Murray Fletcher awarded lifetime achievement medal for his work in entomology

Murray Fletcher has just been awarded the Pat Marks Medal for lifetime achievement in entomology.

It is only the second time the national award has been given.

Mr Fletcher said he was delighted to receive the award named after Dr E.N. (Pat) Marks who was a driving force in the establishment of the Australian Entomological Society in 1965.

"If felt a bit embarrassed," he said.

"You don't do it to win awards. You do it because you see it's necessary and you enjoy it.

"The nice thing about it is I was nominated by three former students of mine."

Mr Fletcher said there were major challenges facing entomology and insects in a changing environment.

"One of the main problems is cataloguing what we've already got in case we lose it," he said.

Mr Fletcher said pests and diseases from overseas continued to pose major threats.

"We are surrounded by all these pests and diseases. It's a matter of concern," he said.

That included threats to bees which play a crucial role in pollinating plants.

"The European honey bee, it's absolutely essential for a lot of our food," he said.

Mr Fletcher said it was vital quarantine was strong enough to stop diseases getting into Australia.

He said it was also important to find ways to remove pests without having to resort to using pesticides that were dangerous to the plants, flowers and insects.

The award was presented in Brisbane last week at the society's annual conference.

Outgoing president Professor Phil Weinstein said Mr Fletcher had been a "father figure" in Australian entomology for many years.

"He has contributed to entomology both nationally and internationally as well as being of outstanding service to the AES," he said.

"He does have an excellent track record in both research and research translation, with significant evidence of impact.

"Almost uniquely these days he has been responsible for training a significant fraction of the next generation of insect taxonomists."