Integrated Pest Management Systems (Bernalillo County)

The Agent set up a CEU workshop for NMDA Licensed Public Pesticide Applicators in Albuquerque. The NMSU Extension Weed Specialist came up from Las Cruces to do part of the workshop. Thirty-two applicators attended and received the 4 hours of CEU credit needed to keep their licenses current.

The Agent presented the following topics, in PowerPoint format: Weed Management 101, Plant Diseases in Outdoor Trees and Shrubs, and Pesticide Safety. The Specialist did both lecture and hands-on presentations on equipment calibration. The hands-on section was particularly well received by the attendees.

Of the thirty-two who attended, fifteen filled out evaluation forms. To summarize the evaluations: 100% of respondents learned new information, and 100% thought they would use the new information in the future; 7% felt the new information would be “somewhat” directly useful to them , 20% felt the new information would be “quite a bit” directly useful to them, and 73% felt it would be “very much” directly useful to them. 100% would recommend the training to others.

Some of the written comments were: “This was the best CEU course I’ve attended”; “Never knew our equipment needed that kind of calibration”; “I thought the calculation aspect was very good. Learning about failures in spraying helps in teaching how to calibrate”.

Impact Report for 2011
Integrated Pest Management Systems, 2007-2011
Dr. Carol Sutherland, Extension Entomologist
Plan Goal
Program specialist(s) and County Extension staff will regularly disseminate basic information on IPM, entomology and the various arthropods impacting New Mexico producers and consumers.
Target Audience and Actions
In 2011, target audiences could be categorized as Master Gardeners/Gardening, Pesticide Applicator Training Workshops, Youth and All Ages/Miscellaneous Topics and Activities.
For Master Gardeners, I made 10 presentations (2.5-3 hours or longer) to members in 11 of the 12 counties with active MG programs in 2011; all presentations were ‘live’ except for Colfax County which was broadcast through CENTRA. These are all long-established programs for trainees and graduates who offer various volunteer horticultural services to their home counties. In all, I spoke to ca. 285 Master Gardeners, showing each group, except Colfax, displays of native and exotic arthropods from the NMSU Arthropod Collection; besides showing the diversity of arthropods, the beauty of some and variety of others, I always invite the audience to view these displays during break times since what other opportunity would they have to conveniently see these unique and scientifically valuable materials housed at NMSU main campus? This year, I organized PowerPoint programs featuring: 1)basic entomology, beneficial arthropods and vegetable pest insects; 2) arthropod pests of fruits and nuts; and 3) arthropod pests of ornamentals and turf. These are the key areas of interest to some or all gardeners in all parts of the state and what they see in each presentation will likely be an answer to a question they may field during their volunteer hours with their home county Extension office. I included a few different pests for the northern counties in each category, replacing some species more common to the southern counties. Each county with a Master Gardener program received copies of all presentations and ‘handouts’ for local use; as office expenses continue to rise, nearly all agents post these programs to their county websites for members to access and print as needed. If ca. 25% of the attendees at Master Gardener presentations were trainees, then ca. 71 trainees hopefully graduated from the program with at least a functional knowledge of arthropods while the remaining 220+ graduates had their memories refreshed; all should have gained knowledge (repetition is good) from the experience that can be applied during their volunteer service. According to the NMSU-CES brochure on Master Gardeners, approximately 1,000 Master Gardeners remain active statewide, volunteering for ca. 36,000 hours of various horticulture-based services coordinated through their County Agents. Very conservatively, these volunteer hours have been valued at ca. $576,000 or 15 staff equivalents. As far as entomology goes, these MG volunteers are at least aware of how to gather and forward specimens for identification either directly to me or through the NMSU-CES Plant Diagnostic Clinic. By show of hands, Master Gardeners self-reported their understanding of key features of selected arthropod pests, their life cycles, types of damage caused and controls increased by at least 10% by the end of the program; more than a few felt overwhelmed by the variety of arthropods they didn’t know existed in their gardens and landscapes.
To conclude on the gardening presentations, I made another 5 presentations to garden clubs and special interest garden groups in Las Cruces (3), Ruidoso and Mountainair (1 each) for a total of 119 attendees. Topics ranged from just beneficial arthropods to common vegetable pests for market gardeners/small farmers, native bees and arthropods associated only with iris. The iris growers received handouts and that PowerPoint presentation was posted on their regional website. Otherwise, the county agents attended these presentations, too---or in some cases, extended the invitation.
