Entomology News and Announcements

Penn State's Jim and Maryann Frazier featured on BBC News

May 16, 2013

Skip forward to 17:50 in the broadcast to hear Matt Well's piece with Jim and Maryann

Online beekeeping course receives international recognition

May 14, 2013

A Web-based Penn State Extension course designed to help beginning and experienced beekeepers gain the knowledge they need to be successful has been recognized for online excellence.

Brood II of the periodical cicadas will emerge in a few weeks in eastern Pennsylvania

May 14, 2013

The geographic location of Brood II in Pennsylvania is in wooded/forested areas in the eastern 1/3 of our state in Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Luzerne, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia, Pike, Schuylkill, and Wyoming counties. We have 8 different broods of the periodical cicadas in Pennsylvania all of which require 17 years to reach maturity. In addition to eastern Pennsylvania, members of Brood II will also emerge in most of Connecticut, New Jersey, southeastern New York, Maryland, central Virginia, and extreme north central North Carolina. Periodical cicadas are unique to eastern North America and are found nowhere else in the world. The emergence of periodical cicadas often begins in mid- to late May when soil temperatures are approximately 64°F. I've observed over the years in Pennsylvania that the start of the mass emergence of periodical cicadas is usually preceded by a warm rainfall event.

Report on the National Stakeholders Conference on Honey Bee Health: Key Findings

May 2, 2013

Since formation of the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) Steering Committee early in 2007, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and public and private partners have invested considerable resources to better address pollinator declines and major factors adversely affecting bee health. Several individuals from the Committee, along with Pennsylvania State University, organized and convened a conference on in October 2012 that brought together stakeholders with expertise in honey bee health. This new report is the product of unprecedented collaboration and shows that there is much work yet to do. The key findings are summarized below.

Penn State to host international conference on pollinator health

May 1, 2013

With populations of wild and domesticated pollinators, such as honeybees, in decline, some of the world's foremost scientists in the field will converge on Penn State this summer to discuss the latest research aimed at understanding and overcoming challenges to pollinator health.

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