Congratulations to our ESA-SEB Student Award Winners!

Our Entomology Games team advances to ESA annual meet in October! The 2021 competition team is Jason Williams (captain), Keiran Hyte, Nicholas Johnston, Emilie Demard and Kelly Carruthers. The team meets twice weekly, and is coached by Dr. Amanda Hodges, Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, and Dr. Estelle Martin.

Lillie Rooney wins First Place in the Undergraduate Student Paper Competition.

Sarah Tafel (Entomology minor) wins First Place, and Second Place respectively, in the Undergraduate Student Paper Competition.

Kelly Carruthers wins Second Place in the Ph.D. Student Paper Competition.

Joseph Montemayor wins First Place in the Graduate Student Paper Competition.

Lourdes Perez Cordero wins First Place in the Graduate Student Poster Competition.

Katherine Carroll wins Second Place in the Graduate Student Paper Competition.

Gagandeep Kaur wins Second Place in the Ph.D. Student Poster Competition.

Shannon McAmis wins First Place in the Extension and Outreach oral session.

Don’t forget the Entomology and Nematology Education and Outreach Program is available and will accommodate to both virtual presentations and approved in person presentations too!

Recent Outreach events:

Alachua County Elementary Schools: Jennifer Standley, the UF Entomology and Nematology Student Outreach Coordinator and Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, the faculty Outreach Director, have been approved for virtual presentations through the Alachua County School Board. Throughout March virtual presentations about entomology were provided to a variety of virtual classes. Through these virtual presentations, more than 300 youth were reached.

• Having virtual presentations means students at the main campus in Gainesville and UF/IFAS RECs have been able to participate! Thank you to our volunteers: Michele Himadi, Christian Fernandez, Melody Bloch, and Isabela Estrada. Christian was a super star entomology student in an event in which the youth participants had muted video and wanted someone to eat a mealworm. The laughter was contagious.

Incredible Insect Badge, 3/5: Jennifer Standley led a virtual presentation for Alachua County Girl Scouts as part of the requirement to their earning a “Bug Badge.”

Earth Fest - Celebrate Arbor Day, Marion County 4/24: The Outreach Program set up a booth displaying the amazing arthropods and it had educational materials about our love of insects to celebrate Earth Day.

6/21-6/25: This will be in person…yes, we said IN-PERSON! The ghost-BUG-sters camp will be a week-long event for youth between the ages of 10-18. Campers will learn all about arthropods with ghostly names, see the ghost ant change colors based on diet, learn why the ghost mantis is not permitted in Florida, search for phantom bugs (stick insects) as they field collect, meet a “Scientist of the Day”, and get started on an insect collection they can submit at the Florida 4-H Insectathon. If entomology students wish to volunteer as camp leaders, please speak with Dr. Baldwin to receive a Bug Camp Volunteer Guide and register for mandatory youth conference training.

Entomology on the Go -
What’s better than a live show and tell of some really cool arthropods?! Our live petting zoo consists of: tarantulas, scorpions, vinegaroons, bess beetles, Madagascar hissing cockroaches, and native insects, when in season. With a short training program, they are available for you to check out should you be leading an outreach event, even if it is virtual. The critters are always popular with both youth and adults and are used as a tool to expose the public to STEM disciplines. We have large wood and Plexiglas cages for viewing our native orb weaving spiders. There is one travel cage and one larger static cage. We also have activity kits and lesson plans that are available as well. Please be sure to contact us and review the protocol on transportation and handling of the animals. If you lead an outreach event, be sure to fill out a documentation form so your event can be included in the newsletter and we can log all outreach events. Also note that volunteering to assist with outreach events will count as departmental service for ENSO travel grants. (Please note that some venues require background checks or additional screening.)
If you have any questions or would like to volunteer, please email us.
Cheers – Jennifer Standley, Outreach Coordinator

ABOVE: From left to right: Jennifer Standley and Christian Fernandez ready to present virtually on March 15th. Michele Himadi, Isabela Estrada, and Jennifer Standley after a morning of presenting virtually to elementary kids on March 17th.

ABOVE: Dr. Rebecca Baldwin received “Paper-Plate” awards from Alpha Gamma Rho and Sigma Alpha for teaching and advising. Deans Turner and Brendemuhl, along with Dr. Emerson and members of AGR and SA made a surprise visit to ENY 1001, Bugs and People class to present the awards.

ABOVE: The UF Mock Trial Competition Team will be competing in a national mock trial event in April 2021 litigating a case involving bed bugs. The Mock Trial team visited the Urban Entomology Lab to learn more about bed bug biology and laws involving bed bugs. The team gained knowledge from Dr. Roberto Pereira, Dr. Phil Koehler, and Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, so were able to use materials from the Entomology Education and Outreach Program and Urban Entomology Lab to video an “expert witness” testimony acted out by one of the team members. Good luck UF Mock Trial Team and may your new bed bug knowledge please the court. The UF Mock Trial team president is Richard German and the coach is Dr. Laura Sjoberg.

ABOVE: The Entomology Club held an insect themed egg hunt in NATL. Even the wildlife enjoyed the games. Pictured left to right: Entomology students are ready for an adventure. Lovebugs rest near a yellow egg. A dragonfly has claimed this find.