Becky Trout Fryxell

CVM Public Health student smiles at her mosquito collection. She collected mosquito w a cdc light trap bites with dry ice (which sublimates and emits CO2).

Public Health UG student collected mosquitoes with a gravid trap baited with a liver powder infusion.

A couple of mosquitoes flyingn in the gravid trap

It's May term at UTK & I'm teaching Public Health Entomology

We set out mosquito traps along the Greenway yesterday & picked them up today- yep those are skeeters.

VectorEd Network's
@utknoxville.bsky.social

#SunsOutVectorsOut

Look who is right there in the middle!
#MEGABITESS educator & middle school educator of the year (for Knox county) Mrs Butterfield from Bearden Middle School!
Congrats!

U got this

Both you & Brian are amazing people and scientists. Advice from my therapist preCovid
Set a boundary - don't let people cross it
Set goals - smart tiny wins (& get yourselves a treasure for those small but mighty wins)
Set timers- scream & then get back to it

Yall got this, you're entomologists

I crowd sourced this a few years ago for mega:bitess.... I'll need to find the excel sheet for you!

Locations: Knoxville (TN)
Dates: May 19 - July 3
(option to continue if wanted)

Note- there are several other locations so people in Ohio, Delaware, Pennsylvania should look at website

Learn More:
www.vectorednetwork.org/student-trai...

TN Application:
docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

If you work with undergraduate students, please forward
(1) Public Health Entomology Training at the Univ of Tennessee via CDC funded VectorEd Network's Student Training Network
Students @ Tenn will work w/ agencies on La Crosse virus and other vector-borne diseases.
@vectorednetwork.bsky.social

@ TN Mosquito Vector Control Association to introduce the group to @VectorEdNetwork.bsky.social

@viva-tick-chick.bsky.social spoke about evaluating passive surveillance w animal shelters

ATucker (not on here) spoke and asked participants about wanted future trainings

Federal One Health Coordination Learn about the new framework (NOHF-Zoonoses), and CDC's federal coordination to advance One Health.

Published Friday, the National One Health Framework to Address Zoonotic Diseases and Advance Public Health Preparedness in the U.S.

The dominant word seems to be "coordinate", which, yeah, needed

US suspends Mexican cattle imports after New World screwworm case The United States has temporarily paused imports of Mexican cattle after a case of New World screwworm (NWS) was identified at the lakeside town of Catazaja in southern Chiapas state, the Mexican government said on Sunday.

The field of Veterinary Entomology is important.
While we were able to eradicate the primary screwworm, it still lingers in other areas of the world.
An important reminder that global issues are local issues.
#cattle #VetEntomol
www.reuters.com/business/hea...

Don't miss Popping Protocols this afternoon at 2pm in 222B where you can pitch a protocol based problem, and people in the room can help you try to solve it
#entsoc24 #@MUVE_ESA

People & circumstances will be out of your control so STOP when responding to a situation
-Stop what you're doing
-Take a step back
-Observe the situation
-Proceed accordingly

6) Know that science is hard and filled with mistakes that become "opportunities"
7) Record your successes and reward yourself
8) Keep people updated & be honest, don't be alone in the science
9) Good enough is good enough, don't require perfection
10) Ask the question even if you think it's dumb

Approach the failure
1) Be persistent but know when to pivot/quit
2) Reach out to others for thoughts & perspective
3) Have a plan, know plan d is what may work
4) Know that everyone fails (divinci, Darwin, chefs, athletes)
5) Allow for time to make mistakes & get frustrated, be flexible

What you can do now
1) take notes, pictures, observe what's happening all around you - you're a scientist so use the scientific method in your favor
2) start small with pilot studies, small changes make big differences
3)Think it out, plan it out, start w a thought experiment

Did you miss the conversation about failed experiments? Some notes from this morning below, feel free to add more below!! Many thanks to those who contributed
#entsoc24

We did it! Just like many talks, as we went up, there was a hole (yep a hole in the balloon!).
But we did it, "still fly ready"
Not as scary as I thought
Glad I did it
And met more entomologists through our shared experiences
#EntSoc24 @machtingerlab.bsky.social

I feel connected to the @EntsocAmerica students giving their first talk this morning.
Yeah, it's scary, but it'll be ok
It'll be ok
W @MachtingerLab
#EntSoc24

Yall, it's happening... #MEGABITESS students will be joining students from SC and GA to present their research at the
@entsocamerica.bsky.social SEB mtg in March.

Yes, High School, Middle School, & Elementary School scientists talking BUGS!

Catch it Sunday @ noon!🤩

New paper alert from an 8yr collaboration w/ @forestservice @usfs_srs. FIA crews checked selves for ticks & sent ticks to us. Then Butler took those GPS points & dates to create this risk map for #tickencounters in the SE US. It's not perfect, but is a good start! journals.plos.org/plosntds/art...

Started the morning w/ my #Valentine & gave blood
Why do we give?
Extra months w my mom
Extra wks w my dad
Extra wks w his bro
My nieces & newphews still have their mom
For 3 people we may or may not know & their family, friends, & community
#snacksforbreakfast
#giveblood

Image of Aedes mosquitoes on a cold tray being sorted by species and sex; just albopictus and triseriatus here

The pennies lined up and ready to be sorted We are in desperate need of 1982 pennies to complete this book

I've been going nonstop, to the point I was getting stress sick

Broken plane kept me in knoxville yesterday, so today...
I sorted mosquitoes at work and coins after dinner

Yes, I listened to my favorite podcasts and checked 2 boxes that were not a priority

We lost a Hackberry tree about 2 years ago...
Our Christmas Elm will take its place
Super excited about it

Note, there was solid discussion about persimmon, plum, redbud, and dogwood - but the elm won

#HappyHolidays

New CDC alert on these cases of tickborne Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

- 5 hospitalized
- 4 under 18 years old
- 3 dead
- all recently in Tecate, Mexico

CDC now urging doctors "do not delay treatment pending the result of a confirmatory laboratory test"

emergency.cdc.gov/han/2023/han...

W/ the busy-ness of #EntSoc23, I want to share this new paper. We report predictors used to find #AsianLonghornedTicks from the field. We also share ideas for running a tick blitz in areas w/o the tick & where to find them on a potentially infested farm.

journals.plos.org/plosone/arti...

Job announcement! Join the UTK team as part of the VectorEDNetwork. We are looking for someone interested in working w/ the public & training professionals in vector biology, ecology, management.

goals are to predict/prevent/respond to vector-borne diseases

ut.taleo.net/careersectio...