Dr. James P. Cuda was a technical consultant on a new report on bio-agriculture and biocontrol in Florida. The 141-page report titled "Research, Data Collection and Surveys Regarding Bio-Agriculture" was published by the Balmoral Group LLC, Winter Park, Florida.

On September 4th Dr. Emma Weeks took over the role of NATL (Natural Area Teaching Laboratory) Chair from Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman. NATL would like to thank Dr. Gillett-Kaufman for her valuable service and is thankful that she will continue to sit on the Natural Area Advisory Committee (NAAC). Dr. Gillett-Kaufman has been NATL Chair for three years and in that time has brought NATL up to date, with Twitter, Facebook and an improved website. Most recently, with a grant from the UF Tech Fee, NATL has been equipped with wireless internet! Amongst other goals, Dr. Weeks hopes to improve access to NATL for those with disabilities. Please contact Dr. Weeks if you would like to use NATL for teaching or research purposes.

Alumni News

The excerpt below is from a news release: Entomological Society of America (ESA) recognizes 2014 Fellows by Richard Levine.

Dr. Phillip G. Lawyer, a UF Entomology and Nematology alumnus, was named an ESA Fellow. Dr. Lawyer earned a Ph.D. in medical entomology in 1984 from the University of Florida. Dr. Lawyer recently retired as core staff scientist/medical entomologist at the Laboratory of Parasitic Diseases, NIAID, NIH, from which he also served the Division of Entomology at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research (WRAIR). He is recognized internationally for research on sand flies and associated diseases (Leishmania and Bartonella), with special emphasis on sand fly biology and vector-parasite interactions (Leishmania and Bartonella).

Graduate Student News

The UF Entomology and Nematology Linnaean Team, coached by Dr. Amanda Hodges and Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, is preparing to compete at the national competition in Portland. If you are interested in practicing with the team or being on the team in the spring, please meet us at 3:30 on Fridays in room 2218. If you are not on the Gainesville campus, you can participate via Polycom or Skype. The 2014 ESA Southeastern Branch (SEB) championship team includes: Chris Holderman, David Plotkin, Garima Kakkar, John Zukowski, and Lucas Carnohan.

ABOVE: Caroline Efstathion, Dr. Bill Kern’s Ph.D. student, traveled to Bonaire with FDACS Apiary Inspector Rob Horsburgh to assist the Echo Parrot Project with Africanized bee problems. Bees are taking over nest cavities of the endangered yellow-shouldered amazons and are endangering the safety of biologists who check on these nests. Caroline and Rob built and installed swarm trap boxes along cliff edges throughout parrot nesting areas (a photo of an installed box is at the top of the newsletter). They also presented two workshops to the local Junior Ranger students and local beekeepers to educate them on beekeeping management practices. The plan is that captured swarms from the parrot nesting areas will be placed into managed apiaries and honey can then be gathered and sold. The proceeds would go to help fund protection efforts for the parrots. This trip was funded by the Walt Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund.

Dr. Janine Razze graduated with her Ph.D. in August.  Her dissertation was titled "Investigating IPM tactics to reduce pest and disease incidence and increase marketable yields in organic squash production."

Lindsy Iglesias, a Ph.D. student, was invited to present her research titled "Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) in Florida: Monitoring, alternative hosts, management, and outreach" at the 2014 American Society for Horticultural Science (ASHS) conference in Orlando, FL.  The symposium, "ASHS meets SWD: A new pest of small and stone fruits" was aimed at educating students, technicians, Extension agents and faculty about SWD and providing management options for SWD.  The symposium included a hands-on experience by Jimmy Klick, a Ph.D. candidate from Oregon State University, and Lindsy Iglesias.

Entomology undergraduate student Stefani Harrison and doctoral student Oliver Keller, both members of the Branham lab, assisted in running the 2014 International Firefly Symposium. The symposium was held from August 11th to 15th, at the Hilton University of Florida Conference Center in Gainesville, FL. The conference was attended by 56 participants from 12 countries and 16 U.S. states. The symposium featured research presentations on the taxonomy, phylogeny, genetics, biology, behavior, and conservation of fireflies, and information on ecotourism, education, and art involving fireflies. The keynote speaker was Dr. James E. Lloyd, who was honored for his lifetime work on firefly research. The next International Firefly Symposium will be held in 2017 in Taiwan.

