Rob Williams

Entomology Department Helps Youths Practice for 4-H, FFA Judging Contests with Annual Clinic

March 23, 2017 by Rob Williams

Shelby Kilpatrick, left, and Marshall Sullivan, right, teaching participants about the basics of entomology, as well as pinning and insect collection techniques. Photo by Rob Williams

COLLEGE STATION, Texas—More than 170 members of the Future Farmers of America and 4-H youth programs statewide and their agricultural science teachers, adult leaders and county agents spent a rainy Saturday morning learning about entomology, entomology contests, and testing their insect identification skills in the Heep Center during the Entomology Judging Clinic on Saturday, March 4.

The annual half-day clinic is designed to help 4-H and FFA students with skills to collect, prepare, and identify insects, to learn about their biology and relationships to different environments, all in preparation for for upcoming contests.

The clinic opened with a welcome session by Professor and Associate Department Head for Academic Programs, Dr. Pete Teel. During the session, Teel introduced participants to the clinic and its design and encouraged students to take what they had learned and apply it to the upcoming contests.

Participants were then sent into three concurrent sessions on topics such as insect identification basics, different collection and mounting techniques, and a leaders-only session on building reliable and lasting resources for success as an entomology team.

The newest addition to this year’s clinic included having two practice rooms open with integrated FFA/4-H mock contests where students could test what they had learned throughout the morning and a larger, more interactive pinning and mounting workshop.

Dr. Pete Teel in front of a class — Dr. Pete Teel speaking to participants about the clinic.

Participants also got the chance to view numerous insects in the orders of Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, and Hymenoptera in the upstairs teaching labs, as well as a room dedicated to learning how to identify specimens from additional assorted insect orders.

At noon, the group reconvened in Room 101 to discuss the contest and its rules and for a question and answer session. During the session, student panelists answered questions from the audience such topics as the various careers in entomology, a day in the life of a college student at A&M, and entomology in general.

Volunteer Shelby Kilpatrick, a senior Entomology major and former 4-H member, has been involved with volunteering for the clinic for four years as a student and said the clinic is a great way for youth to learn about entomology.

“I really enjoyed the 4-H entomology clinic. It really is a great way for us to share our knowledge and to promote the department and encourage the study of entomology,”” she said. “We try to make it a great learning experience for the kids.”

Student pinning an insect — Students also got the chance to try their hands pinning and mounting insects during a hands-on session.

Leader Madison Landreth from Midway ISD was very pleased with this year’s clinic and said it was a great learning experience for her and her students.

“I think this is a great workshop and like the hands on aspect of this clinic,” she said. “I loved that the kids get good practice and the volunteers were very helpful.”

“It was very exciting to see lots of the younger students being excited about entomology and the ag field in general,” volunteer Stephanie Rudolph said.

“Participants from the clinic are known to score very well in subsequent contests, and this avenue of interest in entomology is increasing the number of freshman Entomology majors,” Teel said. “Our student volunteers for this program provide a personal level of engagement with the clinic participants that is most welcoming and helpful. They are a very positive connection to building future entomologists.”

West Texas bees doubt groundhog’s extended winter prediction

March 9, 2017 by Rob Williams

By Steve Byrns, Texas A&M AgriLife Communications

SAN ANGELO – SPLAT! West Texas honey bees are on the move, so motorists shouldn’t be surprised if their windshields are strafed by a hapless swarm in coming weeks, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service entomologist.

Dr. Charles Allen, of San Angelo, said the unusually warm February, touted as the warmest on record here, has put honey bees in the mood to travel.

A swarm of honey bees high atop a mesquite tree in West Texas. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Steve Byrns)

“It’s a sign spring has arrived, at least to the bees,” Allen said. “Usually the number of swarms goes up if the area had sufficient rainfall the previous fall, a situation much of Texas enjoyed.”

Allen said the itch to move can stem from a number of factors. Overcrowding in the colony, warm temperatures, a shortage of food, sudden availability of nectar and pollen, or even the presence of honey bee parasites can cause honey bees to swarm.

“But beyond these factors, swarming is the primary way honey bees increase the number of colonies in an area and spread to new areas,” he said. “Typically, the old queen and about 60 percent of the bees in a colony leave, while the remaining bees stay and raise a new queen”

Swarms fly from the colony and usually collect in a high place not too far from their former home, he said. There, they form a ball or mass of bees attached to a branch or other structure with the queen safely in the middle. From the mass, scout bees can be seen coming and going in search of a new home. Swarms may stay for only a short time, or as long as a day or two, depending on the length of time it takes to find suitable new quarters.

