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ABOVE: Several students and Dr. Andrea Lucky collect and examine ants during a field trip to the UF Environmental Horticulture Plant Conservatory.
A note from Dr. Siegfried
I recently attended a seminar for one of the open departmental chair positions. The candidate made a very strong argument for why collaborations are important to successful programs and presented some convincing data on increased impact factors, numbers of publications as well as increased impact of extension and outreach programs when collaborations are involved. I asked the candidate his thoughts on ways to facilitate collaboration, and his response was to simply bring people together on a regular basis, and I couldn’t agree more.
For our department, we have so many people spread over so much distance that it is important for us to meet collectively whenever possible. Our recent retreats with focused discussions on research and teaching have provided such an opportunity and I look forward to our next event in 2019, with a focus on Extension and outreach. Importantly, our administration continues to remind me that collaboration and sharing of expertise across departmental and center faculty and a seamless connection between research and Extension are critical.
Another really important opportunity for such interactions is the Florida Entomological Society Annual Meeting. While I am the first to recognize that it is easy to burn out on travel and meetings, I encourage all our faculty, students, and alumni to take advantage of this opportunity to share ideas and get to know one another. At this year’s meeting in July, I enjoyed hearing about all the things that are happening around the state, although I am certain that only a small portion of what we do was presented. The student competition was filled with outstanding presentations and provides a great venue for our students to get their feet wet. In addition, there were multiple opportunities that arose from simply being in the same place at the same time. As the executive committee plans for the 2019 meeting, please start thinking about symposia topics or other events that will make the meeting broadly appealing and allow us to get to know one another.
As the end of summer rapidly approaches, I am looking forward to welcoming our new and returning students and to the rhythm of another academic year. We have a lot to look forward to including the official opening of the new Honey Bee Research and Extension Lab. The open house, scheduled for August 25th, represents an important milestone for the department and helps to cement our position as a premier site for entomological learning, discovery and engagement.
Thank you for another great semester,
~Dr. Blair Siegfried
Dr. Adam Wong has been appointed as the new Review Editor for the Frontiers Journals (Microbial Symbioses).
Dr. Rachel Mallinger’s research was featured in a recent episode of the podcast Field, Lab, Earth. You can listen to it here: https://dl.sciencesocieties.org/publications/podcast
Dr. Jonathan Day (FMEL) and Dr. Jeff Bloomquist (Emerging Pathogens Institute) were quoted in a Time magazine article about the safety off the insect repellent DEET (http://time.com/5347546/is-deet-safe/). Yes, it is safe if used properly.
Dr. James P. Cuda and his research on biological control of Brazilian peppertree were featured in the 20 July issue of the Naples News.
Dr. Adam Dale hosted and made local arrangements for a USDA multi-state working group meeting for 30 turfgrass scientists from 13 states from the southeastern and western U.S. at the Ft Lauderdale REC July 11-13.
The first inaugural Invasive Ant Boot Camp was held July 11-13, 2018, led by Dr. Andrea Lucky. This workshop-style short course focused on identification, biology and impacts of invasive ants. The course provided a mix of specimen-based identification work in the lab and field experiences with ants in natural, agricultural and urban areas. The course included guest lectures on ecological impacts by Dr. Douglass Booher (NSF postdoctoral fellow), pest ants by Lyle Buss (UF Insect Identifier), new invasive species in Florida by Dr. Thomas Chouvenc (UF Ft. Lauderdale REC), regulation of invasive insects by Dr. David Oi (USDA-ARS, Fire Ant Unit), and management of ants by Dr. Roberto Pereira (UF Urban Entomology Lab).
ABOVE: IABC participants (from L): Rachel Atchison, Dr. Andrea Lucky, Dr. Thomas Chouvenc, James Pinkney, Matthew Miller, Erik Roldán, Sierra Short, Jason Williams, and Sara Alvarez (Photo: Geena Hill).
During the course we managed to find 11 species of pest ants here in Steinmetz Hall! More troublingly, we also discovered a large population of a new invasive species in Gainesville, the little fire ant, Wasmannia auropunctata. Hopefully, catching this infestation early means we can contain and control it before it spreads. Mark your calendars for next year – the course will be offered again during Summer 2019!