I gave 19 presentations at 14 Pesticide Applicator Training Workshops held in or broadcast to an estimated 783 attendees in 11 counties around the state. Six of these workshops involved presentations to separate classes of trainees and licensees, resulting in audiences of 138 trainees and 243 licensees (all in Category 3, Ornamental and Turf). The 138 trainees received instruction focused on and highlighting the Category 3A study guide from NMDA’s website. With a little review, trainees should be able to pass this category exam without much difficulty. Getting this license is probably tied to their job requirements. If they are successful, that keeps 138 people employed, hopefully beyond 2012, and 138 families with paychecks. If these individuals earn an average annual wage of $25,000, that’s nearly $3.5 million added or maintained in New Mexico’s economy. For the licensees in Category 3A, if those individuals earned an average wage of $40,000/year, that’s over $9.7 million added or maintained in New Mexico’s economy. Licensees have the professional ‘flexibility’ to be assigned pest control activities by their employers, an asset for their resumes and job growth potential.
The other 402 attendees at 13 other PAT workshops were present to gain additional knowledge, get updates on pests new to the state or area and get an appreciation for the wide-ranging arthropod problems facing producers and resource managers in our state. Nearly all of these individuals attended these workshops to earn the necessary CEUs to qualify for pesticide applicator license renewals; typically, nearly all would be private applicators---farmers and/or ranchers. Annual incomes for these individuals vary considerably, but by qualifying for license renewals, 402 farmers and ranchers with various plant crops maintain their options for pest control for another license term and, hopefully, also learn new or useful bits of information. These licensees rely to varying extents on their licenses to maintain profitability, keeping their farms and ranches ‘open for business’ and taking care of their families.
Two special pesticide applicator presentations were given in September at the request/invitation of the Northern NM Pueblos. Since Native Americans in the pueblos are considered New Mexico residents but exempt from regulation by NMDA, generalities of pesticide labeling, safe use and storage, and their impacts on non-target organisms were in order. Few pueblo residents have much farm equipment and probably fewer yet have sprayers of any kind. I created a program featuring basic information on common arthropod pests of vegetable and fruit crops. Few of the attendees were likely in positions that require applications of pesticides to food crops; most seemed associated with saltcedar control projects and some mosquito control programs. Attendees and the Northern NM Pueblo association members were genuinely appreciative of the quality information provided, generating discussions and creating awareness among them that NMSU-CES programs are open and accessible to them as well as other New Mexicans. It appears we may be contacted again in the future for more interactions with adult and youth audiences in pueblo functions.
I gave 10 presentations on key arthropod pests---or particular ones---for conferences, workshops and fields days associated with key or popular NM crops: forage (mainly alfalfa), chile, onions, pecans (2), pistachios (2), apples, pears, turf and organically grown vegetable crops; audience totals for these events were 497. For some in the audience, the pests were familiar, but for others, this was orientation and learning time. For some audiences (e.g. pecan for aphid control) I stressed development of pesticide resistance or discussed the emergence of secondary pests; for others (chile and onions), I reviewed and categorized current insecticides labeled for certain key pests, including sections for organic and conventional growers. For the latter, products were identified as either General or Restricted Use, requiring considerable time working with several on-line databases.
Another pesticide applicator project for 2011 involved creation of two CENTRA programs to train county Extension agents (et al.) for passing their Category 1A (Agricultural Plant Pests) and Category 3A (Ornamental and Turf Pests) exams at NMDA. According to the NM Pesticide Control Act, anyone making recommendations to others for the application of pesticides in NM needs to be licensed. I have my licenses and now the agents will have theirs, keeping everyone ‘legal.’ However, as everyone knows or finds out quickly, getting the license is just the bare beginning of what one needs to know or be aware of with respect to safe, appropriate and legal applications of pesticides to anything. My 3A presentation was already prepared, delivered numerous times and an hour long; it just required recording on CENTRA. However, the study guide on the NMDA website for Category 1A was full of errors. I notified their Pesticide Management program folks about this problem but little seems to have happened since then on their end. In the meantime, I created and recorded another 1 hour program ‘in the spirit’ of the Study Guide content on the website, appropriately annotated, but with correct information. Both of these programs are in the CENTRA archives since October and are available to any County Extension office interested in them.

