| The Entomological Society of Alberta is pleased to grant to the following individuals Honorary Membership in the Society in recognition of their accomplishments and dedicated service in the field of entomology. | | | | | | Dr. George Ball (Edmonton, AB) | | | | | | Dr. Robert Byers (Lethbridge, AB) | | | |  | | Mr. Joseph Gurba P. Ag. (Edmonton, AB) graduated with a B.Sc. (Ag) from the University of Alberta in 1950, and spent 33 years with Alberta Agriculture as a District Agrologist (3 years) and Head in the Crop Protection Branch. Typical programs with which Joseph was involved included warble fly and louse control in cattle, outbreaks of Bertha armyworm, corn leaf aphid and grasshoppers, and keeping Alberta free of new pests [e.g., Norway rat, skunk rabies and Dutch Elm disease (bark beetle vector)]. A team approach was essential to coordinate various interests at federal, provincial, municipal and industry levels through committees and training programmes, to develop solutions to controversial problems in pest control, pesticides, pollution, etc. A dramatic example was the unexpected outbreak of the Bertha armyworm in August 1971. Lannate insecticide received emergency registration within 48 hours; a plane load of Lannate arrived overnight from Dallas, Texas; spray planes and trained municipal crews saved from serious damage 250,000 acres of canola a scant week before harvest. Since retirement in 1983, Joseph has maintained an active interest in his family farm which specializes in pedigree seed production. In addition, Joseph has served with the Canadian Executive Service Organization as a Volunteer Advisor with a total of seven projects that have taken him to Antigua (flies in resorts), Bolivia (safe use of pesticides), China (2 - alpine grassland pests and stored grain insects), Columbia (2 - biological pest control in oil palms) and Costa Rica (hotel pests). | | | |  | | Mr. Evan Thomas Gushul (APSA, RBP) (Lethbridge, AB) is a Registered Biological Photographer, and retired from the Lethbridge Research Centre of Agriculture Canada. Evan worked with every entomologist and photographed a wide variety of insects, and provided instruction and critique to entomology summer students. Evan presented numerous papers and demonstrations on insect photography at meetings of the Entomological Society of Alberta (ESA), and entertained meeting attendees to slide shows following talks by guest speakers. To determine if his methods and results were acceptable, Evan entered photographs at insect photo salons during meetings of the Entomological Society of America and the Entomological Society of Canada (ESC). At numerous meetings of the ESA and during joint ESA-ESC meetings Evan served as projectionist and photographer of speakers and guests, and later prepared composite images for publication in the Proceedings of the ESA. To avoid disturbing speakers during their presentations, Evan used his own equipment that operated silently and employed no flash. Evan also produced 16 mm films on subjects that included leafcutter bee pollination in alfalfa, black fly problems in the Athabasca region, warble fly biology in the foothills and prairies of Alberta. Equipment that Evan built to help him with difficult photographic tasks includes a "frame finder" to photograph moving insects, and a "plumber's nightmare" to take close-up photos of bumble bee eggs in the field. Evan has fond recollections of a field research project that aimed to discover bumble bee species that could pollinate alfalfa. Field studies were conducted in the mountains, foothills and prairies of Alberta. Evan stated that he "lived with [the bees] in their environment in a 65-foot trailer", and did the cooking, welding, mechanical up-keep, photography, and helped with identifying native bees. He also recorded the "nite-life" of insects. Visiting entomologists enjoyed seeing the project sites and the meals. Evan said that he fed eight scientists for $1.86 -- cabbage rolls and strawberry shortcake. Evan was awarded a special citation from Agriculture Canada Director General Dr. B. Migicouski for work associated with a team headed by Dr. Gordon Hobbs that created a successful alfalfa seed pollination program for the prairies. For his contribution to world agriculture, Evan was awarded an Associateship in the Photographic Society of America. | | | |  | | Dr. Ruby Larson (Lethbridge, AB) was transferred to the present-day Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Lethbridge Research Centre from Swift Current in 1948. She worked on cytogenetics of wheat until she retired in 1979. She is a charter member of the ESA. In her spare time, she was dedicated to science education. She was a founding member of the Lethbridge Science Fair, and also created the Lethbridge Science Club. Every Saturday for over 20 years, she hosted this group of young enthusiasts in her basement. Graduates of her club include Dr. Ken Richards (Ph.D. in Entomology), Dr. Joe Shorthouse (Ph.D. in Entomology), Dr. J. Haberman (M.D.), Dr. Dave Larson (Ph.D. in Entomology), and Dr. Carol Brosgart (M.D.). In addition to her professional accomplishments, which have been internationally recognized, she was awarded the Carr Award by the ESA (for her contributions to encourage amateur entomology) and the Criddle Award by the Entomological Society of Canada. | | | |  | | Mr. Joseph Alexander Shemanchuk (Lethbridge, AB) obtained a diploma in Agriculture at the Olds School of Agriculture and then received B.Sc. (Agric) and M.Sc. degrees from the University of Alberta, majoring in entomology. After graduation from the U of A, Joe accepted employment with Agriculture Canada, his first assignment was to Churchill, Manitoba to develop measures against blood-sucking flies for armed forces. Joe was then transferred to Saskatoon to study the flight range of mosquitoes as it related to the spread of animal and human diseases. In 1955, Joe was transferred to the Research Station at Lethbridge, where he worked until his retirement, to study the impact of irrigation on mosquito production and the resulting influence on the health of humans and livestock. Other research projects with which Joe was involved included a major study that concerned protection of cattle from blackflies in central Alberta, and investigations on the distribution, abundance and behaviour of bloodsucking flies as related to health and welfare of livestock and humans. In partnership with a mycologist at the University of Washington, Joe described the details of the life cycle of Coelomomyces, a fungus pathogenic to mosquitoes. Joe was active overseas as a Scientist Exchange Fellow, sponsored by the National Research Council of Canada, to the former USSR Academy of Sciences and to the Slovak Academy of Sciences. He also spent four months in Iran as a volunteer establishing an insect diagnostic laboratory. Honours awarded to Joe include Honorary Membership in, and a Fellow of, the Entomological Society of Canada. | | | |
| | Dr. Peter Harris: Photo and biography forthcoming. | | | |
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