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ABOVE: The Urban Entomology Lab has some new insect art decorating the entrance. Go have a look when you have a chance!
Dr. Christine W. Miller served as an invited panelist and mentor at the Weaving the Future of Animal Behavior (WFAB) symposium at Arizona State University May 16th to the18th.
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ABOVE: UF Entomology & Nematology hosted fifty researchers and industry partners at the Center for Arthropod Management Technologies’ Industrial Advisory Board meeting in mid-May to review research progress and set priorities for the 2019 RFP. Submissions of one page executive summaries for projects related to arthropod and nematode management are welcomed through June 26th at camtech@ifas.ufl.edu.
Dr. James P. Cuda participated in the quarterly UF/IFAS Invasive Species Council Meeting held at the Austin Cary Learning Center, May 15th.
Dr. James P. Cuda was selected for listing in the 2019 edition of Who’s Who in the World.
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ABOVE: Many of our faculty were able to participate in the department’s Extension retreat in May. The retreat activities were developed and coordinated by Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman and Dr. Billy Crow. We appreciate the support from the social committee and Nancy Sanders for purchasing and coordinating refreshments, and thanks to all of our guest speakers and to our faculty small group moderators.
- Natural areas, moderator Dr. Jim Cuda
- Tropical/Sub-tropical crops and fruit, moderator Dr. Daniel Carrillo
- Turf and landscape, moderator Dr. Adam Dale
- Urban/Medical/Veterinary pest management, moderator Dr. Eva Buckner
- Vegetable/Row crops and fruit, moderator Dr. Oscar Liburd
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ABOVE: Dr. Jennifer Gillett-Kaufman and Dr. Phil Kaufman are leading the UF in Florence: Global Perspectives Study Abroad program in Florence, Italy during Summer A. This summer, 154 UF students are participating in the program where they are immersed in Italian culture for six weeks. While overseeing the safety and needs of the students in the program, the Kaufman’s also teach an experiential learning course titled Feast or Famine in Florence (ALS4404) where students learn about the influence of insects on Italian history, art, science, and food. Students visit and learn about many important sites in Florence, including burial sites related to the Black Death, a 500-year-old olive farm known for producing the highest quality oils, the Galileo Museum of Science, to study historical scientific instruments, La Specola, the oldest natural history museum in Europe, with an amazing insect collection, and travel to Modena, a city famous for agricultural production to learn directly from producers about their pest issues.
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ABOVE: Dr. Doug Booher (right), NSF Postdoctoral Fellow, is working out of the Lucky lab through July 20. He is using historical collections of Florida ants from 1965 to the present to understand what happens to native ant communities when non-native ants arrive and spread. While a visiting researcher in the Lucky lab, he will be working with undergraduates Ave Bauerle (left) and Lexie Nielsen (middle) on intra-specific competition trials to determine if species are likely to form super-colonies whereby ants from different colonies will integrate and work with colonies they were not born into (a trait predicting invasive success). They are using artificial ant nests that attract colonies placed along a latitudinal gradient of Florida to collect colonies in natural habitats. In behavioral trials, they are placing ants from nearby and distant collections together to determine whether ants from these different colonies integrate, compete, or ignore one another. In their first day of collections, they recovered 62 colonies of ants from artificial nests to begin these trials. This project is a part of a postdoctoral fellowship in biological collections with co-PI's Dr. Andy Suarez (Univ. Illinois) and Dr. Corrie Moreau (Cornell).
We are proud to introduce our new summer, 2019 graduate students:
New Ph.D. students are:
Clemen de Olivera, Balm (Dr. Desaeger)
Erik Roldan, Lake Alfred (Dr. Pelz-Stelinski)
Clebson dos Santos Tavares, Gainesville (Dr. Bonning)
John Ternest, Gainesville (Dr. Mallinger)Our new MS distance students are:
Mohamad Bayasi
Mikenna Smith
Please welcome our new students!