Congratulations to our recent graduating students:
Earning Ph.D. degrees this summer are:
Dr. Craig Bateman, Dr. Anita Neal, Dr. Mohammad Razzak, Dr. Chris Scocco, and Dr. Vanessa Simoes Dias De Castro.
Earning MS degrees this summer are:
Ethan Doherty, Michael Karounos, Laurel Lietzenmayer, Marice Lopez, Pritika Pandey, Alfred Runkel, Clancy Short, and Benjamin Waldo.
Earning BS degrees this summer are:
Lettie Cronin and Gabriel Somarriba.
We are all proud of our graduates!
Congratulations to Octavio Menocal, a Ph.D. student at the UF/IFAS/Tropical Research and Education Center. Octavio was awarded one of the 2018-2019 CALS scholarships. He is the recipient of the William C. and Bertha M. Cornett Fellowship with a monetary award of $1,500. Octavio’s advisor is Dr. Daniel Carrillo.
ABOVE: Octavio Menocal receiving a recognition for his work with ambrosia beetles associated with the laurel wilt pathogen. Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico.
Octavio A. Menocal, also gave two presentations entitled Vertical Distribution and Daily Flight Periodicity of Ambrosia Beetles in Florida Avocado Orchards Affected by Laurel Wilt, and Management of Ambrosia Beetles in South Florida Avocado Orchards at the First Congress of the Mexican Academy of Applied Entomology that was held in Leon, Guanajuato, Mexico, June 4th to 6th. His co-author was Dr. Daniel Carrillo.
Florida Entomological Society Student Award Winners
(July 22nd to 25th, St. Augustine)
Mini grants - $250
- Christine Leonard
- Sang-bin Lee
- Jayshree Patel
Travel grants - $250
- Jayshree Patel
- Emily Demard
- Sang-bin Lee
- Sasha Kay Clarke
- Reina Tong
Scholarships - $500
- Johnalyn Gordon
- De-fen Mou
- Sang-bin Lee
Paper Competition Winners
- Ph.D. oral paper competition ($200, $150, $125)
- Joe Velenovsky (1st), Sasha-Kay Clarke (2nd), Chris Bibbs (3rd)
- M.S. oral paper competition
- Jessica Awad (1st), Erik Roldan (2nd), Austin Fife (3rd)
Krystral Ashman will join Dr. Oscar Liburd’s lab in the fall as a new master student. Krystal is also a full-time employee at DPI and will be working with flat headed borer in blueberries.
Ms. Marice Lopez, a recent master’s graduate, will start her Ph.D. program in fall in Dr. Oscar Liburd’s lab.
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: The hummingbird clearwing moth, Hemaris thysbe, is a day-flying sphinx moth. It is often seen hovering at flowers sipping nectar, where many people mistake it for a bee or small hummingbird. Dr. Andrei Sourakov took this great picture behind the Florida Museum of Natural History.
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. Billy Crow.
Bibbs CS, Tsikolia M, Bernier UR, Bloomquist JR, Xue RD, Kaufman PE. 2018. Vapor toxicity of five volatile pyrethroids against Aedes aegypti, Ae. albopictus, Culex quinquefasciatus, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Diptera: Culicidae). Pest Management Science DOI: 10.1002/ps.5088.
Boeri PA, Benda ND, Unruh JB, Dale AG. 2018. Biology and management of the bermudagrass mite, Eriophyes cynodoniensis. EDIS Publication ENY342. UF/IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1217
Castro D, Scheffrahn RH, Carrijo TF. 2018. Echinotermes biriba, a new genus and species of soldierless termite from the Colombian and Peruvian Amazon (Termitidae, Apicotermitinae). ZooKeys (748): 21-30.
Gillenwaters B, Scheffrahn RH, Warner J. 2018. Prevention of colony establishment by the West Indian drywood termite using reduced rates of borate and silica dust or solution. Journal of Economic Entomology DOI:10.1093/jee/toy174.
Holderman, CJ, Swale DR, Bloomquist JR, Kaufman PE. 2018. Resistance to permethrin, β-cyfluthrin, and diazinon in Florida horn fly populations. Insects 9, 63; DOI:10.339/insects9020063.
