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1881 Natural Area Dr, Gainesville, FL 32608, USA

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Dr. Kluiters - Entomology and Nematology Department, Gainesville, FL

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Dr. Kluiters - Entomology and Nematology Department, Gainesville, FL

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1) Your name, where you live, and what you are studying: I live just outside Gainesville on a rural 13 acre property with lots of dogs! I works as the Distance Education Coordinator for the Entomology and Nematology Department, at the University of Florida. I'm teaching Insect Classification and running the Capstone projects for the non-thesis MS students in the Entomology and Nematology Department this semester, but I also teach Science Communication, and Blood-Feeding Insects in other semesters. Outside of my work I show and compete in sports with Miniature American Shepherd dogs, and also enjoy kayaking, travel, and escape rooms.

2) What you hope to get out of this class: I hope to help you in building confidence in insect identification, as well as increase your understanding of the history behind, and modern methods of, taxonomy.

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course: For me, grading your insect collections - I love to see the collections that culminate from your work during this semester. But with more than 100 insects per collection it can be very time consuming to grade them!

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer: What do you think is the biggest challenge entomologists will face in the next 10 years?

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Melanie Gainer

1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

Hi everyone, my name is Melanie, and I live in Chicago. I'm in my master's for Entomology and nematology with a focus in Urban pest management. Outside of school, my interests include Great Lakes sailboat racing, dog sports, art and video games.

2) What you hope to get out of this class

I hope to have a better grasp on insect identification, to family level, especially during field work or without the use of a microscope

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I expect that the most interesting aspect will be looking at phylogeny and how unique characteristics of different families came about and why we use those characteristics for identification. I have a feeling that memorizing the latin names is going to be the most challenging aspect for me.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer

What is your favorite insect and why? Mine is cicadas. I first saw the periodical cicadas emerge when I was 7 years old and have been obsessed with them since.

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1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

Hi everyone! My name is Melody Bloch and I'll be your TA this semester. I live in Hollywood, FL and do research at the UF IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center (FLREC). Feel free to stop by if you're in the area! I'm a second-year PhD student in entomology. My current research focuses on the use of environmental DNA for detection of invasive vertebrates from water samples, soil samples, and mosquito blood meals. I am a member of the Bahder Lab, which primarily focuses on vectors of plant diseases. Outside of school, I love doing arts and crafts, playing board games, and spending time with my dog Maya.

2) What you hope to get out of this class

I hope to help you with any questions or concerns you may have when tackling this course. By the end of the course, you're all going to be fantastic identifiers! It'll come in handy for your studies (and for when your friends and family send insect pictures to you, asking if it's a friend or foe).

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I think some of the most fascinating insects are the ones that are harder to see. In my previous studies, I focused on auchenorrhynchans, the true hoppers. They are such a diverse group, but many are physically small and tough to catch. My challenge for you is to not ignore the tiny insects. They can come in handy for your family and species counts.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer

How can the public get involved with projects that require identification or taxonomy? Name some benefits or challenges for this.

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Hi, my name is Amelia Hofacker! I'm a senior studying Biology on the pre-dental track graduating this fall. I am located in Gainesville for the semester. The in-person ENY4161 course interfered with the rest of my schedule, so I'm grateful to have the opportunity to take this course online to complete my minor. I love to exercise, cook, and bake outside of my studies. I hope to learn more about quick identification of insects in this course and how they can be vectors for disease. The most interesting part of this course will be seeing my final collection come together, and the most difficult part will be finding the 18 orders needed for the collection. I enjoy going out into the field, but it can be frustrating when I have trouble finding insect variety. I would love to know why more insects come inside a home when it rains.

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Hi, I'm Morgen Bedwell. I am currently living in Bloomington, Indiana, where I work for the Indiana University biology department as a lab tech. I am working on my masters in entomology through UF. Outside of this I also like beekeeping, scuba diving, yoga, video games, and generally spending time outdoors. I have been fascinated by insects since I was a small child.

One thing I hope to gain from this class is an insect collection I am very proud of. I have my collection from ENY 5006 displayed in my home, and I always love showing it off to guests, and answering their questions. This class will enable me to put together an even bigger collection! I also am excited to spend time outdoors searching for insects.

I think the graduate paper will be very interesting and challenging. I enjoy reading scientific literature, but this is a good opportunity to dig deep into a specific topic and put together my own review of literature. If I later choose to study my taxon more, I will have a great jumping-off point from my paper this semester.

One question I have is: what is something you think is very important to insect conservation? Is it scientific research, public outreach, policy change, or something else that is often overlooked?

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1) Hello everyone, my name is Joseph Nartker and I live in the Cincinnati area. I work for the Cincinnati Zoo in the Insect House and I am studying for my masters in Entomology with a specialization in Pest Management through UF. My interests outside of Entomology include reading, videogames, movies, and kayaking.

