Texas A&M Department of Entomology Feature Articles The features from the Texas A&M University Department of Entomology. The features are published twice monthly. http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/index.cfm Mon, 14 May 2012 08:05:23 CDT Department Sets Record for Graduating Students, Part of Record Number of TAMU Graduates http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/spring_2012_graduation/index.php Department Sets Record for Graduating Students, Part of Record Number of TAMU Graduates

COLLEGE STATION – Thirty students were ready and lined up to walk the stage at Reed Arena on a muggy May morning as the Department of Entomology celebrated its largest graduating class in its history on May 11.

Students and their families, along with faculty, were treated to a special pre-commencement breakfast celebrating their achievements in the fourth floor atrium early in the morning.  Then, the students made their way to Reed Arena to join the more than 7,000 Aggies during the first commencement service this weekend. )

]]> Mon, 14 May 2012 08:00:23 CDT http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/index.cfm#new Department Holds First-Ever Area FFA Entomology Contest On Campus http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/ffa_inaugural_contest/index.php More than 100 contestants in 32 teams from the state’s Future Farmers of America came to test their best insect identification skills at the Heep Center during a special area level contest on Saturday, April 14.

This is the first time that the Texas FFA program has started the area level contest for a state competition and is the first time that the Department of Entomology has hosted the contest at the A&M campus. The contest hosted teams from areas III, VII and IX across the state.

]]> Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:15:23 CDT Sansone Receives Extension Award, Board of Regents Grant Professors Harris, Summers Emeritus Title http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/sansone-service-award/index.php The Department of Entomology and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service recognized Dr. Chris Sansone with the Superior Service Award in the Specialist category for his outstanding work and leadership activities with Extension and the Department.

Sansone was recognized during a special reception held Monday, April 17th in the Heep Center atrium.

]]> Fri, 20 Apr 2012 11:45:23 CDT Ph. D. Student Receives Gramm Doctoral Fellowship Award http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/gramm-award-2012/index.php The Department of Entomology would like to congratulate Ph.D. student Alison Bockoven for receiving the U.S. Senator Phil Gramm Doctoral Fellowship award for 2012.

Bockoven and six other students from the university were recognized in a special ceremony on Wednesday, April 11th, at the University Club in Rudder Tower.

]]> Fri, 13 Apr 2012 10:45:23 CDT 2012 FFA and 4H Clinic Helps Improve Skills for Upcoming State Contests http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/judging_clinic_12/index.php 2012 FFA and 4H Clinic Helps Improve Skills for Upcoming State Contests

More than 90 students and leaders from across Texas convened on Saturday, March 24 at the Heep Center to hone their insect identification skills during the 2012 FFA and 4H Judging Clinic.

The clinic helps to improve students' identification skills for the upcoming FFA and 4-H insect identification contests in mid-April through June.

]]> Tue, 3 Apr 2012 13:05:23 CDT Department Recognizes Staff, Faculty and Student At Monthly Meeting http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/staffrecognition12/index.html Several members of the Department of Entomology were given awards during a monthly meeting on March 21.

The Department recognized Chris Keefer who works in the Center for Urban and Structural Entomology with this year’s Departmental Staff Meritorious Service Award. Keefer is a Ph.D. Student and worked for the past 7 years as an assistant research scientist for the Center for Urban and Structural Entomology.

]]> Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:05:23 CDT Internships Help Students Gain Valuable Experience in Real-World Skills http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/txipminternships/index.html Internships Help Students Gain Valuable Experience in Real-World Skills

Who will develop and train the IPM practitioners needed by US agricultural producers and urbanites in the future? Colleges do a great job with the theoretical learning, but few opportunities exist for students to gain practical experience in the field working with professionals with integrated pest management (IPM) experience.

For 13 years, Texas AgriLife Extension Service has sponsored IPM Internship opportunities for students to work beside IPM Agents and gain hands-on experience. Students have learn essential IPM related skills such as pest/beneficial identification, establishment of research trials, field scouting, and data collection and interpretation.

]]> Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:05:23 CDT Grad Students Receive Honors for Outstanding Research, Service to Department http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/gradstudent12award/index.php The Department of Entomology would like to congratulate Lauren Ward and Paul Lenhart on receiving the annual Outstanding Graduate Student Award for 2012.

The conference helps pest control professionals to efficiently and effectively manage their businesses by learning about new developments in research, pest management techniques and the newest regulations and technologies available.

]]> Mon, 20 Feb 2012 09:05:23 CST Pest Control Conference Focuses on IPM and Environmental Pest Issues http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/pcoconference12/index.php More than 350 pest control operators, managers and other pest control professionals traveled to the Brazos Center this January to hear the newest regulations, trends and technologies used in the pest control field.

The conference helps pest control professionals to efficiently and effectively manage their businesses by learning about new developments in research, pest management techniques and the newest regulations and technologies available.

]]> Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:30:00 CST Researcher Finds Fire Ant's Aphid "Ranching" Skills May Be Key to Successful U.S. Invasion http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/eubanks-fireant/index.php COLLEGE STATION – Like Old West cattle barons in a B-western, red imported fire ants are expanding their range and increasing their herds while laying wholesale waste to the range, according to an expert on the issue.

Professor Dr. Micky Eubanks, a Texas AgriLife Research entomologist at College Station, said the ants are using a practice known as “mutualism” to help them thrive despite the estimated $1 billion Americans pour into controlling them annually.

]]> Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:30:00 CST Former Ph.D. Student Receives ESA's Comstock Award http://insects.tamu.edu/feature/hsiao_ling_comstock11/index.php A recent graduate of the Department of Entomology received the John H. Comstock Graduate Student Award during the 2011 National meeting in Reno, Nevada.

Hsiao-Ling Lu received the honor for her work as a Ph.D. student at Texas A&M under Dr. Patricia Pietrantonio. Lu's research with Pietrantonio focused on the characterization of key receptor proteins (vitellogenin receptor, short neuropeptide F receptor, and insulin receptors) involved in regulation and reproduction in the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren.

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