Langdon KW, Schumann R, Stelinski LL, Rogers ME. 2018. Spatial and temporal distribution of soil-applied neonicotinoids in citrus tree foliage. Journal of Economic Entomology 111: 1788-1798.
Perry R, Dale AG. 2018. Stinging and venomous caterpillars of the southeast. EDIS Publication SP107. UF/IFAS Extension. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in014
Scheffrahn RH, Chase JA, Mangold JR, Hochmair HH. 2018. Relative occurrence of the family Kalotermitidae (Isoptera) under different termite sampling methods. Sociobiology 65(1): 88-100.
Shannag HK Capinera JL. 2018. Comparative effects of two novel Betaproteobacteria-based insecticides on Myzus persicae (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and Phenacoccus madeirensis (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae). Florida Entomologist 101: 212-218.
Sourakov A. 2018. Mass aggregations of Idia moths (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) inside hollow trees in Florida. Tropical Lepidoptera Research 28(1): 35-38.
Sourakov A, Hester A, Roberts R. 2018. The secret love life of the zebra longwing butterfly. Video, Florida Museum of Natural History YouTube channel.
New on Featured Creatures:
Crapemyrtle bark scale, Acanthococcus (=Eriococcus) lagerstroemiae (Kuwana). Authors: Matthew Borden, Xavier Martini and Adam Dale
Do you have a favorite creature? Learn how to make it into a Featured Creatures!
Dr. Adam Dale presented a update on regional turfgrass insect and mite pest management challenges and recent progress at a USDA multi-state working group meeting of southeastern and western U.S. turfgrass scientists on July 13th.
Dr. Christine Miller presented an hour-long invited seminar titled Tradeoffs in Sexual Selection to the School of Biology, University of St. Andrews, UK on July 13th.
Dr. James P. Cuda attended the 58th Annual Meeting of the Aquatic Plant Management Society held in Buffalo, New York, 15-18 July. Cuda gave a presentation titled Integrated Weed Management Solution for Hydrilla. The presentation was co-authored by Dr. Emma Weeks and Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman.
Dr. James P. Cuda was an invited speaker for the online IFAS and Florida Turfgrass Association Annual CEU Roundup held via Zoom connection from McCarty Hall, 25 July. Cuda gave a 50 minute presentation titled Biological Control of Cogongrass: Progress and Perspectives. The presentation was co-authored by Dr. William Overholt. Over 400 individuals statewide participated in the webinar.
Matt Borden (DPM/MS student in the Dale Lab) delivered a presentation to the 2018 Master Gardener Summer Institute on August 7th. Matt spoke about biological control principles and how the Dale Lab is using wildflower plots to boost pollinator and natural enemy populations on local golf courses. The workshop was attended by 100 master gardeners and extension educators from Marion County and the central region.
Dr. Oscar Liburd gave a talk titled “Monitoring, Ecology and Management of the Invasive Spotted-wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, Diptera: Drosophilidae” at the 101st Annual Meeting of the FES in St. Augustine, FL. Co-Authors: Dr. Lindsy Iglesias, Dr. Janine Spies and Dr. Elena Rhodes.
Dr. Elena Rhodes, a biological scientist in Oscar Liburd’s Lab presented a talk titled “Ecology and management of the two spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, in organic strawberries in Florida” at the FES meeting in St. Augustine. Co-Authors: Dr. Carlene A. Chase, Xin Zhao, and Dr. Oscar E. Liburd.
Dr. Janine Spies, a former Liburd Lab post-doc, talked about “Monitoring and evaluation of insecticides for management of blueberry gall midge populations in Florida blueberries” at the FES meeting in St. Augustine. Co-Author: Dr. Oscar E. Liburd.
Dr. Nupur Sarkar, a post-doctoral researcher in Oscar Liburd’s Lab, gave a talk titled “Evaluation of companion planting and plant extracts for sustainable management of Plutella xylostella, in organic cabbage production” with co-authors Zulaikha Mazlan and Dr. Oscar E. Liburd, at the FES meeting in St. Augustine.
