Pat Vittum Wins Prestigious ESA Award

Pat Vittum is the 2004 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching from the Eastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America. This is the highest honor bestowed on a university teacher who is a member of the Eastern Branch of the ESA. Pat received this honor for her outstanding capability as a teacher over the past decade in courses such as "Pesticides, Public Policy and the Environment" and "Turf Entomology." Pat also received the 2003 Outstanding Teacher Award from the University of Massachusetts Amherst College of Natural Resources and the Environment. We are proud to have Pat as a member of our department and rejoice with her in this recognition by others of her excellence as a teacher.

Ben Normark's Research Featured

In the July 2003 issue of Science, Ben Normark's research was cited based on a paper he delivered at the Evolution meetings in Chico, California in June. Most of his lab work is empirical, but there was no plausible existing theory that might account for the genetic-system variation in the scale insects he studies, so he invented some.

Abstract

Haplodiploidy as an outcome of co-evolution between male-killing endosymbionts and their hosts

Haplodiploidy (encompassing both arrhenotoky and paternal genome elimination) could have originated from coevolution between male-killing endosymbiotic bacteria and their hosts. In insects, haplodiploidy tends to arise in lineages that rely on maternally transmitted bacteria for nutrition and that have gregarious broods in which competition between siblings may occur. When siblings compete, there is strong selection on maternally transmitted elements to kill males. Consider a hypothetical bacterial phenotype that renders male zygotes effectively haploid by preventing chromosome decondensation in male-determining sperm nuclei. By causing high male mortality, such a phenotype can be advantageous to the bacterial lineage. By eliminating paternal genes, it can also be advantageous to the host female. Specifically, it will benefit the host female when b > ((1-2v)(2-a+av))/((1-v)(2-a+2av)), where b is the efficiency of re-allocation of resources from dead offspring to live offspring, a is the efficiency of transmission, and v is the viability of haploid males (assuming unbiased population-wide sex ratio). This hypothesis helps to explain the ecological correlates of the origins of haplodiploidy, as well as such otherwise puzzling phenomena as obligate cannibalism by male Micromalthus beetles, reversion to diploidy by aposymbiotic male stictococcid scale insects, and the bizarre genomic constitution of scale insect bacteriomes.

Ruth Hazzard Honored

Ruth Hazzard has been honored by the Amherst-based Community Involved in Sustainable Agriculture (CISA) with the first ever "local hero citizen's award." CISA is responsible for the Pioneer Valley "local hero" program that encourages citizens to buy agricultural products grown in their own communities. They celebrated their 10th anniversary this year and honored Ruth for her hard work with the organization.

Elizabeth Jakob on NPR Radio

Beth Jakob was recently featured on "Field Notes" on WFCR, the local National Public Radio station. The popular program, hosted each Monday at 7:30 AM by Laurie Sanders, aired Monday, September 29. Beth was interviewed as an expert on jumping spider behavior. See an article and photos of Beth and her research on the Field Notes website.

Outstanding College Awards

Anne Averill and Patricia Vittum have received well-deserved recognition by the College of Natural Resources and the Environment for their excellence. Anne received the 2003 Outstanding Outreach Award, specifically for her tireless work with cranberry growers, saving the industry millions of dollars. Pat received the 2003 Outstanding Teaching Award for her excellence in teaching. Pat consistently receives nearly perfect evaluations by students for her effectiveness, creativity, enthusiasm and impact on students.

Graduate Student Mentoring Grant Awarded

Anne Averill and Beth Jakob will be offering a graduate seminar during the Spring 2004 semester geared toward "training effective large-classroom teachers." This seminar is part of a new mentoring program for graduate students in the Entomology and OEB (Organismic and Evolutionary Biology) programs funded by a grant from the UMass Amherst Graduate School. Following the seminar, students will teach in a large lecture undergraduate setting with Ben Normark, Adam Porter and Chad Hoefler acting as their mentors.

Blue Ribbon Prize

Integrated Pest Management for Northeast Schools, edited by Craig Hollingsworth, William Coli, and Dave Ferro of the UMass Department of Entomology and Kathleen Murray of the Maine Department of Agriculture (and UMass Entomology alum), won a blue ribbon in the American Society of Agricultural Engineering educational aides competition.

The American Society of Agricultural Engineers (ASAE) presents the Educational Aids Blue Ribbon Awards each year in recognition of "outstanding effort and achievement in the development of noteworthy educational aids." The ASAE Extension Committee manages the exhibits and judges the entries.