NEWSLETTER
10/29/99 Entomology and Nematology News
Entomology and Nematology Student Organization
A University of Florida Publication

REMEMBER

Scott Ross Yocom obtained his MS degree from our department in 1984.  At the time of his death in April 1994 from lymphatic cancer at age 39, he was a Ph.D. student with Dr. Harvey Cromroy, an acarology professor recently retired from our department.  Scott studied Varroa mite of honeybees, mostly earning his stipend with contracts from industry for evaluation of pesticides against the mite.  However, his main interest was honey bee and mite behavior.  Well, actually, Scott didn't have a main interest.  He was interested in anything and everything about insects!  Although he was unable to finish writing his dissertation before he died, it was substantially complete so he was awarded his PhD a few days prior to his death.

Scott was involved in so many aspects of our department that it is hard to remember them all.  He contributed to ENSO fund raising by extracting honey from his beehives and bottling it for sale.  He organized insect film nights (he was a trivia buff and knew the entire cult and not-so-cultish insect films).  He was involved in many outreach programs for the department.  He was also captain of the University of Florida's national championship team (Linnaean team, that is)!  Scott, hairless from chemotherapy, led our team to a great victory at the 1993 Entomological Society of America annual meeting in Indianapolis.

Even though Scott spent tremendous amounts of time doing research, classes and entomology outreach, he was also very involved in other activities.  He was an accomplished artist and had many of his works displayed locally.  He helped to establish the Art and Healing Program at Shands Hospital.  He served as president of the Graphics and Scientific Illustrators Association and vice-president of the Gainesville Orchid Society.

Scott did so much for our department.  He would help anyone who asked, probably to the detriment of his own studies.  It is quite fitting that we have a memorial butterfly garden to remember his contributions to our department and, for those of us who knew him, to reflect on his life.

EXPANDING THE BROOD

A new Entomologist has been born.

 Lucas de Moraes Smith was born on September 27 weighing 7 Lb 4 oz, to entomologists Rejane de Moraes (former Ph.D. 1997 student of Dr. Maruniak) and Michael Smith.  Mother and baby are doing well and send their greetings.  Congratulations, Rejane!

MEETINGS

Norm Leppla is chairman of the 1999 annual meeting of the Association of Natural Biocontrol Producers to be held from Saturday, October 30 through Tuesday, November 2, 1999 at the beautiful Grosvenor Inn near Disney Epcot in Orlando, Florida.  "Growing the Market for Biological Control," is the title and there will be sessions on Epcot horticulture and pest management, linkages between the Association of Natural Biocontrol Producers (ANBP) and other biological control institutions, the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) quality control standards for natural enemies, the new Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Biological Control Laboratory, and a discussion on patenting and licensing government-funded research.  We also plan to visit potential markets (a nursery and horse farm) and research sites (University of Florida, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services).  The conclusion will be a marketing session with a grower panel and "Trade Show in Reverse," one-on-one discussions between ANBP members and potential customers, growers interested in purchasing and using natural enemies.  Social events will include a welcoming reception, lunch at Disney Epcot, and a Florida style barbecue at a new Equestrian Center near the Ocala National Forest.  For registration information see http://www.AMRQC.org.

Extension Professionals Meeting

The department had a booth in the exhibit hall at the annual Florida Extension Professionals meeting held at Kissimmee in late September. This meeting is hosted by the Dean for Extension and four professional extension associations.  Our booth highlighted the department's efforts in IPM.  Thomas Fasulo manned the booth, but others who assisted in providing materials for the display included James Cuda, Robert Dunn, Jane Medley, Nancy Sanders and Frank Woods.

This is the first time our award-winning booth was displayed at an IFAS meeting and it attracted a lot of attention, as it usually does at other meetings. A number of faculty from other departments and RECs asked questions about its cost and development.  This was the large, freestanding booth.  The department also has a smaller, tabletop model, which recently saw action at the IFAS TailGator event during the Alabama game.  Both displays can be checked out from Jane Medley who maintains a reservation schedule.  First time users need to schedule some time to learn how to setup, take down, and repack the booths as improper packing can damage the display materials.  The display cases can be shipped.

Marjorie Hoy is attending the XXII Congreso Nacional de Control Biologico, in Montecillo, Mexico October 25-29 where she will present an invited talk, "Biological Control in the New Millenium".  In addition she will attend the X Curso Nacional de Control Biologico and present a talk on "Biological Control of Citrus Pests: International Issues".

