Hexapod Herald
Department of Entomology University of Nebraska - Lincoln
Volume 16
May 2004
Number 3

Congratulations Welcome Farewell Faculty NewsGrad Student News From the Office
Grants Museum News Publications Travel Condolences This & That Archives

Calendar of Events

May 31, 2004
• Memorial Day Holiday - No classes and office closed June 4, 2004
• Pre-Session Ends
June 7, 2004
• First Five-Week Session Begins
June 18-19, 2004
• Value-Added Products Beekeeping Workshop
Agricultural Research and Development Center, Mead, NE
July 5, 2004
• July 4th Holiday - No classes and office closed
July 9, 2004
• Eight-Week and First Five-Week Sessions End
July 12, 2004
• Second Five-Week Session Begins
August 1-5, 2004
• Rocky Mountain Conference of Entomologists, Woodland Park, CO
August 12, 2004
• Second Five-Week Session Ends
August 14, 2004
• Commencement - 9:30 a.m., Bob Devaney Sports Center

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Welcome

New Distance Masters Students:
Summer 2004: Tony Hughes, Wichita, KS; Lee McPhatter, Ft. Benning, GA; William Runkle, Eagle River, AK; Fred Springer, Dedham, MA; Mayra Vega, Miami, FL.

Dr. Emily Ross, a Post-Doc Research Associate, will be working in Dr. Blair Siegfried’s lab for the next year. Dr. Ross received her B.A. in Biology from Reed College in 1997 and received her Ph.D. in Biochemistry from UNL in 2002. She previously worked in the Biochemistry Department at the Beadle Center.

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The following students graduated in May 2004:
Analiza P. Alves, M.S. (Advisor: Dr. Blair Siegfried)
Joshua V. Granderson, M.S. (Advisor: Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss)
Mathew M. Kramm, M.S. (Advisor: Dr. John Foster)
Federico C. Ocampo, Ph.D. (Advisors: Drs. Mary Liz Jameson and Brett Ratcliffe)

Dr. Andrew Smith was awarded a two year fellowship from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada to carry on his scarab research program at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa and McGill University. This appointment will begin on July 1, 2004.

Nick Aliano has received a Hazel V. Emley Fellowship in the amount of $1,000 from the Office of Graduate Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year. Nick also was awarded $600 from the Ward A. ad Helen W. Combs Scholarship Fund.

Wyatt Anderson has been awarded a Ward A. and Helen W. Combs Scholarship in the amount of $600 for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Laura Campbell has been selected as a recipient of the Mabel J. Reichenbach Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year. This fellowship carries a stipend of $1,000.

Pete Clark has been awarded a Milton E. Mohr Fellowship in the amount of $1,000 from the Center for Biotechnology for the academic year 2004-2005.

Lisa Franzen has been awarded a John Borrlson Fellowship for the 2004-2005 academic year from the Office of Graduate Studies in the amount of $1,000.

Tim Huntington has received a John W. McDonald Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year. This fellowship carries a stipend of $2,500.

Tim Husen has been awarded a Ward A. and Helen W. Combs Scholarship in the amount of $600 for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Paula Macedo has been selected as a recipient of the John Borrlson Fellowship from the Office of Graduate Studies for the 2004-2005 academic year. This fellowship carries a stipend of $2,000.

Eliseu Pereira was recently awarded a fellowship from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) which translates to the Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel. This agency of the Brazilian Ministry of Education is responsible for improving the quality of graduate programs in Brazil and for supporting Brazilians in graduate studies abroad. Starting in Fall 2004, the fellowship will include financial support, all tuition, fees, and health insurance.

Neil Spomer has been awarded $800 from the Fred Clute Memorial Scholarship Fund for the 2004-2005 academic year.

Undergraduate Insect Science minors who have been awarded scholarships are:

Nebraska State Pest Control Association
Staci Jo Bohling - $150

Ephriam and Veallon Hixson Memorial Scholarship
Nicolette Brenton - $150
Todd Jarecke - $400
Sheri Svehla - $150
Willa Toren - $300

Earl and Bertha Ramsey Memorial Scholarship
Jeremy Poell - $400
Jeremy Wagnitz - $400

The poster, “Plant Insect Interactions: An Investigation of Susceptible and Resistant Wheat to Two Aphid Species” by Lisa Franzen, Túlio Macedo, Tiffany Heng-Moss, and Leon Higley, won the Biological and Agricultural Sciences division of the Sigma Xi Student Research Poster Competition held April 21, 2004.

Wyatt Anderson has been awarded the Graduate Student Teaching Award of Merit from the North American Colleges and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) and the Entomology Department in recognition of meritorious efforts in college teaching.

