ENY6944 -- TROPICAL HORTICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGY graduate level
updated January 2005

Instructor and Office Hours:
Dr. F. W. Howard
Room 204B, Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center
TEL 954 577-6332
FAX 954 475-4125
EMAIL: fwhoward@ufl.edu
OFFICE HOURS: 8:00-5:00 weekdays

Course Objective:
1. Students will obtain a background in tropical insect ecology, and develop expertise in environmentally compatible pest management methods for protecting tropical environmental horticulture and fruit crops. Students will also become versed in the principles of geography and climatology of tropical regions as applicable to the distribution of tropical insects.

2. Students will develop an awareness of the interrelationships and similarities in pest management problems in Florida and other tropical regions, and gain an international perspective on tropical plant protection.

Scope and approach of course. The course is on insect pests of woody tropical plants, including fruit trees and ornamental plants. A ‘case history study’ approach will be used. Of particular interest are insect/palm relationships, which are explored in depth and used as models. Emphasis will be on Florida and the Caribbean Region, but important insect pest case histories of other tropical regions will be included. Principles of tropical insect ecology and biogeography will be incorporated in the discussion of case histories.

Textbook: Insects on Palms, F. W. Howard, D. Moore, R. M. Giblin-Davis, and R. Abad. Publisher CABI Publications, Year of Publication 2001, Pages 400

Course Format:
Two one-hour lectures per week for the semester. Each lecture period will consist of a classroom lecture, discussion of outside reading, examination of specimens, observations of insect activity outdoors or a combination of these.

Students will be required to learn the material supplied in class lectures, hand outs and reading assignments. Final Exam (2 hours)

Grading criteria:
Grades based on weekly short written or field identification quizzes (30%), the term paper (20%) and the final examination (50%).

Topics discussed
Introduction. Insects of palms and other tropical plants.
Tropical geography and climatology
Defoliators: Orthoptera, Phasmatodea.
Defoliators: Lepidoptera
Defoliators: Coleoptera.
Hemiptera (Heteroptera and Auchenorrhyncha).
Hemiptera: Sternorrhyncha
Hemiptera: Coccoidea.
Hemiptera: Coccoidea.
Stem borers, twig borers.
Fruit borers
Insect pollination
Plant disease vectors
Review
Final Exam

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1. University Counseling Center, 301 Peabody Hall, 392-1575, personal and career counseling;
2. Student Mental Health, Student Health Care Center, 392-1171, personal counseling;
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