SPDN Weevil Workshop

Specialized Training for Entomologists

Athens, Georgia

March 10-12, 2010

Site Index

Introduction
The National Plant Diagnostic Network (NPDN) was formed in June 2002 in response to agricultural biosecurity concerns following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The Southern Plant Diagnostic Network (SPDN) is one of five regions within the NPDN. Member states or U.S. territories of the SPDN include: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida (UF, regional center), Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Virginia. The mission of the NPDN/SPDN is to enhance agricultural security and assist in protecting the U.S. from intentional or unintentional exotic pest introductions. Numerous endemic, introduced, and exotic species of weevils threaten agriculture in the southern U.S.

National taxonomic specialists will interactively lead participants through family, subfamily, genus, and species level identification for weevils of economic importance in the following commodities:  fruits and nuts; vegetables and grains; turf and pasture; ornamentals;  forestry; and storage products. Specialists will provide overview presentations for the various taxa and focal pests for commodity areas, but the majority of participant time will focus on hands-on identification of specimens.

Who Should Attend?
General entomology diagnostician and extension specialists in the southern region interested in weevil identification should attend. The following groups would benefit from the workshop:

• General Entomology Diagnosticians
• Extension Specialists
• Graduate Students focusing on Coleoptera or Taxonomy

Federal and/or State General Insect Identification Specialists

Five Benefits of Attending the Training:
Upon completion of the workshop, you will:

1. Have enhanced your understanding of the morphology of weevils and subsequently, be able to use taxonomic keys more effectively.
2. Be able to use the course manual and other taxonomic resources for the identification of pests in your state.
3. Be more familiar with family, subfamily, genera, and species of weevils in the southern region of economic concern and their current distribution by commodity.
4. Have learned about exotic weevil threats to the southern region, and be able to more effectively recognize a potentially exotic sample.
5. Know the specialists that can be contacted if you suspect that you have an exotic specimen.

Workshop Topics
The Identification of Common and Exotic Weevil Species of Concern to the Southern Region of the U.S. by Commodity Areas:

• Fruits & Nuts
• Vegetables & Grains
• Turf & Pasture
• Ornamentals
• Forest Pests
• Storage Product Pests

Select Genera and Species in the following Family and Subfamily Groups:

• Anthribidae
• Apionidae
• Baridinae
• Belidae
• Ceutorhynchinae
• Conoderinae
• Cossoninae
• Cryptorhychinae
• Curculioninae
• Cyclominae
• Dryophthoridae
• Entiminae
• Erihinidae
• Hyperinae
• Lixinae
• Molytinae

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Friday, March 12, 2010

Dr. Nico Franz
I am an entomologist specializing in the systematics, host plant evolution, and historical biogeography of Neotropical weevils. I have been a faculty member of the Department of Biology at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez (UPRM) since 2006. My bilingual lab is presently involved in a revisionary systematic project of Exophthalmus and related entimine weevil genera. Additional projects focus on the beetles and insects of Puerto Rico, including the curation and expansion of the UPRM invertebrate collection.

Prior to joining UPRM I was a doctoral student in the Entomology Department at Cornell University. My research addressed the systematics of acalyptine flower
weevils, including analyses of morphological, ecological, behavioral, and
molecular character systems. Also, since 2002 I have served as editor of
CURCULIO – an International Newsletter for Curculionoidea Research. My lab
website and publications can be accessed at:
http://academic.uprm.edu/~franz/

Dr. Charles W. O’Brien, Professor, retired
Charlie discovered entomology and weevils as a second semester Junior at UCONN, Storrs, CT and studied with Jim Slater for his B.A. in 1956. He began a Master’s study there but transferred to the U. of A. in Tucson, and studied under Floyd Werner, receiving an M.S. in 1958. He went on to U.C. Berkeley, studying first with Gorton Linsley, and then with Bob Usinger and received a Ph.D. in 1967. He took a year off in 1959-1960 to work for the Bishop Museum collecting in Antarctica (5 months), New Zealand (2 months), and then the British Solomon Islands Protectorate (6 months).

His first position was a Ford Foundation Fellowship as a Professor at the Universidad Católica in Santiago, Chile for 18 months and 6 months at Purdue University in Lafayette, IN in 1967 to 1969. He then moved to Texas Tech, Lubbock, TX for 2 & ½ years as Assistant Professor. Finally moving to Florida A & M University in Tallahassee, he advanced from Associate to Full Professor and subsequently became  Director of the Center for Biological Control during his 33 years there and retired to Green Valley AZ in 2005.

Charlie has a personal collection of approximately one million weevils, the results of collecting throughout the World, including all 7 continents and more than 40 countries, as well as exchanges with many museums and fellow collectors. His research with weevils has produced more than 120 articles in refereed journals, and includes two checklists covering the weevils of the New World. The research includes studies of all groups of Curculionoidea, excepting Scolytinae and Platypodidae. 

Dr. Gregory Setliff
Greg is an Assistant Professor in the Biology Department at Kutztown University in Pennsylvania. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota in 2009. His thesis research focused on taxonomy and systematics of several cryptorhynchine weevil genera (Curculionidae: Cryptorohynchinae) from the Indo-Australian region.  Prior to his graduate work, Greg was the project manager for the Binatang Research Center in Papua New Guinea. In New Guinea, Greg contributed to a large scale study examining the host specificity of lowland rainforest insects and took part in biotic surveys.  He is currently continuing his revisionary work on Papuan weevils and has recently started a project on the cryptorhynchines of Puerto Rico.

