December 2011

Faculty News

Dr. Marc Branham co-authored a paper (see Publications) on "Terrestrial luminous animals in Japan," which was listed as the most read Zoological Science article for the month of October.

Psyche: A Journal of Entomology is issuing a call for research papers on ecological pest management in urban landscapes. The initial manuscripts are due 6 January 2012. You may also contact Dr. Steve Arthurs for additional information.

Dr. Amanda Hodges received a National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) National Team Award for her work with the Sentinel Plant Network.


Student News

Carolyn Huntley, an undergraduate senior Entomology major, was awarded the Doris Lowe and Earl and Verna Lowe Scholarship.

In November, our department had four student winners at the annual meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), in Reno. With hundreds of student presentations and only a few winners we are very proud to recognize:

• Laura Avila, 1st place poster presentations - P-IE-4
• Chris Bibbs, 2nd place poster presentations - Undergraduate MUVE
• Dale Halbritter, 1st place in the M.S. oral presentations - P-IE-12
• Teresia Nyoike, 2nd place in the Ph.D. oral presentations - P-IE-7

Luk SPL, Marshall SA, Branham MA. (June 2011). The fireflies of Ontario (Coleoptera: Lampyridae). The Canadian Journal of Arthropod Identification. http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/bsc/ejournal/lmb_16/lmb_16.html

Oba Y, Branham MA, Fukatsu T. 2011. Terrestrial luminous animals in Japan. Zoological Science 28: 771-789.

Zaspel JM, Weller SJ, Branham MA. 2011. A comparative survey of proboscis morphology and associated structures in fruit-piercing, tear feeding, and blood-feeding moths in the subfamily Calpinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Zoomorphology 130: 203-225.

Chouvenc T, Grace JK, Su N-Y. 2011. Fifty years of attempted biological control of termites – Analysis of a failure. Biological Control 59: 69-82.

Chouvenc T, Su N-Y, Robert A. 2011. Differences in cellular encapsulation of six termite (Isoptera) species against infection by the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae. Florida Entomologist 94: 817-826.

Chouvenc T, Bardunias P, Li H-F, Elliott ML, Su N-Y. 2011. Planar arenas for use in laboratory bioassay studies of subterranean termites (Rhinotermitidae). Florida Entomologist 94: 817–826.

Seal D. (November 2011). A wireworn, Conoderus rudis (Brown). Featured Creatures. EENY-507. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/beetle/conoderus_rudis.htm

Seal D. (November 2011). A wireworn, Conoderus scissus Schaeffer. Featured Creatures. EENY-509. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/beetle/conoderus_scissus.htm

Sharma S, Buss EA. (November 2011). Florida wax scale, Ceroplastes floridensis Comstock. Featured Creatures. EENY-510. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/orn/scales/florida_wax_scale.htm

Miller CW. (November 2011). Heliconia bug, Leptoscelis tricolor Westwood. Featured Creatures. EENY-511. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bugs/heliconia_bug.htm

Graham JR, Ellis J, Hall G, Zettel Nalen C, (December 2011). A mining bee, Anthophora abrupta Say. Featured Creatures. EENY-512. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/anthophora_abrupta.htm

Ellis JD. (December 2011). Cape honey bee, Apis mellifera capensis Escholtz. Featured Creatures. EENY-513. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/bees/cape_honey_bee.htm

Bibbs CS, Baldwin R. (December 2011). Florida woods cockroach, Eurycotis floridana (Walker). Featured Creatures. EENY-514. http://entnemdept.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/roaches/florida_woods_cockroach.htm

Sourakov A. 2011. Niche partitioning, co-evolution and life histories of Erythrina moths, Terastia meticulosalis and Agathodes designalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). Tropical Lepidoptera Research 21: 84-94.

Willmott KR, Elias M, Sourakov A. 2011. Two possible caterpillar mimicry complexes in neotropical danaine butterflies (Nymphalidae, Danainae: Danaini, Ithomiini). Annals of Entomological Society of America 104: 1108-1118.

Sourakov A. 2011. Report of partial bilateral gynandromorph of Dismorphia spio with notes on adult sexual dimorphism and illustrations of immature stages. Journal of the Lepidopterists’ Society 65: 196-199.


