Faculty and Staff News

Student and Alumni News

New on Featured Creatures:

Common backswimmer, Notonecta glauca (L). Authors: Taryn B. Griffith and Jennifer L. Gillett-Kaufman.

Giant resin bee, Megachile sculpturalis (Smith). Authors: Kristen C. Stevens, Cameron J. Jack, and James D. Ellis.

Brazilian peppertree thrips, Pseudophilothrips ichini (Hood). Authors: Patricia Prade, Carey R. Minteer, and James P. Cuda.

Do you have a favorite creature? Learn how to make it into a Featured Creatures!

Meetings and Presentations

Florida Nematologists in Costa Rica!

ABOVE: A strong group of faculty and students from the University of Florida’s Entomology and Nematology Department participated in the 2019 Annual ONTA (Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America) meeting in San Jose, Costa Rica! There was a particularly good representation on behalf of the Vegetable and Fruit Nematology Laboratory under Dr. Johan Desaeger’s guidance at the Gulf Coast REC in Balm, FL. In total four presentations were delivered by post-doc Dr. Tristan Watson, Ph.D. Student Clemen de Oliveira (2nd place poster competition), MS Student David Moreira (Student Travel Award Recipient) and the PI Dr. Johan Desaeger. Included was also the participation of gator nematologists: Dr. Joseph Noling, Dr. Larry Duncan, Dr. Maria Mendes and Ph.D. Student Rebeca Sandoval!

Four members of the Miller Lab presented their work at the 2019 Behaviour Conference in Chicago. Ginny Greenway and Zach Emberts gave talks, while Lauren Cirino and Daniela Wilner gave poster presentations. Ginny presented on polyandry in squash bugs, Zach discussed ways in which bugs can evade predation, Lauren presented on the implications of weapon damage on mating success, and Daniela explained how brief nutritional deprivation can influence reproduction. 

Dr. James P. Cuda was an invited speaker for the Biological Control of Weeds Symposium at the Florida Entomological Society meeting held in Jupiter, FL, 21-24 July. Cuda gave a presentation titled, “Orseolia javanica (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), a potential biological control agent for the invasive cogongrass, Imperata cylindrica.”

Dr. James P. Cuda was a co-author on a presentation at the 2019 Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of South Africa held in Durban, SA, 8-11 July. The presentation by graduate student Megan K. Reid was titled “Surveys for potential biological control agents for Nymphaea mexicana Zuccarini.”

Dr. Jacqueline Miller and Dr. Deborah Matthews attend the 68th Annual Meeting of the Lepidopterists’ Society at University of California, Davis, and presented a paper on "The Deception, Thievery, and Mutualism in the Orchid-Insect World." They also visited and did research at the Bohart Museum of Entomology.

ABOVE: Dr. Rachel Mallinger and graduate students Sarah Anderson, James Weaver, and John Ternest attended the 4th International Pollinator Conference in Davis, CA from July 17-20. They presented three posters from work in the lab titled “Competition between managed honey bees and wild bees within natural landscapes in Florida” (presented by James Weaver), “Plant drought stress alters floral volatile emissions, and reduces nectar rewards, pollinator attraction, and plant reproductive success” (presented by Dr. Rachel Mallinger), and “Phenological change is occurring in specialist pollinators at different rates across latitudes” (presented by Sarah Anderson). John Ternest also presented work from his Master’s research titled “Intensive insecticide-based pest management negatively impacts the diversity of watermelon pollinators.”

Dr. Rachel Mallinger was an invited speaker for the UF Garden Club Short Course on June 10 in Gainesville, FL.  She also presented to the Ixia chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society on June 18 in Jacksonville, FL. Members of the Garden Club and the Florida Native Plant Society learned how to better garden and landscape for wild bees.

Sarah Anderson, graduate student in the Mallinger Lab, presented to a large group of beekeepers at the Pinellas County Beekeepers Association Meeting on June 27. She taught them about our other native wild bees, and their role in pollinating both crops and wild plants.

Dr. Oscar Liburd gave an invited presentation titled Practical Pest Management Options for Muscadine Grapes on July 16, 2019 at the annual grape meeting in Citra Florida.