“It is a common misconception that swarms are dangerous to people,” Allen said. “Though a swarm may appear as a fearsome seething mass of angry insects to the uninformed, the truth is that bees, and wasps too for that matter, sting almost exclusively to defend their young or brood. Swarms don’t have ‘baby bees’ to protect, so even the most irritable, pugnacious Africanized honey bees are docile during a swarm. Like the boll weevil in the old song, swarming honeybees are ‘just huntin’ a home.’”

Allen warns that in Texas most wild bees nowadays are Africanized, so as soon as the queen starts laying eggs and a brood starts to develop, their attitude quickly shifts. The workers, now with young to protect, will become defensive and will attack anything they see as a threat.

Because of the hyper-aggressive African genetic makeup most wild honey bees now have, elimination or removal by a beekeeper in and around homes is a “must do” to keep families and pets from being stung, Allen said.

“Since bees do not orient well in darkness, late evening, early morning or the middle of the night are good times to remove or eliminate wild bee colonies near homes, “ Allen said. “Honey bees need polarized light such as the sun provides, to be able to locate things. So a flashlight, which does not emit polarized light, works well in the dark as the bees are unable to orient in its light. And since they are cold blooded and less active when the temperature is cold, removal or elimination is less dangerous on a cool to cold night.”

Allen said he does not advocate destroying colonies unless there is a danger to humans, livestock or pets. He said some AgriLife Extension offices have a list of beekeepers who might be contacted for bee removal. Barring that, most exterminators also deal with bee issues.

Student Team Wins Best Policy Proposal during SCONA Conference

March 1, 2017 by Rob Williams

Shelby Kilpatrick. Photo by Rob Williams

Congratulations to Senior Entomology Shelby Kilpatrick as she was involved in a team that received Best Policy Proposal during the 62^nd meeting of the MSC Student Conference on National Affairs (SCONA).

Kilpatrick was one of 196 delegates that were divided into 17 roundtable discussion groups during the annual conference held on February 14-18. The team was tasked to collaborate and write a policy proposal within 60 hours addressing a topic of national importance, such as homeland security, the environment, epidemics and public health, and cybersecurity.

The team she was in was called “Mother Nature and Uncle Sam: Environmental Issues of the 21^st Century,” in which they focused on solving issues concerning the environment, specifically looking at how the impact of climate change is affecting humanity today. The team’s proposal focused on finding how the United States can diversify energy sources to include renewable energy, such as wind and solar, to help us become less dependent on fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Kilpatrick said that developing resilience in the coastal infrastructure from rising sea levels and natural disasters in the United States would help to protect our national security in the areas of environmental and energy policy.

Kilpatrick was excited to win the award and said it was a great learning experience being in the group.

“I was a little surprised, but very pleased when I was told that my roundtable group’s policy proposal had received the Best Policy Proposal Award for the conference,” Kilpatrick said. “There were 17 roundtables in total, each with their own proposal, and my group had thought early on that it would be difficult for us to win with the topic of climate change as it can be a politically polarized topic. This influenced how we approached the issue of climate change in our paper since it needed to appeal to a wide audience.”

Kilpatrick’s group also had to make sure that there was a connection between what they covered connected with the theme of this year’s SCONA: Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic: Securing the Homeland.

“We also had the challenge of making clear connections between our issue and national security as other roundtables were focused on issues related to public health, cybersecurity, the military, the economy, and the media, which all have fairly obvious relationships to the security of our country,” she said. “It was a privilege to work with my roundtable group as a team to achieve this result!”

Kilpatrick wanted to join the roundtable to help further her interest in environmental issues as well as contribute to efforts to preserve the environment.

“I felt that the knowledge and experiences I had related to the topic would allow me to contribute effectively to group discussion and make a positive impact,” she said. “I also knew that I would have the opportunity to learn more from others in the group as there are many subtopics of environmental concerns in today’s society.”

Kilpatrick loved the collaboration aspect of the conference and that everyone was focused on solving the issues at hand. “My favorite part of attending SCONA was the opportunity to experience a group of people coming together and, without any prior team building activities, immediately begin to work on solving an issue that affects us all,” she said. “It was amazing to see everyone’s particular interests, their passion in environmental issues, and how much effort we all put into our finished policy proposal and presentation come together.”

The teamwork and problem solving Kilpatrick learned during the roundtable sessions will definitely help her with her coursework and going forward in her career.

“These experiences will help me in my coursework this semester as I have several group projects and other leadership assignments that will rely on effective communication, teamwork strategies, critical thinking, and problem solving,” Kilpatrick said.

Extension Names Drake, Gonzales as IPM Agents

February 23, 2017 by Rob Williams

The Department of Entomology and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service would like to welcome John David Gonzales and Dr. David Drake as the newest members of the growing statewide integrated pest management group.