Master's student Nicholas Homziak (Kawahara and Branham labs) spent two weeks in Nyungwe (montane forest) and Akagera (savanna habitat) national parks in Rwanda collecting molecular-grade moth specimens for his Master's thesis research.

This summer, doctoral student Matt Moore (Branham and Cave labs) traveled to the British Museum of Natural History in London, England, and to the Musée des Confluences in Lyon, France. Matt presented his research on the evolution of the
Cyclocephalini (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) at the British Museum's international scarab beetle symposium. Matt then left for Lyon, France, to study the scarabs housed in the Marc Soula Collection. Matt worked on curating the Soula Collection, conducting a revision of the genus Mecopelidnota, and returning historical types to their proper housing institutions across Europe.

María F. Checa created a webpage about her research on the ecology and conservation of Ecuadorian butterflies.

Five of our graduate students received the William C. and Bertha M. Cornett Fellowship given by the UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences.

• $1,500- Michael Bentley
  
• $2,000- María Checa
  
• $2,000- Caroline Efstathion
  
• $2,000- Dale Halbritter
  
• $1,000- Elena Ortiz-Acevedo

Alex Arp, a Ph.D. student in the Pelz-Stelinski lab, received the best Ph.D. student presentation award at the Florida Entomological Society meeting.

ABOVE: On, August 21, the UF Urban Entomological Society participated in a "Behind the Seeds" tour of The Land at Epcot in Orlando. The tour was presented by UF Entomology and Nematology Major and Epcot Intern Zach Kaplan. Mr. Tim Flowers of Disney Pest Management provided the group with an overview of the pest management program at Disney that includes everything from relocating black bears from resorts to managing the genetics of the honeybees on the property. The club is pictured here in front of the Epcot tomato tree whose predecessor was in the Guinness Book of World Records for tomato production from a single plant.

Participants included: Abdullah Alothman, Ogechi Ohaeto, Heather Erskine, Derek Yan, Zach Kaplan, Josh Weston, Mark Mitola, Ben Hottel, (two Disney visitors), Catherine White, Stefani Harrison, Ricardo Decaro, Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, Mariah Baggio, Brittany Delong, and Holly Beard.

Undergraduate News

Two of our Entomology and Nematology majors, Gabriella Milanes and Kristen Donovan, have been selected as CALS Ambassadors for 2014-2015.

Four of our Entomology and Nematology undergraduate students received UF College of Agricultural and Life Sciences scholarships.

• Florida Rural Rehabilitation Corporation, Inc., Scholarship, $1,000- Genevieve Comeau
• John H.G. Hutchinson Scholarship, $850- Heather Erskine
  
• SHARE Scholarship, $1,500- Kristen Donovan
• SHARE Scholarship, $150- Heather Erskine
• SHARE Scholarship, $1,000- Stefani Harrison

Entomology Club News

President Teddy Cogley, Events Coordinator Kristen Donovan, Secretary Heather Erskine, Treasurer Gabby Milanes, and Webmaster Austin Stevens are pleased to announce that during their first meeting of the year they had the best attendance ever for the club.

This year the club is having two meetings a month and hoping to have professors or graduate students come and share some insights on entomology. If you are interested in coming to talk to the Entomology club email us to get on the schedule. This year the club will have a T-shirt contest, to see who can come up with the most creative and clever bug club design. It is a club goal to interact with ENSO and other CALS clubs on campus so that we can learn about other agricultural fields and meet diverse students.

ABOVE: To find out when our meetings, socials and outreach events are take a look at our new bulletin board designed by Kristen Donovan and Heather Erskine. It shows all the details about what the Entomology club is doing!

Remember Entomology club members have to be involved in club events and meetings to be considered for scholarships! So if you are interested in being a part of the club email us or visit the University of Florida Entomology Club Facebook page! 

-Events Coordinator Kristen Donovan

From the Outreach Coordinator