The National Science Foundation has highlighted the work of Dr. Christine W. Miller’s research team through the newest episode in its video series, Science Nation. The episode “Insect battles provide clues to evolution” shows how Dr. Miller’s team is using research on mate choice and insect weapons to  better understanding animal behavior, diversity and evolution.Watch the video: Insect battles provide clues to evolution.

Dr. James P. Cuda returned from Brazil on September 30th where he was conducting a Brazilian peppertree research project in collaboration with faculty/students from the University of Blumenau (FURB), Santa Catarina, Brazil. Cuda’s research was funded jointly by the Florida Industrial and Phosphate Research Institute and a Fulbright grant awarded in December 2014.

ABOVE: Dr. Akers Pence, our long time friend and colleague, passed away unexpectedly on September 26th. Akers received his Ph.D. in the Entomology and Nematology Department and has been involved with many McGuire Center and Department projects over the years. He is survived by his loving wife Linda.

We were well represented at the “International Entomology Leadership Summit: Improving the Human Condition through Insect Science.” Dr. Roxanne Connelly (FMEL, Vero Beach), Dr. Nan-Yao Su (FLREC, Ft. Lauderdale), and Dr. Faith Oi (Gainesville) attended the invitation-only summit held during the International Congress of Entomology. Colleagues Dr. Chris Geden and Dr. Dan Kline from the USDA-ARS CMAVE unit in Gainesville also participated.

Dr. Su led a breakout session on Scientific Solutions to Global Challenges. “The goal was to engage and empower worldwide entities to take on grand challenges we face in the coming decades to which entomology can make a unique and powerful contribution.” More information on the Summit can be found online.

As part of the session we were invited to submit a poster. Dr. Amanda Hodges led the effort: Florida -Meeting U.S. and International Invasive Species Challenges through Interagency Collaboration. Authors: Dr. Amanda Hodges, Dr. Trevor Smith, Dr. Greg Hodges, Dr. Paul Hornby, Dr. James P. Cuda, Dr. Nan-Yao Su, Dr. Roxanne Connelly, Dr. Blair Siegfried, and Dr. Faith Oi.

It was a busy STEM Education week (Sept 24-Oct 1) for the Department! Our faculty actively supported efforts in STEM education during ICE2016. “The STEMbugs workshop is one of our signature events at the Entomological Foundation,” emailed Chris Stelzig, ESA’s Director of Strategic Initiatives. On Saturday (Sept 24), over 30 teachers from across the state attended an in-service training that included breakout sessions by Dr. Rebecca Baldwin (Pollination Station) and Dr. Jennifer Weeks (What can flies in the classroom teach kids about evolution?) and a lunchtime session (Mosquitoes! Learning more about the biology and behavior of the world’s most deadly animal and IPM in schools) by Dr. Faith Oi.

Several UF faculty and students also were involved in the Insect Expo that was host to ~4,000 school-aged kids. The traveling arthropods may have been as busy as those involved with ICE2016-related STEM educational activities as they made a quick trip back to Gainesville to be part of the Oct 1 ButterflyFest held at the Natural History Museum.

Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman participated in a national olive oil industry strategic planning session at the UC Davis Olive Center on September 18th and 19th. This session was coordinated by the American Olive Oil Producers Association (AOOPA) and was funded by a Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) planning grant. Dr. Gillett-Kaufman is one of the Co-PDs on the planning grant. At the conclusion of the planning session Dr. Gillett-Kaufman remained in Davis to participate in a four day Master Milling Certificate Course offered by the university.

Dr. Julien Beuzelin, a 2011 graduate of Louisiana State University, and formerly the Field Crops Entomologist at the LSU Dean Lee Research Station in Alexandria, Louisiana, has accepted the position of Assistant Professor in Entomology at the UF/IFAS Everglades Research and Education Center. Dr. Beuzelin’s research and Extension projects will include work with insect pest management issues in corn, sorghum, sugarcane, and rice. We welcome Dr. Beuzelin to the team!

Inaugural INSTAR Workshop hosted by Dr. Bloomquist

After the International Congress of Entomology in Orlando, Dr. Jeff Bloomquist invited national and international scientists to Gainesville, more specifically to the Emerging Pathogens Institute, for a Workshop on INSecticide and TARgets (INSTAR Workshop)

ABOVE: The event was attended by over 25 Entomologists from the US, Kenya, France, England, and Japan. It was truly an international gathering of academic and industrial scientists. Transportation was provided to and from Orlando, so the attendees could attend the workshop and return to Orlando for their homeward flights. They went directly from the meeting to a reception at the Bloomquist home.

The next morning, they arrived at the Emerging Pathogens Institute, where they were given a tour of the facilities. The workshop discussions focused on the challenges of insecticide discovery, including but not limited to: the difficulty of translating lab results into field effective products; economic attributes of a successful compound from an industry perspective; intellectual property management and commercialization from an academic perspective; novel delivery mechanisms; etc. A white paper is being written from the meeting minutes for peer reviewed publication.

