Personnel
Professor, Entomologist
Dr. Stansly had his first experience in fruit-tree entomology establishing ladybeetles
for biological control of scale insects in date groves of Northern Niger, (1973-1976).
He then received his master's degree in zoology from the University of Oklahoma
(1978) using the ladybeetle work as a thesis. He earned a Ph.D. in Entomology from
Texas A&M (1984) working on the ecology of the boll weevil on native host plants
in Tabasco Mexico. As a post-doctoral associate for the State University of New
York at Stony Brook (1985-1986), he studied the ecology of mound-building, nasute
termites in the llanos of Venezuela. In 1986, Dr. Stansly joined the IFAS faculty
as head of a project to implement IPM with row-crop farmers of Coastal Ecuador financed
by USAID (1986-1989). He came to SWFREC at Immokalee in 1989 where his extension
and research activities include vegetables, citrus, and sugarcane. Dr. Stansly teaches
citrus pest management at the Center and carries out collaborative research with
colleagues on integrated pest management of vegetables and citrus. He is author
or co-author of over 250 professional and trade journal articles, book chapters,
and extension articles, including some in Spanish, on a broad range of entomological
topics.
Research Associate Professor
Dr. Qureshi’s research focuses on the biology and ecology of Asian citrus psyllid
(ACP) and citrus leafminer (CLM) and their natural enemies. He is using biological
and chemical methods of pest control to develop integrated strategies to reduce
the incidence of pests and diseases. Experiments are designed to quantify biotic
mortality in the populations of ACP and CLM and identify their relevant factors.
Several insecticides are being evaluated for their effects on ACP, CLM, generalist
predators and species specific parasitoids. These findings are published in international
and regional journals and presented to growers, extension agents, farm managers,
scientific community, and administrators.
Post-doctoral Associate in Citrus Integrated Pest Management
Cesar Monzo Ferrer received his Ph.D. degree in entomology from the Universidad
Politecnica de Valencia (Spain) in 2010. He has been working in entomology since
2002. His research has involved different studies in ecology, biotechnology and
integrated pest management, mainly focused in citrus crops. During his Ph.D., he
assessed the predatory ability of citrus ground-dwelling predators on the Mediterranean
fruit fly. Field work included activity-density, biodiversity, and population structure
studies associated to this crop. In addition, there were laboratory studies on the
efficiency of the prevalent predators as medfly predators, and the use of serological
and PCR-based methodologies in post-mortem analysis for field predation evaluation.
Currently he is working on obtaining economical thresholds for the Asian citrus
psyllid management under Florida citrus crop conditions, and on how the current
chemical strategies may be disrupting the biological control interactions pre-existing
in this crop. Other works he has been involved with include citrus ants integrated
pest management, ecological studies on mite communities associated to adjacent hedges
in vegetable crops, and predator behavior studies.
Post-doctoral Associate in Entomological Extension and Research
Dr. Jones received her doctorate from University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in
2010, where she studied the susceptibility of Oriental fruit moth to selected insecticides
and mixtures. She briefly worked with integrated pest management of bed bugs at
Rutgers University as a Research Assistant for the Urban Entomology Department.
Current research focuses on management programs for the Asian citrus psyllid, the
vector of citrus greening disease – a serious threat to citrus production in Florida.
Her research emphasizes the development of efficient monitoring methods to evaluate
control, economic feasibility, and impact on secondary pests to assist in making
rational control decisions. She also evaluates new chemical tools for psyllid suppression
and compatibility with natural enemies. She assists growers with planning and evaluation
of field tests to develop site specific season-long psyllid control which provides
an information bridge between growers and researchers to communicate this information
effectively to the industry.
Sr. Biological Scientist
Barry Kostyk received his Bsc (Agr.) in Entomology from the University of Guelph
in 1986 and his Masters of Pest Management from Simon Fraser University in 1992.
His research was involved with the use of semiochemicals to effectively control
populations of mountain pine beetles in British Columbia Forests. During his varied
career, he has worked with the Ontario Forest Institute where he tested novel and
new generation insecticides against pests of conifers seed and seedlings. Inaddition,
he also helped in developing pest management programs and proper monitoring recommendations
for conifer seed orchards and nurseries. Has also worked at the Royal Ontario Museum
where he was involved in a large biodiversity project that was identifying the insect
fauna of Indonesian rain forests. Spending 10 years at Clemson University, he developed
pesticide-training programs including a Wood Infestation Report Training Class and
the Apprentice Termite Technician School. Here at IFAS he provides general support
of the Entomology Group and heads up the Pesticide Testing Program which looks at
the effects of new pesticides against pests in vegetables and Citrus.
Research Assistant
Jose Castillo has been working as part of the Entomology group at the SWREC since
2005. Jose is working on everything related with production, life tables, and development
of rearing methods for Eretmocerus sudanensis on Bermisia tabaci, and Tamarixia
radiata on Diaphorina citri. He obtained his Bachelors and Masters Degrees at the
Universidad del Valle en Colombia working in entomology. He also trained in parasitic
microhymenoptera ecology, biology and taxonomy at the University of Maryland. His
focus is with biocontrol and rearing methods. His experience in Colombia as part
of the CIAT, the United States as part of the TREC in Homestead, FL, and the SWREC
in Immokalee has made him especially important for the biological control and use
of natural enemies component of our program.
Grad Student (PhD)
Scott Croxton started work in the field of Entomology while rearing weevils as a
student employee for the Entomology Department at Auburn University and subsequently
worked with mosquitoes and the transmission of West Nile Virus. Scott received a
Bachelors in Horticulture with a minor in Entomology (2002-2005, Auburn University)
followed by a Masters in Horticulture studying thrips’ transmission of tomato spotted
wilt virus in tomatoes (2005-2008, Auburn University). He is currently studying
the Asian Citrus Psyllid and its ability to vector Huanglongbing (HLB) in citrus
at the SWFREC while working towards a Ph.D. in Entomology at the University of Florida.
Field Research Assistant
Joel Mendez received his B. Sc. in Agriculture in 2003 from the University of Zamorano,
Honduras. He first worked in the Biological Control Laboratory in Zamorano as a
Research Assistant. While there, he was involved in research of fungi for the control
of pests in vegetables and as a trainer of vegetable growers in the use of biological
agents. This experience helped him to obtain a position as a Research Aide at the
OARDC at Ohio state University, working on the maintenance and evaluation of an
intensive fruit and vegetable polyculture system in which he was involved in determining
the biodiversity of insect species and crop spatial arrangements for pest pressure
to develop management strategies. In 2009, he joined the team led by Dr. Phil Stansly
at the UF/IFAS SWFREC in Immokalee, obtaining relevant knowledge on the control
of different stages in the life cycle of the Asian Citrus Psyllid and the economic
impact this pest has as the vector that spreads the citrus greening disease. Currently,
Joel is an Entomology graduate student at the SWFREC.
Field Research Assistant
Sr. Agricultural Assistant