Meetings and Presentations

During 5-10 November, Dr. Christine Miller was invited to participate in the 2011 WEBS (Women Evolving the Biological Sciences) Workshop at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolna. She also presented a poster on her entire research program. This workshop was funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation’s ADVANCE program, and is designed to provide early career researchers with the information and resources needed to thrive in their careers.

Focus on Fumigation: Nearly 40 fumigation professionals from throughout the United States and the world attended the 24nd Annual School of Structural Fumigation, held 14-18 November 2011 at the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center in Davie, Florida. Next year's School of Structural Fumigation is scheduled for 12-16 November 2012. To be placed on the "alert list" when registration opens for this event, send an email to Dr.Rudolf Scheffrahn at rhsc@ufl.edu.

During 15-20 October, Dr. Oscar Liburd was an invited faculty member for an agricultural training program in Senegal, West Africa. The program was designed to help Senegalese farmers minimize health risks associated with the use of toxic pesticides. The trip was jointly sponsored by U.S. AID and the U.S. Farmer to Farmer programs.

Dr. Liburd was an invited speaker at a symposium for the recent ESA meeting, "Celebrating the career of Pedro Barbosa: A passion for insects and plants. Dr. Liburd spoke on "A Florida perspective on multi-trophic interactions between strawberries, spidermites and their predators."

Dr. Jawwad Qureshi was asked to speak in the UF speaker seminar series for the Soil and Water Science Department. His topic was "Integrated management of Asian citrus psyllid, vector of Hualonglongbing/citrus greening disease."

The following entomology research and extension personnel at the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center at Immokalee presented talks at the ESA meeting:

• Dr. Phil Stansly: "Effectiveness ranking for insecticides against Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri"
• Dr. Jawwad Qureshi: "Field release and evaluation of the parasitic wasp Tamarixia radiata (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) against Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Phyllidae) in Florida"
• Ph.D. student Scott Croxton: "Movement inducing stimuli of the Asian citrus psyllid (Diaphorina citri)"
• Dr. Moneen Jones: "Early season control of citrus leafminer, Phyllocnistis citrella (Stainton) Lepidoptera: Gracillariidae)"
• Dr. Cesar Monzo: "Thresholds for vector control in young citrus treated for symptoms of HLB with a nutrient/SAR package"

Dr. Amanda Hodges delivered an invited paper at the ESA meeting. She spoke on "Digital identification and diagnostics: using the platforms of SPDN/NPDN/CPDN: progress and opportunities."

On 8 November, Dr. James P. Cuda was an invited speaker for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Science for Life Seminar Series (IDH 3931). Cuda spoke on "Biological control of Florida’s invasive weeds."

Dr. Cuda was a co-author on a oral presentation given by his former Ph.D. student Dr. Abhishek Mukherjee at the recent ESA meeting. The presentation was on "Biological control of Hygrophila: Results of native range surveys." Cuda also presented the poster "Calophya latiforceps, a new species of jumping plant lice (Hemiptera: Calophyidae) associated with Schinus terebinthifolius (Anacardiaceae) in Brazil." This poster was co-authored by Dr. William Overholt and former Ph.D. students Drs. Veronica Manrique and Rodrigo Diaz.

On 1 December, Dr. Cuda attended the 16th Annual Southwest Florida Invasive Species Workshop held at Florida Gulf Coast University.

During 6-9 November, the 3rd national meeting of the National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) took place in Berkley, California. Our faculty and staff contributed the following:

• Dr. Amanda Hodges co-organized a symposium on "Training the Next Generation," during which she delivered the presentation "Biosecurity concepts for undergraduate and graduate students."
• Dr. Hodges also co-authored the following poster display presentations:
• NPDN Partnerships and Programs through Exercises
• The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) Diagnostics Program Area Committee
• Development of an Online-Interactive Train-the-Trainer First Detector Entomology Education Program for County Agents
• The NPDN First Detector Training and Education Program
• The Sentinel Plant Network: An NPDN Partnership with Public Gardens
• Dr. Hodges and Lyle Buss co-authored a display presentation on: Achievements of the Florida Plant Diagnostic Network, 2009-2011.
• Stephanie Stocks (lead author) and Amanda Hodges co-authored a display presentation on: Protect U.S.—an NPDN Partner Program Featuring New Web Based Invasive Species Educational Materials
• Dr. Hodges also hosted a booth on Protect U.S., the Community Invasive Species Network.
• Drs. Hodges and Sharon Dobesh, Kansas State University, hosted a booth on the National Plant Diagnostic Network. Graduate student Ashley Poplin and undergraduate student Sarahlynne Guerrero also assisted with this booth.