Youth programs in 2011 had varied audiences and addressed different needs for several programs. I participated in 14 activities in various parts of the state in 2011. I prepared the entomology identification quizzes for both district and state 4H contests in May and July; I also prepared the written exam for the state 4H contest. I monitored both the written and identification exams for state 4H and personally handed out team and individual awards at the end of that conference. This program has potential appeal for youth of all ages, provides opportunities for outdoor activities (collecting) as well as learning proper curatorial methods, individual study, team efforts at collecting, confidence building and instilling an appreciation for nature and arthropods in general.
I participated in two Kids, Kows and More programs in Las Vegas and Roswell as well as Earth Day in Tucumcari, speaking to over 1700 grade school students, teachers and class chaperones. In addition to making a display of about 12 drawers of arthropods from the NMSU Arthropod Collection, my commentary to classes at KKM focused on the different roles some of these creatures have in world agriculture and the health of plants and animals, including people. For Earth Day, many grade school classes in Quay County rear painted lady butterflies, watching the development of the caterpillars and pupae and hopefully having adult butterflies to release on Earth Day. My presentations (20) at Earth Day focus on the basics of life cycles, how caterpillars and adult butterflies and moths feed (or not), body structure, and similar tidbits of interest about their rearing experiences and observations prior to helping students release their butterflies. These programs are intended to make students aware of---and hopefully appreciate---where their food originates or what can happen to it while it’s being produced. The butterfly project gives many students their first science-oriented exposure to rearing unusual animals that transition from alien in appearance to something fragile and beautiful. All have the experience of seeing actual unusual arthropod specimens maintained at NMSU’s Arthropod Collection which would likely not be accessible to them otherwise.
I gave seven short orientations and led seven short field trips for ca. 125 students and middle school science teachers at Memorial Middle School in Las Vegas, NM, hosted by Dr. Peter Skelton, the STEM program coordinator at that school. These 6th graders had started many of the plants in their greenhouse from seed or transplants but were oblivious of the arthropods associated with them---and sometimes killing them. Even with class periods of about 45 minutes, it was possible to demonstrate 17 different arthropods ‘hiding in plain sight’ in and around the greenhouse. Few students have any experience with plants or gardening, let alone insects on plants. The short field trips provided hands-on learning opportunities, resulted in ‘instant gratification’ between the short, illustrated orientation talks and actually finding these pests on ‘their plants’ and alerted teachers and students that arthropods really are all around us, ready to take advantage of any opportunities that permit their survival.
I did two guest lectures for NMSU’s AXED 485 class, introducing prospective agriculture teachers and county agents to various entomological subjects they would encounter in their jobs. I streamlined an arthropod identification PowerPoint to feature just the classes and orders of common insects. Students learned these plus mouthpart types and metamorphoses to prepare for a ‘walk around’ lab exam like those experienced by FFA students (high school age). They saw another presentation that I made on ‘Why Study Insects?’ stressing the relevance of entomology to everyday life. They also received a quick ‘tour’ of the Arthropod Museum, seeing drawers of some of the more unusual specimens in the collection.
I did a lecture for NMSU’s EPPWS 492 class, Diagnosing Plant Disorders, followed by a field trip around Skeen Hall, demonstrating many of the pests I had just covered in lecture. Students were encouraged to find more arthropods during the field trip. In all, we discovered ca. 30 different arthropods, mostly pests, associated with the ornamentals and trees just around Skeen and Gerald Thomas Halls. Just prior to their final exam, I prepared a Jeopardy game featuring the O&T arthropods; they played it and felt that at least that part of their final exam review was fun.
FFA (Future Farmers of America) projects were more involved this year. I was a judge at the FFA Agri-science Fair in June, judging 12 student (high school) projects and participating in 12 student interviews to determine winners in several classes of competition.
Annually, the entomology identification/pesticide application contest during the April FFA State Conference draws ca. 120 students. I proctored part of this contest again in 2011.
