The course was rated very good to excellent by 98% of the attendees. The next course is scheduled in Mexico.

Grants

Doctor of Plant Medicine student Denise Thomas, who works in our department for Florida IPM, received $400 from CALS and $250 from the Graduate Student Council to assist with travel to present the poster "University of Florida's Certificate of Plant Pest Risk Assessment and Management" at the American Phytopathological Society Symposium, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada on 29 July - 3 August. Denise also received the J. Artie and Arra Browning Student Travel Award ($500) for the same meeting.

Graduate student Christian Salcedo received $600 from The Hovanitz Memorial Award Program For Student Research Grants from The Lepidoptera Research Foundation.

FES Meeting

The 2006 meeting of the Florida Entomological Society is scheduled for 23-26 July, at the Jupiter Beach Resort in Jupiter, Florida. For more information see http://www.flaentsoc.org/.

Graduate Student Travel Funds

Starting 1 July, graduate students will have an additional funding source available to them for travel from the Office of Research and Graduate Programs. Currently, there is a notation on these forms that says "Graduate Students whose faculty/staff mentor is in IFAS or Engineering are not eligible for this program." However, this notation as it pertains to IFAS will be removed 30 June 2006.

Highest priority will be given to doctoral level students and students in other terminal degree programs, who are invited to give major talks, are in their final year of their programs and are presenting work at a national meeting, or have a unique research or collaborative opportunity at an off-site location. These one-time awards are limited to $300 per trip and require a dollar for dollar match from the college and/or department. There are special guidelines and forms (See http://www.rgp.ufl.edu/rgp/pdf/travel.pdf). Requests should be submitted a minimum of one month in advance of the desired travel date.

Area-wide Pest Management

The recent Area-wide Pest Management training course, made possible with U.S. funding and sponsored by the International Atomic Energy Agency, our Department and the USDA, held session from early May through June 8. There was plenty of activity with 22 international participants, over 30 instructors from both the campus and as far away as Japan, and non-stop classroom, laboratory and field events. It was a learning experience not only for the participants but also for Dr. Mirian Hay-Roe, Josh Crews and Dr. David Dame, who provided technical support and coordinated their visit and worked with them on a daily basis, 24/7.

Each participant was a practicing entomologist or veterinarian, selected as their country's single nominee for the course in competition with other nominees from the more than 140 United Nations Member States. They lodged nearby at the Hilton, which allowed easy access to the Department – where they enthusiastically enjoyed the friendly interaction provided by our students, staff and faculty. The course included a three-day field trip to visit the Sterile Medfly Release Facility in Sarasota and the Fly-free Citrus Production Program in Ft. Pierce. In the classroom and in the field they were exposed daily to leading international experts in a wide variety of topics selected to provide instruction on the details, economics, advantages, and limitations of area-wide control strategies.

At the end of the course each participant was required to participate in a small group presentation designed to address specific pest management issues. The PowerPoint presentations that they prepared revealed their in-depth understanding of the principles and strategies on which the month's studies had focused. A graduation ceremony was held at Mr. Han's on the last night of the course. The following day they departed for China, Lebanon, Brazil, Dominican Republic, Bangladesh, Uganda, Armenia, etc., where they join close to 500 others who have benefitted from similar training here in Gainesville over the last four decades.

Graduate Student Proposals

A discussion on required statistics courses for our graduate students resulted in a new seminar requirement for graduate students. The discussion originally concerned a suggestion regarding statistics made by the recent review team. Although required for new students starting in the Fall 2006 semester, the seminar is also suggested for current students at the recommendation of their committee. Graduate students will e-mail their research proposals to the faculty, and faculty and students can attend the required proposal seminars. Attending faculty can provide oral, constructive criticism on the experimental design and proposed statistical analysis. Faculty would also provide a yet-to-be-designed one-page evaluation. Students at RECs will present their seminars using the PolyCom system. In late 2007 or during 2008, departmental faculty will review the effectiveness of the proposal seminar requirement.

Presentation of a research proposal will benefit students by providing feedback from a wider audience than their committee, and let them know that statistical analysis is an integral component of their research that needs to be considered before beginning that research. The proposal must contains an adequate review of the literature, hypotheses to be tested and the methods to be used, and the statistical analysis appropriate for that type of data. Sample discipline-appropriate proposals will be made available on the Web as models for students. M.S. students will present their seminars in their second semester, while Ph.D. students must do so the semester before they take their qualifying exams. Some fine tuning of this requirement by the graduate committee might take place before its enactment.

Africanized Bees

LIFE in the Department

The July 7th issue covers electrical penetration graph monitoring and George Washington Carver, and a tour of Orkin University.

The June 23rd issue covers the summer Medieval Bug Faire, thanking Orkin, the Molecular Biology Techniques course, and the three-societies of lepidopterists meeting at the McGuire Center.

The June 9th issue covers dissecting insects, the ENSO camping trip, the national butterfly recovery workshop, and school IPM.

Mike Sanford edits this photographic journal of our department, located at http://life.ifas.ufl.edu/index.html.

Monarch Agreement

Wildlife officials in Mexico, the United States and Canada have agreed to work together to protect the monarch butterfly. However, some who praise the agreement say it will not work unless illegal logging in Mexico ends. See http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/science/07/06/monarch.butterfly.reut/index.html.

Bug Quote

"Teaching a child not to step on a caterpillar is as valuable to the child as it is to the caterpillar." - Bradley Millar

Newsletter Minutia

Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. You can send news 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. Pam Howell and Nancy Sanders review the newsletter for errors and prepare the print version for distribution. Andrew Puckett and Thomas Fasulo code the HTML version.

During the last 12 months, the newsletter Web site recorded 48,929 distinct visitors and 87,963 page views. In addition, visitors downloaded 3,374 PDF files during January-June 2006.

July 2006.