Donation to UF forest entomology lab earmarked for expanding international program

Press release from the UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – On an early spring evening, a handful of entomology scientists and student researchers gathered around a cake decorated with a beetle drawing.

“Thank you for your support,” University of Florida Forest Entomology Lab Manager and Associate Professor of Forest Entomology Jiri Hulcr, Ph.D. said as he handed the cake over to retired Associate Research Scientist at University of Texas Thomas H. Atkinson, Ph.D.

And then the group donned lights on their foreheads as they went on a hunt for beetles deep in the woods at UF/IFAS Austin Cary Forest in Gainesville.

The celebration marked a $100,000 donation made by Atkinson to support visiting researchers to Hulcr’s program, which is housed at the UF/IFAS School of Forest, Fisheries, and Geomatics Sciences (SFFGS). Atkinson is a UF alumnus who earned his Ph.D. in entomology and nematology from UF in 1979.

Atkinson said his goal for the funding is “to take what’s already an international program and make it more so.” He added that his contribution will serve as a reliable, non-grant-driven source of support for forest entomology programs.  “It’s for bringing outside scientists in and possibly sending UF students or research associates to other places.” 

Atkinson recently moved to Gainesville and said he wanted to support things that are of interest to him and “things that weren’t available when I was younger and doing this.”

Hulcr said he will oversee making sure the funds are used to “nurture the next generation of beetle experts.”

This is the second contribution that Atkinson has made to the UF Forest Entomology Lab in the last year. In December 2025, SFFGS announced the launch of the world’s largest database of bark and ambrosia beetles.

The site, Bark and Ambrosia Beetles of the World, contains 15,778 specimen records, 32,403 images, and 7,987 species – all of the world’s species of bark and ambrosia beetles, which are one group of insects; bark beetles live under the bark of dead trees, and ambrosia beetles burrow deeper in the sapwood and inoculate it with symbiotic fungi, which they then eat.

The project was funded by the 2024 Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation through a grant from the Florida Forest Service to the UF/IFAS Forest Entomology Lab (https://pitchtube.org/).

Atkinson provided his  Bark and Ambrosia Beetles database to the UF lab in 2024.

“I have been working on this database for nearly 20 years, starting very small and simple and growing in size and complexity ever since,” said Atkinson about the original website. He said he chose to turn over his database to UF because he has been working with Hulcr and his students for over 10 years.

“I wanted to see the database survive and get some institutional support from someone younger who is still actively involved,” he said. “Jiri managed to come up with a budget to modernize the web interface, as well as speeding up response time and fixing some broken features,” he added. “The combination of Jiri’s energy and institutional support from UF and IFAS was a big factor. This is not a one-time event. Over the coming years, we anticipate updates and upgrades. Now that I am a Gainesville resident, this is a very exciting prospect.”