Austin Event Reminder

Austin is this year's site of the largest gathering of
insect geeks in the world. 

Got the pesticide applicator CEU blahs?  Are you looking for training that keeps you awake, and introduces you to new people and perspectives?  An upcoming A&M AgriLife Extension-sponsored event, "Under the Lens" may be just the thing. The day-long program runs from 7 am to 5 pm at the Austin Convention Center on November 13.  Cost is $100 and includes a continental breakfast, and lunch.  More importantly, it features national speakers talking about some diverse topics including delusory parasitosis, bed bugs, pest control in public housing, rodent control, mosquitoes and changes in pyrethroid label requirements.  Each of the speakers are experts in their field and sure to provide new and useful information.

For full information and links to the conference, see the AgriLife Today Press Release.  
Under the Lens will also features the annual business meeting of the Texas Integrated Pest Management Association for Public Schools (TIPMAPS) during the lunch break.  This event is the association’s annual meeting, but anyone with an interest in schools will have the chance to share ideas and issues and catch up on the latest developments within our field of school-related pest control.

The entire program is being held in association with the Entomological Society of America's 2013 Annual Meeting.  It's the largest gathering of entomologists in the world, if that excites you.  To learn more, check out my May blog post.

A unique opportunity for Texas IPM professionals

In case you haven't already heard, Texas gets to play host to a major event in the world of entomology and pest control this year.  The annual conference of the Entomological Society of America will be held November 10-13 in Austin.  The theme of this year's meeting is Science Impacting a Connected World, and approximately 3,000 entomologists from all over the world are expected to attend.

Many of you might be asking, "What's in it for me?"  In my opinion, plenty. The ESA meeting draws urban entomologists from all over the country to hear the latest in structural pest control research and activities. For a taste of the kind of information that you can hear at ESA, check out my past posts on ESA meeting highlights. In recent years ESA has become very welcoming to the pest control industry, even to the point of sponsoring special sessions for ACEs and other PMPs.

Rates for attending the meeting include early bird and on-site  registrations.  If you register before September 23,  ACEs can register for for $455 (comparable to the member rate of $430). Others pay $635 for early-bird and $765 for late registration. The meeting will be held at the Austin Convention Center.

This year the Texas IPM Affiliates for Public Schools (TIPMAPS) will be holding their annual meeting jointly with ESA. The TIPMAPS group is Texas' professional association for Public School IPM Coordinators.  They and Texas A&M University will be sponsoring a day-long program called Under the Lens, a CEU granting educational program and annual meeting featuring entomologists speaking on various topics including delusions of parasitosis, mosquitoes, pyrethroid label changes and fire ants, bed bugs, and rodent management around schools.  Advanced registration for the day is $100 (includes lunch) and $125 for on site registration. Although the program is designed for school IPM professionals, PMPs should also find the presentations and speakers of great interest. Registrants for the program will get access to the meeting exhibits and limited access to some of the scientific paper sessions. If you are interested in registering, or just want to learn more, click here.

Besides the TIPMAP event, a few of the symposia and paper sessions at the ESA meeting that might be of special interest to PMPs include:

• Applied Research on Bed Bug Management
• Arthropod Associated Allergy 
• Healthy Schools: Research, Benefits and Impacts in the Classroom 
• The Impact of Repellent Research and Development of New Arthropod Repellents 
• Chagas Disease in the USA? A New Risk?  
• Transmitting Mosquito Information: From Laboratory to Surveillance and Management in the Field 
• How Cool is Entomology? 
• Red Imported Fire Ants: Global Approaches to a Global Invasive Species 
• Stored Product Entomology: Impacts on a Connected World 
• Urban Entomology Presented Papers
• Medical/Veterinary Presented Papers
• Informal Conference on Insects of Ornamentals
• Click here for a full listing of special symposia topics

Though some of the papers are highly technical, most of the urban entomology sessions should be accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of entomology and an interest to see the latest science behind the craft. I hope many of you will consider attending. 

Crazy ant update

Rasberry or Caribbean crazy ants have been confirmed in
Travis County near the Burnet and Travis county
boundary. (Texas AgriLife Extension Service photo)

According to a story published yesterday in  AgriLife Today, College Station and Austin have recently been added to the list of county locations with confirmed identifications of the exotic, new crazy ant species, Nylanderia sp. near pubens.  As reported in an earlier post, this means that PMPs should be able to use the expanded Termidor label for perimeter applications of fipronil as ant barriers around homes in Travis and Brazos counties.  The Texas Department of Agriculture automatically extends the Section 18 amendment of the Termidor label when a new county is added to the list of infested counties.

Under the expanded label, Termidor applications may be made three feet up the side of a structure and 10 feet out (the standard label restricts applications to one foot up and one foot out), and may be made two times a year, no less than 60 days apart.  To be legal, however, you must have a copy of the label AND these Section 18 use directions.

This new exotic crazy ant has several common names including the Rasberry crazy ant (in Texas), the Caribbean crazy ant (Florida) and the hairy crazy ant (Louisiana and Mississippi).  A definitive study to confirm whether these ants are in fact the same species has yet to be published, but I suspect that when the dust clears they will all be the same.  A fresh cycle of news stories came out earlier this fall under the name "hairy crazy ant" confusing some people to think that there was yet another invasive ant.

Wildlife conference in Austin next month

Just passing on an announcement about a wildlife management conference being sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department May 22-25. Keynote speakers include Dr. Timothy Beatley (Biophilic Cities), Dr. Marina Alberti (Ecological Resilience in Urbanizing Landscapes), Kieran Lindsey (The Road Less Traveled: Subarus, Squirrels, and the Search for Stakeholders), and John Davis (Where Do We Go From Here? A Vision of the Future for Urban Wildlife).

Blog readers may remember one of the keynote speakers, Dr. Kieran Lindsey, from a recent post about Car Talk.

I am not a wildlifer, but this conference looks great.  For more information, including a list of speakers and topics, check out the conference website at www.urbanwildlife2011.org An international conference of this caliber doesn't come to Texas every year, so take advantage of it if you can.