2) What I hope to get out of this class the most is the ability identify insects on the spot or at the very least be able to generally classify them before I need to consult an atlas or some other source of material. I would also like to develop my curating skills, especially when it comes to labelling and point mounting.

3) I expect either the grad paper or the identification process of the insects for the collection to be the most difficult part for this course. The grad paper will be difficult from the standpoint of properly organizing and researching for the paper and ensuring that everything is referenced and cited properly. I imagine that correctly identifying some of the smaller insects, even with a microscope, will be difficult as well as preventing any damage to the specimens when it comes to pinning/point mounting them. I think learning about all the differences between the orders, suborders, and families to be the most interesting part and most exciting part of this class for me.

4) The one question I have about insects and entomology is what order of insects do you think will be the most difficult to collect for the collection? Personally, I think that Megalopterans will be difficult to collect due to the adults having a short life-span after emergence and typically being found near sources of running water exclusively.

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1)    My name is Kristin Luna and I currently live in Chesapeake, Virginia. I’m currently working on my Masters in Entomology, specializing in Medical Entomology. I enjoy spending time outdoors and travelling with my family, and this year I’ve been working on learning how to garden (both flowers and vegetables).

2)    For this class, I hope to improve my understanding of how insects are classified, as well as my ability to recognize the different groups by sight. The ability to compare organisms/objects and organize them based on specific features is an important skill to develop, no matter what type of career it is applied toward.

3)    The most interesting aspects of this course will likely be the diversity of insects collected over the semester. What I expect to be challenging is identifying Dipteran specimens and classifying them correctly, as this order was the trickiest for me in the past (due to their small size and some ID based on wing structures).

4)    What has been your favorite insect you have collected or encountered? Mine was a beautiful Green Mantisfly (Zeugomantispa minuta) that I found crawling on my window screen last year, and I’ve been obsessed with them ever since.

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Dragonfly found in the middle of December. One of the reasons to live in Florida!

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1) Hi! My name is Amber Davis, I live in Los Angeles, CA and I'm in the MS medical entomology program. I currently work for the CA Dept. of Food and Agriculture doing Japanese Beetle surveillance. Outside of entomology, I enjoy rock climbing, biking, snorkeling, dogs, and trying new restaurants.

2) I hope to expand my knowledge of insect characteristics and confidence in identifying. Right now, I feel like I can identify most bugs that friends ask me about that they see in day-to-day life, but I hope to familiarize myself with more than just the basics. I want to understand the differences between families and what characteristics make those distinctions.

3) I think the most interesting aspects might be in what I'm able to find and collect in my area. Or at least I hope! I think the most challenging part might be identifying very small insects.

4) How did you fall into the field of entomology? I think it's so interesting to hear how everyone got into it since it's a more niche field! For me, I did my undergrad in public health, went on to work as a disease investigator at my county health dept., and in the summers they would pull investigators over to work at the mosquito commission. I loved it from day one!

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A specimen of Loxosceles rufescens (Mediterranean recluse spiders) that I collected during my undergraduate/graduate research that is set to be published soon! 

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Hey everyone,

My name is Lou Coticchio, I am a second year graduate student in the M.S. in Entomology and Nematology, with a specialization in Medical Entomology. I am a spider biologist that specializes in Latrodectus (widow spiders) and Loxosceles (recluse spiders). I have one publication on brown and black widows, and another regarding dispelling many of the myths and urban legends surrounding recluse spiders that is set to be published soon! If you are local to Florida and looking for someone to go out collecting insects with this semester, send me a message!

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UF Health Shands Hospital, Southwest Archer Road, Gainesville, FL

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Norman Beatty - UF Health Shands Hospital, Southwest Archer Road, Gainesville, FL

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Norman Beatty - UF Health Shands Hospital, Southwest Archer Road, Gainesville, FL

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Hello, everyone! Excited to join the class. My name is Norman Beatty and I am an Infectious Diseases physician at UF Health Shands Hospital. I live outside Gainesville in Alachua County and love running. I am completing my M.S. as a distance learner with a focus on medical entomology. My primary research focus is the triatomine (kissing bug) which is the vector responsible for Chagas disease. My hope for the class is to continue to learn and be able to identify a wide range of insects and expand on my current knowledge for each Order. I would also like to learn more about the native insects in this region of north Florida from my collecting. The most interesting aspect will likely be the diversity of insects we see in this region and the most challenging will be the extent to which it will take to collect them! My question to the class is has anyone found a kissing bug before during their insect collecting or ever been bitten by one?

