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Annual Southwestern Branch Meetings of the Entomological Society of America

Attending the 54th annual meeting of the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America in Austin this year was a great experience. We had a great time, learned a lot, and met many new people. On Monday, we were able to tour Brackenridge Field Lab of the University of Texas (ssssssssssssss) where we got a great introduction to the research on the biological control of Solenopsis invicta, the Red Imported Fire Ant. We saw how this research is conducted and we were able to see the Pseudacteon Phorid Flies in action parasitizing fire ants. We were also let into the greenhouses where Dr. Lawrence Gilbert studies the behavior, ecology, and evolution of passionvine butterflies (Heliconius). The greenhouses contained over 100 species of Passiflora, many of which were started on stock some 20+ years ago, and were filled with beautiful Heliconius butterflies that were flying all around us, and some were even emerging from their chrysalis’ right before our eyes. After leaving Brackenridge Field Lab, we went to the Texas Memorial Museum where we spent the remainder of the afternoon viewing dinosaur fossils, rocks and gems, and various wildlife, all of which were collected in Texas.

Monday evening when we returned to the hotel we went to the student mixer, which was a lot of fun. We got to meet and interact with many students from other universities that were in attendance at the meeting. We played dominos and were serenaded by the great singing and guitar playing of NMSU’s very own: Paul Smith. Later in the evening, everyone else who was not a student was allowed into the mixer so that we could all mingle for the remainder of the evening. Through talking with Dr. Jeff Tomberlin during this time, Sheena Parsons and Jonathan Cammack were presented with the opportunity to present the research they are currently conducting with Dr. Jim Olson at the 4th Annual Meeting of the North American Forensic Entomology Association, which both are very excited about.

Tuesday was spent attending meetings, oral presentations, and symposia. We attended the oral presentation student competition that morning and supported all the Texas A&M graduate students who presented their research. Later in the afternoon was the symposium on The Past, Present, and Future of Forensic Entomology, which was both enlightening and entertaining. Then came the first round of the Linnaean Games competition. The graduate students did extremely well, and advanced to round two. Our undergraduate team was spared the first night and was automatically placed in the second round because there were an uneven number of teams competing. When round one of the Linnaean Games was over we attended the Banquet and Awards Presentation. Later that night most of the students and some of the non-students in attendance went out and celebrated Fat Tuesday - 6th Street Style.

Wednesday was another busy day where we spent the morning in the red imported fire ant (RIFA) biological control symposium. Here we learned a great deal more about what we were introduced to at Brackenridge Field Lab on Monday, and were also able to listen to three Texas A&M graduate students talk about their research on RIFA bio-control. After lunch that afternoon we went with Mariana Griggs-Tenorio from Baylor University and were given a tour of the beautiful campus of St. Edward’s University. We then returned and attended the symposium on the highlights on some of the Entomology Programs in Texas, which was very interesting and we learned about a number of different entomology programs around the state and what the current status and focus of each program was. Then came round two of the Linnaean Games competition. The undergraduates lost the first game to OSU’s #1 team, but it was still a great experience. The graduate students put up a great fight against the team from West Texas A&M, but lost in the end. We are still very proud of them and thankful for the support they showed us during our competition: 12th Man towels and all. When Linnaean Games were over we went to the Fox and Hound Tavern and Grille in downtown Austin where we had supper and watched the Ags beat the HELL outta t.u. at basketball, earning them a spot in the March Madness Tournament.

Thursday morning, those of us that were still in Austin attended the final business meeting and got to experience first hand what goes on “behind the scenes” of a branch meeting and how business is conducted. We then had lunch with Mariana from Baylor and headed back to College Station. It was the end of a long week, but it was a lot of fun and a great learning experience that we strongly urge more people to participate in at future meetings. We would like to thank the department for their support and for allowing us to attend the meeting, and we are looking forward to representing Texas A&M University at next year’s meeting in Corpus Christi, Texas.