John  we miss you!

Sometimes the best lasts less! So they say, and to our dismay it proved true in case of Dr.John M. Stonehouse, an entomologist of high caliber and character. On the 26th of September, 2007, while harnessed in duty in Senegal (W. Africa) on an assignment of the European Union, John succumbed at the age of 47 to a probable cerebral malarial attack. John was a close friend of Insect Environment, the Editor and the Publisher and all of us including our networkers, salute this great entomologist with a tearful whisper ‘may his soul rest in peace’. Despite his hectic schedules, John had found time to visit the Insect Environment Office to appreciate our endeavors and we continue to cherish this diligent and dedicated entomologist’s words of encouragement. He probably had a foreboding intuition, of the impending eternal journey. In 2004 he led me to a typical ‘church in the valley’ in Whitby, UK, his hometown, where he showed the resting places of his forefathers, in the church yard marked for the Stonehouse family. He then pointed out a slot and wryly remarked, "That’s where I’ll be buried". As a typical Indian, loath to mortal issues I passed a friendly rebuke, ‘John, don’t say such things’! He just shrugged it off with the usual disarming smile. At the time of going to the press, I have no information whether his mortal remains have found its niche in the church yard. But my friend Dr Ndiaye Mbaye of Senegal informs me that his body was sent to London from Senegal on the 5th of October for final rites. (Whitby is north of London, close to the Scotland borders, at least 7-8 hours of drive from London). As ill-luck would have it, John’s tryst with fruit flies ended in a tragedy, in as much as Steve Irwins', whose tryst with wildlife came to an end in yet another tragedy, last year. These two noble souls had inexorably committed themselves to their chosen arenas of research. Dr. Stonehouse’s tryst with India began in 2001 when he made possible a joint collaboration between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the DFID, UK. This programme called Integrated Management of Fruit Flies [IMFFI] in India operated from 2002-2005 under the management and guidance of Dr. John Mumford and Dr. John Stonehouse (both from Imperial College London). This programme was operated from 9 centers across India, I as a Project Coordinator had the privilege of John’s company on several occasions within the country and beyond. In the last six years he endeared to a large number of fellow entomologists - including several students – and their families and many others in India. His down-to-earth warmth and high degree of adapting to the Indian cultural milieu won him an exceptional degree of admiration from one and all. If his contribution to Indian entomology is to be summed up in one phrase, it is ‘plywood technology in fruit fly management’. Applied entomologists especially tephritiditologists of India (and elsewhere in Mauritius, Seychelles, Pakistan, etc) have realized that there can be no better dispenser than plywood for fruit fly lures like methyl eugenol and cue- lure. In less than two years of the completion of IMFFI in 2005, the plywood dispenser has become popular in India for fruit fly (Bactrocera) management in orchards and cucurbits; in fact it is even being sold by private agencies. Insect Environment proposes that in honor of this great entomologist we christen this as ‘Stonehouse’s plywood technology. I’m sure there will be no dissent and this will be a small step to keep his memory aflame for a long time. As long as his memory lingers, John will remain in our hearts.

But, John, we miss you!

Dr. Abraham Verghese - with inputs from Mr. S. Sridhar