Two FABI PhD candidates were recognized for research excellence by the Southern African Institute of Forestry (SAIF). Caitlin Gevers received the SAIF Merit Award for her project on the gall wasp Leptocybe invasa including investigating the interactions of the gall community and studying the distribution and diversity of Leptocybe and its parasitoids in South Africa. This work has been of great relevance to the country’s commercial forestry industry. Privilege Makunde received the SAIF Writing Award for his paper published in the journal Southern Forests entitled “Current and potential threat of psyllids (Hemiptera: Psylloidea) on eucalypts”. The awards are presented annually, if suitable candidates are nominated and selected.