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This week the Entomological Society of Canada holds its annual meeting jointly with the Acadian Entomological Society in Halifax. This afternoon Peter and Linda Payzant will be presented with on of the ESC’s major awards. Congratulations! I have copied the citation at the end of this message. A few other notes form the meeting, John Klymko wil give a presentation on the Maritimes Butterfly Atlas, Chris Majka one on his beetle work in NS and the region and Andrew Hebda and Jeff Ogden will host entomologists from across the country in the collections of the NS Museum. Also two Nova Scotians are giving plenary talks this afternoon. Donna Hurlburt, who is heavily involved in COSWEIC’s traditional knowledge committee: ABORIGINAL TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE IN THE ASSESSMENT OF INSECT SPECIES AT RISK IN CANADA, and Elizabeth Goluch, a Halifax artist: LIVING JEWELS. Here is her abstract: Insects have long since been an attraction to me. As a child, I saw iridescent bluebottle flies as treasures and collected them as such. In recent years, my focus has been almost exclusively on the insect world. Using metalsmithing skills, I create one of a kind, larger than life, highly detailed metal insects, incorporating gold, silver, enamel and gemstones in their construction. Each insect has a secret space containing treasure, as well as decorative details which evoke elements of insect life, lore and environment. While showing images of my work, I will speak about the beauty that I perceive in insects and their world and the lasting impact that they have had on my work. This presentation will be accompanied with several sculptures and an invitation to have a close up look at the real thing. Back to the Criddle Award and the Payzants: From the Entomological Society of Canada/ Acadian Entomological Society Joint annual meeting program, November 2011: The Norman Criddle Award is presented by the Entomological Society of Canada to nonprofessional entomologists who, through their passion for insects, have made significant contributions to entomology in Canada. In 2011, this recognition is given to Linda and Peter Payzant who are both retired electrical engineers. Linda was born in Ottawa and educated at Carleton University and Nova Scotia Technical College; Peter was born in Montreal and educated at Dalhousie University and Nova Scotia Technical College. They met in graduate school and discovered a shared interest in natural history. Peter’s interest in insects dates from a childhood meeting with biologist Pierre Taschereau at a YMCA camp, and Linda had a long-standing interest in birding. Initially, they did considerable collecting, focusing mainly on moths. During this period staff at the Nova Scotia Museum, notably Barry Wright and Fred Scott, were particularly supportive. Their collection was eventually deposited with the Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources, and the Payzants now use a camera in their field work. The Payzants were thrilled to be among the first to record the arrival of Large Yellow Underwing Noctua pronuba (L.) in the province at Waverley in 1980, and the arrival of Common Ringlet Coenonympha tullia (Müller, 1764), at Brier Island in 1992. They have served on the boards of several amateur naturalist organizations, organized the first breeding bird atlas project for the Maritime Provinces, led many butterfly field trips and for 13 years conducted a yearly NABA butterfly count in the Halifax area. They worked on field checklists of the butterflies and the odonates of Nova Scotia, and currently maintain a website devoted to the butterflies of Nova Scotia (www.novascotiabutterflies.ca). They have combined their interest in entomology with a love of travel. Linda has been stung by an inch ant (Myrmecia sp.) in Australia and infested with chiggers in Trinidad; Peter has been bitten by a tsetse fly in Kenya and stung by a paper wasp in the Galapagos. Both have marvelled at Birdwing butterflies in Papua New Guinea and Blue Morphos in Costa Rica. While they have no formal training in biology, they have derived a great deal of pleasure from their amateur efforts, and look forward to many more years of learning about entomology, and in particular butterflies and moths. Linda and Peter Payzant have made many valuable contributions to entomology and conservation in Atlantic Canada, so we are pleased to present the Norman Criddle Award to both at the 2011 ESC-AES Joint Annual Meeting in Halifax, Nova Scotia. DBMcC
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