Dr. Michael Forthman, an insect systematist, joined Dr. Christine W. Miller's laboratory as a Postdoctoral Associate. Dr. Forthman received a B.S. in Biology at the University of Arkansas - Little Rock in 2008. He conducted post-baccalaureate studies in Entomology at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. He received a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of California - Riverside in 2016. Dr. Forthman is working towards constructing a phylogeny of the Coreidae to investigate the evolution of fighting styles and hind leg weapon diversification.

ABOVE: Images of prints by Maria Sibylla Merian, Mark Catesby and Moses Harris, courtesy of the Harn Museum of Art. You may have noticed insects making their way to unexpected places around UF recently... and you are invited to visit them all by following the Insect-Art Trail across campus, curated and coordinated by Dr. Andrea Lucky. This series of exhibits highlights insects and insect-inspired art by showcasing the importance of insects as inspiration in arts, crafts, literature and technology. As you know, insects represent more than pests and pollinators in our culture – they are also symbols of joy, fear, rejuvenation, abundance and power. This show reveals the presence of insects in unexpected places, including jewelry, quilts, children’s books and more. To find your own winged inspiration, just follow the trail…  

ABOVE: Look out for insects in books the next time you visit the Marston Science Library. The exhibit entitled The Insect World in Children’s Literature showcases the role of insects in books selected from UF's Baldwin Library of Historical Children's Literature. The exhibit was curated by Dr. Andrea Lucky, with assistance from undergraduates Ms. Michelle Dunbar (in photo, left) and Ms. Sage Thompson.

ABOVE: Can a beetle make art? Everyone is invited to visit an exhibit of insect-created wood carvings. Dr. Jiri Hulcr has been collecting bark beetle calligraphy around the world for over a decade and the finest pieces are now on display at the Newins Ziegler hall, home of the School of Forest Resources and Conservation. The mini-gallery was officially opened on March 17th in a true art and science collaboration spirit, attended by the CALS Dean Elaine Turner, IFAS Associate Dean for research John Davis, the Director of the Harn Museum of Art Rebecca M. Nagy and the Harn Museum Director of Education Eric Seagal. The exhibit will close on April 30th. This exhibit is a part of the Insect-Art Trail across campus coordinated by Dr. Andrea Lucky.

Dr. James P. Cuda and his former undergraduate student Mr. Kenyatta Nichols were featured in a presentation on March 31st about invasive plant control on public lands.  The presentation titled Tackling Invasive Species at the Landscape Level: Lessons Learned from South Florida and the Everglades, was part of the 2016 Invasive Species Webinar Series co-hosted by the Environmental Law Institute and the National Invasive Species Council.   

Dr. James P. Cuda attended a Faculty Workshop titled International Research Compliance that was held at the UF International Center, March 18th. The workshop was sponsored by the International Center’s Office for Global Research Engagement.

In the News!

We have a new addition to our Entomology & Nematology family! Dr. Thomas Chouvenc and Ericka Helmick are happy to welcome a little girl to this world, with a name that may please some entomologists or astronomists : Io Chouvenc-Helmick was born on April 7th. 

Dr. Thomas Chouvenc's work with subterranean termites was featured in Entomology Today. In his study of age polytheism, he observed that older worker termites are not only highly involved in foraging and proctodeal trophallaxis, but they also are responsible for grooming the queen and cleaning the royal cell.

Dr. Chouvenc's has a video on YouTube you should watch, it shows a large swarming event of the Asian subterranean termite in Ft. Lauderdale.

An Entomology Today article about the resurgence of the Atala butterfly in South Florida referenced Sandy Koi's research (previously published in the Florida Entomologist). This article has  since been shared over one thousand times!

The graduate committee voted to award Ms. Vanessa Simoes Dias De Castro the 2016 Pauline O. Lawrence Scholarship in Physiology/Biochemistry/Toxicology. The amount of the award is $1,500.

ABOVE: Several undergraduate students from Dr. Lisa Taylor’s lab recently attended and presented posters at the annual UF Undergraduate Research Symposium on March 24th at the Reitz Union (from left to right: Lauren Gawel, Lauren Holian, Collette Cook, Michelle Brock, Jeff Coco, and Winnie Zhang).  