In July, I was the instructor for a day-and-a-half class of entomology for FFA teachers. Three teachers in this class were relatively well informed on the subject but I also had some novice teachers, including some teacher-trainees from the AXED class I taught earlier. I gave these students a Jeopardy game, 3 tests and 3 field trips along with opportunities to use my dissecting ‘scope to view specimens they had collected. Those who could stay for the entire class were enthused about the subject and highly energized and complimentary afterward. I was asked to add another 10 insects to the ‘100 Common Insects of New Mexico’ to make that portion of the FFA curricula more challenging and relevant to ag students. Rather than a simple project, this turned into a major effort. First, there was updating the taxonomy of the ‘100 Common Insects’ which affected the spelling of some order names, but more importantly, the order affiliation of about a dozen common insects. After dropping two common names, I actually added 12 new arthropods to the list, writing and illustrating short fact sheets on each. I upgraded and edited two PowerPoint Programs, ‘Why Study Insects?’ and ‘Collecting and Curating Insect Collections’ (originally authored by Dr. Scott Bundy) to increase the number of teaching aids available to teachers. Finally, I created a new PowerPoint program just on basic entomology to set the stage for the following 6 PowerPoints featuring the 110 common arthropods (with color photographs of each) in the new FFA curriculum. In December, all 9 PowerPoint programs were forwarded to Jerrod Smith at the NMSU-FFA office for posting on the NM-FFA teachers’ website for instructional materials. These programs are short enough to be easily viewed and discussed during a regular class period. The stage is now set for the next revision of ‘100 Common Insects….’ in 2012. More relevance and more substance are being added to the entomology curriculum for the several hundred FFA students in NM that assume they will have careers in farming and/or ranching.
Presentations or activities involving ‘all ages/ miscellaneous subject matter’ had audiences ranging in number from ‘one’ to an estimated ‘5500 people.’
I served as the ‘Dean’s Representative’ for the Master of Agriculture exam for Ivan Iniguez in NMSU’s EPPWS Department in December. He is an aspiring teacher for community college students in agriculture or sciences. He passed.
I prepared and delivered a 2 hour program on ‘Our Living Desert’ (common arthropods in southern New Mexico) for the Mesilla Valley Bosque State Park at their request. I also brought a display of appropriate arthropods from NMSU’s Arthropod Collection. This attracted 15 adults and youth in July. Whether new to the area or not, this presentation is guaranteed to generate discussions about dangers and myths associated with many of the more unusual arthropods in our Chihuahuan deserts. This kind of presentation also builds relationships with this particular facility and the state park system.
I prepared another display plus posters on ‘Butterflies and Moths’ for the Floriculture Exhibit (their request) at the Southern NM State Fair in September and October. This display is first viewed by area grade school classes and then the general public, an estimated audience of 5500 people. This year I won a First Place Educational Display ribbon. This display was well labeled with NMSU logos for public appreciation.
At the regional level, I again served as the Chair for the Insect Detection, Evaluation and Prediction Committee (Southwestern Branch, Entomological Society of America) for our meeting in Amarillo, TX in 2011. I wrote the highlights of arthropod identifications for New Mexico and requested similar short reports from representative faculty at Oklahoma State and Texas A&M, compiling all texts into the final report submitted to the Branch Secretary/Treasurer for the Annual Report submitted to the national office and posted on the ESA and SWBESA websites. I also summarized the highlights of all three reports to fit into a short presentation that I gave at the annual meeting. The presentation featured a PowerPoint illustrating the species in this presentation. This activity highlights the efforts that several SWBESA members (like me) make every year to serve the public and colleagues with arthropod identifications as well as make colleagues aware of invasive and exotic arthropods in or near our region.
I incorporated the IDEP report into my presentation to ‘First Responders (to Invasive Pests) in New Mexico.’ The audience here is primarily Master Gardeners interested in learning more about new or potential pest arrivals. Several of us specialists gave presentations at this workshop in Albuquerque in June, 2011.
Another youth-oriented activity associated with the SWBESA meeting in Amarillo is the Linnaean Games, a take-off on the old College Bowl TV show of the 1950s-60s, but the focus is on entomology knowledge for 4-person teams of university students. These single-elimination matches produce a winning and runner-up team that will be partially funded by the branch to compete again at the national ESA meeting in December. For the Amarillo meeting, I again served as a judge (representing NMSU) for this popular activity.