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the Florida Association of Extension Professionals Conference held in Kissimmee, Florida 27 Sep- 1 Oct.

Dr. James P. Cuda attended the 23rd annual meeting of the Florida Aquatic Plant Management Society in Daytona Beach, Florida, 5-7 Oct. He presented the paper, "Midges, Mines, and Meristems. Oh My! (or Growth Suppression of the Aquatic Weed Hydrilla by the Stem Tip Mining Midge Cricotopus lebetis (Diptera: Chironomidae). The paper was co-authored by Pete Coon and Judy Gillmore.

Dr. James P. Cuda participated in the Annual New Faculty Orientation Meeting held at the Reitz Union, 12-14 Oct.

Drs. James P. Cuda and Julio Medal traveled to Montpellier, France to participate in the Global IOBC international symposium, "Evaluating Indirect Ecological Effects of Biological Control".  They co-authored the poster presentation, "Field Experiments and Surveys in the Weeds' Native Range to Solve Contradictory Results of Quarantine Host-specificity Studies: Solanum Weeds Case Study".

SPECIAL SEMINAR

Dr. Betty Faber, of the Liberty Science Center, Liberty, NJ, was in Tampa. FL attending a national meeting of science center personnel.  She was able to break away for one day to come to Gainesville and trade cockroaches with Phil Koehler.  Dr. Faber has worked with cockroaches for many years, and due to her position with the Science Center, has attracted media-star status due to her fascination with this insect group.  Beginning with two appearances on the Jerry Lewis show years ago, to host cockroach races, she has since appeared on many TV talk shows (some several times) to discuss our little friends.  Her "The Yuckiest Site On the WWW" (http://www.yucky.com/), a site on cockroaches that is oriented toward children, has earned her wide press coverage for several years.  However, a newspaper now maintains the site, and Betty states is it no longer as scientifically correct as she would like it to be.

Dr. Faber presented an entertaining seminar during her visit on "Sex. Lies, and Roaches - A Voyeuristic Journey."  Dr. Faber's photographic skills were evident as she displayed beautiful slides of the American cockroaches she studies in New Jersey, and the more tropical, and some undescribed, cockroach species she photographed during her five-year study in the mountains of Trinidad.  The slides covered a wide range of behavior patterns, including aggression, mating and some strange feeding behavior.

GRANTS

Drs. Bruce R. Stevens (Department of Medicine), James P. Cuda (Department of Entomology & Nematology) and Harry J. Klee (Department of Horticultural Sciences) were awarded a grant for $20,612 from the ORTGE/Reserch and Technology Investment Fund to investigate metabolic and transgenic methods for controlling insects.

PUBLICATIONS

Powell, T.E., T.R. Fasulo, and E.Y. Yang. (August 1999). Premise 75 - Computer Tutorial, UF/IFAS SW-136.

D.L. Richman, P.G. Koehler, and R.J. Brenner. 1999. Effect of temperature and the synergist piperonyl butoxide on imidacloprid toxicity to the cat flea (Siphonaptera: Pulicidae). J. Econ. Entomol. 92: 1120-1124.

J. E. Gahlhoff, D.M. Miller, and P.G. Koehler. 1999. Secondary kill of adult male German cockroaches (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae) via cannibalism of nymphs fed toxic baits. J. Econ. Entomol. 92: 1133-1137.

J.M. Anderson, J.F. Preston, D.W. Dickson, T.E. Hewlett, N.H. Williams, and J.E. Maruniak. 1999. Phylogenetic Analysis of Pasteuria penetrans by 16S rRNA Gene Cloning and Sequencing.  Journal of Nematology 31:  319-325.

Cuda, J.P., B.R. Coon, J.L. Gillmore and T.D. Center. 1999. Biological control with insects: a hydrilla stem tip mining midge. UF/IFAS ENY-821.

UP FOR DEFENDING

Masters Defense Exit Seminar

Deanna Branscome on 11/08/99 at 9:00 A.M. in room EYN 1031. "Influence of Carbon Dioxide on German Cockroach Movement, Hydromethylnon Consumption and Mortality"

Doctoral Defense Exit Seminar

Hugh Smith on 11/17/99 at 3:00 P.M. in room EYN 1031.  "Intercropping and Whitefly (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) Management"

Kevina Vulinec on 12/09/99 at 2:00 P.M. in room EYN 1031.  "Dung Beetles, Monkeys, and Seeds in the Brazilian Amazon"

WEBCRAWLING

Featured Creatures

Thanks to Dr. Skip Choate you can now search the Featured Creatures WWW site by keywords.