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1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

Hello!  My name is Dennis Maue.  I live south of Chicago about 90 minutes on a ranch out in the country.  I am working on my Masters in Entomology with a Specialization in Beekeeping.  I have lots of interest outside of my studies.  I belong to two Bee Clubs and the American Legion.  I also run a Bar/Gaming Cafe.

2) What you hope to get out of this class

A deeper understanding of insect classification and the ability to speak the language.

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I have been collecting insects heavily for the last two weeks, but it might be a challenge to get a Megaloptera.  I know hellgrammites are plentiful in the Kankakee River which is near my home, but I have had zero luck in capturing in Dobson fly.  I have been out after rains, looked under a bridge and scouted lit up walls near the river.  I think I probably already missed their emergence this summer.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer.

I have two questions

1.  It really seems to there are far less insects around than there were 30 years ago.  When I was younger, there were times in July and August when you couldn't spend 10 minutes near a creek or pond without being literally eaten alive.  Is there less insects now?  Is this due to insecticide use in crop fields?

2.  Where is the best place to get a walking stick insect?

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1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

Hello!  My name is Dennis Maue.  I live south of Chicago about 90 minutes on a ranch out in the country.  I am working on my Masters in Entomology with a Specialization in Beekeeping.  I have lots of interest outside of my studies.  I belong to two Bee Clubs and the American Legion.  I also run a Bar/Gaming Cafe.

2) What you hope to get out of this class

A deeper understanding of insect classification and the ability to speak the language.

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I have been collecting insects heavily for the last two weeks, but it might be a challenge to get a Megaloptera.  I know hellgrammites are plentiful in the Kankakee River which is near my home, but I have had zero luck in capturing in Dobson fly.  I have been out after rains, looked under a bridge and scouted lit up walls near the river.  I think I probably already missed their emergence this summer.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer.

I have two questions

1.  It really seems to there are far less insects around than there were 30 years ago.  When I was younger, there were times in July and August when you couldn't spend 10 minutes near a creek or pond without being literally eaten alive.  Is there less insects now?  Is this due to insecticide use in crop fields?

2.  Where is the best place to get a walking stick insect?

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My name is Scarlett and I live in Riverside California. I currently work for the California Department of Food and Agriculture as an Environmental Scientist for the Pest Detection and Emergency Projects department where we focus on keeping invasive insects out of California. I am working towards a masters in Medical Entomology. Outside of studying, I enjoy gardening, drawing scientific illustrations (inspirations are Maria Sibylla Merian and Beatrix Potter) and hanging out with my family who will soon have one more member as I am expecting in January. :)

I hope to gain a more technical understanding of insect classification and be able to ID an insect on the fly. My work requires me to ID samples from the field and it would be great if I can be more confident in my identification skills.

I know for sure that it will be challenging to find all the required orders, being in Southern California it feels harder to find insects when compared to my time in Maryland. I know I will have to scour the area but it will be interesting to learn about the specific habitats for each insect.

My question is specific to my job, regarding asian citrus psyllid. Do you think that ACP establishment spells out a death sentence to the citrus industry? How did ACP establishment play out in Florida and is there any remediation to look forward to?

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1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, and interests outside of your studies

Hello, everyone. My name is Tyrese, and I’m majoring in Environmental Management and minoring in Entomology. When I’m not studying, I enjoy being in nature, whether on beaches or hiking trails. I also enjoy watching movies and bingeing TV shows.

2) What do you hope to get out of this class

I hope to gain a deeper understanding of insects and improve my identification skills

3) What do you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I expect the collection to be the most challenging part, from the identifications, references, and trying to find some of the more challenging orders.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer

What made you gain an interest in Entomology? And what is your favorite insect/ insect group?

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Hi all! My name is Nick Indelicato, and I’m from New Jersey. I’m currently studying Entomology. Outside of my studies I really enjoy fishing, and I also coach Special Olympics, which has been an incredibly rewarding experience. In this course, I’m hoping to improve my skills in insect identification, as well as learning more about collection and curation. As for what I’m most excited about, I think the most interesting part of this course will be learning about what makes insects fit into their specific classifications. One thing I’d love to know from my classmates is: What led you to study entomology? I ask because I work in mosquito control, which I got into unexpectedly after taking a seasonal position one summer, and I ended up really liking it.

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1) Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

Hello everyone! My name is Andrew and I live in Gainesville, Florida. I graduated from UF with a Bachelor's degree in Biology in 2019. After getting my Bachelor's degree, I enrolled in the graduate certificate program and completed a graduate certificate in medical entomology through the entomology department. I am now back to pursue the non-thesis MS degree. Throughout my undergraduate studies and during the certificate program, I worked as a veterinary technician and a research technician at the UF Small Animal Hospital. I currently work as a technician at the UF Interdisciplinary Center for Biotechnology Research in the NextGen Sequencing Core. I am particularly interested in medically significant arthropods and the diseases they transmit. Outside of studying, I enjoy collecting records, going to see live music, and maintaining my two freshwater aquariums.

