NEWSLETTER

CONGRATULATIONS

Dr. Glenn Hall was given $90,000 from the USDA NRI Competitive Grants Program for a two year project regarding African and European Honey Bee Introgression followed with PCR-RFLP Markers.

Dr. Grover Smartwas presented the award, "Fellow of the Society of Nematologists" at its meeting on 19-23 July 1997 in Tucson, Arizona. The award is presented "For Outstanding Contributions to Nematology." Dr. Smart was also appointed Vice-Chairman of the Honors and Awards Committee of the Society of Nematologists.

Drs. Ru Nguyen and Marjorie Hoy were awarded the Florida Entomological Society's 1997 Team Research Award for Achievements in the Biological Control of the Citrus Leafminer.

An online beekeepers news group has awarded Dr. Tom Sanford first prize for the overall informative content of his website. The site is simply an annotated index of letters written to the Apis-L electronic discussion list while on faculty development leave in Aix-en-Provence, France from February through July, 1997. It received high marks for its overall content and offers a fast way to become aware of the state of beekeeping in the Mediterranean.

Wendy Meyer was awarded a scholarship from the Dade county agricultural council at their annual banquet in May. The scholarships are awarded to student's whose research will benefit agriculture in Dade county. Her research is on host selection for oviposition by Caribbean fruit fly.

The Entomology and Nematology Graduate Committee has selected Dina Richman to represent the department for the Kirby Hayes Award (KHA). The KHA is sponsored by the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America. The award consists of $250 cash and a plaque at the annual branch meeting. It is intended for an outstanding student in a Master's of Science Curriculum.

Claudia Riegel was asked to be on a committee in the Society of Nematology called the "Public Awareness" committee. The goal of the committee will be to develop printed and electronic brochures that will reach a broad sector of the public in order to foster general awareness of nematodes and their threats and benefits to mankind.

Jane Medley graduated with highest honors from the UF College of Journalism and Communications on August 9. Jane's BS degree in journalism builds on her art and publication work experience and her AS degree in graphic design technology.

On another note, congratulations to Billy Crow's family on the arrival of Ms. Abigail Grace Crow on Sunday July 27th, at 8:21am. She came into the world weighing four pounds five ounces and 16.5 inches long, and we are pleased to report mother and child are both doing well.

MEETINGS

The Eightieth Annual Meeting of the Florida Entomological Society was held August 4-7 in Daytona Beach, Florida. This year thirteen applicants competed for the three $500 FES annual scholarship. The selection committee acknowledged that it was difficult to choose three from a group of such well-qualified applicants. Congratulations to the three winners: Juan Villanueva-Jimenez, Andy Rasmussen, and Wendy Meyer. Twelve students competed in the Student Paper competition at the annual meeting. The winners were: Clay Scherer (First place, $150 award), Dina Richman (second place, $125), and Juan Villanueva-Jimenez (Third place, $100). Andy Rasmussen presented a paper entitled "Caddisflies (Trichoptera) of a Florida Coolwater Refugium" at. Presented were the results of a 2-year survey of the caddisflies of the Apalachicola Bluffs and Ravines Preserve in Liberty County. The survey uncovered 2 new species of Hydroptilidae as well as 8 new state records of Trichoptera. Patterns of caddisfly abundance and species diversity of the different sampling areas were also discussed. Dr. James P. Cuda presented the paper,"Biology of Trichopria columbiana (Hymenoptera: Diapriidae), a Pupal Parasitoid of the Indian Hydrilla Leaf-Mining Fly Hydrellia pakistanae" at this meeting.

The Annual meeting of the Society of Nematologists was held in Tucson, Arizona on July 19-23 1997, with department making a very strong showing. Dr. Don Dickson received an award for being Editor-in-chief of the Journal of Nematology from 1993-1996. Our department members comprised four of the seven participants in the student paper competition, with Dr. Zhongxiao Chen winning the $250 first prize . In addition, Dorota Porazinska received a $500 travel grant, sponsored by DowElanco, to attend the meeting.

Others

Dr. James Cuda attended the 37th Annual Meeting of the Aquatic Plant Management Society held in Ft. Myers, 13-16 July. Dr. Cuda presented the paper,"Evaluation of Hydrellia pakistanae for Biological Control of Hydrilla: An Experimental Approach." He also served as a judge for the student paper competition, and organized an evening catch and release fishing tournament for the meeting participants and their families.

Dr. Grover Smart has been invited by the Sociedad Mexicana de Control Biologico to attend the XXth National Congress on Biological Control to be held 13 November 1997 in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. He will present a talk, "Biological Control of Pest Mole Crickets with the Nematode, Steinernema scapterisci," as part of an "International Symposium on Entomopathogenic Nematodes."

The Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America will be held December 14-18, 1997 in Nashville, TN. Clay Scherer has been in contact with a travel agent and has found travel arrangements others may be interested in. This airfare is available from Gainesville to Nashville for two people traveling together. The arrangement is to leave Dec. 14 and return Dec. 18, the cost is $321.00 ($160.50 per person).

ATTENTION STUDENTS

The IFAS Dean's office would like to start receiving notices of qualifying examinations for PHD students at least a week before the scheduled exam. This is a college request, not a UF one, so you will NOT be required to send notices to the Graduate School. You can use the Announcement of Exam form or make your own.

ENSO is organizing a party to welcome new students to the department. The party will take place on Thursday, September 4 in room 1031 at 3:00 pm. ENSO asks all professors that have new students to be present at this time to introduce them. Everybody is welcome to come and meet new people, enjoy great free food and have a good time!!!

T-SHIRTS

Claudia Riegel is preparing to place another order for T-shirts featuring an intricate Nematology design created by Elke Fulton.

PUBLICATIONS

Pescador, M.L., M.D. Hubbard, A.K. Rasmussen, J. Jones, and S. Leong. 1997. Influence of sampling methods on determination of mayfly (Ephemeroptera) species richness in a coastal plain stream. IN Ephemeroptera & Plecoptera: Biology-Ecology Systematics, edited by P. Landolt & M. Sartori.

McSorley, R., (July, 1997). Soil-inhabiting nematodes. UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-12.

Thomas Fasulo and Homero Calderon completed six tutorials on various aspects of pesticide use on a grant for GIE, Inc. Publishers, of Cleveland, Ohio. GIE publishes four major magazines for the urban pest control and lawn and landscape industries, of which "Pest Control Technology" and "Lawn and Landscape" are the most well known. These six tutorials took almost a year to complete. The six titles are 1) Spill Prevention and Clean-Up, 2) Personal Protective Measures, 3) Learning more about Pesticides, 4) Handling and Mixing Pesticides, 5) Pesticide Labels, and 6) Laws and Regulations. Dr. Richard Kramer, an alumnus of our department, and now owner of Innovative Pest Management in Olney, Maryland wrote the text for the tutorials. Kramer spent 20 years in pest control for the Department of Defense and then became the Technical Director for the National Pest Control Association (NPCA) before starting his own consulting firm. All six tutorials are approved for Core CEUs in Florida. The tutorials will be released in combination with printed workbooks and videos. GIE will probably make these available to industry during the NPCA national meetings in mid-October.

ESA has a new brochure called "Who Needs An Entomologist" that helps spread the word about entomology.

HELP WANTED

The Center for Systematic Entomology is planning a large donation of books and journals to the Dominican Republic where entomologists (professionals and students) have a desperate need for library materials. The books and journals must be packed carefully in cartons and wrapped with plastic before placement in a large freight container for shipment by sea. Help is wanted to get the packing and wrapping finished soon! This activity is taking place in a warehouse at the Division of Plant Industry (Doyle Conner Building). Please call Dr. Robert Woodruff (home phone 376-1914) to find out when you can help.

ONLINE

ONE MORE EXOTIC INVADER

Dr. Jane Polston of the University of Florida's Gulf Coast Research and Education Center at Bradenton, Florida, reports that tomato yellow leaf curl virus has been found in Florida. This disease has been devastating tomato crops in the Dominican Republic and Jamaica in recent years, and was expected to appear here sooner or later. Until resistant varieties can be put into widspread use, vector and weed management are important. Silverleaf whitefly is the vector for this disease. UF/IFAS has a fact sheet, Circular 1143, that discusses this disease.

Drs. Gary Simone, UF/IFAS extension plant pathologist, and Don Short, extension entomologist, have posted information to Pest Alert on tomato yellow leaf curl virus management for homeowners. The information includes why the virus is so important, how to identify it, a description of its insect vector - the silverleaf whitefly, how the virus is spread, and how to deal with possibly-infected plants and whiteflies.

Drs. Robert Dunn, Jerry Stimac and Grover Smart have posted a file to Pest Alert on the use of insect-parasitic nematodes for control of fire ants. Their comments and advice regarding such use can be found in the crops categories of this database. Dr. Dunn has also posted a file on the upcoming Clemson nematode identification course.

GOOD BUGS

Updated information on suppliers of beneficial insects is available on the World Wide Web.

MSDS Sheets

Looking for a specific Material Safety Data Sheet? Try the Cornell site which allows you to search through a database of 325,000 of them.

The Pest Alert and Florida Insect and Nematode Management databases are available, through the World Wide Web, on the home page (under Publications) of the University of Florida's Department of Entomology and Nematology.

You can obtain an electronic subscription by joining the listserv.

This version of the newsletter is edited and published for the Web by Tim McCoy.

The next newsletter will be published Thursday, August 25. Deadline for contributions is Monday, August 22.

Editors: Yasmin Cardoza & Tim McCoy

August 1997. Updated March 2003.