Members of the Liburd Small Fruit and Vegetable IPM Lab presented several papers in the 2019 Florida Entomological Society Annual Meeting:

Dr. Oscar E. Liburd, Professor & IFAS-Term Prof. of Fruit and Vegetable Entomology, presented the “Effects of bio-rational insecticide on Amblyseius swirskii in organic squash.”

Dr. Nupur Sarkar, Postdoctoral research associate, presented a poster on the “Effects of reduced-risk pesticides on Aphis illinoisensis and its natural enemies, Lysiphlebus testaceipes and Orius insidiosus in muscadine grapes.”

Dr. Deepak Shrestha, Post doctoral research associate, presented the “Evaluation of different release methods and cultivars with the predatory mite, Amblyseius swirskii Athias-Henriot (Acari: Phytoseiidae) to manage the whitefly [Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) MEAM1] in organic squash.”

Dr. Elena M. Rhodes, biological scientist, presented the “Movement and spatial distribution of spotted wing drosophila, Drosophila suzukii, in organic strawberries in Florida.”

Dr. Adam Dale and Dr. Billy Crow presented “Insect management on turf” and “Nematode management on turf” respectively, at an event Turfgrass In-Service Training: Pest Management.  The event was held at the Suntree Country Club in Brevard County, FL on July 30.

News from Society of Nematologists meeting in Raleigh NC July 7 to 19.

Presentations by our faculty, staff, and students:

Alake G, Timper P, Wright DL, Duncan LW, Crow WT, Alborn HT, Mekete T, DiGennaro P. Structural composition of soil communities do not shift based on nematode management method.

Baniya A, Duncan LW, DiGennaro P. Comparative genomics of native steinernematides and associated bacterial symbionts from Florida citrus groves.

Coburn J, Desaeger J. Host status of different hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) cultivars for root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne javanica).

Crow WT. Lance nematodes, an increasing problem on golf course in the southeastern United States.

Desaeger J, Watson T, Coburne J. Nematicide cocktails for improved efficacy in Florida strawberries.

DiGennaro P, Hu W, Dryrdahl-Young T. The problem with biological controls.

Dritsoulas A, Campos-Herrera R, Duncan LW. Assessing the biogeography of entomopathogenic nematodes using metabarcoding.

Filgueiras CC, Duncan LW, Dickson DW, Willett DS. Plant defense pathways mediate plant-insect-nematode interactions.

Grabau Z, Schumacher LA, Sandoval-Ruiz R, Liao H, Small I, Wright DL.  Looking below the surface: Do different cropping systems affect the nematode community below the plow layer.

Gu M, Crow WT. Metabolites that may explain antagonism between Belonolaimus longicaudatus infested bermudagrass and Pythium arrhenomanes.

Habteweld A, Mendes ML, Crow WT.  First report of root-knot nematode Meloidogyne javanica infecting giant bamboo (Dendrocalamus asper) in Florida.

Hu W, DiGennaro PM. Identification of suitable Meloidogyne spp. housekeeping genes.

Khanal C, Regmi H, Desaeger J. Employment of thermotherapy for non-chemical management of nematodes of strawberry transplants.

Liu C, Grabau ZJ, Navia Gine PA. Nematode management in Florida potato and sweet potato using non-fumigant nematicides.

Mendes ML, Dickson DW, Crow WT. Host status of yellow and purple nutsedge to Belonolaimus longicaudatus.

Mishra S, DiGennaro PM. Role of circadian rhythms on root-knot nematode parasitism.

Mishra S, DiGennaro PM. Transcriptional profiling of root-knot nematode feeding sites over a 24 hour period.

Noling J, Baggio JS, Peres NA. Incidence, severity, and crop impacts in Florida strawberry.

Noling J, Desaeger J. Evaluation of fumigant and non-fumigant nematode management strategies in Florida strawberry 2018-2019.

Regmi H, Abdelsamad N, Khanal C, DiGennaro P, Desaefer J. Potential of adenine dinucleotide (NAD) for management of root-knot nematode in tomato.

Schumacher L, Grabau ZJ, Crow WT, Small LM, Liao HL. Can nematicides application be reduced in sod-based rotation?