The UF Entomology and Nematology Department and the FDACS Division of Plant Industry have added files on the following organisms to the Featured Creatures WWW site at: http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/

Capinera, J.L. (October 1999). Cabbage looper,  Trichoplusia ni (Hubner). UF/IFAS Featured Creatures. EENY-116.

Label Tutorial

Henife Genc has produced a tutorial on the Siege gel bait insecticide, in cooperation with Thomas Fasulo and Everett Yang. This tutorial, the second in a series of Label Tutorials, is available from the Buggy Software WWW site at http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/fasulo/pests/Software/

URBAN ENTOMLOGY SOCIETY

Recent UES Events

 On October 13 UES held its monthly meeting in the entomology courtyard. For those of you who are interested in coming to our meetings, we meet the 2nd Wednesday of every month. So that means that our next meeting is on November 10 at 6pm. Everyone is welcome to come out and enjoy dinner with us and learn how to get involved in our club. You don't have to be an urban student to join, you just have to love insects and entomology as much as we do!

 We were recently invited to a community Fall Festival at Blues Creek where we gave a presentation to neighborhood kids about insects. This went very well and we were pleased with the turnout. Tom Currin of Florida Pest Control invited us out there and we offer a "Thanks" to him and our members who participated in this event.

 Several graduate and undergraduate students will be accompanying Dr. Koehler to the National Pest Control Association meeting in Atlanta, GA the week of October 25. This is a great opportunity for our club to get national recognition and for our members to meet people in the pest control industry. Also, we sell most of our collections at these meetings and we are looking forward to getting more orders. If you are interested in helping to pin insects for these collections, feel free to stop by the urban lab anytime. Someone will always be there to tell you what needs to be done!

 Finally, we have Urban Entomological Society T-shirts available for sale! They are available in the urban lab for $20. Just ask one of the graduate students to help you out. These are another great fundraiser for our club so come out and show your support by sporting one of our fancy t-shirts!

BLOOD

Donate Blood. The Civitan bloodmobile will be at the Entomology-Nematology building on Tuesday, November 9, from 2:00 to 4:00 P.M. During the last visit in September 8 people donated one gallon. Let's do better next time. Mark your calendar and donate on the 9th.

ENTOMOLOGY & NEMATOLOGY STUDENT ORGANIZATION

Volleyball

VOLLEYBALL TEAM MAKES PLAYOFFS!!!

With an astounding record of 2-2, the volleyball team has glided into the playoffs in dramatic style that has defined the team.  Thursday night, October 28th, the final night of the regular season, the team started to meet at their usual spot.  As the time started to tick away a get closer 9pm game, the team was nervous.  Why you may ask, because their was one lone female who showed!  Erin Britton, new member to the team, was the lone female and it seemed would be.  It seemed we would have to forfeit. However, "CrAzY" Tom Merritt went to check on the other teams progress, discovering they too had a lack of females and males!  This meant only one thing...we didn't know either.  Okay, actually we did.  If we could get one more female then the Entomology Department would win and make the playoffs.  So quicker than Clay Shear running a mile the plan went into action! Clint McFarland and Oscar Perez ran off to get Oscar's wife Jenny Perez to come and play.  Just in case, our mighty, fearless, Captain Eric Hansen drove back to the department to get Erin Gentry. There he was trying to convince her that even though her mid-term paper for Dr. Nation's "Insect Physiology and Biochemistry" class is very important and should consume her every thought while awake or while sleeping, and even though she was working hard at it and was currently on the editing process to make it flow as beautifully as Shakespeare or Keats she should realize that the gracious, beautiful person that Dr. James L. Nation is, would understand and cheer her on to go give one up for the team and help the Department get into the playoffs. While back in the SW Rec Center tension was getting high.  There were plans to make Pieter Van Essen a woman, but unfortunately he forgot to shave and the refs didn't believe that Phillip Lake was actually a Klinefelter, meaning he had at least two X-chromosomes technically making him a woman.  Then with just a mere two minutes left until both teams would have to forfeit "CrAzY" Tom, living up to his name, walked over to two women just sitting down enjoying themselves and asked if either of them were on any volleyball teams.  Then asked if either of them were on any teams at all.  Then BEGGED for either of them to come and sign up for the Dept.'s team, letting them know full well that if either of them did sign up they would not even have to play.  And one said sure.  She signed up and just as she finished, Jenny Perez made it there and signed up.  Just as she finished signing, the ref declared the Entomology Department the winners!!!  So with that, the most dramatic win yet, the Dept.'s team makes it into the playoffs.  To let you know, Erin did come over to help us win too and brought her paper and to be able to keep working.   The schedule for the playoffs will be announced next week at some point.  But this is a plea from the team.  COME SUPPORT US!!!  The time we played best was when some people came out and cheered on the team. It made a HUGE difference!!!  Look towards your email during the week for the schedule!  And see you at the court!!!

