June 2007
Faculty News
Dr. Phil Kaufman was an invited participant in a live Web cast from Cornell University. The program, "Integrated Pest Management for Confined Dairy Animal Fly Pests," was delivered on 3 May. The Web cast and accompanying PowerPoint file are available for download from the New York State Integrated Pest Management program website: http://nysipm.cornell.edu/livestock/teleconf.asp.
Dr. Bill Howard et al. (See Publications below) were the recipients of the Florida State Horticultural Society's Ornamental Garden & Landscape Best Paper Award. This award is presented to the authors of the best and most meritorious paper printed in the previous year's Proceedings (2006, volume 119) for the Ornamental Garden & Landscape Section.
Professor Emeritus Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford continues to "bee" involved with the beekeeping community, most recently writing about Colony Collapse Disorder in Bee Culture Magazine (http://www.beeculture.com/content/ColonyCollapseDisorder.cfm). He also plans to attend the world apicultural congress in Melbourne, Australia in September (http://www.apimondia2007melbourne.com/) to present his ideas concerning the Global Bee Breeders Initiative (http://www.squidoo.com/bee_breeders_initiative/). He continues to act and, beginning 6 July, will be in the Hot Mikado at the Gainesville Community Playhouse.
Alumni News
Dr. Dan Suiter (Ph.D ‘94), of the University of Georgia, received the Crown Leadership Award sponsored by Pest Control Technology magazine and Syngenta Professional Products. This award is presented annually to pest management professionals who have made significant contributions to the growth and development of the structural pest control industry, as well as to their local communities. Dr. Suiter will receive coverage in an upcoming PCT magazine issue as well as being an honoree at a special reception in Orlando in October during the National Pest Management Association meeting. - Dr. Nancy Hinkle (Ph.D. ‘92)
Publications
Hall DW, Minno M, Butler JF. (May 2007). Little metalmark, Calephelis virginiensis (Guérin- Ménéville). Featured Creatures. EENY-407. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/bfly/little_metalmark.htm
Stelinski LL, Oakleaf R, Rodriguez-Saona C. 2007. Oviposition-deterring pheromone deposited on blueberry fruit by the parasitic wasp, Diachasma alloeum. Behaviour 144: 429-445.
Howard FW, Pemberton RW, Hodges GS, Steinberg B, McLean D, Liu H. 2006. Host plant range of lobate lac scale, Paratachardina lobata, in Florida. Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society 119: 398-408.
Mayfield III AE. (May 2007). Pine webworm, Pococera robustella (Zeller). Featured Creatures. EENY-408. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/trees/moths/pine_webworm.htm
Meetings and Presentations
Dr. James P. Cuda attended the Executive Committee meeting of the Florida Entomological Society held in Gainesville, 22 May. Cuda prepared and presented the activities report of the Society's Committee on Managing Invasive Species.
Dr. James Cuda attended the 3rd Everglades Cooperative Invasive Species Management Area Steering Committee Meeting held in Palmetto Bay, FL, 23 May.
Dr. James Cuda developed a new PowerPoint presentation on Brazilian peppertree IPM. The presentation was posted on the UF/IFAS Presentations Web Site which is available to UF/IFAS faculty and staff.
Dr. James Cuda was invited to participate in the 2007 Aquatic Weed Control Short Course held in Coral Springs, FL, 14-18 May. Cuda and Dr. William A. Overholt co-authored the presentation "Biological control of invasive weeds: Hydrilla verticillata as an example." Cuda also moderated two program sessions- Biological Control in Aquatic and Natural Areas, and Aquatic Issues and Programs.
Drs. A.B.Y. Faria, R.W. Barreto, and J.P. Cuda were co-authors of "Fungal pathogens of Schinus terebinthifolius from Brazil as potential biocontrol agents," a paper delivered at the XIIth International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds held in La Grande Motte, France, 22-27 April.
Dr. James Cuda attended the 22nd Annual Symposium of the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FEPPC) held in Cocoa Beach, FL, 30 April-3 May. Cuda helped to organize a field demonstration on Brazilian peppertree control techniques at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
The following oral and poster presentations were given at the FEPPC meeting:
"Out of Florida: Does Florida export invasions with high genetic diversity?" by Drs. D.A. Williams, J.P. Cuda and W.A. Overholt.
"Baseline map and spectral library of pre-biocontrol Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi in Florida," by Drs. J.D. Jordan, W.A. Overholt, and J.P. Cuda.
"Performance of two candidate biological control agents (Episimus utilis and Pseudophilothrips ichini) on four Brazilian peppertree genotypes in Florida," by graduate student V. Manrique, and Drs. J.P. Cuda, W.A. Overholt, and D. Williams.
Grants
The Theodore Roosevelt Memorial Fund awarded $1,000 to graduate student Kyle Beucke to support his project "The Systematics and Biogeography of Mycotrupes (Coleoptera: Geotrupidae)."
Graduate student Veronica Manrique received three travel grants to allow her to attend the XII International Symposium on Biological Control of Weeds in Montpellier, France, 22-27 April, where she presented a poster. The travel grants came from the Office of Vice President for Research, the Graduate Student Council, and IFAS.
Dr. Phil Kaufman, Mike Scharf, and Chris Geden (USDA-Gainesville) received a grant from the Milk Check-Off program, established by Southeast Milk, Inc. The $30,500 grant is for "Preemptive Management of Insecticide Resistance on Southeastern Dairies."
