2019 Annual meeting

Our 12th annual Alaska Entomological Society meeting will be held in Fairbanks at the Department of Natural Resources building on Saturday, February 9, 2019.

If you’d like to give a talk, please email president@akentsoc.org with a presentation title, author, job affiliation, and approximate length of the presentation (suggested length of either 15 or 25 min + 5 min for questions), and/or agenda items for the business meeting.

Our meeting minutes are posted from last year here.

Alaska Interagency News Release: Spruce beetle activity continues to rise in Southcentral Alaska

This news release was posted on October 1.

Aerial surveys conducted this summer by state and federal forest health specialists documented nearly 558,000 acres of active spruce beetle-caused tree mortality in Southcentral Alaska. The surveys are part of an annual program to detect forest insect and disease occurrences in Alaska forests. With the addition of this year’s data, the cumulative area impacted by spruce beetle in the region is estimated to have grown to roughly 910,000 acres since the current spruce beetle outbreak began in 2016.

http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/pic/releases/10-1-18%20Spruce%20beetle%20activity%20continues%20to%20rise%20in%20Southcentral%20Alaska.pdf

Leaf herbivory by insects during summer reduces overwinter browsing by moose

Effect of insecticide treatment during the growing season on subsequent stem production by, and overwinter browsing on, sandbar willow. From Allman, et al. (2018).

The article appeared in BMC Ecology on September 27 and showed interactoins among the willow leaf blotch miner, , sandbar willow, and moose.

https://doi.org/10.1186/s12898-018-0192-x

Infestation with the nasopulmonary mite Halarachne halichoeri in threatened southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis)

Scanning electron microscopy of adult Halarachne halichoeri from Pesapane et al. (2018).

This article appeared in International Journal for Parasitology: Parasites and Wildlife on September 29 and pertains to Alaskan populations of Halarachne halichoeri, sea otters, seals, and even humans.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijppaw.2018.09.009