On July 28th, the Florida Certified Organic Growers and Consumers association hosted the 2018 Organic Food & Farming Summit at the Hilton UF Conference Center in Gainesville, FL. Dr. Oscar Liburd, Marice Lopez, and Lorena Lopez (master and Ph.D. students at his lab) held a workshop on Management of cucurbit insect pests using organic tactics to educate organic enthusiasts and farmers on pest and beneficial insects.
Dr. Rachel Mallinger presented a class entitled Wild Bees in Our Gardens: Biology, Identification, and Conservation to the Master Gardeners of Polk County on July 17th. Dr. Mallinger also gave a workshop on enhancing crop pollination by managed and wild bees at the 2018 Organic Farming and Food Summit in Gainesville on July 28th.
UF News from the 2018 Society of Nematologists Meeting in Albuquerque, New Mexico
Awards:
Dr. Billy Crow was installed as the President of the Society of Nematologists.
Benjamin Waldo won the Best 3-Minute Thesis competition.
Team Go Gators (Benjamin Waldo, Brandon Jones, Homan Regmi) came in second place in the Cobb Bowl competition.
Bayer Student Travel Awards were presented to: Homan Regmi, Benjamin Waldo, Gideon Alake.
Corteva Student Travel Awards were presented to: Ruhiyyih Dyrdahl-Young, Lesley Schumacher, and Mengyi Gu.
ABOVE: Benjamin Waldo (left) earned first place in the 3-Minute Thesis competition at the meeting. His major advisor is Dr. Billy Crow (right).
Presentations:
Abdelsamad N, Regmi H, Desaeger J, and DiGennaro P. The role of adenine nucleotide (NAD) in tomato resistance against root-knot nematode.
Alake G, Zasada IA, DiGennaro P, and van Santen E. Log-transforming count data gives you the worst of both worlds: Wrong sample mean and wrong variance estimates.
Alborn HT. Group behavior and the role of semiochemicals in entomopathogenic nematodes.
Brito JA, Subbotin SA, Desaeger J, Achinelly F, and Qiu S. Meloidogyne javanica infecting hops (Humulus lupulus) in Florida: A case study.
Campos-Herara R, Stuart RJ, El-Borai FE, and Duncan LW. Evidence that phoretic bacteria regulate entomopathogenic nematodes in nature.
Colantino VG, Alake G, Crow WT, and DiGennaro P. A decade of nematode assay data to inform Extension efforts.
Desaeger J, Deng Z, and Agehara S. Nematodes parasitizing hops in Florida.
Dyrdahl-Young R, Hu W, Giblin-Davis R, Duncan L, Mengistu M, and Digennaro P. Temporal expression of sporulating genes in Pasteuria species.
Giblin-Davis RM, and Kanzaki N. Post card from Albuquerque: Revisiting Massey’s book, Biology and Taxonomy of Nematode Parasites and Associates of Bark Beetles in the United States.
Grabau Z, Carter ET, and Mauldin MD. Target and non-target effects of fumigant and non-fumigant nematicides in cotton and peanut production.
Grabau Z, and Noling JW. Nematode management on Florida potato production using non-fumigant nematicides.
Gu M, and Crow WT. Effects of plant-parasitic nematode infested bermudagrass on mycelia growth of three Pythium spp.
Habteweld A, and Crow WT. Nematodes are a hidden threat to the turfgrass industry.
Hu W, Chen S, and Bushley KE. Crop and seasonal shift on microbial communities of soybean cyst nematode.
Hu W and DiGennaro P. Multivariate methods for analyzing changes in nematode community structure over time.
Jones WB, and Crow WT. Efficacy of incorporated organic amendments on turfgrass nematodes and turf health.
Kanzaki N, and Giblin-Davis RM. Delineation of two Acrostichus cryptic species associated with different new world Rhychophorus weevils by molecular sequences and hybridization tests.
Noling J. A 21st century philosophy of applied research, Extension outreach, and career paths in Extension nematology.
Noling J, and Buchanon SM. Aerial imaging of strawberry fields using drones to assess sting nematode field distribution, yield impacts and soil fumigant performance.
Noling J, and Desaeger J. Vertical managent zones for sting nematode control and crop response in Florida strawberry.
Porazinska DL, Farrer EC, Spasojevic MJ, Bueno de Mequita CP, Sudling KN, and Schmidt SK. Assembly and function of nematode communities in an early successional Alpine landscape.