Dr. David Drake. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension photo.

Gonzales and Drake started their Extension Agent-IPM positions on February 1, with Gonzales serving the Muleshoe area and Drake serving the Commerce area. Gonzales replaced Erin Jones while Drake replaced Dr. Jim Swart after he retired in December 2014.

Before joining the Commerce position, Drake worked as an Extension Agronomist for 8 years at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in San Angelo and as an Extension Assistant Professor, Diversified Crops Specialist, and Sevier County Director with the Utah State University Extension in Richfield, Utah from 2005-2009.

Drake also worked as a research and teaching assistant in the Department of Agronomy at Purdue University and as a specialist for the USDA-Agricultural Research Service in Utah at the Forage and Range Research Lab in Logan.

Drake received his Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from Utah State University and his Master of Science and Ph.D. in Agronomy-Plant Breeding and Genetics from Purdue University.

“David is a hard worker with an excellent knowledge of wheat, cotton, alfalfa and a number of other crops,” Professor and Associate Department Head and Extension Entomologist Dr. Charles Allen said. “He has a very strong background in agriculture, is very well trained, and is great to work with.”

John David Gonzales. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

Gonzales worked as a research associate with the LSU AgCenter on projects managing insect pests of cotton and grain sorghum and was responsible for plot maintenance. His earlier work experience included working as an AgriLife Research assistant working on beneficial fungal endophytes in cotton with Dr. Greg Sword, as a sales intern with Mycogen Seed Company, and as a summer bug scout with the IPM Program.

Gonzales received his associate degree in math and science from the New Mexico Military Institute and a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural leadership and development from Texas A&M University. He is currently completing a master’s degree in entomology from Louisiana State University.

“John David was raised in the Castro County area, so he is very familiar with the region,” Allen said. “He has worked in the area of integrated pest management on cotton and other crops in the region. He has also worked for AgriLife Extension and Texas A&M AgriLife Research and for the LSU AgCenter in Louisiana. In addition, he has spent time working in other facets of the agricultural industry. So he has a well-rounded background I feel will be of great help to the region’s producers starting this spring.”

Carl Hjelmen and Richelle Marquess Named Outstanding Graduate Students

February 17, 2017 by Rob Williams

Carl Hjelmen, right, with Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale. Photo by Rob Williams.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas–The Department of Entomology recently named Ph.D. student Carl Hjelmen and MS student Richelle Marquess as the newest Oustanding Graduate Students at a special recognition seminar on Thursday.

Hjelmen is advised by Dr. Spencer Johnston and is researching the evolution of genome size in Drosophila species. During the past year, Hjelmen has prepared and submitted a manuscript titled “The mode and tempo of genome size evolution in the subgenus Sopophora” and was a contributing author of another paper titled “The effects of natural selection and repetitive elements on genome-size evolution in North American Fireflies.”

Hjelmen has served on two leadership roles during his grad school career, including President and Vice President of the Entomological Graduate Student Organization. He served as the social activities chair and was chair of the Southwestern Branch Entomological Society of America’s Photo Salon for 2 years. Hjelmen currently is a team member of the graduate Linnaean Team which took first place during the Linnaean Games at the Southwestern Branch meeting in 2016 in Tyler.

He also has volunteered at various outreach programs at various local elementary schools and at the university, as well as at Boonville Days at the Brazos Valley Natural History Museum. Hjelmen also represented the Department at the Entomological Society of America meetings, as well as the Ecological Integration Symposium and Texas A&M’s annual Student Research Week.

Richelle Marquess, right, with Entomology Department Head Dr. David Ragsdale. Photo by Rob Williams.

Marquess recently graduated in December 2016 with her Master of Science in Entomology and is currently working with Dr. Spence Behmer’s laboratory part-time as a research technician on projects related to her thesis titled “The role of food protein-carbohydrate content on nutrient regulation strategies and wing morph determination in the wing polymorphic cricket Gryllus firmus.”

During her time at A&M, Marquess has been involved in various outreach activities including insect presentations at Rock Prairie Elementary’s STEM Night, Greens Prairie Elemantary’s Open House, and at a local children’s camp in Millican. She also has served as a teaching assistant for the General Entomology course (ENTO 201) in 2015 and 2016.

“Richelle’s passion for entomology is contagious, and it shows when she is doing outreach activities. It is when she is truly in her element. I can also honestly say that Richelle has taught me much about how to handle live insects/arthropods,” Behmer said. “I predict her passion and enthusiasm for all things insects will be greatly missed in the department when she eventually moves on to her next position.”