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ABOVE: The Crow lab at the Turfgrass field day- Benjamin Waldo, Mengyi Gu, Tom Bean, Dr. Maria Mendes, Brandon Jones, and Dr. Billy Crow.
Dr. Xavier Martini (North Florida Research and Education Center) has been appointed as Associate Editor for the journal Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution, (specialty Chemical Ecology).
Dr. Adam Dale was featured in a podcast produced by the North Carolina League of Municipalities entitled "The Science of Trees in Cities", which can be accessed online.
ABOVE: Dr. Don Dickson has been a long-time Florida basketball season ticket holder. This year he received his season tickets via hand delivery from Canyon Barry, Albert and the Dazzlers. Watch the video here!
Dr. Oscar Liburd was recently invited to Taiwan to be the keynote speaker for a workshop on biological control of twospotted spider mites in strawberries. The workshop was hosted by the Taiwan Miaoli Agriculture Research and Extension station (October 15-23rd). Dr. Liburd also gave a seminar to the Department of Entomology at the National Chung Hsing University (hosted by the University). The seminar was entitled “Using Conservation Biological Control and Inundative Releases to Manage Key Pests in Fruit and Vegetable Systems.”
Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman participated in the UF/IFAS 2016 International Extension Workshop: Exploring Food Systems in Southern Italy. She had the opportunity to visit working farms in Southern Italy near Porto Cesareo, Alberobello, Barile, Salerno, and Naples.
Students apply today! Due date is December 31st.
Student award: Appreciation for the Natural History of Insect Pests.
Who is eligible: University students regardless of their geographic location.
Selection criteria and conditions: The selection committee will award $500 to the student who in the given year has published the most interesting and inspiring research paper on insects which are usually regarded as pests.
Administered by the Forest Entomology lab at the University of Florida, Gainesville, and by the TREE Foundation in Sarasota, FL.
ABOVE: Rebecca Zimler talks to festival-goers about mosquitoes and Kristin Sloyer helps children look for mosquito larvae in various containers. On October 22nd, students from the Florida Medical Entomology Laboratory and the Indian River Research and Education Center attended the Indian River Lagoon Science Festival. Their table featured interactive and educational items including searching for larval habitats, the life cycle of the mosquito, viewing Culicoides under a microscope, and watching predatory mosquito larvae in action!
A big thank you to all the students that participated in this event: Maria Carrasquilla, Kristin Sloyer, Al Runkel, Isaiah Hoyer, Rebecca Zimler, Bethany McGregor, Shawna Bellamy, and Patricia Prade.
Need to name that bug? A host of experts are available to help Floridians identify any insect or related arthropod. If a mystery creature has six or more legs, the UF Insect ID Lab is the place to call.
ABOVE: Redheaded pine sawflies and their feeding damage.
Dr. Andrei Sourakov provided this picture of redheaded pine sawflies, Neodiprion lecontei, feeding on longleaf pine seedlings in NATL. Pine sawflies like to feed together in large groups, and can totally defoliate seedlings. They sequester chemicals from the pine needles, and when disturbed, they regurgitate it and try to dab the sticky droplet on predators.
Need insect images? You can go to this direct link, pictures are copyrighted material and intended for official UF use only, log onto the website using your Gatorlink credentials.
Lyle Buss is the UF/IFAS Insect ID Lab manager.
Think it might be a nematode problem? The Nematode Assay Laboratory serves Florida and other states by providing nematode assays and expert advice regarding nematode management.
For more information on the Nematode Assay Laboratory, please contact the lab manager Dr. Tesfa Mengistu.
Baidoo R, Joseph S, Mengistu TM, Brito JA, McSorley R, Stamps RH, Crow WT. 2016. Mitochondrial haplotype-based identification of root-knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp.) on cut foliage crops in Florida. Journal of Nematology 48: 193-202.
Bentley MT, Hahn DA, Oi FM. 2016. The thermal breath of Nylanderia fulva (Mayr) (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) is narrower than that of Solenopsis invicta (Buren) at three thermal ramping rates: 1.0, 0.12, 0.06 °C min-1. Environmental Entomology 45: 1058-1062.
Dababat A, Ferney, GBH, Orakci, GE, Dreisigacker S, Imren M, Toktay M, Elekcioglu H, Mekete T, Nicol J, Ansari O, Ogbonnaya FC. 2016. Association analysis of resistance to cereal cyst nematodes (Heterodera avenae) and root lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus neglectus and P. thornei) in CIMMYT advanced spring wheat lines for semi-arid conditions. Breeding Science DOI: 10.1270/jsbbs.15158
Joseph S, Bismark, W, Noling J, Mekete T. 2016. First report of Meloidogyne haplanaria infecting Mi resistant tomato plants in Florida and its molecular diagnosis based on mitochondrial haplotype. Plant Disease DOI: 10.1094/PDIS-09-15-1113-RE.
