Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 - (Page 40)

senior vice president agriculture and natural resources The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences PO Box 110180 Gainesville, FL 32611-0180 om Emmel, left, an affiliate professor of entomology with UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, and Matt Lehnert, an entomology graduate student in UF’s College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, look at a preserved specimen of the Homerus swallowtail butterfly (Papilio homerus) at UF’s McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity in Gainesville. With a six-inch wingspan, the Homerus is the largest butterfly in the Western hemisphere, but it is endangered and found only in two parts of Jamaica. Lehnert recently published a study in The Journal of Insect Conservation estimating the size of the population in western Jamaica to be about 50 adults, requiring conservation and captive breeding to save the insect. The good news is that the population was larger than expected, said Emmel, who is Lehnert’s graduate advisor. He said only a few butterflies in the world are bigger. The largest is Papua New Guinea’s Queen Alexandra’s birdwing, which has a 12-inch wingspan. Emmel previousely helped rescue the endangered Schaus swallowtail and Miami blue butterflies native to Florida. n For more information, contact: tom emmel (352) 494-7402 matt lehnert uf/ifas file photo T BIg Butterfly tcemmel@ufl.edu (352) 870-4002 mlehnert@ufl.edu institute of food and agricultural sciences | university of florida | All programs and related activities sponsored for, or assisted 40 by, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are open to all persons without discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. Information from this publication is available in alternate formats. Visit IMPACT | Spring 2008 http://impact.ifas.ufl.edu, or contact IFAS External and Media Relations, University of Florida, PO Box 110275, Gainesville, FL 32611-0275. ISSN #0748-23530 http://www.ifas.ufl.edu http://www.ifas.ufl.edu

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008 Contents A Big Boost for Biofuels Top Priority Partnerships for Sustainable Agriculture Eliminating the Evil Weevil Invasive Pest Defeating Resistant Roaches Biodiesel Boon User-Friendly Updates for FAWN Flat-Out Great for the Grill! Laser Labeling Cashing in on Caviar Saving Water with Soil-Moisture Sensors Spotlight IFAS Development News

Impact Magazine - Spring 2008

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