Regmi H, Hutton SF, and Desaeger J. Integrated management of root-knot nematodes in Florida tomatoes combining host resistance and nematicide.
Sanchez WL, Crow WT, Habteweld H, and Mendes ML. First report of Meloidogyne graminis infecting limpograss (Hemarthria altissima).
Schumacher L, Grabau ZJ, Liao HL, Wright DL, and Small LM. Vertical distribution and population dynamics of Rotylenhulus reniformis life stages in peanut-cotton cropping systems.
Vau SJ, Qui S, and D. W. Dickson. Residual effect of root-knot nematode resistant tomato cultivars and fumigants in a double-crop system in Florida.
Waldo B, Crow WT, Grabau ZJ, and Mengistu TM. Nematicide effects on non-target nematode populations in turfgrass systems.
Yan G, Huang D, Gudmestad N, Whitworth J, Frost K, Ye W, Agudelo P, and Crow W. Molecular characterization and identification of stubby-root nematode species from eight states in the USA.
ABOVE: At the meeting! Dr. Crow with some of his current and former grad students and Dr. Mendes.
From the Outreach Coordinator
Here are our events from July:
- July 16th – UF Taylor County Extension – Laurel Lietzenmayer
- July 16th – Florida Youth Institute – Laurel Lietzenmayer
- July 23rd – Florida Youth Institute – Laurel Lietzenmayer
- July 24th – Fort White Elementary – Laurel Lietzenmayer and Yuexun Tian
- July 26th – Suwannee River Library – Laurel Lietzenmayer
- July 30th – Rad Kids Summer Camp – Jason Williams
- July 31st – Fear Facers Summer Camp – Clayton Bania
- July 31st – 4-H Discovery Workshop – Dr. Rebecca Baldwin and Laurel Lietzenmayer
ABOVE: Ph.D. student, Yuexun Tian, showing a vinegaroon to students at Fort White Elementary.
ABOVE: The last week of July, the FMNH had a nice LepCamp session (this was the third year), with 14 middle school kids attending.
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.
Library Corner
Marston Science Library Meet & Greet Party: Welcome new & returning students! Come and meet your departmental librarian and collect your "magic cards" of your favorite librarian and library services!
Pizza and drinks provided.
Date: Tuesday August 28
Time: 3-4:30pm
Location: Marston Science Library - room 136
Research Party for International Students: Library orientation. Learn how to access e-books, online journals, use interlibrary loan, create an EndNote account for citation management, try on the augmented/virtual reality equipment, learn how to use the 3D printers & 3D scanners that can be checked out for 3 days, and much more!
Refreshments provided
Date: Friday September 7
Time:1-3:30pm
Location: Marston Science Library - room 136
Research Party for STEM Students: Library orientation. Learn how to access e-books, online journals, use interlibrary loan, create an EndNote account for citation management, try on the augmented/virtual reality equipment, learn how to use the 3D printers & 3D scanners that can be checked out for 3 days, and much more!
Refreshments provided
Date: Wednesday September 12
Time:1-3:30pm
Location: Marston Science Library - room 136
Discover all the Entomology resources available from the UF Libraries: http://guides.uflib.ufl.edu/entomology
Submitted by: Michelle Leonard
Marston Science Library, University of Florida
mleonard@uflib.ufl.edu; 352-273-2866 (ph)
orcid.org/0000-0002-9017-3591
Want to stay up to date? Check out our website home page for a link to our Google calendar.
UF Peace Corps Campus Recruiter Available for Classroom Visits and One-on-one Consultations
Do you know students who may be interested in joining the Peace Corps? UF's Peace Corps campus recruiter, Breton Homewood, is available for classroom visits and one-on-one consultations with potential applicants. He can provide information about Peace Corps countries and programs, guide students through the application process, and conduct mock interviews, among other services. Contact Breton by email (peacecorps@ufic.ufl.edu) or phone (352-294-2267), or visit him in Office #170 in the International Center in the HUB during his office hours (Tuesdays 10:00AM-noon or by appointment). Breton served in the Peace Corps in Paraguay from 2012-2016 as an agriculture extension volunteer.
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
© UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology Department. All rights reserved.