[Pollinator] The Xerces Society Announces the 2016 Joan Mosenthal DeWind Award Winners

[Candace Fallon]

The Xerces Society is thrilled to announce the two winners of the 2016 Joan
Mosenthal DeWind Awards. From among the exceptional applications we
received, the following two students were selected:



*Paola Olaya-Arenas – Purdue University*

*Non-target effects of neonicotinoid insecticides on monarch butterflies*



Monarch butterflies are undergoing a long-term population decline. Although
different factors are hypothesized to cause this decline, one potential
factor is the exposure of their milkweed host plants to neonicotinoid
insecticides when growing in close proximity to agricultural fields.
Neonicotinoids are a relatively new class of pesticides that were recently
associated with the decline of widespread butterflies inhabiting farmland
in England and result in lethal and sublethal effects on insects feeding on
nectar, pollen, and leaves. Evaluating the effect of neonicotinoids in the
monarch–milkweed system will help guide restoration efforts that aim to
protect monarchs and other Lepidoptera specialized on milkweed.



*Cameron Thomas – Washington State University Vancouver, School of
Biological Sciences*

*Factors associated with ant tending in Fender’s blue butterfly (Plebejus
icarioides fenderi): assessing an understudied and potentially significant
mutualistic relationship*



Fender’s blue butterfly, *Plebejus icarioides fenderi *(Macy), survives in
remnant prairie habitat in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Research involving
habitat restoration has focused primarily on how invasive vegetation
affects the adult stage, but recent work suggests ant tending of
caterpillars may significantly increase population growth rate. In this
project, we will systematically document ant tending and associated biotic
and abiotic factors in Fender's blue larvae by its ant mutualists with a
specific focus on the vegetation gradient among nine sites. Results aim to
inform restoration efforts relative to vegetation structure during the
larval phase, a stage that may be more significant for conservation of this
butterfly than previously documented.



The DeWind committee and the board and staff of the Society congratulate
Paola and Cameron and thank all the applicants for their outstanding
efforts in invertebrate conservation.



The DeWind Awards are given to individuals engaged in studies or research
leading to a university degree related to Lepidoptera research and
conservation, and working or intending to work in that field. Joan
Mosenthal DeWind was a pioneering member of the Xerces Society. A
psychiatric social worker by profession, she was also an avid butterfly
gardener and an accomplished amateur lepidopterist. Her contributions of
time, organizational expertise, and financial support were essential to the
growth and success of the Xerces Society over the past 40 years. Joan also
had a keen interest in young people, supporting what became the Young
Entomologists’ Society. In Joan’s memory, Bill DeWind established a student
research endowment fund in her name.



For more information on the DeWind Award, visit
http://www.xerces.org/joan-dewind-award/ and read our blog post on this
year’s winners here
http://www.xerces.org/blog/investing-in-the-future-of-lepidoptera-conservation/
.



*Candace Fallon*

Conservation Biologist

Endangered Species Program





*Protecting the Life that Sustains Us*


628 NE Broadway, Suite 200, Portland, OR, 97232 USA

Tel: (503) 232-6639 ext. 118 |  Fax: (503) 233-6794



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