Dr Antonella Marta Di Palma is Associate Professor of General and Applied Entomology, in the Department of Agriculture, Food, Natural Science and Engineering (DAFNE). This is set in the University of Foggia, Italy.
Antonella studied Forestry Science at the University of Bari (Italy), where her research centred on “Functional morphology of Penthaleus major (Dugés) mouthparts”. Her PhD was in Crop Protection at the University of Bari. Her thesis was on “Typhlodromus rhenanoides Athias-Henriot and T. exhilaratus Ragusa (Acari: Mesostigmata: Phytoseiidae): morphological, structural observations and functional considerations”. She had the opportunity of attending the “Acarology Summer Program” at Ohio State University. In addition, she spent one year in Germany with a specialization fellowship at the Zoologisches Institüt und Museum. This is at the University of Greifswald. While there she worked on the reproductive system of gamasid mites.
Vinifera Teaching: Within the Year 2 of the Vinifera programme, Antonella teaches on arthropod management in vineyards.
Research Interests:
Dr Di Palma researches electron microscopy techniques applied to mites, mite ultrastructure and functional morphology. Within this, she focuses mainly on the reproductive system and the modification of the mouthparts in different trophic behaviors. She is also involved in systematic and taxonomic aspects of Mesostigmata and Tarsonemidae (Heterostigmata) mites. This is in addition to the application of scanning electron microscopy images in user-friendly identification keys.
Antonella is member of the Italian Society of Entomology (SEI), and the Italian Forensic Group (GIEF). She is member of the European Association of Acarologists (EURAAC) (member of the EURAAC Executive Committee as well). She also belongs to the Acarological Society of America (ASA) and the Italian National Academy of Entomology
In addition to the above, Antonella is on the editorial board of “Experimental and Applied Acarology”, and the “International Journal of Acarology” (Anatomic Acarology). She contributes as Reviewing Editor on the Editorial Board of Behavioral and Evolutionary Ecology, “Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution”. She is Topic editor in “Insects”.
Contact: antonella.dipalma@unifg.it