López-Martínez G, Carpenter JL, Hight SP, Hahn DA. 2016. Anoxia- conditioning hormesis alters the relationship between irradiation doses for survival and sterility in the cactus moth, Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Florida Entomologist 99: 95-104.
Meyers PJ, Powell THQ, Walden KO, Schieferecke AJ, Feder JL, Hahn DA, Robertson HM, Berlocher SH, Ragland GJ. 2016. Divergence of the diapause transcriptome in apple maggot flies: Winter regulation and post-winter transcriptional repression. Journal of Experimental Biology 219: 2613-2622.
Miller CW, McDonald GC, Moore AJ. 2016. The tale of the shrinking weapon: Seasonal changes in nutrition affect weapon size and sexual dimorphism, but not contemporary evolution. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 29: 2266-2275. DOI:10.1111/jeb.12954
Nermut J, Puza V, Mekete T, Mracek Z. 2016. Phasmarhabditis bonaquaense n. sp. (Nematoda: Rhabditidae), a new slug-parasitic nematode from the Czech Republic. Zootaxa 4179(3): 530-546.
Tabanca N, Bernier UR, Agramonte NM, Tsikolia M, Bloomquist JR. 2016. Discovery of repellents from natural products. Current Organic Chemistry
20(25): 2690-2702. doi 10.2174/1385272820666160421151503,
http://www.eurekaselect.com/node/141419/article
Tabanca N, Nalbantsoy A, Bernier UR, Agramonte NM, Ali A, Li AY, Yalcin HT, Gucel S, Demirci B. 2016. Essential oil composition of Pimpinella cypria and its insecticidal, cytotoxic, and antimicrobial activity. Natural Product Communications 11(10): 1531-1534.
Williams CM, McCue MD, Sunny NE, Szjner-Sigal A, Morgan TJ, Allison DB, Hahn DA. 2016. Cold adaptation increases rates of nutrient flow and metabolic plasticity during cold exposure in Drosophila melanogaster. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 283: 13-17.
Williams CM, Szjner-Sigal A, Morgan TJ, Edison AS, Allison DB, Hahn DA. 2016. Adaptation to low temperature exposure increases metabolic rates independently of growth rates. Integrative and Comparative Biology 56: 62-72.
New on Featured Creatures:
Halloween pennant dragonfly, Celithemis eponina Drury. Authors: Haleigh A. Ray, and Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida.
Fourlined plant bug, Poecilocapsus lineatus (Fabricius). Authors: Matthew Borden and Adam Dale, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida.
Primary screwworm, Cochliomyia hominivorax (Coquerel). Authors: Phillip E. Kaufman, Samantha M. Wisely, and Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman University of Florida.
Do you have a favorite creature? Learn how to make it into a Featured Creatures!
Dr. Christine W. Miller delivered a public talk on October 17th titled “The Amazing World of Insect Combat and Courtship” to 87 participants at the Blue Gills Restaurant as part of the Florida Museum’s Science Café series.
The Turfgrass Field Day at PSREU in Citra was on October 5th. Presenters from Entomology and Nematology include Dr. Adam Dale, Dr. Billy Crow, and graduate students Mengyi Gu, Benjamin Waldo, and Brandon Jones.
The Master Gardener Turfgrass Field day at PSREU was on October 18th. Presenters from Entomology and Nematology include Dr. Adam Dale, Dr. Billy Crow, and graduate students Benjamin Waldo, and Brandon Jones.
On October 12th Dr. Billy Crow presented "Nematode control for warm-season turf" at the Deep South Turf Expo in Biloxi Mississippi.
The Florida State Beekeepers Association Conference was in Gainesville this year from October 20th to the 22nd. Dr. Jamie Ellis and the UF Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory had a congruent UF Master Beekeeper Program training and testing day on Saturday October 22nd.
Dr. Adam Dale gave the keynote presentation at the National Ornamental Plant Insect and Disease Workshop in Hendersonville, NC on October 24th entitled "Mitigating the effects of warming, drought, and pests on urban trees."
Dr. Adam Dale gave a presentation at the Florida A&M University Annual Field Day and Workshop in Tallahassee, FL on November 1st entitled "Managing insect pests in the landscape: Protecting your turf and your trees."
From the Outreach Coordinator
A big thank you to the students and faculty who volunteered for last month’s outreach events.