The UF BRE (Biosecurity, Research, and Extension) Laboratory is pleased to welcome two new Doctor of Plant Medicine (DPM) students for summer semester-Andy Jean-Louis and Jenny Gavilenz-Slone!
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ABOVE: DPM student Morgan Pinkerton and MS/DPM student Sage Thompson are currently in Ecuador completing a summer internship with MS/DPM graduate Dr. Lisbeth Espinoza. Students interested in Ecuador internship opportunities can contact Dr. Amanda Hodges.
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ABOVE: DPM students and an undergraduate student in Horticulture Sciences traveled to Ecuador May 10th to 18th, for a professional development field trip. DPM students were able to meet with DPM alumni, Dr. Lisbeth Espinoza from ESPOL and Dr. Daniel Mancero from the Universidad de Agraria. Production areas visited during the trip include cacao, roses, banana, coffee, and cut flowers. Jenny Gavilenz-Slone, Yang Yue, Keir Hamilton, Dr. Amanda Hodges, Dr. Lisbeth Espinoza, Dr. Daniel Mancero, Sage Thompson, Nick Goltz, Morgan Pinkerton, and Julia Rycna.
Following the DPM student professional development field trip in Ecuador, Dr. Amanda Hodges, Jenny Gavilenz-Slone, Sage Thompson, Morgan Pinkerton, and Dr. Lisbeth Espinosa were hosted by Dr. Henri Herrera at ESPOCH. Dr. Amanda Hodges is the faculty member coordinator with ESPOCH, and Dr. Hodges participated in an official signing event for the agreement between the University of Florida and ESPOCH on May 20th.
Alex Orfinger received the award for Best Oral Presentation by a Graduate Student at the 2019 Florida Association of Aquatic Biologists Annual Meeting for his talk titled Systematics of the Eastern North American Polycentropus sensu stricto (Trichoptera: Polycentropodidae): A proposal.
Interested in art, biological sciences, computer science, or all of the above?
The Kawahara Lab at the McGuire Center is recruiting volunteers to assist with various digitization projects. These projects include photographing specimens, transcribing labels, curating collections, and more! Volunteers will be trained to handle specimens and work in the Lepidoptera collections. The data gathered from these projects will benefit conservation, biogeographic, and evolutionary studies of these organisms. For more information, please contact Erin Jane Lapasaran at elapasaran@ufl.edu.
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.
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ABOVE: Syrphid flies are well known for their bright coloration, often in patterns that mimic stinging wasps and bees. This syrphid bears a striking resemblance to the southern yellowjacket. Dr. Andrei Sourakov took these photos in the UF Natural Area Teaching Lab. The Insect ID Lab has been dealing with a lot of termite samples lately. The Formosan subterranean termites and West Indian powderpost termites have been swarming
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.
Amoros ME, das Neves VP, Rivas F, Buenahora J, Martini X, Stelinski LL, Rossini C. 2019. Response of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) to volatiles characteristic of preferred citrus hosts. Arthropod-Plant Interactions. 13: 367-374. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11829-018-9651-8
Avery PB, Kumar V, Skvarch EA, Mannion CM, Powell, CA, McKenzie CL, Osborne LS. 2019. An ecological assessment of Isaria fumosorosea applications compared to a neonicotinoid treatment for regulating invasive ficus whitefly. Journal of Fungi 5: 36. DOI: 10.3390/jof5020036
Awad J, Hodges A, Hight SD, Srivastava M, Howe AC, Rohrig E. 2019. Laboratory rearing and sex ration of Apantelese opuntiarum (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a potential biological control agent of Cactoblastis cactorum (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae). Florida Entomologist. 102(1): 216-221. http://journals.fcla.edu/flaent/article/view/106922
Chen XD, Gill TA, Nguyen CH, Killiny N, Pelz-Stelinski KS, Stelinski LL. 2019. Insecticide toxicity associated with detoxification enzymes and genes related to transcription of cuticular melanization among color morphs of Asian citrus psyllid. Insect Science. 26: 843-852. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7917.12582.