Waldo B, Swanson GS, Habteweld AW, Mendes ML, Crow WT. Nematodes associated with sugarcane in Florida spodosols.

Wheeler L, Crow WT. Pathogenicity of Aphelenchoides besseyi on chrysanthemum.

Willett DS, Duncan LW, Alborn HT, Figueiras CC. Entomopathogenic nematode learning.

Wu S-Y, El-Borai FE, Graham JH, Duncan LW. Can the fungus Fusarium solani modulate trophic cascades involving entomopathogenic nematodes and insect herbivores?

Awards:

Team Nemavengers (UF grad students Benjamin Waldo, Lesley Schumacher, Shova Mishra and Arkansas grad student Tracy Hawk) took 1st place in the Cobb Bowl with a dominating performance. Their score was >6 times higher than the second place team!

ABOVE: The Nemavengers with the Cobb Bowl moderator, Dr. Eisenback.

Benjamin Waldo received a Bayer travel award to attend the meeting.

Alexandros Dritsoulas received a Corteva travel award to attend the meeting.

REC Graduate Students and Faculty Lead Celebration of Insects Program at Ft. Pierce Botanical Garden

Nine Entomology & Nematology Ph.D. students from the Florida Medical Entomology Lab (FMEL) in Vero Beach and Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC) in Ft. Pierce cooperated to present an entomological program for children (6-12y) on the morning of July 6, 2019 at Heathcote Botanical Garden, the site of a former plant nursery in downtown Ft. Pierce that was purchased in the 1980s for development into a botanical garden by a small group of visionary and dedicated residents. In the Spring of 2018, emeritus faculty Phil Lounibos contacted Entomology graduate students at the two RECs on the Treasure Coast towards developing a day program at the Gardens to foment interests in insects among local kids. This led to the first rollout of Celebration of Insects, with about 40 children participating in July 2018 at Heathcote.

Early in 2019 Director Diane Kimes suggested that Heathcote would welcome another program for kids on insects, and many of the same UF/IFAS students who participated in the previous year agreed to a sequel, which took place on the first Saturday of July. Participants from FMEL included Diana Rojas, Rebecca Zimler, Shawna Bellamy, and Tse-Yu Chen, as well as Asst. Prof. Eva Buckner. Volunteering PhD students from IRREC were Kristen Bowers, Kelly Carruthers, Emilie Demard, and Patricia Prade. Other locals contributing to the program were Kate Rotindo from UF/IFAS County Extension; Dr. Joe Patt from the USDA/ARS lab in Ft. Pierce, and Dr. Pat Pongam, a biology faculty member from Indian River State College.

Both years the event took advantage of multiple habitats at Heathcote rich in insect life, such as the Butterfly and Vegetable Gardens and the Citrus Orchard, which were visited by small groups of children led by docents, who collected insects and brought them to the Pavilion, a covered staging area, where observations with magnifiers and microscopes were accomplished before the captured insects were released back to the Gardens.

Among favorable comments received by Heathcote Director Diane Kimes about the event was frequent praise for the sensitive and knowledgeable tutoring from REC graduate students, e.g., Brandy Nelson of Ft. Pierce emailed “our son Caden had such a wonderful time, and we appreciate the opportunity. Tse-Yu Chen was wonderful, and the activities in the pavilion were such fun! Thank you again.”

ABOVE: Tse-Yu Chen, PhD student at FMEL, shows Caden a butterfly captured in the Gardens.

Outreach

If you have any questions, please email me.

Thank you —Clayton Bania, 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.

Grants

Congratulations to Dr Wong for being awarded the BARD (US-Israel Agricultural Research and Development Fund) for $310,000 as the Principal Investigator. He will partner with scientists from The Hebrew University of Jerusalem to develop innovative management strategies for Invasive fruit flies for the next 3 years.

Dr. James P. Cuda was the recipient of $1,500 travel grant from the FAES to attend the annual meeting of the Hatch Multistate Project titled, “Biological Control of Arthropod Pests and Weeds.”

Want grant writing tips? Check out the UF Libraries Grants Management Program!

Announcements