Entomological Society of Victoria

N e w s l e t t e r

No. 2 June 2014

INDEX Australian Stick Goes Global

Australian Stick Insect From the President Goes Global…..…...…1 See the movie, read the book, watch the video. The Lord Howe Island Stick Notices………………..3 Insect (Dryococelus australis), sometimes considered the rarest insect on the planet, has been the subject of wide attention for some time, appearing in ESV Council………….3 media around the world such as the New York Times, the UK’s Daily Mail and Germany’s Deutsche Vella, as well as featuring on T-shirts, baseball caps,

ESV upcoming stubbie holders, mints, and even Melbourne trams. Not to mention attracting the events…………………3 attention of luminaries including Sir David Attenborough and Dame Jane Goodall.

Articles of interest……4 Now the humble stick insect features in a film and a book, both originating in rural Victoria. The film ‘Sticky’ by Castlemaine Director Jilli Rose and Producer Upcoming Katrina Mazurek is taking the film festival world by storm, screening so far at 21 conferences….……….5 different festivals in Canada, USA, England, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, South Korea, Scotland, Spain, Greece and Austria. Prominent entomologists………...6 Last month ‘Sticky’ won Best Documentary at the St Kilda Film Festival and Best Short at the San Francisco Green Film Festival, as well as Best Short at the Around the South by South West Films for the Forest (SXSW) in Texas, USA, all Oscar- Societies………………7 accredited festivals.

IAPPS conference…...8 This year has also seen it officially selected at Cinequest (Silicon Valley), the International Wildlife Film Festival (Montana), Mountainfilm (Colorado), and in From the archives……9 the next couple of months will screen at the Columbia Gorge International Film Festival and Port Townsend Film Festival in the USA. And the video is on permanent display at the CSIRO Discovery Centre in Canberra.

On the book front, later this month sees the launch of ‘Return of the Phasmid: Australia’s Rarest Insect Fights Back from the Brink of Extinction’ by Rick Wilkinson, seasoned author of 13 books with a more recent bent towards natural history. The book covers the natural history of the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect and the island, with a detailed narrative of the project to protect the species through captive breeding.

The Australian conservation movement in general lags behind Europe, the UK and the US, particularly in insect conservation. But the

publication of both a book and film about a single 1

insect species is unprecedented worldwide, and is a significant feather in the cap of the burgeoning insect conservation movement in Australia. A number of books have been published on the ‘Tasmanian Tiger’ – The video also has more than 90,000 views on coincidentally, until its rediscovery in 2001, the youtube, where it sits alongside a clip of Lord Howe Island Stick Insect was known by Australia’s highest-rating breakfast radio some as the Thylacine of the insect world. presenter Ross Stevenson taking a behind-the- scenes tour of the stick insect and its breeding Don Merton’s book, programme. ‘The Black Robin’, outlined the recovery At this stage the species is on public display only of this species from at Melbourne Zoo and in a small enclosure on the Chatham Islands Lord Howe Island, but plans are afoot to take the off New Zealand, and stick insect itself to the rest of the world. was used as a handbook for single Not bad for a humble Australian bug. species (or flagship) ______conservation projects. The ‘Return of the ‘Sticky’ can be purchased at Phasmid’ now sits http://bespokeanimation.bigcartel.com/ proudly alongside it, and the LHISI also ‘Return of the Phasmid can be purchased at features in other https://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Return-of- conservation-based books from overseas, such as the-Phasmid/619151198178258?fref=ts Jane Goodall’s ‘Hope for and their World’, and Scott Leslie’s ‘100 Video of the Lord Howe Island Stick Insect Under 100’. The latter hatching can be viewed at volume categorises http://vimeo.com/14413689 species from around the world that are Goodall, J., Maynard, T. & Hudson, G., 2009, thought to have less Hope for Animals and their World: How than 100 specimens Endangered Species are being Rescued from the left in the wild. Brink, Grand Central Publishing, USA, 416pp

In addition to these Leslie, S., 2012, 100 Under 100: The Race to official publications, a Save the World’s Rarest Living Things, video of a Lord Howe HarperCollins Publishers, USA, 311pp Island Stick Insect hatching filmed by Rohan Cleave, Manager of the Lord Howe Island Rohan Cleave at Stick Insect breeding programme, will be the Melbourne Zoo has had 1.6 million views on guest speaker at the Entomological Society of Vimeo and refeatured on many other websites, Victoria’s August meeting. See Bulletin for further such as National Public Radio in the US. details.