Dr. Jennina Taylor-Wells, a postdoc in Dr. Bloomquist’s lab was hired by Oxitech to work on genetically modified mosquitoes. In addition, Dr. Nur Tabanca, also of Dr. Bloomquist’s group was offered and accepted a permanent staff scientist position at the USDA ARS laboratory in Miami, to work on natural products for insect control.

Ms. Patricia Prade, a Ph.D. student in the laboratory of Dr. James P. Cuda, won 2nd place in the Graduate Student Poster Competition: Biological Control and Insect Pathology at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology. The poster was titled "Host specificity of the psyllid Calophya terebinthifolii (Hemiptera: Calophyidae), a potential biological control agent against Brazilian peppertree in Florida, USA."

Ms. Vanessa Simões Dias de Castro, a Ph.D. candidate in Dr. Hahn's lab, won 2nd place in the Graduate Student Oral Competition: Functional Genomics and Transgenesis at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology. The paper was titled "Can transgenic flies overexpressing antioxidant enzymes blunt radiation-induced oxidative stress and improve mating success?"

Congratulations to Ms. Casey Parker! The Student Awards Committee of the Southeastern Branch of the ESA has selected Casey as the SEB-ESA MS Student recipient of the Kirby L. Hays Memorial Award. She was recognized for her outstanding research on mosquito trap development, completed in Dr. Phil Koehler’s lab, and her extensive Extension, teaching and outreach activities. She will continue with her Ph.D. under the supervision of Dr. Roxanne Connelly.

One post-doc (Dr. Michael Forthman), two graduate students (Ms. Lauren Cirino and Mr. Pablo Allen), and one undergraduate (Ms. Paige Carlson), all from the Miller Lab, presented some of their research at the 2016 International Congress of Entomology. Dr. Michael Forthman, Ms. Lauren Cirino, and Mr. Pablo Allen all gave oral presentation on their research, while Ms. Paige Carlson gave a poster presentation. Presentation titles and the correspond authors were: “Millipede assassin bugs (Heteroptera: Reduviidae: Ectrichodiinae) show off: evolution of aposematic coloration and extreme sexual dimorphism” by Dr. Forthman, “Hind legs used as a risky decoy in the leaf-footed bug, Leptoglossus phyllopus” by Ms. Carlson, “Seasonal effects on the morphology of Narnia femorata (Hemiptera: Coreidae)” by Ms. Cirino, and “Longer is better: Mouthpart plasticity in a novel environment” by Mr. Allen.

ABOVE: Two of our students were awarded MUVE scholarchips at the 2016 XXV International Congress of Entomology in Orlando! Congratulations to Ms. Brittany Campbell and Ms. Casey Parker! Awards presented by UF alum Dr. Dini Miller.

Two Ph.D. students were awarded scholarships through the Florida Mosquito Control Association and the Florida Mosquito Control Foundation.

Ms. Rebecca Zimler was selected as the 1st place winner of the 2016 T. Wainwright Miller, Jr. Scholarship. The award includes a check for $2,000 and hotel and meeting registration costs paid for the annual meeting of the Florida Mosquito Control Association in November, 2016. Additionally, Rebecca will receive a one-year gratis membership in the FMCA. Advisor: Dr. Barry Alto.

Mr. Robert Aldridge was selected as the winner of the 2016 Cyrus R. Lesser Memorial Scholarship. The award includes a check for $2,000 and hotel and meeting registration costs paid for the annual meeting of the Florida Mosquito Control Association in November, 2016. Additionally, Bobby will receive a one-year gratis membership in the FMCA. Advisors: Dr. Roxanne Connelly and Dr. Barry Alto.

Two of our undergraduate attendees and presenters at the International Congress of Entomology, Mr. Gabriel (Gabe) Somarriba and Mr. Andrew Nisip, led a local natural history and ant collecting tour for visiting myrmecologists during the ICE meeting. On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 28th, they accompanied a dozen ant researchers to Lake Louisa State Park. This was an excellent opportunity for the students to learn about field techniques from the pros, while the visitors got a close look at native Florida scrub and hardwood hammock habitat. Gabe is the founder and president of the undergraduate club FERNH (Field Exploration and Recreational Natural History). Gabe and Andrew are both members of Dr. Andrea Lucky's laboratory. 

From the Outreach Coordinator

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

• September 10th- Taylor County 4-H Tour- Erin Powell, Michael Gonzalez, Laurel Lietzenmayer, and Dr. Rebecca Baldwin
• September 28th- ICE Expo
• September 30th- Starke Christian School Tour- Emily Payne and Laurel Lietzenmayer

Upcoming Events

• October 13th- Oak Hall Lower School tour
• October  20th- Bishop Middle School Science Night
• October 28th- Chiles Elementary School
• October 30th- Ask a Scientist: Not So Scary Science
• November 9th-13th- Ocali Days

ABOVE: Two children overly excited about petting the Giant African Millipede at ButterflyFest.

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.