During October and November, NPDN Training and Education launched a new website for first detector training at: http://www.firstdetector.org/. Dr. Amanda Hodges coordinated, with the assistance of Stephanie Stocks. UF/IFAS Information Technology specialist Navya Kooram was responsible for technical components. Graphic design was completed by Kay Weigel.

A scripted presentation for educators to use for training purposes on the spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, is now available under 'educational materials' on the Protect U.S. Web site. Module authors include Stephanie Stocks and Dr. Hodges. Module reviewers include Drs. Gevork Arakilian, Hannah Barrack, Oscar Liburd, James Price, and Gary Steck.


Outreach

Thank you to those members and friends of the department who participated in our October, November and early December outreaches:

• 8 October: Possum Creek Cub Scout Campout at the Newberry Sports Complex. Participants: Keith Gerber, Dale Halbritter, Frank Hill, Stephanie Larrick-Hill, Lary Reeves, Roxcy Wagner, Ephraim Ragasa and Chris Bibbs (photographer) - Attendance: approximately 250 Cub Scouts, parents and siblings
• 17 October: Presentation on insects at Newberry Elementary School. Participant: Stephanie Stocks - Attendance: 94 children
• 17 October: Presentation on insects at Caring and Sharing Learning Center. Participants: James Mutunga and Daniel Swale - Attendance: 20 children
• 18 October: Department tour and pinning workshop for Homegrown Homeschoolers. Participants: Dale Halbritter, Chris Holderman and Lary Reeves (insect traps) - Attendance: 14 children and approx. 10 parents
• 20 October: Collecting, pinning and preservation of butterflies workshop for the International Butterfly Breeders Association at Cabot Lodge. Participants: Eddie Cayia and Dale Halbritter - Attendance: approximately 20 adults
• 22-23 October: ButterflyFest at the Florida Museum of Natural History. Participants: Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, Eddie Cayia and Dale Halbritter - Attendance: general public, several hundred
• 1 November: Presentation on insects at Cornerstone Academy. Participant: Dale Halbritter - Attendance: approximately 25 children
• November 8-13: Ocali Country Days at Silver River State Park - Participants: Dehlia Albrecht, Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, Dr. Eileen Buss, Eddie Cayia, Thomas Fasulo, Keith Gerber, Jason Graham, Dr. Howard Frank and his wife, Debbie Hall and her husband, Dale Halbritter, Carolyn Huntley, Nick Larson, Jane Medley, Ephraim Ragasa, Jodi Scott, Alicia Tan, and Kylie Zirbel - Attendance: 11/8-11 (schools only) - 4,092; 11/12-13 (open to the public) - 3,620; total - 7,712

Dr. Rebecca Baldwin shows off the Arthropod Petting Zoo as part of our Fear Factor display at
Ocali Country Days. Jason Graham, who volunteered two days, said that though he was there
with two other volunteers they were always busy, as the visitors came to our department's
booth in a constant flow.
• November 22: Department tour for a high school group. Participants: Dale Halbritter, Chris Holderman, Wendy Helmey-Hartman, C.R. Lewis, Stephanie Larrick-Hill, and Eddie Cayia
• November 29: Arthropod petting zoo, termite trails, and art with maggots at Newberry Elementary. Participants: Dale Halbritter, Stephanie Larrick-Hill, Ashley Poplin, and Stephanie Stocks - Attendance: approximately 100 children
• December 6: Good Samaritan Institute Virtual Mentor Program Web talk on butterflies. Participant: Dale Halbritter - Attendance: 20 children

• 4 February: Cub Scout Campout at Camp Shands

UF/IFAS and FDACS-DPI scientists are cooperating in creating interactives maps for viewing CHMA for Florida. Anyone, using the free Adobe Acrobat reader, can click on and off data layers to compare one cycle of data to another. This information will benefit growers by providing Asian citrus psyllid scouting information they can view spatially and temporally.

The Gulf CHMA, created by Dr. Phil Stansly's team, is going into its 4th season of cooperative action to control Asian citrus psyllid. For more information, visit the Gulf CHMA Web site.



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 111,916 page views.

December 2011.