Patrick Honan President Entomological Society of Victoria.

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Notices Victorian Butterflies From Gary Sankowski, Butterflies and Other Following April’s Invertebrates Club (BOIC) member presentation by Ross

Field on his new book, I am looking for images of the following: several members  Skippers: any of the Flats wanted to purchase  Skipper species occurring from Brisbane south copies but  Swordgrass browns - especially showing the unfortunately we ran upper side of the wings out on the night.  Ogyris species  Hairstreaks Fortunately, the  Jalmenus species, including larvae with ants. publisher (Melbourne Additionally, I need eggs or small larvae of Museum) has offered Vanessa kershawi (Australian Painted Lady) and further copies at the Vanessa itea (Australian Admiral) to complete a August meeting at the series of life history images. Both these species discounted price of are not very common in the north. I will $25 (and without the exorbitant cost of postage. compensate for postage and suggest if anyone has access to these to contact me first, either by email [email protected] or by phone ESV Council: 07 4095 4469.”

President Patrick Honan From the Australian Entomological Society Vice President & Excursion Secretary Peter Carwardine We are trying to hunt down Australian Hon Secretary Vacant Entomological Society Foundation members who Hon Treasurer Joshua Grubb are still living. (Generally entomologists seem to Hon Editor Linda Rogan be long lived!) Immediate Past President Peter Marriott We have a number of people who, in 1991 at Webmaster and Facebook Steve Curle least, were in Victoria, and for whom we no Vivienne Curle Councillors Peter Lillywhite longer have any contact address or phone Maik Fiedel number. I wonder if your Victorian society has Steve Curle contact with any of them or has any idea who might know of their whereabouts? ESV upcoming events They are:  Shepherd, R.C.H. Meetings are held at the Melbourne Museum  Shelden, G.P. Discovery Centre Seminar Room, at 7.45pm.  Ozols, J.  Neumann, F.G. Members and guests are welcome to join us at  Morris, D.S. Michelinos Trattoria Restaurant in Carlton at 6pm.  Kelly, P.G. 17 June 2014  Edwards, B.A.B. Members’ presentations

We would be grateful for any help you can give! 19 August 2014 With best wishes The Lord Howe Island Stick Insect – Rohan Cleave Alice Wells (on behalf of the Organising Committee of the 2014 AES Conference) 21 October 2014 [email protected] Members’ presentations

9 December 2014 Excursion

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Articles of interest New research led by Newcastle University, UK, has tested the insect-specific Hv1a/GNA fusion Zombies in the Garden, protein bio-pesticide -- a combination of a natural Killing Themselves Slowly toxin from the venom of an Australian funnel web From: New York Times, Science spider and snowdrop lectin. April 2014 Feeding acute and chronic doses to honeybees -- Scientists say they have identified a protein that beyond the levels they would ever experience in causes zombielike behavior in plants. the field -- the team found it had only a very slight effect on the bees' survival and no Certain crops are vulnerable to parasites that take measurable effect at all on their learning and control of their hosts’ behavior, forcing them to memory. act in the intruder’s interest. (The same is true in some species: Spiders in Costa Rica Publishing their findings today in the academic infected by a parasitic wasp, for example, will journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the abandon their own web and build one better authors say the insect-specific compound has suited to the wasp.) huge potential as an environmentally-benign, 'bee-safe' bio-pesticide and an alternative to the The phenomenon occurs in flowering plants that chemical neonicotinoid pesticides which have have been infected by a pathogen transmitted by been linked to declines in pollinator populations. the tiny called leafhoppers. Rather than grow petals or stamens, infected plants will Honeybees perform sophisticated behaviors while produce green, leaflike structures. This benefits foraging that require them to learn and remember the leafhoppers, which can eat the leaflike floral traits associated with food. growths, but it prevents the plants from reproducing. Disruption to this important function has profound implications for honeybee colony survival, “It is like a living death for the plant,” said Saskia because bees that cannot learn will not be able to A. Hogenhout, a biologist at the John Innes find food and return to their hives. Center in England and an author of the study, which appears in the journal PLOS Biology. By pollinating some key crop species, honeybees Affected crops can include grapes, coconuts and make a vital contribution to food security. The rapeseed. decline of these insects raises significant concerns about our ability to feed a growing population. By sequencing the genome of the pathogen, researchers identified a protein, SAP54, that Professor Angharad Gatehouse, based in causes the plants to produce the leaf tissue rather Newcastle University's School of Biology and one than their intended flowers. To become active, of the supervisors on the project, explains: "Our SAP54 interacts with a family of plant proteins findings suggest that Hv1a/GNA is unlikely to known as RAD23. cause any detrimental effects on honeybees.