Agent organized and taught a Public Applicators' CEU workshop for Bernalillo County Open Space maintenance crews, for their 3B (weed control) applicator's licenses. Twenty-seven applicators signed in for the four-hour class, which covered basic weed biology, weed identification, control options, pesticide safety, and sprayer calibration. All 27 attendees returned short evaluation forms to the agent. 100% reported learning new information and/or skills; 100% felt this new information/skill would be useful in their work. 15% reported the new information would be "somewhat" useful, 41% reported it would be "quite a bit" useful, and 44% reported it would be "very much" useful.

Although usually associated with commercial agriculture for the last 40 years, the basic concepts involved in “Integrated Pest Management” or “IPM” can have broader applications to everything from home vegetable gardens to structural pest control. People with pest problems as well as those whose jobs involve pest control need basic information to identify their pest problems, to determine the severity of damage, to be aware of their pest control options and to correct problems in legally, environmentally acceptable ways. County Extension Agents and this Extension Entomologist face these challenges daily as we deal with the general public on numerous issues, Master Gardeners, Pesticide Applicators, farmers, and ranchers.

The general public usually considers our diverse arthropod fauna as pests coming out of nowhere, causing damage to anything and everything and requiring immediate and complete control with the handiest pesticide. Accurate arthropod identification is the first step in assisting these clients and their County Agents. In this reporting period, I made nearly 1,000 identifications for Extension clients from specimens and sometimes photographs they or their agent submitted. While 60-70 of these identifications were made directly for ‘walk in’ clients conveniently in town, I provided the rest via email through the appropriate county agent to their clients, along with biological information, distributions, damage done (or not), management strategies and, if requested and appropriate, suggestions for currently registered insecticides. These are all ‘need to know’ questions generated by a concerned clientele expecting nothing more than a narrow ‘see and spray’ question/answer. More often than not, clients express gratitude for my attention to detail and explanations of what various arthropods do and their roles in the environment; I have become a dependable, reliable and quick source of information for clients and agents alike, frequently resulting in requests for presentations and displays at various Extension or university sponsored events. In this reporting period, I developed programs or presented material (verbally and with displays) for 14 youth oriented activities (nearly 14,000 people in these audiences) and 4 general gardening or outdoor events in addition to other programming requested by agents or departmental colleagues.

Clientele enroll in Master Gardener programs because of their skills and interests in becoming more knowledgeable about gardening or better at maintaining their gardens and landscapes. Entomology is a key part of the curriculum which many dread. Again, I try to demystify but also emphasize the common garden and landscape insects and their relatives during PowerPoint programs I have tailored to commonly grown vegetable, fruit and nut, ornamental and turf species in different parts of the state. I made 21 of these presentations for Master Gardeners and garden club audiences in this reporting period, speaking to nearly 750 people. According to comments received after these presentations, gardeners appreciated learning the names and some basic information on arthropods they had seen or experienced. At least 80% felt more ‘empowered’ to assess their pest problems and the need for control. The biggest struggle for many in the audience remains with insecticides which are, and should be, the ‘last ditch’ control option for serious pests. While I do not emphasize chemical control or recommend one product over another during presentations (or with identifications, for that matter), I do make the audience aware of pesticide safety, information on pesticide labels and potential categories of registered insecticides, both conventional and the highly popular ‘organic’ products.

Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) classes are another category of audiences that I address annually about basic and applied entomology, IPM and pest control practices. Pesticide applicators attend class and study educational manuals, some of which I wrote, because they need to be licensed or keep their licenses as part of their jobs. In the reporting period, I trained or certified 630 PAT trainees or licensed applicators in 18 workshops open to all New Mexicans. Conservatively estimating a salary of $25,000/year for trainees and $45,000/year for licensees, these people, once licensed, are supporting 630 families in the state and adding an estimated $25.33 million to the New Mexico economy. My ‘Entomology News Roundups’ for licensees are general enough for all categories of licensees from private applicators to commercial O&T applicators to structural pest controllers to find items of interest, alerting them to new, continuing or potential pests in their areas.