2) What you hope to get out of this class

I hope to build upon my knowledge from previous entomology classes and be able to identify insects without relying on guides and keys.

3) What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

I think the most challenging aspect of this course will be creating a collection of insects that meets all of the requirements for the final collection. I am interested to see the places I end up searching for and finding the less common species.

4) One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer

What is the most interesting insect fact that you have learned?

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My small town is known for this concrete train viaduct. At one time there were several small factories here including a toy factory!

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Coleen Riley lives here :-)

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Jaime Gabriel Dominguez Morales

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1. Hello! I am Armani Cortez, I currently live in Gainesville, FL. I am majoring in psychology, while minoring in entomology and nematology. Some interests outside of my majors include fish keeping (aquascaping), drawing/digital art, and (relative to my minor) insect collection/art.

2. I am excited to learn more about family identification, because I am pretty good with identifying the orders. I would like to better my sight identification to more specific insect characteristics!

3. I expect the most interesting AND challenging part of the course to be the insect collection. My last collection for principles of entomology received an A, however the stakes were lower: 45-50 insects, 1 point per order (14), and I could not find the 3 last orders in time. As much as I loved the collection project (and am excited for the new one), I am terrified I may not be able to meet the goals. Also, ordering my new insect box for collection said it was a 17-day shipping. That was the lowest price, and the quickest shipping was 15-days at an extremely unreasonable shipping price, so this has already been a challenge for me as I have many specimen taking up space in my freezer AND collection equipment, like all of my jars.

4. I would love to know if anyone would be interested on sharing their favorite orders of insects! Mine is back-and-forth between coleoptera and odonata! Also, where your favorite place for insect collection is if you live in the Gainesville area!

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Hi, this is Melanie Isidor <3

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Hi, everyone! My name is Bailey McLean, and I am a graduate student focusing on Medical Entomology with the Entomology and Nematology program. I currently live in Raleigh, NC, and when I have free time, I can be found hiking, reading, cross-stitching, and practicing BJJ.

From this class, I hope to develop and improve my identification skills and to work on using more varied forms of insect trapping for our collection.

For me, the most challenging and interesting part of this class will most likely be the collection. Not only will we need to visit a variety of locations and use different methods to obtain all the specimens needed, but the identifications themselves, as well as curating the collection, will be time-consuming and challenging.

For my fellow classmates, what is your favorite insect and why? What got you into Entomology?

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Hi, this is Annaliese!

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200 9th Street Southeast, Vero Beach, FL

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200 9th Street Southeast, Vero Beach, FL

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200 9th Street Southeast, Vero Beach, FL

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Your name, where you live, what you are studying, interests outside of your studies

My name is Joe Paoli, I live in Fort Pierce and I'm the graduate student of Dr. Cynthia Lord at the Florida Medical Entomology Lab in Vero Beach. My research is on the simulation modeling of Ixodes scapularis, the vector of numerous tick-borne illnesses, the most predominant of which is Lyme disease. I like reading and listening to music and going on walks around my neighborhood, which I've recently taken up doing with my butterfly net. I like to cook insofar as I like having something to do while listening to a podcast or music. When at my parent's houses I basically will occupy myself entirely with the cats there.

What you hope to get out of this class

Phylogeny is something that really interests me, so I'm interested in learning about how the different insect orders relate to one another and to what extent some are derived and others are more basal. For example, I understand from being in Dr. Dan Hahn's class that mosquitoes are more basal Diptera than blow flies, since the latter undergo pupariation rather than pupation, but I don't know if there's an easy way to distinguish between two Dipterans that have just pupation, like craneflies versus mosquitoes. I'd also like to learn what are the relatively basal and derived families in the Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, and Lepidoptera. Lastly, I know in the Carboniferous Period there were the Meganeura dragonflies, but that's really the main ancient insect I know of, so I'd be interested in learning about other fossil insects. The Apterygota seem particularly interesting in this regard.

What you expect to be the most interesting and challenging aspects of the course

Most interesting aspect is what I wrote above about constructing an understanding of the phylogenetic relationships between all of the extant insects. I think the hardest thing for me will be ensuring I have all of the families and orders that I need.

One question you have about insects or entomology for your classmates to answer

If you woke up tomorrow morning and found yourself transformed into an insect à la Kafka's The Metamorphosis, what species would you choose and why? In this transformation, you'd be appropriately sized, not the man-sized insect like the main character in the book is supposed to be. I think I'd choose Zelus longipes, since it looks cool, has a cool name, and people generally like it because it predates on would-be pests of garden and farm crops.