Knowing the protein that causes the behavior "Previous studies have already shown that it is should make it easier for researchers to develop a safe for higher animals, which means it has real treatment that will reduce the number of crops potential as a pesticide and offers us a safe lost to the disease. alternative to some of those currently on the market. ______"The project is part of the Insect Pollinators Could spiders be the key to saving our Initiative, jointly funded by the Biotechnology and bees? Biological Sciences Research Council, Defra, the From Science Daily Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), June 2014 the Scottish Government and the Wellcome Trust under the auspices of the Living with A novel bio-pesticide created using spider venom Environmental Change (LWEC) partnership. and a plant protein has been found to be safe for honeybees -- despite being highly toxic to a This research, involving academics from number of key insect pests. Newcastle and Durham Universities and the Food 5 and Environment Research Agency, was funded survival in bees and what we need now is a clear by the UK's innovation agency the Technology directive from Government to develop and Strategy Board. introduce bee-safe alternatives."

During the study, the bees were exposed to Professor Gatehouse adds: "There isn't going to varying concentrations of the spider/snowdrop be one silver bullet. What we need is an bio-pesticide over a period of seven days. integrated pest management strategy and insect- Throughout the study period, the team carried specific pesticides will be just one part of that." out a series of memory tests and recorded any changes in behaviour. Upcoming conferences Research lead Erich Nakasu, a PhD student at Newcastle University, explains: "This is an oral Conference: The XVII Congress for the pesticide so unlike some that get absorbed International Union for the Study of Social Insects Location: Cairns, Australia through the exoskeleton, the spider/snowdrop Date: 13-18 July 2014 recombinant protein has to be ingested by the Contact: [email protected] insects. Conference: The International Society of "Unlike other pesticides, Hv1a/GNA affects an Hymenopterists underexplored insecticidal target, calcium Location: Cusco, Peru channels. These are more diverse than Date: 20-25 July 2014 commonly-targeted insecticide receptors, such as Contact: sodium channels, and therefore offer the potential www.cebioperu.org/courses/hymenopterameeting.php for more species-specific pesticides. Conference: The Invertebrates in Education and "Calcium channels are linked to learning and Conservation Conference memory in bees so it's vital that any pesticide Location: Rio Rico, Arizona, USA targeting them does not interfere with this Date: 22-26 July 2014 process," explains Erich. Contact: [email protected]

"Although Hv1a/GNA was carried to the brain of Conference: The 10th European Congress of the honeybee, it had no effect on the insect Entomology (ECE 2014) which suggests the highly selective spider-venom Location: York, UK Date: 3-8 August 2014 toxin does not interact with the calcium channels Contact: [email protected] in the bee. Conference: Seventh International Conference "The larvae were also unaffected by the on the Biology of Butterflies Hv1a/GNA, which they were able to break it down Location: Turku, Finland in their gut. Dr Geraldine Wright, one of the Date: 11-14 August 2014 authors on the paper, heads up Newcastle Contact: [email protected] University's Honeybee Lab. Conference: XXV International Congress of Last year she led the research which highlighted Entomology the damaging effect of neonicotinoids on bees' Location: Orlando, Florida USA ability to learn and remember and subsequently Date: 25-30 September 2016 communicate to their hive mates. Contact: www.ice2016orlando.org

"Around 90pc of the world's plants are directly or Conference: The 62nd Annual Meeting of the indirectly reliant on pollinators to survive," she Entomological Society of America explains. Location: Portland, Oregon Date: 16-19 November 2014 "If we destroy the biodiversity of pollinators then Contact: www.entsoc.org/entomology2014 it will be irrelevant how effective our pesticides are because we won't have any crops to protect.