News Releases
In an effort to better market what we do, the Newsletter Web site now includes a section for short news releases designed to be cut and pasted into county newsletters, and trade or organizational magazines. Details are available on the newsletter Web site. Click on "Cut and Paste News Releases." Literally seconds after I posted this to the UF/IFAS All-Extension listserv, I received feedback from two county faculty telling me what a wonderful service this was. - T.R. Fasulo
Good Bugs
Dr. James Cuda, Thomas Fasulo, Georgene Johnson and Lyle Buss are authors of the latest Image Gallery CD-ROM released by the department. Beneficial Arthropods: Predators (SW 189) contains 133 different images of 37 beneficial arthropod species or groups. The HTML format allows the CD to be used with any PC or Mac. As with the other Image Gallery CDs, the images are delivered in three different sizes and resolutions: print quality (TIF), display for large audiences (JPG) and Web-optimized (JPG).
All images are copyrighted by UF/IFAS but are authorized for free use by educational organizations and the media. There are additional restrictions on commercial or for-profit use. The CD is perfect for training master gardeners, master naturalists, agricultural employees, or other students, and may be used for in-house training of pest control personnel.
The cost is $15, with reseller and quantity discounts available. See details on groups covered and commercial restrictions on the Buggy Software Web site at http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/fasulo/pests/software/.
FES Meeting
FES president Geri Cashion reminds everyone that the annual meeting of the Florida Entomological Society is scheduled for 15-18 July in Sarasota, Florida. The deadline for reservations is June 22, so those planning to attend should make their reservations early to insure the special rate of $139/night. The meeting includes MS and PhD student competitions, five symposia, and two workshops. The Society's Web site at http://flaentsoc.org/ contains more details.
Termites
A team of entomologists from the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (FLREC) recently completed the first ever survey of termites in Honduras. The survey team consisted of nine members, including Dr. Rudolf Scheffrahn, Jan Krecek, Vinda Maharajh, and Brian Bahder (FLREC); and James Chase and John Mangold (Terminix International). Additional members included Tim Myles (University of Toronto), Robert Setter (IDT Technologies), and Thomas Nishimura (BASF). Terminix and BASF provided support for the survey. The team was based at the Pan-American Agricultural School, better known as Zamorano, which provided logistical assistance.
The team traveled over 1,000 miles and surveyed 51 sites in the Caribbean, central highlands, and the Pacific coast regions of Honduras. Nearly 1,000 samples were collected representing more than 40 termite species which more than quadrupled the previously known termite fauna of Honduras. Some species were known only from Mexico or other countries in Central America. At least 15 species are new to science and await description. The specimens collected in Honduras are providing the data necessary to understand the diversity, origins, and distribution of termites of the greater Caribbean Basin – an ecologically unique and threatened region of the New World tropics. Termites constitute among the greatest biomass of all animals in the tropics. While a few species are major structural pests or occasional pests of agriculture, most termite species are unseen but vital ecosystem engineers and nutrient recyclers.
Awards
Drs. Jennifer L. Gillett and Amanda C. Hodges, co-chairs of the departmental Awards Committee, report that in the IFAS 2006 IMAGE Awards, the department received eight awards of nine submissions facilitated by the Awards Committee. The eight awards included: four Gold, two Silver, and two Bronze Awards. These were:
Florida's Brazilian Peppertree Management Plan: 2nd Ed. - Gold Award - Web Based & CD - James Cuda, Amy Ferriter, Veronica Manrique, Julio Medal, Michael Sanford, Mike Bodle
How to Use Beneficial Nematodes - Gold Award - Brochures - Jennifer Gillett, Norm Leppla, Jane Medley, Howard Frank
National School Information Source: Update - Gold Award - Website - Rebecca Baldwin, Faith Oi, Marion Douglas, Tracy Conklin, Jane Medley, Norm Leppla
Pest Press Newsletter - Gold Award - Newsletter - Rebecca Baldwin, Faith Oi
Entomology Club Website - Silver Award - Web Site - Carl Barfield, Jane Medley
Insect Galls of Florida - Silver Award - Educational Materials - Michele Linette, Amanda Hodges, Eileen Buss, Russell Mizell, Chana Bird, Mary Chichester
Integrated Pest Management in Florida - Bronze Award - Brochure - Jennifer Gillett, Norm Leppla, Lisa Hightower, Aaron Sotala
IPM Florida: First 5 Years - Bronze Award - Brochure - Jennifer Gillett, Norm Leppla, Jane Medley
Segments
Are there breakthrough honey bee drugs to treat Colony Collapse Disorder? Well, probably not, but it is a funny look at the belief that prescription drugs can solve all problems. See http://www.newstarget.com/021857.html.
Drs. Robert McSorley and Koon-Hui Wang (now at the University of Hawaii) developed a Sustainable Agriculture, Agricultural Ecology, and Cover Crops Web site that covers nematodes and fungi. You can access it at http://agroecology.ifas.ufl.edu/.
Newsletter Minutia
Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. You can submit news anytime 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. Thomas Fasulo coded the HTML version.
During the last 12 months, the newsletter Web site recorded 57,246 distinct visitors, 77,021 page views, and 7,256 downloaded PDF files.
June 2007.