Introducing youth and the general public to arthropods continues with 14 displays and 58 short presentations to audiences from K-12 (and associated adults) in the reporting period. For about half of these audiences, these programs were their first opportunities to view insects “up close,” to hear more about unique arthropods in the displays and to host an entomologist or science specialist from an out-of-town university, NMSU. In addition, I prepared three large (26+ drawers) displays at the Southern New Mexico and Southwestern New Mexico Fairs for approximately 14,000 viewers over 13 days. Additional outreach efforts were to under-served (in terms of NMSU campus faculty visits) and rural counties, including one counties with at-risk Navajo clientele. 4H programs have adopted both the “100 Common Insects of New Mexico” and the Curriculum (“Insects Rule the Earth”) written by Dr. David Richman and Carol Sutherland while Future Farmers of America have adopted “100 Common Insects…” and a machine-graded answer sheet tailored to the arthropod identification quiz given by us at their State convention and competition. In the reporting period, 128 youth (middle school or high school) participated in statewide 4H and FFA entomology competitions. I use both of these manuals plus a DVD that we produced originally in 1985 to teach two classes annually of NMSU’s AXED 485 class (14 students in the reporting period) for future teachers of agriculture and county agents. Outreach efforts like these and the competitions are used to interest students in arthropods, the sciences and, potentially, to become students at New Mexico State University.

I also maintained my professional memberships in 7 organizations, 6 with direct associations to entomology publications, keeping me aware of recent developments. I wrote 2 grant applications and participated in the development of 3 more for funding beyond what I receive from state or federal sources. Three publications were generated along with ideas or requests for many more in the future.

IMPACT REPORT FOR 2009
INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
DR. CAROL SUTHERLAND, EXTENSION ENTOMOLOGIST, NMSU &
STATE ENTOMOLOGIST, NM DEPT. AGRICULTURE



“Integrated pest management” ---as it pertains to entomology---is an appealing but challenging concept for Master Gardeners, Pesticide Applicators, farmers, ranchers and the general public throughout the state. New Mexico’s County Extension Agents and I address all of these audiences every year, some for the first time and others as a continuation of client training or recertification. I present some program material directly to county clientele at the request of the Agent; I provide some program material and training to agents so they can edit and present it to clientele in their own words. Some program material is delivered to clientele as a result of cooperative scheduling between another specialist and agents eager to provide a training site and opportunity for clients to be trained or recertified---as for Pesticide Applicator Training.

For the general public, most people consider arthropods as general pests coming out of nowhere, causing damage to anything and everything and requiring immediate and complete control with the handiest pesticide. Educational programs I create for these audiences are aimed at demystifying insects, arachnids and their relatives, explaining their various roles in nature, damaging stages (if any), and interactions with other arthropods. Most audiences find these discussions interesting, finding several insects in the presentation that they have experienced. While they listen to the definition of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and concepts behind it, they still struggle with the difference between dynamic management of certain arthropod populations and eradicating them from the premises. Some members of the audience also seem to have unrealistic expectations of pesticides and their efficacy; some are certain that all pesticides are deadly dangerous and are highly detrimental to any living thing as well as the environment. At the other end of the spectrum are those that want information on just ‘organic’ or ‘just reduced risk’ pesticides that they are certain are just as effective as the products used in commercial agriculture but without the negative effects on non-target organisms and the environment. The truth is somewhere in between for insecticides and miticides. With the Master Gardener programs and those I do for general gardening/landscape audiences, I stress the importance of pest identification as a necessary means of accessing more information about an organism, its host range, season of activity, damaging stage(s), damage potential, impacts of various biotic and abiotic factors on that pest population, and---lastly---what some appropriate and registered ‘last ditch’ pest control products could be considered. In 2008-2009, I presented basic entomology and IPM classes plus displays of specimens to over 400 Master Gardener interns in 16 classes in 14 counties (including the Tri-State Navajo project) with shorter versions for 79 people in general gardening audiences in 4 counties. In each class, clientele self-reported that they learned to distinguish at least 10 common arthropods they could encounter in garden or landscape situations plus assorted details on life cycles, damaging stages or applicable plant management strategies, not just insecticides, that they could use to mitigate pest damage. At the end of each class, clientele frequently commented they were previously unaware of how interesting and complicated applied entomology could be; they appreciated the more in-depth discussion of arthropod control through IPM methodology. Follow-up classes on safe use of (all) pesticides by County agents taught clientele the advantages and disadvantages of using different categories of pesticides for managing their gardens and landscapes; reading the label before purchase or use is most important, providing the consumer with critical site/pest combinations, directions for mixing, application and storage plus safety precautions. The objective is to make people think through their pest management solution before jumping directly to pesticides, some of which may not be appropriate for the pest; some uses also may not be justified or even appropriately applied. Master Gardeners and gardening class clientele learn the same requirements for conventional synthetic pesticides also apply to “organic” or “reduced risk” products which are increasingly popular. The agents and I caution these audiences about the importance of reducing unnecessary toxicants in the environment.