"There is now substantial evidence linking neonicotinoid pesticides to poor performance and

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Prominent entomologists over the spread of Phylloxera on grape vines. His duties revolved around investigating and advising An occasional series on early entomologists the Government on managing these outbreaks. This led to the publication of the ‘Handbook of the Victoria’s first entomologist Destructive Insects of Victoria’, with five volumes published between 1891 and 1911. Charles French is often considered to be Australia’s first official entomologist, having been These books are stilled highly-valued works, appointed Government covering 132 species of pests, as well Entomologist in Victoria as colour plates of important insectivorous birds in 1889, a first for the that he considered important agents of biological Australian colonies, and control. Although most of his work involved one year before A.S. research into chemical control, his ideas were the Olliff in NSW. He was a fore-runner to Integrated Pest Management and renowned collector of in hindsight are somewhat prescient, focussing on insects and is best “the balance between the birds, beasts, insects known to most people and plants and if by artificial means we destroy for the trivial name the balance, immediately intolerable numbers of (frenchii) which some kind remain with us”. Ladybirds were a appears in both insect particular favourite; he was entranced by the and plant species. He effectiveness of the Australian ladybird Rodolia was the first scientific collector of the magnificent cardinalis in controlling Cottony Cushion Scale Rainbow Stag (Phalacrognathus muelleri (Icerya purchasi) in California in the 1880s. (Macleay)), which he sent to Sir William Macleay and asked that the beetle be named after his An unpublished sixth volume of the Handbook boss, Baron Ferdinand von Mueller. was uncovered in 2011 during DEPI’s translocation from the Institute for Horticultural Born in 1842 in Kent, England, Charles French Development (IHD) in Knoxfield to the new migrated with his family to Cheltenham, Victoria, AgriBio unit at La Trobe University in Bundoora. in 1852 where he worked clearing land and Dr Alan Yen asked IHD staff to keep an eye out assisting bullock-wagons transporting supplies to for the legendary volume of unknown the goldfields. whereabouts during their clean-up. The unfinished work, written one hundred years His interest in plants came to the attention of von previously, had been in a sealed box since it was Mueller, director of the Botanic Gardens, with donated via Charles’ son after his father’s death. whom he formed a life-long friendship, and in Dr Yen has since edited and updated it, and DEPI 1865 Charles French was appointed to the published 150 copies to round off the series. Garden’s nursery and lived on the grounds. Charles French published 22 articles between Having developed a strong interest in insects as a 1889 and 1912, and is considered the father of boy in England, Charles took it up again in 1860, economic entomology in Victoria. He was an exercising his collecting skills on botanical field enthusiastic collector of and conducted trips around Australia. In 1874 he contributed an exchanges with overseas collectors, putting article on timber-boring insects to the Victorian together a display in the Royal Exhibition Department of Agriculture’s annual report, the Buildings in Melbourne in 1891. One of his three first article on economic entomology published in major beetle collections was sent to Indonesia, the state. one to Holland and the third to the National Museum of Victoria (now Melbourne Museum). In 1889 he was made Government Entomologist, The latter contained more than 2,500 specimens, a position that has made many including the jewel beetle Chalcophora frenchii. In naturalists/entomologists green with envy ever 1885 he was awarded a Gold Medal for an insect since. The post was created in response to the collection in an exhibition in Amsterdam. increasing number of native and introduced insect outbreaks, particularly a major locust Charles French’s naturalist activities were as wide- (Chortoicetes terminifera) plague and concern ranging as his official ones. A fellow of the 7

