FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Five graduate students from the U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences entomology program brought home President's Prize awards from the recent Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America in Denver, Colorado.

Joey Belsky, Joseph Black, Aaron Cato, Hillary Fischer and Lizabeth Herrera were all recognized for their research presentations.

Cato finished first in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems, IPM-Field Crops 1 division.

Belsky placed second place in the Physiology, Biochemistry and Toxicology, Hymenoptera section.

Black was second in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems, IPM-Field Crops 3 category.

Second place in the Plant-Insect Ecosystems, Host Plant Resistance area went to Fischer.

In the Plant-Insect Ecosystems, Virtual Presentation section, Herrera placed second with a digital poster submission.  

Other students attending the ESA meeting included Beth Ferguson, Stephen Robertson, Whitney Nelson, Mary-Kate Williams, Janithri Wickramanayake, Rosalee Knipp, Layton McCullars, Annie Miskelley, Roshani Sharma Acharya, Austin Jones, Jon Zawislak and Jessica Lefors.

ESA serves the professional and scientific needs of entomologists and individuals in related disciplines. ESA has over 6,000 members affiliated with educational institutions, health agencies, private industry, and government. Members are researchers, teachers, extension service personnel, administrators, marketing representatives, research technicians, consultants, students, pest management professionals, and hobbyists.

About the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences: Bumpers College provides life-changing opportunities to position and prepare graduates who will be leaders in the businesses associated with foods, family, the environment, agriculture, sustainability and human quality of life; and who will be first-choice candidates of employers looking for leaders, innovators, policy makers and entrepreneurs. The college is named for Dale Bumpers, former Arkansas governor and longtime U.S. senator who made the state prominent in national and international agriculture.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among only 2 percent of universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.