This specialist responded to over 1300 requests directly or indirectly through County Agents for insect (et al.) identification and control measures in 2008-09. Several agents guesstimated anywhere from 20-35% of the inquiries received in their offices this year involved questions about plant problems. For each inquiry I received, I provided biological information on each organism sent for identification and made control recommendations including non-insecticidal measures that might be used then or in the future. Pesticide suggestions were made for at least 75% of these inquiries after editing lists of appropriate, currently registered materials retrieved from the New Mexico Department of Agriculture; these lists record both synthetic and natural products since both must be registered by NM Department of Agriculture if pesticidal claims are made by the manufacturer or distributor. In 2008 one Bernalillo County agent was confident that most clientele (over 1000) were receptive to pest management information he provided; further, he was fairly certain that at least 80% used the information to control their particular pest situations. Although this is a densely populated, highly urban county, agent contacts, similar results are likely in other more rural parts of the state according to information provided by agents in Luna and Otero Counties. I invite all of the county agents to forward photographs and especially specimens to me for identification rather than have them spend extra time struggling with identifying the problem and researching management information from books or assorted web-sites; going to the wrong web-sites or dated reference books can produce incorrect or tainted results inappropriate for clients. Targeted, timely and accurate information associated with arthropod identification from this specialist and cooperating agents enhances the reputation of New Mexico State University’s Cooperative Extension system. While I routinely receive thanks from agents and clients alike for programs presented and information requested, The Otero County Agent commented in 2009 that ‘at no other place can a person walk in without an appointment with an insect,….have it identified and receive a virtual library of information for its management in their garden/landscape environment within minutes. With the growing interest in cultivating home gardens to stem the tide of a tenuous economy, the ready availability of the agricultural agent (…and Extension Specialists…) at the Cooperative Extension Office is invaluable.’

Pesticide Applicator Training (PAT) classes are another category of audiences that I address annually about basic and applied entomology, IPM and pest control practices. However, pesticide applicators attend class and study educational manuals, some of which I wrote, because they need to be licensed or maintain their licenses to purchase and use restricted use pesticides in New Mexico as part of their jobs. In 2008-09, I trained or certified 370+ PAT students or licensed applicators in 6 workshops open to all New Mexicans. I also presented basic and applied information about insect and mite pests for 20 other pest-related conferences scattered around the state organized by County Agents and special interest groups, typically resulting in one more CEU for an estimated 400 pesticide licensees (Private, Public and Commercial categories) in various categories. If, as the Bernalillo County Agent guesstimated for his PAT programs’ impacts, each individual trained or recertified had an annual salary of $35,000, our cooperative efforts in scheduling PAT workshops resulted in an economic impact (employment dollars) of approximately $27 million.

Introducing youth and the general public to arthropods continues with 8 displays and 42 presentations to audiences from K-12 (and associated adults) in 2008-09. For about half of these audiences, these programs were their first opportunities to view insects “up close,” to hear more about unique arthropods in the displays and to host an entomologist or science specialist from an out-of-town university, NMSU. In addition, I prepared two large (26+ drawers) displays at the Southern New Mexico and Southwestern New Mexico Fairs for an estimated 6500 viewers over 6 days. Additional outreach efforts were to under-served (in terms of NMSU campus faculty visits) and rural counties, including two counties with only Navajo clientele. 4H programs have adopted both the “100 Common Insects of New Mexico” and the Curriculum (“Insects Rule the Earth”) written by Dr. David Richman and Carol Sutherland while Future Farmers of America have adopted “100 Common Insects…” and a machine-graded answer sheet tailored to the arthropod identification quiz given by us at their State convention and competition. In 2008-09, 142 youth (middle school or high school) participated in statewide 4H and FFA entomology competitions. I use both of these manuals plus a DVD that we produced originally in 1985 to teach two classes annually of NMSU’s AXED 485 class (18 students in 2008-09) for future teachers of agriculture and county agents. Outreach efforts like these and the competitions are used to interest students in arthropods, the sciences and, potentially, to become students at New Mexico State University.