Linnean When: From Friday 8th August to Sunday 17th Society of August. London and Where: In the Horticultural Pavilion, Brisbane the Royal Exhibition Grounds. Horticultural Who: Everyone is welcome to drop by. Society of England, he BOIC Display at Kumbartcho Festival. was also a What: The club will maintain a display manned foundation committee-member of the Field by Ross Kendall and Richard Zietek. Naturalists’ Club of Victoria in 1880. His interest in When: On Sunday 31st August 2014 from 10am plants continued, contributing records on to 3pm Victorian ferns to the ‘Southern Science Record’ Where: Kumbartcho, 15 Bunya Pine Court, and von Mueller’s ‘Key to the System of Victorian Eatons Hill. Plants (1885-88). Who: Members from the northside of Brisbane are especially welcome to drop by. Charles French’s son, Charles Hamilton French, was born in 1868, going on to echo his father’s The Society for Growing Australian Plants interests in natural history and collecting insect Spring Flower Show. specimens as he travelled around the state on What: SGAP always has a spectacular display of behalf of the National Herbarium. Charles Jnr native flowers and sponsor the sales of a wide eventually became Assistant Government range of native plants at very reasonable prices. Entomologist and contributed 31 articles to the Our club will Journal of Agriculture, going on to become maintain a display and have butterfly host plants Biologist to the Department of Agriculture and for sale. Officer-in-Charge of the Science Branch at When: On Saturday October 11th and Sunday Burnley Gardens. October 12th. Where: The auditorium at Mt Coot-tha Botanic Charles French Snr died in Malvern in 1933, Gardens leaving a legacy as a naturalist of renown, and of Who: All members are welcome to drop by if developing techniques that are the foundation of within range. modern economic and applied entomology. The Entomological Society of Queensland

Around the societies Meetings are held at the Ecosciences Precinct, Boggo Road, Dutton Park, Qld Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club [email protected]

Planning and General Meeting. Butterfly Conservation South Australia What: A talk by John Moss on some of the insects in his extensive collection will follow our 1st July: Jewel beetles and plants quarterly planning meeting. Dr Peter Lang is a botanist with the State When: Saturday 2nd August 2014 from 10am. Herbarium, but also has an interest in Buprestid Where: John’s place at Capalaba – address or Jewel beetles and their association with plants. provided on RSVP. Visitors will be enthralled by Peter’s amazing Who: All members are welcome. images of these colourful beetles. RSVP: Ross Kendall on 07 3378 1187, 0402 254 370 [email protected] 5th Aug The wild life of wildlife - procreation oddities BOIC Display at the Brisbane Exhibition. The need to breed has created many What: The club will maintain a display for the opportunities for evolution to enhance sexual duration of the “Ekka”. Apart from books and “apparatus” and behaviour in the animal posters, we will also have “live” invertebrates and kingdom. Join us for a brief tour of the bizarre a continuous slide show. kinds of equipment and rituals that have led to Two members will be in constant attendance. the marvellous array of biological diversity on the planet. This talk by Professor Steve Donnellan will 8 commence at 7.00pm following a short BCSA 6.30pm – Look around the Macleay Museum AGM at 6.30pm. Gallery and current exhibition 7.00pm – Robert Blackburn - Macleay Entomology 2nd Sept:Orchids and lilies of the Adelaide Collections and Collectors Hills Orchids can be used as an indicator of ecosystem After the talk: tea and biscuits some drawers of health. Author of “Start with the leaves” Robert specimens from the entomology collection will be Lawrence, will show how to identify native orchids on display but please note there is no collection and lilies of the Adelaide Hills with a well- tour. illustrated presentation. Books will be available An RSVP would be helpful so we can make sure for sale. This talk will be preceded by the launch enough chairs are out. If you plan to attend, of the new BCSA Spider and other Arachnids please tell a Committee member by 11 August. posters. The Macleay Museum is accessed via Gosper Lane, University of Sydney. A map and further 7th Oct: Weeds and wildlife information will be included in the next Circular. We know that wildlife sometimes use weeds as habitat – but does it really matter? Jasmin Packer, University of Adelaide, will reveal why IAPPS conference 2014 weeds are sometimes critical habitat. XVIII. International Plant Protection 4th Nov: Remarkable fossils from Kangaroo Congress (IPPC) 2015 Island Mission possible: food for all through appropriate Some of the best preserved Cambrian fossils in plant protection the world come from Kangaroo Island. They are Conference Homepage: about 515 million years old and include specimens www.ippc2015.de with guts, appendages and some of the best preserved very early eyes. Presented by Venue and Date: University SA Adjunct Professor Jim Jago. Free University Berlin Henry Ford Building The Society for Insect Studies Garystraße 35 14195 Berlin-Dahlem/Germany John Tann — Atlas of Living Australia: What 24-27 August 2015 You can do June 10, 2014 7.30 pm, Australian Museum Hosting Organisations: Annexe, Level 4 German Phytomedical Society (DPG) The Atlas of Living Australia provides free access www.phytomedizin.org to information about Australian biodiversity. Julius Kühn Institute (JKI) Researchers and the public can use biological www.jki.bund.de collections information, field observations, Agriculture Industry Association (IVA) photographs, literature and expert knowledge. www.iva.de Mapping and analysis tools are available to explore and study plants and animals in new Conference Language: ways. The official conference language is English. In his talk, John will demonstrate some of the ALA capabilities and discuss how amateurs and Conference Organization: specialists can get involved – such as contributing Conventus Congressmanagement & Marketing sightings and images, or by helping transcribe GmbH specimen labels. Justus Appelt/Claudia Tonn John Tann works at the Australian Museum, Carl-Pulfrich-Straße 1 where he has been involved with the Atlas of 07745 Jena (DE) Living Australia since its inception seven years Phone +49 3641 31 16-374 ago. In his free time, he takes photographs of Fax +49 3641 31 16-243 small things and shares them on Flickr. [email protected] www.conventus.de Macleay Museum meeting 12 August 2014 9

