Participants use their "pooters" to nab small insects attracted to the illuminated sheets at the San Antonio Botanical Gardens.

The 2010 Master Volunteer Entomology Specialist training was held September 27 to October 1 at the Texas AgriLife Extension Service’s Bexar County Office in San Antonio, TX.

According to Molly Keck, the 2010 class organizer, “Twenty individuals from all over Texas met with a common goal: to learn about bugs!   Experts in entomology from Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, Austin, Overton, College Station, Uvalde and Fort Stockton shared their knowledge in different topics to make the course a success.  There is no other opportunity to learn from more experts in entomology than this one!”

Class participant Carol White, said, “Attending the Entomology Specialist Training gave me a more detailed appreciation of the insect world and that is a good thing since there are so many of them. The majority of the material was new to me, but what surprised me the most was the wide variety of careers in entomology that effect areas of lives that we would never expect.”

Shanna Ciano loved the hands-on activities.  “The class lasted several days, so it gave everyone a chance to actually get to know each other.  Insect bonding!  …before this class I never knew ‘where to start’ to identify insects.  The “good guys” will no longer be assassinated in my garden…but watch out ‘Bad Guys’, I know who you are!”

Jan Tauer commented, “Everything I ever wanted to know about insects in a 5-day crash course.” She noted that she uses the information daily in the retail nursery, in the garden, at home, and volunteering for youth programs. Some of the little facts that stuck in her brain included:

• Organic products are not necessarily safer.
• Bug zappers kill more beneficial insects than harmful insects.
• Only female insects sting!
• Remember that if an insect makes noise, it must have ears!  They just look different from ours.

Although each participant took away something different, all could agree on one thing – the course was far more than they expected it to be!

Paul Schattenberg reported on this year’s class for AgNMore news.  Click here to read his report.