The Halloween Bash

A good time was had by all that attended the Halloween Potluck sponsored by ENSO.  Mike Patnaude (with help from Wally "Mary's boyfriend", and Eric Hansen) entertained all of the little kids (and even some of the not so little kids) with a House of Horrors.  We would like to send out a special thanks to the last grad student not to pass his qualifying exam for donating his eyes, brain and guts for the House of Horrors. We would also like to thank Phillip Lake and Clint McFarland for their organization efforts and Mike Patnaude for the organization of the haunted house.  Special thanks to everyone who helped decorate (Katie Barbara, Erin Gentry, Erin Britton, Clint McFarland, Mike Patnaude and Phillip Lake).  After, being thoroughly scared everyone had worked up a terrifying appetite for the delicious food.  Once the food and beverages were merrily consumed.  The ultra-secret panel of judges announced the winners of the various contests. Mary Donohue won for a ten-dollar gift certificate to Blockbuster Video for her delicous yet frightening recipe.  Mike Patnaude won a thirty-dollar gift certificate to Emiliano's Restaurant for best costume. Also, Heather McAuslane's son Daniel won best children's costume.  He received a free ENSO t-shirt for being an adorable bee. Finally we would like to thank everyone for coming and especially everyone who helped clean up afterwards.

Stay tuned for the next Social Committee function.  If YOU have any great ideas for the next social event, come to our Regular Meeting Time: Wednesday, 12:00PM in the Scott Yocum Memorial Butterfly Garden.

Homecoming

Friday November 5th ENSO will have a float in the homecoming parade.  Come out and enjoy their float along with all the other student organizations and area business floats.  It will run along University Ave into downtown.  Check you local newspapers for time.  If you miss it, don't worry Fox 51 is recording it to be rebroadcast from 5-7pm on Saturday November 6th.

If you are going to Gator Growl on Friday night November 5th listen closely you may recognize the "voice" announcing everything.  Tom Merritt is the official "voice" of Gator Growl 1999.  So listen and have fun!!!   Oh yeah there are still tickets available if you haven't gotten them.  Check your local Ticket Master for prices!

Six-legged Theater

This is ENSO's movie night held on Thursdays of every month at 7:00PM in the Entomology Building, Room 1031.  Popcorn and admission is free.  Drinks are 50 cents each.

November 18th: Microcosmos (1996)

Documentary: a French film crew takes you on a journey into a countryside to examine insects like you've never seen them before: funny, menacing, comical, dramatic and musical!

ENTOMOLOGY AND NEMATOLOGY DEPARTMENT

SEMINAR SCHEDULE FALL 1999
 

4 Nov.  Dr. Glenn Hall, University of Florida
  "Gene Flow Between African and European Honey Bee Populations Followed
with DNA Markers"

18 Nov. Dr. John Sivinski, USDA, Gainesville, Florida
  "Ovipositor Length, Wing Shape, and Judicious Biological Control"

NEW EDITOR

Erin Britton will take the editorial torch and begin with the November issue. Mike will still be around to assist.

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

A hard copy of this newsletter is given to department members in Building 970 only. All others can obtain an electronic subscription by sending a request to listserv@lists.ufl.edu and in the text of the message type:

Turn off any signature file, if you have one. You will receive instructions for confirming your subscription and further information on the rules for the list server.

Editor: Michael Patnaude
New Editor: Erin  Britton

This version of the newsletter is prepared for the Web by Kathryn Jones.

October 1999. Updated May 2003.