A note from Dr. Siegfried

I am a little late in welcoming everyone to 2016 and providing updates on activities.  My first five months on the job have gone by quickly and a lot has happened! 

The first of our new hires has arrived and has hit the ground running. Our new Turf and Ornamental Entomologist, Dr. Adam Dale, started on January 22 and had his first meeting with clientele on January 23. Nothing like getting a quick start!  Dr. Dale may be the only person I know that has made more changes than me in the last year. He interviewed for our position, defended his dissertation, got engaged, moved to Florida and started a new position all in the last three months. When he catches his breath, please stop by and welcome him to the department!

We are in the midst of a very busy period of interviews. I appreciate your interest in these candidates and hope that we can continue to show them what makes our department a great place to work. We still have a long way to go, and it is critical that we maintain this commitment and enthusiasm. Whenever possible, please attend seminars and meetings to welcome the candidates to our department. 

As most of you are aware by now, our website has gone through a dramatic update.  A lot has happened behind the scenes to make this possible and to provide a fresh face for our department and its numerous programs. Thanks to Mr. Alex Catalano, Ms. Jane Medley, Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman, and Dr. Heather McAuslane for all their efforts! I encourage you all to review the site and offer suggestions for improvement.

I want to acknowledge the help I’ve been receiving from Dr. Heather McAuslane in transitioning to my new role. She has been a tremendous help and continues to assist in a number of capacities. To formalize her contributions, she will be serving a 2-year term as Associate Chair for the department. I know that she will continue to be a valuable resource for all of us and I am grateful for her commitment.

~Dr. Blair Siegfried

A new NOVA documentary "Creatures of the Light" focusing on bioluminescence was shown on Wednesday February 3rd. Dr. Marc Branham was interviewed about fireflies and the evolution of their communication systems.

Dr. Oscar Liburd was chosen to receive the 2015 Southern Region IPM Center Friends of IPM ­ Bright Idea award. This award is given to individuals or groups to recognize success in achieving effective use of integrated pest management (IPM) on the ground.

Our Ms. Virni Mattson was awarded a UF Superior Accomplishment Award for her work as our grants manager.

Dr. Christine W. Miller has accepted an offer to serve as an associate editor and Editorial Board Member for Functional Ecology, a journal of the British Ecological Society.

Dr. Kirsten Pelez-Stelinski has accepted an offer to serve as a co-editor for the Florida Entomologist. She will cover pathology, biocontrol, disease transmission, and molecular biology papers. She is taking over for Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman who stepped down as co-editor for these sections in early February.   

Dr. James P. Cuda's work on his Fulbright sabbatical to Brazil during September-October 2015 were highlighted in the Winter 2015-2016 issue of  Aquaphyte, an aquatic, wetland and invasive plant newsletter published by the UF/IFAS Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants. 

Dr. Emma Weeks, Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman and Dr. James P. Cuda were featured in an article published in the same Aquaphyte newsletter about their  research funded by a USDA grant to evaluate novel and sustainable tactics for hydrilla IPM. 

In the News!

Dr. Ron Cherry: Researchers find shallow flooding reduces major rice pest.

Dr. Jorge Rey: Zika virus updates.

Dr. Christine Miller and Dr. Heather McAuslane: UF offers new research class next Spring.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman: Reeling from citrus greening, UF/IFAS researchers support new olive industry in Florida.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman: Gain insight into a bug's life with new study-abroad program.

Dr. Bill Kern: UF/IFAS encourages Floridians to take up beekeeping, hosting annual Bee College March 4-5.

And a special report by our Vice President Dr. Jack Payne: Viewpoint: Bugs and your billfold.

Mr. Luis Aristizabal was awarded the 2016 Southern Region IPM Center Friends of IPM Graduate Student Award, Master’s category. This award is given to a graduate student in a Master’s degree program who has exemplified extraordinary potential and promise of leadership in integrated pest management (IPM). Chair: Dr. Steven Arthurs.

The call for undergraduate travel grants is out and applications are due by February 17th. Please see Dr. Rebecca Baldwin for an application. Travel grants are available for our majors and minors who will be traveling to a scientific meeting or participating in a study abroad related to entomology. Many students will be traveling to the International Congress of Entomology (ICE) this fall, so please apply now for funding to help with registration. Early bird registration is due by March 25.

The Undergraduate Scholarship Reception will be held from 4:00-6:00 on Wednesday, February 17th in room 1031. All faculty, staff, and students are invited to attend for cake, punch, and a chance to network with scholarship recipients and the scholarship donors.

Undergraduate Advising Night will be held March 17 from 4:00-9:00. Be sure to put this on your schedule. We will be updating degree audits and registering for summer and fall.  

The next Undergraduate Entomology Club meeting will be held at 6:00 PM on February 16th in room 2218.

ABOVE: After a successful ornament sale in December, the Undergraduate Entomology Club is selling floating locket necklaces with butterfly wings and other insects as a fundraiser. The goal of the fundraiser is to fully fund any interested undergraduate student to go to ICE in September, especially if they are presenting research. They will be available for sale at the front office from Ms. Nancy Sanders, and the club will ship them upon request.

Mr. Benjamin Waldo joined Dr. Billy Crow's lab.  He will be working on his M.S. degree in Nematology and a Doctor of Plant Medicine degree.

Ms. Lyndall Brezina joined the lab of Dr. James P. Cuda on 1 February. Ms. Brezina has a Master’s degree in Agricultural  Education and Communication from UF and will be TA for Dr. Cuda’s Spring semester course “Consequences of Biological Invasions (ALS4162/6935).”

From the Outreach Coordinator

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

• 12 January- Keystone Heights science fair- Dale Halbritter, Casey Parker, Erin Powell
• 30 January- Great Invader Raider Rally at Morningside - Stefani Harrison, Michael Gonzalez, Juliana Carrillo (see below)
• 1 February- CPET tour- Lauren Cirino, Katherine Arguez, Erin Powell
• 3 February- Marion Environmental science class tour- Erin Powell

Upcoming Events

• 24 February- Easter Seals
• 26 February- Orange Park Elementary Bug Club tour
• 12-13 March- Marion Master Gardener Spring festival

ABOVE: Michael Gonzalez shows off the roach costume again at the Great Invader Raider Rally at Morningside Nature Center on January 30th. Also pictured at UF Entomology’s table are Stefani Harrison and Juliana Carrillo.

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.