From the archives… This situation has prompted several entomologists, the present writer included, to Some observations on the emergence of scour this same area for such plants as Eucarya, Ogyris idmo (Hewitson 1862) (Lycaenidae: Choretrum and Leptomeria. None were found, Theclinae) although Amyema miqueli and Leptomeria occur By W.N.B. Quick within a mile or so. Reports of the area in immediately preceding years confirmed that no Published in ‘The Victorian Entomologist’ Vol.2, recent clearing had taken place. No.3, June 1972 It seems therefore that we may expect the larvae In November, 1945, while collecting near Kiata, of this rare butterfly, if not carnivorous, either to Victoria, the late Mr M.W. Mules had the good be fed by the ants, or to feed within the ants’ fortune to see an apparently freshly-emerged nest on items collected, or nurtured by the ants Ogyris idmo waterhouseri fly from the ground for their own use. In the latter case, the aberrant almost directly in front of him, and which he was life-history might be compared to those within the able to net. genus Pseudodipsas, in which at least one species (Ps.digglesii) is a mistletoe feeder, while Closer examination of the area uncovered a Ps.myrmecophila feeds on food stored by the ants sizeable nest of the ant Camponotus nigriceps within their nest, and in its immediate environs. near the base of a mallee, Eucalyptus viridis. The nest was opened, and in a gallery just inside the One additional point may be of significance. On entrance, one pupa of this butterfly was found, that thundery, almost legendary day in early together with the empty pupal shell of the November 1939 when Mr Keith Hateley obtained butterfly seen on the wing. The live pupa no less than thirty eight specimens for the Lyell emerged late the same day, November 11th, collection, the butterflies were flying low, as is 1945. their habit, over mallee re-growth, some three or four feet in height, the original growth having Save for a few tiny herbaceous plants and been roughly cleared some two years previously. scattered grasses, this eucalypt appeared to be This stage of growth would not only make the the only vegetation nearby which could butterflies easily-observed, but may have offered conceivably support the larva of such an insect. It conditions exceptionally favourable to either the seems improbably however that a eucalypt would ant of the butterfly population. Any areas which be the foodplant of an Ogyris butterfly, a genus have recently been burned, or are in a stage of which is so re-growth should be checked at this time of the closely year for a possible recurrence of this phenomenal associated upsurge in the butterfly’s numbers. with the Loranthaceae The butterfly’s habit, like O.otanes, of settling and frequently on or near the ground may be Santalaceae, significant. both of which families are To the best of the writer’s knowledge, this represented constitutes the only occasion on which any trace widely in the of the early stages of this butterfly have been surrounding found, and was apparently the last seen of this districts. species in the Kiata area.

Eucalyptus, Photos courtesy Museum Victoria. on the other

hand, with

over 600 species throughout Australia, has only once been reported as a butterfly foodplant (Hypochrysops Contributions to the ESV newsletter are always ignita chrysonotus), and even this appears to welcome. have been an isolated and aberrant instance. Contact the President, Patrick Honan, at [email protected] 10