Forthman M, Miller CW, Kimball RT. 2019. Phylogenomic analysis suggests Coreidae and Alydidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) are not monophyletic. Zoologica Scripta. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/zsc.12353.Johnston N, Stelinski LL, Stansly P. 2019. Dispersal patterns of Diaphorina citri Kuwayama (Hemiptera: Liviidae) as influenced by citrus grove management and abiotic factors. Florida Entomologist. 102: 168-173. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1653/024.102.0127
Keller O, Skelley PE. 2019. A new species of Notaepytus Skelley (Coleoptera, Erotylidae) from Dominican amber. Zootaxa. 4609(1): 191-195. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4609.1.12
Penca C, Hodges AC. 2019. Caribbean fruit fly management in Florida peaches. UF-IFAS EDIS publication ENY No. 343. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1242
Shrestha D, McAuslane HJ, Ebert TA, Cervantes FA, Adkins ST, Smith HA, Dufault N, Webb SE. 2019. Assessing the temporal effects of Squash vein yellowing virus infection on settling and feeding behavior of Bemisia tabaci (MEAM1)(Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae). Journal of Insect Science. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/jisesa/iez036
Sourakov A. 2019. Evaluating potential aposematic signals in caterpillars using a fluorescent microscope and spectrometer. Tropical Lepidoptera Research. 29(1): 52-55. http://journals.fcla.edu/troplep/article/view/114367
New on Featured Creatures:
Poinsettia thrips, Echinothrips americanus Morgan. Authors: Babu Panthi, Oscar Liburd, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida and Justin Renkema, London Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada / Government of Canada.
Rusty spider wasp, Tachypompilus ferrugineus (Say). Authors: Sarah Anderson and Andrea Lucky, Entomology and Nematology Department, University of Florida.
Do you have a favorite creature? Learn how to make it into a Featured Creatures!
Dr. James P. Cuda attended the 2019 UF/IFAS Extension Symposium held at the UF Hilton Conference Center, May 7th to 8th.
From the Outreach Coordinator
Here are our events from May:
May 4th- Brooker Creek Insect and Plants Entomology class- Clayton Bania, Jonathan Elmquist
May 7th- Insect Day at Glen Springs Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 13th- Talbot Elementary school reading day with Insects- Clayton Bania
May 16th Career Day at Metcalfe Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 17th- Career Day Lake Forest Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 20th- Career Day Bell Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 21st- Science Day at Chiles Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 21st – STEAM night at Idlywild Elementary- Clayton Bania, Sean McKay
May 23rd- Science Symposium Hidden Oak Elementary- Clayton Bania
May 23rd- CALS Navigatoring tour Santa Fe- Dr. Rebecca Baldwin
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 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!
If you have any questions, please email me.
Thank you —Clayton Bania, Outreach Coordinator.
The UF BRE laboratory will be hosting a filmed taxonomic training session on Fruit Fly Identification on July 16-18, 2019 in Steinmetz Hall. World experts will deliver the training, and some workshop spaces are still available. Contact Brianna Whitman (bwhitman@ufl.edu ) or Dr. Amanda Hodges (achodges@ufl.edu ) to register. The workshop website is also available at: http://fruitflyworkshop.com/
Announcing Invasive Ant Boot Camp 2019: July 22-24, 9am-5pm. IABC is an intensive three-day course focused on ant identification, biology and management. The course offers hands-on training with the world’s worst invasive ants—which are plentiful in Florida—and with the best resources for identifying and managing them. For more information or to register, visit www.invasiveantbootcamp.org, or email Dr. Andrea Lucky (alucky@ufl.edu).
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.
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 Dr. Phil Kaufman and Nancy Sanders, who reviewed the newsletter for errors, and to Jane Medley and Don Wasik, who built the original 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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