- October 1st - ButterflyFest - Rachel Atchison, Ethan Doherty, Laurel Lietzenmayer, Keara Lynn, Becca Perry, Abby Prohofsky, Rebecca Rabinowitz, Johanna Schwartz, and Kimberly Utz
- October 4th – Educator Open House – Rachel Atchison, Oliver Keller, and Laurel Lietzenmayer
- October 13th – Oak Hall Lower School – Dallin Ashby, Laurel Lietzenmayer, and Richard Murphy
- October 14th – B’nai Israel – Laurel Lietzenmayer
- October 15th – IFAS Ag and Gardening Day – Rebecca Baldwin, Sarah Nguyentran, and Evan Waite
- October 18th – Glenn Spring Elementary School – Ashley Mortensen
- October 20th – Bishop Middle School Science Night – Michael Gonzalez and Laurel Lietzenmayer
- October 28th – Chiles Elementary School – Laurel Lietzenmayer and Emily Payne
- October 30th – Ask a Scientist: Not So Scary Science – Paul Joseph, Johanna Schwartz, and Evan Waite
Upcoming Events
- November 17th – Williston Central Christian Academy
- November 18th – Star Christian Academy
- November 30th – Chiles Elementary School
- December 1st – Career Day at Gainesville High School
- December 4th – Brownie Troop
ABOVE: Paul Joseph, Johanna Schwartz, and Evan Waite with the arthropod petting zoo at the Florida Museum of Natural History’s event, Ask a Scientist: Not So Scary Science.
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.
If you have any questions, please email me.
Thank you — Laurel Lietzenmayer, Outreach Coordinator.
If you would like to schedule an event or have any outreach questions, go to the Outreach pages on our Bug Club website and contact us.
Getting social!
We have several social media sites for the Entomology & Nematology Department. To make them easily searchable, all three (YouTube, Facebook and Twitter) have the same page name: UFEntomology. Please share these links with past students or colleagues who may have an interest in departmental activities.
Virni Mattson, our grants specialist, will report on grant numbers next month!
Dr. Jeff Feder (Notre Dame), Dr. Dan Hahn, Dr. Greg Ragland (former Hahn lab postdoc now at U. Colorado), and Dr. Tom Powell (former Hahn lab postdoc now at SUNY Binghamton) have just received a new grant from the NSF Dimensions of Biodiversity Program titled "Time after Time: Adaptive Seasonal Timing Drives the Sequential Origin of Community Biodiversity”.
The team will spend the next five years working to understand how rapid adaption to seasonal life history timing through shifts in insect diapause drives the diversification of both insect herbivores and the community of parasitoid wasps that feeds on them. Specifically we ask how does adaptive radiation at one trophic level drive diversification at higher levels? Loss of biodiversity and extinction is an enormously challenging problem. We find this depressing, so to keep positive we will try to understand the aspects of genetic and physiological architecture that promote the formation of new species, and thus how biodiversity is generated in the first place. Total $2m to the group, $868k to Dr. Hahn.
FES 2017 Annual Meeting in Puerto Rico
The next FES Annual meeting will be held jointly in Puerto Rico with the Caribbean Food Crops Society (CFCS). The meeting is set to commence on July 16th 2017 with a tentative venue in Isla Verde, close to the airport and with the best beaches in San Juan. The CFCS meeting will run through Friday, July 22nd whereas FES will have our customary three day meeting with arrival on Sunday July 16th and meetings through Wednesday, July 19th.
Also, everyone should pay their dues to FES ASAP as membership fees are about to increase!
Announcement submitted by FES President Dr. Phil Stansly.
Want to stay up to date? Check out our website home page for a link to our Google calendar.
Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman is the newsletter editor and does the HTML coding. Issues usually are published by mid-month. Submit items for an issue by the seventh of that month.
We like to share news when it happens using our social media outlets: Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Follow us on these sites for daily updates! When you send news, we will post it on one or more of these sites and again in the monthly newsletter. Please be sure you have permission from people in photographs you submit for publication.
UF-Bugnews-L listserv subscribers receive notices when issues are posted. Our home page has instructions for subscribing and unsubscribing.
Special thanks to Haleigh Ray and Nancy Sanders, who reviewed the newsletter for errors, and to Jane Medley and Don Wasik, who built the web page design.
Give Back
Want to support the UF Entomology & Nematology Department? Consider making an online gift today! Questions can be directed to Christy Chiarelli at (352) 392-1975 or ccw@ufl.edu.
PO Box 110620, 970 Natural Area Drive, Steinmetz Hall, Gainesville, FL 32611
Phone: 352-273-3901, Fax: 352-392-0190
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