Andrew E. Short, an assistant professor at the University of Kansas, discovered at least 20 new species of water beetles in Suriname. Short was among 30 scientists who flew to Suriname on Aug. 15 to search for unknown plants and animals. The expedition was part of Conservation International’s Rapid Assessment Program, which provides biological information from various countries to accelerate conservation efforts and improve biodiversity protection.

Byrony C. Bonning, a professor of entomology at Iowa State University, has been designated a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for "distinguished contributions to research and teaching in the fields of insect virology, baculoviruses, insect pathology and insect molecular biology."

For more about Dr. Bonning, visit her web page.
 

Sujaya Rao, a professor in Oregon State University's Crop and Soil Science department, is an entomologist, a scientist who studies insects. She uses the creepy crawlers as many-legged ambassadors to teach adults and children about the wonders of the world of bugs.

"Insects are a great teaching tool," Rao said while she watched a green walking stick climb up the sleeve of her lab coat.

Click here for the full article.

UC Davis Department of Entomology professor Frank Zalom is a newly elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for “distinguished scholarly,  educational and administrative contributions that have significantly advanced  the science and application of integrated pest management in agriculture nationally and internationally.”

Michael Riehle, a professor at the University of Arizona, led the research effort on a breakthrough that received international attention when published in July: the first genetically engineered "supermosquito" that is immune to the parasite that causes malaria in humans. The finding could eventually help better control or even wipe out the deadly disease. Read the full article.

Holly L. Menninger, a coordinator and senior extension associate at the NY Invasive Species Research Institute at Cornell University, will appear on the Food Network Challenge, where four  cake designers will "recreate yucky bugs using yummy cake. Each bug cake needs to be jumbo-sized - at least three feet tall - and they all have to have moving parts. These cakes will be so lifelike you might want to bring some bug spray. Just in case..."

This article appearing in Science News quotes Dini Miller, Michael Potter, Gale Ridge, and Fang Zhu during a bed bug symposium held at Entomology 2010, ESA's 58th Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. Click here for the article.

Michael E. Scharf, an associate professor of entomology at the University of Florida, has been appointed as the first O. Wayne Rollins/Orkin Endowed Chair in Urban Entomology at Purdue University. The chair was funded with a $1.5 million gift from the O. Wayne Rollins Foundation, established by and named for the late owner and president of pest control leader, Orkin. Full article.

Lawrence E. Hurd, the Herwick Professor of Biology at Washington and Lee University and editor-in-chief of Annals of the Entomological Society of America, was recently elected as a fellow in the Linnaean Society. Hurd's membership was initiated by a nomination from Miguel Petrere, a leading Brazilian scientist, whom Hurd had met while doing research in Brazil.

Alexander Raikhel, a distinguished professor of entomology at the University of California, Riverside, and a team of entomologists at the University of California, Riverside has identified a microRNA (a short ribonucleic acid molecule) in female Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that when deactivated disrupts the mosquito's blood digestion and egg development – a discovery that could help control the spread of not only dengue and yellow fever but potentially all vector-borne diseases.