NEWSLETTER
02/04/99 Entomology and Nematology News
A University of Florida Publication
Yes, a stagnant pool, though but a few feet wide, hatched by the sun, is an immense world, an inexhaustible mine of observation to the studious man and a marvel to the child who, tired of his paper boat, diverts his eyes and thoughts a little with what is happening in the water. -J. Henri Fabre
EXPANDING THE BROOD
Kevi Vulinec has recently returned from a year in Brazil as a Fulbright Scholar. Her work is on dung beetles and their relationship to monkeys and the dispersal of seeds in the Amazon Basin.
Ten new or continuing graduate students entered our department for the spring semester, 1999. Their names and their major professors are:
John Baker with Dr. Koehler,
Ramazan Cetintas with Dr. Dickson,
Pete Coon with Dr. Cuda,
Jennifer Gillett - not determined,
Hanife Genc with Dr. Nation,
Nikolai Kandul with Dr. Emmel,
Cliff Martin with Dr. Cuda,
Matt Messenger with Dr. Nan-Yao Su,
Gisette Seferina with Dr. Gerberg,
Jade Williams with Dr. Lloyd.
GET WELL
Jane Medley said the tonsil removal went as well as could be expected, she had a great team working on her. She is now doped up most of the time on pain medicines and said she must admit she is happy to have them. Her brother has been doing a great job taking care of her and she can't wait to get back on solid foods.
AWARDS
Jimmy Rich, Nematologist at the NFREC - Quincy, was recently recognized by the Organization of Nematologists of Tropical America (ONTA) as an Honorary Member. The award is the highest honor ONTA can bestow and is limited to only 3% of the membership at any one time. Jimmy has served ONTA as President and Editor-in-Chief of Nematropica as well as 15 years on the Board of Directors.
The Ph. D. dissertation of Douglas Burkett, entitled "Light Color Attraction and Dietary Sugar Composition for Several Mosquito (Diptera: Culicidae) species found in North Central Florida," and the M. S. thesis of Yasmin Cardoza, entitled "Resistance to Squash Silverleaf Disorder and Oviposition Site Selection by Bemisia argentifolii in Cucurbita pepo L.," were chosen by our Graduate Committee and submitted to Dean Everett Emino to be placed in competition for the, "Award of Excellence for Graduate Research" in IFAS. The IFAS winners will be placed in competition for the same awards University-wide.
MEETINGS
Dr. James P. Cuda participated in the 1999 FMCA Dodd Short Course held in Gainesville, January 27 and 28. He was an instructor for a two-day course on "Aquatic Plants and Their Control" that was taught at the Center for Aquatic and Invasive Plants located in north Gainesville. Cuda provided the participants with practical information on classical biological control of aquatic weeds in Florida.
PUBLICATIONS
J.C. Medal, M.D. Vitorino, D.H. Habeck, J.L. Gillmore, J.H. Pedrosa, and L.P. De Sousa. 1999. Host specificity of Heteroperreyia hubrichi Malaise (Hymenoptera: Pergidae), a potential biological control agent of Brazilian peppertree (Schinus terebinthifolius Raddi). Biological Control 14: 60-65.
<B>Tom Walker is now published in Japanese. His American Scientist article on "Free Internet Access to Traditional Journals" was republished in the Japanese journal Joho Kanri (vol. 41, no. 9, pp. 678-694, 1998).
WEBCRAWLING
Featured Creatures
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures
The following nine Featured Creatures on house, field and wood crickets were all by T.J. Walker:
House cricket, Acheta domesticus (Linnaeus).
Tropical house cricket. Gryllodes sigillatus (F. Walker).
Field crickets, Gryllus spp.
Sand field cricket, Gryllus firmus Scudder.
Southeastern field cricket, Gryllus rubens Scudder.
Southwestern field cricket, Gryllus 'integer' (undescribed species).
Jamaican field cricket, Gryllus assimilis (Fabricius).
Southern wood cricket, Gryllus fultoni (Alexander).
Taciturn wood cricket, Gryllus ovisopis (T. Walker).
Creature Citations
To save space in the newsletter, the citations for Featured Creatures are not listed exactly as they should be referenced in a list of authors' publications. The correct, complete citation is: Author(s). (date). Title. UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY- ##. URL
READING ROOM
Once again, an item has been taken from the Reading Room. It is volume 78 (1995) of Florida Entomologist, a bound volume. This is an opportunity to tell new students, and to remind anyone who has forgotten, of the cardinal rule of the Reading Room: IT IS NOT PERMITTED TO REMOVE BOOKS AND JOURNALS FROM THE READING ROOM. To do so is selfish -it deprives others of the use of the item. Whoever removed the volume also seems to be ignorant that recent volumes of Florida Entomologist are on-line on WWW. You can read them on a computer, and you can print any article from them. So why steal the volume from the Reading Room - yes, STEAL, because that is how it will be treated if the culprit is caught.
NATL News
A four-board wooden fence has been erected along the east and north limits of the Natural Area Teaching Laboratory's Stormwater Ecological Enhancement Project (=SEEP or the re-contoured retention pond). The purpose of the fence is to define where mowed lawn stops and SEEP begins and to discourage erosion-prone paths leading directly down-slope to water's edge. Access to SEEP is through the gate by the kiosk (which explains SEEP on its north side) and through a gap in the fence north of SEEP. The area immediately north of SEEP may eventually become a small park providing an interface been NATL and UF's cultural complex. Brian Goe, a graduate student in Landscape Architecture, is working on a master plan for the north portion of NATL.
Volunteers from the Student Geomatics Association are surveying a 50-meter reference grid for NATL. This survey will re-establish the points for an earlier 100-meter grid and establish the new points required by the 50-meter grid. Each grid point will have a 2 ft. iron stake driven flush with the ground and will be made evident by a 3 ft high stake that displays the point's grid coordinates. Maps of NATL, with the grid superimposed, are available on the north side of NATL's kiosk.
LINNEAN TEAM
Send good luck wishes to Team Captain Mary Donohue, Richard Pluke, Clint McFarland, Phillip Lake, Michael Patnaude and the ultimate coach, Chris Tipping. They will represent the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the Southeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America meeting February 28 through March 3.
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Editor: Michael Patnaude
This version of the newsletter is prepared for the Web by Kathryn Jones.
January 1999. Updated May 2003.