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Philadelphia — The Philadelphia Insectarium recently opened an outdoor addition called the "Learning Garden." The 4,800-square-foot garden has transformed a vacant lot into a habitat where visitors can walk among insects and flowers and learn about how they interact. Picnic tables provide a place to sit, relax and enjoy the garden refuge in the middle of the city. At the Grand Opening, each visitor was given a ladybug to release in the garden. People dressed up as ground beetles and bumblebees to provide face painting.

The Philadelphia Insectarium is the largest arthropod-only museum in the United States. More than 50,000 visitors a year view the nearly 100,000 specimens on display, representatives say.

According the Gallup Organization, the environment has only mid-range importance to voters in this year’s presidential election, below such issues as education, health care and the economy. By the time this magazine is published, the United States will have a new president. And what that means for the structural pest control industry remains unclear.

Americans have become more satisfied with the efforts that have been made in recent years to protect the environment and do not consider the environment to be as serious a problem for American society as drug use, crime, poverty and health care, the poll reported. Gallup says that water, soil and air pollution are considered to be more important environmental problems than the loss of rain forests or global warming.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — The Department of Pesticide Regulation, part of the California EPA, reported in September that pesticide use statewide declined by more than 11.7 million pounds from 1998 to 1999. It marked the first decline in three years. DPR’s preliminary data reported that pesticide applications totaled 202.6 million pounds in 1999, compared to 214.3 million pounds in 1998.

Reported use includes chemicals used in the fumigation of crops, structural pest control, landscape maintenance and other uses. Home and garden applications of pesticides, and most industrial and institutional uses, are exempt from reporting.

"The Davis Administration encourages growers and other pesticide users to act as stewards of the environment," said Winston Hickox, secretary of California EPA. "This is another sign of progress toward that goal."

Among statistics from the 1999 use report data:

• Use of organophosphates and carbamates declined by almost 800,000 pounds from 1998.

• Chemicals classified as carcinogens declined in overall acreage treated, but increased in pounds applied. Most of the 2-million-pound increase could be attributed to two fumigants — 1,3-D and metam-sodium.

• PCT’s annual "Professional of the Year"

• NPMA Pest Management 2000 review

• 2000 year-end pest wrap-up