Dr. Rana Akyazi is a visiting scientist in Dr. Oscar Liburd’s laboratory. She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Plant Protection, Faculty of Agriculture in Ordu University, Turkey. Dr. Akayazi will spend the next four months researching mites in small fruit systems.

ABOVE: More great support from our VP Dr. Jack Payne: We ignore bugs at our peril, especially in Florida. They are six-legged farmers whose pollination contributes to a $148-billion-a-year agriculture and natural resources industry. They’re also potential assassins of those crops, a public health threat, and a tremendous public expense for mosquito control. Read more in this IFAS Matters newsletter.

He also composed this timely piece on Zika: Here's how to protect yourself from Zika right now: Wear long sleeves, use EPA-approved repellent and get rid of containers that can become mosquito breeding grounds. Here's how to protect ourselves from Zika in the long-term: scientific research and a coordinated effort to share the results with Floridians. Read more in this Miami Herald article.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman and Dr. Phil Kaufman co-taught a six week long study abroad course in Florence, Italy over Summer A titled Insects in Italy. The course was taught in conjunction with the Florence University of the Arts and utilized their classroom space. Students learned how insects and insect-vectored pathogens have shaped the food we eat and human history by exploring art, science, and food production in Italy. Students visited multiple museums, historical locations, and toured agricultural operations to explore these intertwined disciplines.

ABOVE: If you would like to learn more about the course the instructors will deliver a Departmental Seminar on October 7th that will include a tasting of honey and olive oil from some of the farms they visited.

Dr. Billy Crow was elected Vice President of the Society of Nematologists.

Now hiring: Assistant Professor in Insect Pathology/Symbiosis, Gainesville, Florida. For full consideration, candidates should apply and submit additional materials by July 18, 2016. The position will remain open until available applicant pool is determined. POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT # 00013269 Requisition # 497420

The Society for Viral Studies (Virology Club advised by Dr. Jim Maruniak) went on a medical mission trip to Brazil June 18 to 26. They visited hospitals to see patients, procedures, and learn about Zika in Porto Seguro, Prado, and Teixeira. They made the Brazilian news by meeting the mayor of Teixeira. None of them got sick and none were infected with viruses. They were even interviewed and on television.

Lindsy Iglesias a Ph.D. student in Dr. Oscar Liburd’s Lab, was awarded the CALS James Davidson Graduate Travel Scholarship for her travel to the 2016 ICE meeting in Orlando, Florida. She will present a paper titled- Survey of Zaprionus indianus in Florida and oviposition behavior in berries. Paper coauthor: Dr. Oscar Liburd.

Haleigh Ray a Ph.D. student and Morgan Byron a DPM student both in Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman’s Lab, were both awarded the CALS James Davidson Graduate Travel Scholarship for their travel to the 2016 ICE meeting in Orlando, Florida. They will both present papers on their research.

On June 15 Graduate Student Tina Gu and Biological Scientist Maria Mendes represented Dr. Crow's lab at the Gulf Coast Turfgrass Expo and Field Day at the West Florida REC.

Alumni in the news!

ESA announced winners of its 2016 awards. Dr. David G. Riley (Ph.D. 1990), a professor in the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia, is the 2016 recipient of the ESA Recognition Award in Entomology.  

Dr. Paolo Zanotto (M.S. 1990 in Entomology & Nematology advised by Dr. Jim Maruniak) published a timely paper “Vaccine protection against Zika virus from Brazil.” He is an author with colleagues from Harvard, MIT, and Walter Reed Army Institute.

Dr. Hazel Levy (M.S. 1998 in Entomology & Nematology advised by Dr. Jim Maruniak) became the first African-American woman to have her own research lab at UF College of Medicine. She is in the Department of Pediatrics.

From the Outreach Coordinator

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

• June 10th- Master Naturalist tour- Pablo Allen and Ana Paula Carvalho
• June 14th- Alachua County 4-H Camp tour- Chris Holderman
• June 20-24th- Bug Camp: Around the World in 80 Bugs- Staff: Erin Powell, Evan Waite, Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, Dr. Jen Weeks, Jasmeet Kalsi, Johanna Schwartz, WinDi Sanchez Speakers: Christopher Crockett, Ruhiyyih Dyrdahl-Young,  Paige Carlson, Lary Reeves, Dale Halbritter, Michael Gonzalez, The Bee Lab
• June 24th- Baker County 4-H Camp tour- Dr. Rebecca Baldwin

Upcoming events

• July 18th- Departmental tour
• August 5th- Girl Scout troop tour

ABOVE: Campers enjoyed aquatic collecting at the Santa Fe River, visiting the Honey Bee lab, hiking at Paynes Prairie, extracting nematodes, trapping bark beetles, and more at our annual Bug Camp.

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.