More than 1,600 people attended the Butterfly Festival at the UT Arboretum in Oak Ridge on Saturday, September 17, 2022! Guests viewed insects at the UT Insect Zoo, viewed butterflies, and participated in art activities. For more information about the 2022 Butterfly Festival, visit https://utarboretum.tennessee.edu/butterfly-festival/.
On June 30, the Highland Rim AgResearch and Education Center hosted the Tobacco, Beef, & More Field Day. The event brought together beef and tobacco producers to learn more about current research in their respective fields. Taylor Miller, a master’s student with a concentration in plant pathology, and her advisor, Dr. Zach Hansen, attended the event along with other colleagues. To view more photos from the event, visit Entomology & Plant Pathology (@utia.epp) • Instagram photos and videos.
Happy National Pollinator Week (June 20 – 26, 2022). Pollinator Week is an annual event in support of pollinator health. The week was initiated and is managed by Pollinator Partnership, and fourteen years ago the U.S. Senate’s unanimous approval and designation of a week in June as “National Pollinator Week” marked a necessary step toward addressing the urgent issue of declining pollinator populations. As Pollinator Week has grown, people across the planet have pledged to continue promoting pollinator health and well-being through their Pollinator Week events. Through the numerous virtual and in-person gatherings, webinars, planting sessions, garden and farm walks, and monument lightings, Pollinator Week 2022 is geared to be the busiest and best one yet! (From Pollinator Partnership
Upon the completion of the spring semester, the Entomology and Plant Pathology social committee celebrated EPP students, staff, and faculty by holding an End of Semester Social. The celebration included sweet and tasty cupcakes, fun lawn games, and more. During the event, five graduating students were also highlighted for their accomplishments. Congratulations to you all! We are proud of each of you.
On Friday, December 10, 2021, the EPP Annual Winter Banquet was held. During this event, many students, staff, faculty, and their families celebrated the end of the year. During the banquet, a game of trivia began that featured questions on the subject of entomology, plant pathology, pop culture, and geography. However, in the end, the table featuring Dean Xin, Dr. Bonnie Ownley, Dr. Ernest Bernard, Dr. Windham, Sarah Collins, and their families won first place. Students Amira Cornish, Julian Cosner, Gary Edwards, Trinity Hamm, Kassie Hollabaugh, and Elias Zuchelli were acknowledged. These six students have graduated during the 2021 year and have achieved a great milestone. Congratulations to you all on your accomplishment. Recently announced retirees, Dr. Frank Hale,
Dr. Frank Hale and Dr. Alan Windham recently spoke to over 500 4th graders at the Country Classroom Event at the Maury County Park in Columbia, TN about insects and fungi. Take a look at the fungi photos and insect collection on the tables. The insect collection was quite a hit with the kids!
Buggy Buffet is an annual event that involves students from UT’s First-Year Studies class “A Bug’s Life”. Over the years, this event presented a selection of menu items that feature insect-based ingredients. For example, during the annual event in 2019, some of the students truly enjoyed ants-on-a-log while others ate chocolate chirp cookies and drank a banana bug smoothie. Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 virus, the 2021 Buggey Buffet event has been canceled. We are hoping to host another Buggy Buffet soon!
Matthew Longmire and Kassie Hollabaugh, two graduate students, and one faculty member, Dr. Jerome Grant, have recently attended Down on the Farm at the Tennessee Valley Fair in Knoxville. They shared entomology with the kids in attendance. This annual outdoor event, sponsored by University of Tennessee Extension, is a special day dedicated to providing education and information about agriculture, farm safety, and more to young students. About 200 students attended this year’s event, which was modified slightly from previous events due to Covid-19. Bugs Rule!
Would you like to learn more about pest management and other information that relates to the growth of your crops? On Saturday, September 18th, the EPP Graduate Student Association (GSA) will be attending Market Square Knoxville to improve grower awareness and use of research-based information in pest management. To learn more, please stop by their tent between 9 AM EDT – 12 PM EDT. Flyers, informational packets, and EPP swag will be available.
EPP has invited Manuel Lluberas, a public health entomologist, to speak about his extensive experience in the control of insects of public health and veterinary importance obtained during the past three decades on September 16th at 1:00 PM EDT. He served twelve years as medical entomologist and medical intelligence officer for the US Navy attached to the US Marines and have been Executive Director for Public Health for H. D. Hudson Manufacturing Company over twenty-six (26) years. Manuel has provided technical assistance on the design, implementation, evaluation, and technical capacity building on integrated vector management to private and public entities and UN agencies in sixty-three (63) countries in three (3) continents. Some of his most significant accomplishments include designing