Meeting registration will be initially limited to approved Southern Plant Diagnostic Network (SPDN), USDA-APHIS-PPQ, and other select representative attendees.  Meeting space is limited to 24 participants.  Meeting registration includes the following:  speaker travel, printed participant handouts, registration fees, and an opening welcome banquet reception on Wednesday, March 10, 2010.

Click Here to Download Meeting Registration Form

Early Registration Deadline: Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Early Registration Fee: $375

Early Registration is only open to pre-approved attendees.

Regular Registration Deadline: Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Regular Registration Fee: $450

Regular Registration is open to pre-approved attendees and others on a first come, first serve basis. Questions regarding approval to attend this conference may be directed to Amanda Hodges achodges@ufl.edu

Your own personal copy of 'American Beetles, Volume 2' is not included in your meeting registration. You need to plan to purchase this publication in advance of the workshop and bring it to the training session. If you Google the title, you will find new and used versions of this publication through various sources, including popular vendors such as Amazon.com

The training workshop will be held in a teaching classroom at the University of Georgia, Department of Entomology. Directions will be available at the University of Georgia Conference Center and Hotel. The classroom is within walking distance to the hotel. E-mail workshop coordinator Amanda Hodges for further details.

Rates:

$89 for Classic Queen and King Rooms (1 queen bed or 1 king bed)
$94 for Select Rooms (2 double beds or 2 queen beds) Government per diem rate              
$149 - $399 Various Suites

Hotel Reservation Group Code No. 69986

Hotel Reservation Deadline: February 10, 2010

Phone: 1-800-884-1381

Click Here for Online Booking

Note:  A limited number of rooms have been blocked for the conference.  Registration for the conference does not guarantee a hotel room at the University of Georgia Conference Center and Hotel will be available.  In the event that rooms are no longer available, please contact Amanda Hodges achodges@ufl.edu for alternative suggested housing. 
Hotel check-in time is 4 p.m. Checkout time is 11 a.m.

Hotel Room Amenities:

• Free Wireless Internet Service
• Flat screen tv’s & remote control with expanded cable including HBO, ESPN, and other specialty channels
• In-room refrigerator and microwave

• In room Coffee/tea service
• Individual Climate control
• Turn-down Services
• Concierge Service
• Onsite Fitness Center
• Iron/ironing board
• Hairdryer
• Work/study area

• Radio/Alarm Clock
• Two phones
• Access to UGA Ramsey Student Activities Center fitness facility

Parking:  A University of Georgia parking deck is conveniently located next to the Georgia Center as well as another across the street.  The parking fee is $10/day.  Parking after 5:00 pm and on the weekends is allowed in surrounding surface lots at no charge. 

Transportation:  The Georgia Center Conference Center & Hotel provides free shuttle service for our guests to downtown Athens and nearby areas.  This service usually ends around 10:00 pm.  The University of Georgia’s Campus Transit bus system’s last bus departs from the Arch (downtown) for the Georgia Center at 12:29 AM and is available for our guests.  Ending times could be different during UGA spring break, holiday breaks and summer sessions.

Local Area airports include Athens Ben Epps Airport and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Aiport. AAA Aiport Express does offer a shuttle to and from the host hotel (GA Center). Advance reservations recommend. Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from both the Athens Ben Epps Airport and the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

Offsite & UGA Activities and Locations:  There are many activities and venues available (note:  additional fees may apply).  Optional local area services and attractions include the following:

• University of Georgia Golf Course (UGA does not allow alcohol on its course)
• Ramsey Student Activities Center – is available for a small fee for all Georgia Center conference attendees.  (General public is not allowed in the Ramsey Center; only UGA faculty, staff, students and spouses who pay membership fees.)  The Ramsey Center has an indoor track, three swimming pools, enormous weight room, and racquetball courts. 
• Ropes course for team building exercises through UGA Recreational Sports
• Outdoor track used by the University of Georgia Track Team (available for Georgia Center conferees unless the track team is practicing)
• National Collegiate Tennis Hall of Fame on campus.
• UGA Sports Museum in Butts-Mehre Building.
• Georgia Museum of Art
• University of Georgia Botanical Gardens
• Downtown Athens
• world renowned “music scene”; home of REM and others
• restored downtown and historic districts featuring antebellum, Victorian and other period homes.
• Various Tours and activities through the Athens Visitors Center and the Athens Convention and Visitors Bureau.

For general questions regarding this workshop, E-mail Amanda Hodges

Please report any questions or problems with the webpage and/or associated registration linkages to Amanda Hodges or call (352) 273-3957.

The SPDN program is funded by the USDA, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). In addition to cost recovery from workshop registration fees, some expenses have been covered by the SPDN. The SPDN acknowledges the Department of Entomology at the University of Georgia for serving as the host institution. Host institution responsibilities include in-kind support by providing microscopes and classroom coordination, assistance with local arrangements coordination, and participation in overall meeting planning conference calls. Local arrangements coordinators include: Dr. Joseph McHugh and Dr. Keith Douce.

SPDN Entomology educational programs are planned and coordinated by a regional committee. Committee members include: Carlos Bogran (Texas AgriLife Extension, Texas A&M University), Dale Pollet (Louisiana State University), Natalie Hummel (Louisiana State University), Blake Layton (Mississippi State University), Charles Ray (Auburn University), Frank Hale (University of Tennesssee), Keith Douce (University of Georgia), Joseph LaForest (University of Georgia), Blake Newton (University of Kentucky), Eric Day (Virginia Tech), Eric Bensen (Clemson University), Steve Bambara (North Carolina State University), and Amanda Hodges (University of Florida, SPDN Regional Center).

Page Updated, January 21, 2010