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Position Title: Chair and Professor - Entomology and Nematology Department

Location: Entomology & Nematology Department
Gainesville, Florida

Position Title: Assistant Professor of Subtropical/Tropical Fruit Crop Entomology

Location: Tropical Research and Education Center
Homestead, Florida

Position Title: Assistant Professor of Strawberry and Small Fruit Entomology

Location: Gulf Coast Research and Education Center
Wimauma, Florida

Wood-boring beetles and fungi

As wood-boring beetles and fungi are increasingly impacting forest and industries in the U.S., the demand for research on these organisms is also increasing. Dr. Jiri Hulcr, the UF/IFAS Forest Entomologist, was invited on to present his lab’s research on ambrosia beetles and fungi at four Universities across the eastern U.S. On this three-week “tour,” he was hosted by entomology departments at Auburn University, University of Kentucky, University of Tennessee, and Virginia Tech. A snapshot from one stop at this can be seen on YouTube: a recorded presentation and questions session at the University of Tennessee Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology.

A successful Cornell and UF partnership

A team of researchers (Ms. Lucy Kavi, Dr. Phillip Kaufman and Dr. Jeff Scott) has recently selected a strain of house fly having some of the highest levels of resistance to the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid that have ever been reported in any insect.  The team's recently published study (Pestic. Biochem. Physiol. 109: 64-69) found that the 2,300-fold resistance was linked to chromosomes 3 and 4, had a significant fitness cost in the absence of resistance and was at least partly due to a change in the insecticide’s target site. There was limited cross-resistance to other insecticides, suggesting that imidacloprid might be sustainably used for house fly control if it was used in rotation with other insecticides.

Several of our faculty have recently published a book called "Pests in and around the southern home."  It can be a useful reference for Master Gardeners, county extension faculty, and pest management professionals (urban and landscape), and it will be used as a textbook for an undergraduate Turf and Ornamentals Entomology course. It is a nice resource with great pictures for people in the southeastern U.S., Gulf Coast states, and the Caribbean. 

Dr. Marjorie Hoy has agreed to serve on the Advisory Board of the BINGO project: Breeding Invertebrates for Next Generation BioControl, a research consortium of seven EU countries, including universities and commercial organizations involved in biological control.

A unique experience for the mosquito enthusiast – FMEL’s mosquito identification course 2014. Posted by Sean McCann on March 28, 2014, on the ESC Blog, the official blog of the Entomological Society of Canada.

Dr. James P. Cuda was featured in a newspaper article about his team's USDA-funded hydrilla IPM research and extension project. The article by staff writer Steve Reilly was titled Flies in the Florida Fight against Hydrilla.

Dr. James P. Cuda participated in the 2014 CALS Teaching Retreat held at the Emerson Alumni Hall, 18 March.

Dr. Shweta Sharma joined the laboratory of Dr. James P. Cuda. Dr. Sharma will be conducting biological and host-range studies on the Brazilian peppertree weevil Apocnemidophorus pipitzi.

Ms. Casey Parker, a graduating senior from the department, will be giving the CALS commencement speech on May 4th at 7:00 pm!

Ms. Erika Machtinger was chosen to receive one of the 2013-2014 UF Graduate Student Teaching Awards! This semester, TA award winners will be recognized in the commencement program.

We are very pleased to announce that, for the first time, UF will be part of the Annual Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) poster session on Capitol Hill, April 28-29.  Our student Sabrina Leisinger was selected to present her work with Dr. Daniel Hahn, "Do modified atmospheres used in produce transportation make insect pests more resistant to irradiation as a phytosanitary treatment?"  

Sabrina will participate in an evening poster session and reception where students will have the opportunity to speak directly to members of Congress and demonstrate how they have been impacted by these programs. This event is designed to help Congress learn about the importance and impact of undergraduate research programs.

Congratulations to Sabrina and Dr. Hahn for becoming part of this event!

Ms. Julie Baniszewski  prepared and submitted her honor’s thesis to the CALS Honors Program. The thesis was titled "Improvements for mass rearing Cricotopus lebetis (Diptera: Chironomidae) for biocontrol of Hydrilla verticillata (Hydrocharitaceae)."

ABOVE: Dr. James P. Cuda and Dr. Emma Weeks were co-authors on a poster presentation presented by Ms. Julie Baniszewski titled "Cold tolerance: improving mass rearing of Cricotopus lebetis, the hydrilla tip miner."  The poster was at the Annual UF Undergraduate Research Symposium held at the Reitz Union, 27 March.  

Thank you from Cornell's Undergraduate Entomology Club

ABOVE: Kyle DeMarr, Brett Morgan, Hunter Reid, Marina Mann, and Marvelyn Barboza, members of Snodgrass and Wigglesworth: Cornell's Undergraduate Entomology Club.

The visiting Cornell undergraduates would like to thank you all for opening up the department and your labs to them. Engaging with our graduate students and faculty was extremely interesting and engaging, and it gave them a very positive first impression of the University of Florida in Gainesville. The students promise to return to Ithaca to inform other undergraduate majors of the abundance of resources offered at UF and the hospitality they received. It was a great experience for them to see the wide array of disciplines the department spans while still focusing on the central theme of innovation.

Aaron Pomerantz successfully submitted his M.S. thesis to the Graduate School March 27, 2014: Identification and Analysis of Potential Sex-determination Genes in Metaseiulus occidentalis (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

Haleigh Ray successfully submitted her M.S. thesis to the Graduate School March 26, 2014:  Evaluation of the Predacious Mite Hemicheyletia wellsina (Acari: Cheyletidae) as a Predator of Arthropod Pests of Orchids.

From the Outreach Coordinator