62nd ESA (Entomological Society of America) meeting in Portland, Oregon a success!

​​Bugs, Bugs, Bugs! The Entomological Society of America (ESA) just wrapped up its 62nd annual meeting in Portland, Oregon this past week. The meeting was hosted by President Frank Zalom (UC-Davis) with a near record 3,600 participant entomologists from all 50 states and scores of countries taking advantage of  more than 100 symposia and 2,800 individual papers and posters. Yours truly received a Distinguished Service Award to the ESA Certification Program during the Plenary Session on Sunday night.  My dear mother Peggy was there to see me receive it.  She charmed everyone. It was wonderful to have her there with me. Here are a few photos.  And a little time for some fun - sight seeing along the way. (Multnomah Falls-28F! No bugs here!)

Oregon company fined $16,000 for pesticide spraying that killed 1,000 bees in Eugene

The Associated Press via The Oregonian

Oregon regulators fined a pesticide spraying service $16,000 on Monday for violations they say resulted in 1,000 bees being killed in Eugene. (The Associated Press)

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By The Associated Press 
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on November 10, 2014 at 5:23 PM, updated November 11, 2014 at 6:27 AM

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BEE DEATHS

• Oregon company fined $16,000 for pesticide spraying that killed 1,000 bees in Eugene
• No pesticides found in dead Clackamas County honeybees, state tests show
• Pesticides, starvation implicated in recent Oregon bee die-offs; task force seeks solutions

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State regulators have levied fines totaling $16,000 for gross negligence in the deaths of some 1,000 bees killed by pesticides sprayed on flowering trees at a Eugene apartment complex last June.
The Oregon Department of Agriculture announced Monday it levied a civil penalty of $10,000 against Glass Tree Care and Spray Service in Eugene, and $6,000 for the man who did the actual spraying.
The company did not immediately return a call for comment.
The department says after a similar bee die-off last year in Wilsonville, it prohibited the use of certain pesticides on linden trees when bees would be attracted to the flowers, and the company and the applicator should have known about that prohibition.
-- The Associated Press

The Garden Club of America Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship

The Garden Club of America will award $4,000 to a current graduate student to study the causes of pollinator decline. The application deadline is February 2, 2015.

http://pollinator.org/GCAfellowship.htm

Award: $4,000 Deadline: February 2, 2015 Purpose and History The Garden Club of America (GCA) Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship provides funding to a current graduate student to study the causes of pollinator decline, in particular bees, bats, butterflies and moths, which could lead to potential solutions for their conservation and sustainability. The selection criteria are based on the technical merit of the proposed work and the degree to which the work is relevant to this objective. Pollinators-bees, bats, butterflies and moths-help our prairies, gardens, orchards, blueberry barrens, farmers' fields and desert cacti reproduce and maintain genetic diversity. One-third of the food we eat has been fertilized by pollinators. An alarming decline in the number of pollinators in recent decades-through chemicals, diseases, mites, loss of habitat, and global climate change- has international repercussions. The GCA Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship was established in spring 2013 to facilitate independent research in this field. This fellowship was made possible by generous gifts given in honor of the GCA Centennial by members of the Board of Associates. Provisions The GCA Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator Fellowship annually funds one or more graduate students enrolled in U.S. institutions. Funding may vary in amount, but normally will be in the range of $4,000 for study and research that will advance the knowledge of pollinator science and increase the number of scientists in the field. A recipient may reapply for an additional year of funding. Research Categories The categories under which applicants may apply are:     1. Effects of nutrition, genetics, pesticides, pathogens, parasites and disease on pollinators     2. Pollinator habitat development, assessment or monitoring     3. Plant-pollinator interactions and pollination biology     4. Research that examines other aspects of pollinator health, including cutting-edge, original         concepts Terms    1. Only one GCA scholarship may be applied for annually.     2. GCA fellow will provide an interim 250-word report, two high quality photos, and an expense         summary to GCA and P2 by September 1st. A final report and final expense summary will be         due February 1st.      3. Research excerpts (text and photos) may be published in GCA’s and P2’s publications and         websites.      4. GCA fellow agrees to share research with members of the Garden Club of America.

The Garden Club of America (GCA) Board of Associates Centennial Pollinator
2014 Fellows

Elliot Gardner Northwestern University, Pollination biology ofArtocarpus (Moraceae)	Evan Palmer-Young University of Massachusetts Amherst, Synergistic anti-parasitic effects of nectar compounds in bumblebee diets	Samantha Alger University of Vermont, RNA viruses: prevalence, transmission, and effect on native bumble bees in Vermont	Lauren Ponisio University of California, Berkeley, Fire severity and the assembly of pollinator communities

Pollinator Health Task Force

Pollinator Health Task Force; Notice of Public Meeting

https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2014/11/05/2014-26096/pollinator-health-task-force-notice-of-public-meeting

A Notice by the Environmental Protection Agency on 11/05/2014

The U.S. government's Pollinator Health Task Force is soliciting input on best management practices to consider for developing a federal strategy to reverse pollinator losses and help restore populations. The EPA and the USDA will host two listening sessions in order to solicit stakeholder on November 12 and November 17, 2014. ESA members are encouraged to participate, and ESA will also prepare a written response.