August 2008

Faculty News

At the recent meeting of the Florida Entomology Society (FES), several of our faculty received awards:

• Dr. Oscar Liburd received the FES 2008 Entomologist of the Year Award.
• Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman received the FES 2008 Annual Achievement Award for Extension.
• Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, received the FES 2008 Achievement Award for teaching in K-12 for her work in educating teachers and pre-service teachers.
• Dr. Dan Hahn received the FES 2008 Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Three of our undergraduates received 2008-2009 scholarships through the office of Dean for the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences:

• Jason Franco received the Coca Cola Scholarship for $1,000.
• Megan Magee received the Florida Rural Rehabilitation Corporation Scholarship for $1,000.
• Natasha Wright received the Farm Credit of South Florida Scholarship for $1,000.

At the recent FES meeting, the following students received acclaim for their presentations:

For the Ph.D. presentations:

• 1st place - Teresa Cooper for "Post-release monitoring of a biological control agent, Lixadmontia franki, in Florida."
• 2nd place - Hou-Feng Li for "Taxonomic status of Reticulitermes sp. of Lanyu Island, Taiwan."
• 3rd place - Joseph W. Diclaro II for "Fly traps and toxicant treated cord for control of house flies."

In addition, FES Scholarships for 2008 were awarded to graduate students Gaurav Goyal, Hou-Feng Li, and Kelly Sims.


Alumni News

Dr. Hugh Smith (Ph.D. '99) left his former position in California and now works for the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station.

Dr. Juan Manuel Alvarez (Ph.D. '00) was invited to speak on the "Role of weeds and aphid vectors in the epidemiology of Potato Virus Y (PVY)" at the 1st PVY-wide International meeting, Paris, France, June 2008. He was also invited to present a seminar on "Characterization of host plant-aphid-virus interactions and their effects on the epidemiology of potato viruses" at the UMR Biologie des Organismes et des Populations Appliquee a la Protection des Plantes INRA, Le Rheu, France.


Publications

Gomez C, Mizell III RF. (2008). Clover mite, Bryobia praetiosa Koch. Featured Creatures. EENY-437. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/mites/clover_mite.htm

Larrick S, Connelly R. (2008). Human bot fly, Dermatobia hominis (Linnaeus Jr.). Featured Creatures. EENY-440. http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/flies/human_bot_fly.htm

Baldwin RW, Koehler PG. 2007. Toxicity of commercially available household cleaners on cockroaches, Blattella germanica and Periplaneta americana. Florida Entomologist 90: 703-709.

Baldwin RW, Koehler PG, Pereira RM, Oi FM. 2008. Public perceptions of pest problems. American Entomologist 54: 73-79.

Stelinski LL, Miller JR, Rogers ME. 2008. Mating disruption of citrus leafminer mediated by a non-competitive mechanism at a remarkably low pheromone release rate. Journal of Chemical Ecology 34: 1107-1113.


Encyclopedia of Entomology

The release of the Encyclopedia of Entomology (Second Edition) is scheduled for 4 October 2008. This Second Edition, edited by Dr. John Capinera, consists of four volumes containing articles written by more than 450 entomologists, including many from our department. The content of the First Edition was revised and updated with almost 600 new entries added, resulting in almost 5,300 entries. The entire Encyclopedia is fully indexed.

The Encyclopedia places special emphasis on insect relationships with people, medical entomology, biological control and insect pathology. The Second Edition includes more than 1,500 illustrations and 128 color plates.

The Second Edition is available in both print and eReference versions. The print version is cross referenced between related articles in two colors for easy navigation. The eReference version (available 3 September) provides instant access to all content whenever and wherever you need it. The eReference is fully searchable and hyperlinked.

See http://www.springer.com/life+sci/zoology/book/978-1-4020-6359-6 for details and pricing.


Meetings and Presentations

The International Congress of Entomology met in Durban, South Africa, during 6-12 July. Dr. Norm Leppla, of our department, and Des Conlong, of the South African Sugar Cane Research Institute, co-chaired the symposium "Education and Training in Rearing Insects for Private and Public Ventures." The symposium had 12 presentations attended by about 75 international participants. The symposium included speakers from eight countries, counting the posters. In addition, the presentation and wrap-up was provided by Frank Davis through distance communication from Mississippi State University. Attendees expressed interest in expanding distance presentations at the next International Congress of Entomology in South Korea.

Dr. Susan Webb attended the 2008 American Phytopathological Society Centennial Meeting in Minneapolis, MN, 26-30 July. She presented a poster and accompanying Flash-and-Dash oral presentation on "Characterization of whitefly transmission of squash vein yellowing virus," co-authored by Scott Adkins (USDA-Fort Pierce) and Carlye Baker (Plant Pathology-DPI). She was a co-author on two other posters. Abstracts of the posters are published as a supplement to Phytopathology.


Grants

The following students received FES travel grants: Rosie Gill, Gaurav Goyal, Hou-Feng Li, Elena Rhodes, Craig Roubos, Hardy Sandhu, Kelly Sims, and Ricky Vazquez.

FES mini-grants were awarded to: Spencer Ingley, Hou-Feng Li, Craig Roubos, and Kelly Sims.


Segments

Ticks on a plane delay flight for six hours. See http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/09/ticks.on.plane.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview for details.

Brightly colored beetles or butterfly larvae nibbling on a plant may signal the presence of chemical compounds active against cancer cell lines and tropical parasitic diseases. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080708171536.htm for details.

Are Varroa mites passing on a virus that may be a cause of honey bee colony collapse disorder? See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080629191259.htm for details.

Eighteen years after our "new" Entomology and Nematology building was completed the University of Florida finally got around to putting in sidewalks along the road between our building and the large retention pond. Insect Rights activists now have a safe place to hold protests.

Did you know that the current U.S. population of red imported fire ants can be traced back to nine to 20 queens in Mobile, Alabama? See http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr/2008/080730.htm for details.

California Institute of Technology researchers found a rare kind of signaling molecule in the nematode worm Caenorhabditis elegans that serves a dual purpose, working as both a population-control mechanism and a sexual attractant. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/07/080731140315.htm for details.

Perfectly proportioned legs keep water striders striding. See http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080804121631.htm for details



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. Detailed articles are edited by Hope Johnson (hopej@ufl.edu) and must be submitted before the 1st of the month for that month's issue.

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August 2008.