The poster, “Niche Partitioning and Habitat Requirements for the Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, Cicindela nevadica lincolniana Casey" by Bill Allgeier and Leon Higley, won 3rd place at the Central States Entomological Society’s 80th Annual Meeting held in Lincoln, April 16-17, 2004.

James Kriz and Mollie Allen will be married on Saturday, May 29th in Brainard, NE. James, who received his M.S. degree in December 2003, under the supervision of Drs. James Brandle and Stephen Danielson, will be starting his Ph.D. program at the University of Kansas this fall.

 

North Central Branch - ESA Meetings Award Winners

C.V. Riley Award - Dr. Shripat Kamble

BCE 2004 Entomology Educational Project Awards
ESCAPE Website - Dr. W. Wyatt Hoback, Dr. Kerri Skinner, and Dr. Leon Higley
Bumble Boosters - Douglas Golick, Dr. Marion Ellis and Dr. David Brooks

Student Competition, Oral Presentations - BS/MS

  • 1st Place - Wyatt Anderson - “Differences in Feeding Behaviors of Two Chinch Bug Species on Resistant and Susceptible Buffalograss and Sorghum Germplasm"
  • 1st Place - Tim Huntington - “Coming out of the Closet: A Case Study in Forensic Entomology”

Student Competition, Posters - BS/MS
  • 1st Place - Nick Aliano - “Does Powdered Sugar Entering Brood Cells Harm Immature Honey Bees?"
  • 1st Place - Neil Spomer - “Effect of Temperature on Noviflumuron Performance against the Subterranean Termite, Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar)”
Student Competition, Posters - Ph.D.
  • 1st Place - Eliseu Pereira - "Characterization of Cry1F resistance in laboratory selected European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)"

 

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Publications

Bedick, Jon C., Brett C. Ratcliffe, and Leon G. Higley. 2004. A New Sampling Protocol for the Endangered American Burying Beetle, Nicrophorus americanus Olivier (Coleoptera: Silphidae). The Coleopterists Bulletin, 58(1): 57-70.

Duncan, G.A., P. H. Adler, K. P. Pruess, and T. O. Powers. 2004. Molecular differentiation of two sibling species of the black fly Simulium vittatum (Diptera: Simuliidae) based on random amplified polymorphic DNA. Genome 47: 373-379.

Hain, Patricia M., Julie A. Albrecht, and Douglas A. Golick. 2004. What is Genetic Engineering and How Does it Work? NebFact NF04-591. University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension.

Jameson, M. L. and K. Wada. 2004. Revision of the genus Peltonotus Burmeister (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae) from Southeastern Asia. Zootaxa 502: 1-66.

Ocampo, F. C. and M. A. Morón. 2004. Description of the third instar larva of Hemiphileurus dispar Kolbe (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Dynastiinae: Phileurini). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 106: 412-416.

Mudge, A. D., B. C. Ratcliffe, R. L. Westcott, and F. A. Noguera. 2003. A new species of Neoscelis from Jalisco, Mexico (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae). Folia Heyrovskyana 11: 143-154.

Ratcliffe, B. C. 2004. Comment on the proposed precedence of Bolboceras Kirby, 1819 (July) (Insecta, Coleoptera) over Odonteus Samouelle, 1819 (June). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 61: 43.

Condolences

Ralph Baxendale, father of Dr. Fred Baxendale, passed away on Monday, May 10th, in Williamson, NY. We extend our sincere sympathy to Fred and his family.

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Grants

Marion EllisBayer Corporation$15,075Field and laboratory studies of etoxazole for Varroa mite control
Marion EllisUSDA-APHIS$2,000Bug Bash Cards
Tiffany Heng-Moss and Fred BaxendaleUSGA - United States Golf Association, Inc.$2,500USGA Resistant Turgfrasses - Chinch Bug
Federico Ocampo and Shauna HawkinsSchool of Biological Sciences’ I.E.E.A.$1,300Divergence time and evaluation of a Southern Hemispheric scarab beetle clade

Dr. Brett Ratcliffe was awarded an $800 IANR Research Travel Grant for meeting attendance in Costa Rica.

Dr. Leon Higley, Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss, Dr. David Stanley, and Douglas Golick have been awarded $8,100 funding as part of the Enhancing Teaching and Learning at UNL Seed Grant Program. The title of the proposal was “Interactive Instruction on Plagiarism and Intellectual Ownership in Writing.”

Graduate Student News

Shauna Hawkins, Tim Husen, and Neil Spomer are newly initiated members of Sigma Xi.