Ms. Patricia Prade, a Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. James P. Cuda, presented a paper at the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council Conference. The paper was titled Host specificity of Calophya terebinthifolii, a biological control candidate for Brazilian peppertree in Florida, and was co-authored Dr. James P. Cuda and Dr. William A. Overholt. Ms. Prade, won 3rd place in the Student Presentation Competition and was awarded $2,000 from the FLEPPC Julia Morton Invasive Plant Research Grant Program. Congratulations Patricia! 

Ms. Rachel Watson, an undergraduate student in the laboratory of Dr. James P. Cuda, was awarded a $470 Entomology Travel Scholarship on March 22nd to attend the ICE meeting in Orlando, FL, in September. Congratulations Rachel! 

Ms. Patricia Prade presented a poster on her Master’s research at the 2016 Brazilian Graduate Students Conference (BRASCON) held at Harvard University, March 12th and 13th. BRASCON promotes professional development of Brazilian graduate students and postdocs in the STEM disciplines. The poster, which was co-authored by Dr. William A. Overholt and Dr. James P. Cuda, was titled, Galls induced by Calophya latiforceps (Hemiptera: Calophyidae) reduce photosynthesis, chlorophyll and leaf growth of Brazilian peppertree.

Mr. Luis Aristizábal's talk Integrated management of chilli thrips, Scirtothrips dorsalis Hood, on ornamental roses, delivered before the Florida Academy of Sciences at its 80th Annual Meeting at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, has been recognized as the Honorable Mention Graduate Student Oral Presentation by the Agricultural and Natural Resources Section of the Academy.

ABOVE: On March 12th, four undergraduate students from the Miller lab attended the 13th annual Southeastern Ecology and Evolution Conference. From left to right, students and their project titles: Tyler Herrington: Effects of autotomy on male-male competition, Danny Kiehl: Keys to survival: impacts of dropping injured limbs, Itai Meirom: Coreid limb loss and autotomy, Paige Carlson: attendee. All four undergraduates did a phenomenal job representing the University of Florida, the Entomology and Nematology Department, and the Miller Lab, especially Danny Kiehl who was a runner up for the best undergraduate poster presentation!

Mr. David Owens successfully defended his dissertation titled Bioecology of attraction and reproduction in maize-infesting Ulidiidae on April 1st.

ABOVE: Ms. Natasha Agramonte participated in the MANRRS 2016 National Conference in Jacksonville, Florida March 30th to April 2nd. She was there on behalf of the USDA-ARS to talk about her work with mosquito repellent and insecticide research, and was able to speak with many minority students about our UF programs. The mission of the MANRRS conference is to promote academic and professional advancement by empowering minorities in agriculture, natural resources, and related sciences.

From the Outreach Coordinator

A big thank you to the students and faculty who volunteered for last month’s outreach events.

• March 4th and 5th- Bee College- Dr. Rebecca Baldwin
• March 12th- Lake Nona High School departmental tour-  Erin Powell, Matt Moore
• March 12th and 13th- Marion Master Gardener Spring festival- Michael Gonzalez, Michael Samuels, Sage Thompson, Sarah Bernard
  
  
  • The Marion County Master Gardeners Spring Festival Committee and especially I, the Queen Bee, wish to THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU so very much for participating in our Kids Garden Zone this year.  It was a raging success, with visits of over 1,200 people!! 
    
    
• March 25th- Classical Conversations homeschool group tour- Erin Powell
• April 2nd- Bug Fest- Entomology Club

Upcoming Events

• April 15th- Homeschool department tour
• April 20th- Homeschool department tour
• April 21st- Oak Hammock lecture
• April 29th- J.J. Finley Elementary School

ABOVE: Sarah Nguyentran shows the Chilean rose hair tarantula to Bug Fest visitors. Photograph by Stefani Harrison.

The live critters are always a hit with children and adults alike. The critters are available for you to check out should you be leading an outreach event. We have doubles of our most popular critters, as well as various native insect species depending on the time of year. We have large wood and Plexiglas cages for viewing our native orb weaving spiders. There is one travel cage and one larger static cage. Please be sure to contact us and review the protocol on transporting and handling the critters if you are not already familiar with it. If you lead an outreach, be sure to fill out a documentation form so your event can be included in the newsletter and we can log all outreach events.