Shauna Hawkins received $200 in travel support from the Myron H. Swenk Memorial Fund to study types specimens at the National Museum in Paris, France. Shauna also was awarded a travel grant from the School of Biological Sciences’ Initiative for Ecology and Evolutionary Analysis (I.E.E.A.) for $400.

Matt Paulsen was awarded $300 from the Center for Great Plains Studies for his research, “A survey of scarab beetles from rodent burrows in western Nebraska” and $455 from the School of Biological Sciences’ I.E.E.A. for research entitled, “A fine-scale biogeographical analysis of central Chile using endemic stag beetles (Lucanidae).” Matt was also awarded travel support to attend the ESA National Meetings from the School of Biological Sciences’ I.E.E.A. in the amount of $1,385.

Bruner Club officer elections for 2004-2005 were held April 30th. Results were as follows:
President - Neil Spomer
Vice-President - Nick Aliano
Student Representative (To Faculty) - Jeff Krumm
Secretary - Lisa Franzen
Treasurer - Paul Nabity
Faculty Advisor - Dr. Marion Ellis

Dr. Tiffany Heng-Moss will continue to also serve as Faculty Advisor.

The Bruner Club would like to thank Dennis Ferraro for the four textbooks donated to the Roscoe E. Hill library. Titles include Introduction To Entomology (Comstock), Applied Entomology (Fernald and Shepard), A Textbook of Entomology (Ross), and Arthropod Phylogeny (Gupta).

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Travel

Dr. Bob Wright participated in the annual meeting of NCR 201, the North Central IPM research/extension coordinating committee, April 6-7 in Indianapolis, IN.

Dr. Marion Ellis will be attending the Eleventh International Congress of Beekeeping in Monterrey, Mexico from June 8-11, 2004.

Dr. Brett Ratcliffe traveled to the national museums in Paris and London in April and May for collections research.

Dr. Andrew Smith, Dr. Federico Ocampo, and Matt Paulsen traveled to the University of California at Riverside from April 23 - May 6 to conduct lab work for molecular phylogenetics research on scarab beetles. They worked in the lab of John Heraty and David Hawks.

Dr. Brett Ratcliffe traveled to Costa Rica in May to assist a British film company in making two documentary films on tropical insects.

Faculty News

Dr. Tom Hunt has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor and granted a continuous appointment effective July 1, 2004. A special celebration to recognize faculty being promoted and/or receiving tenure this year was held on April 29, 2004.

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From the Office

Search Committee Training Requirement Expanded The Department has been notified that search committee certification is now required for ALL University employees who participate in job interviews--for all faculty, managerial/professional, and office service positions. This is a requirement, even for openings that do not require the formation of a search committee. To find out about the training, or if your certification has expired (you must renew your certification every two years), you may contact the Office of Equity, Access, & Diversity Programs at 2-3417. It is recommended that everyone who might be involved in an interview at some point in the future maintain certification as a matter of course.

Personnel Activity Reports (PARS) We appreciate the cooperation of research faculty members in signing and returning the PARS reports. The Federal Government requires the University to verify--with a signed document--that the effort expended by an employee on a Federal research project in a given month is proportional to the dollars of salary and wages expended from the cost object for that project. In other words, if an employee was paid for 20 hours of work in a specific month on a Federal grant, your signature verifies that the employee worked 20 hours on that project. If you have questions about this process, please contact Allen Specht.

 

USDA – Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service
* Animal and Plant Biosecurity Competitive Grants Program
http://www.reeusda.gov/1700/funding/04/rfa_AnPltBiosecurity_04.htm
Deadline: 06/15/04
#04-05-02
For more information, contact Tom Tabor at 2-9377 or ttabor@unlnotes.unl.edu

 

Employee Self-Service (ESS) Recently, enhancements to the Employee Self-Service (ESS) program were announced. One addition to the service allows an employee to change his or her choice of banks for direct deposit, online. As with the ability to make address changes, we are requesting that employees DO NOT make any changes through the ESS system, but instead come to the department office and request that changes be made by HR/payroll staff. The ESS is a valuable tool for employees, and we encourage you to become familiar with the program. However, there are issues in making changes to your personal information that business center staff can help with.

Transportation Services Rate Increase Effective July 1, 2004, Transportation Services will be implementing a rental rate increase amounting to $1.00 per day on daily rentals, and $10.00 per month for monthly rentals. The mileage charge will not increase at this time. However, the significant fuel price increases during the coming fiscal year may make adjustments necessary. For more information: http://transportation.unl.edu/2004rates.html

 

An equal opportunity educator and employer with a comprehensive plan for diversity.

 

Send items of interest for the next issue of the Hexapod Herald to JCUNNINGHAM1@UNL.EDU


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