Etya Amsalem, Ph.D.
- Associate Professor of Entomology
University Park, PA 16802
- Email eua6@psu.edu
- Office 814-863-7675
Areas of Expertise
- Social behavior
- Chemical ecology
- Pollinator's health
- Physiology
- Genetics
- Bumble bees
Education
- B.S. Medical and Life Science, Tel Aviv University
- M.Sc. Zoology, Tel Aviv University
- Ph.D. Zoology, Tel Aviv University
Research:
My lab studies insect social behavior and pollinator health using tools from chemical ecology, physiology, genetics, and genomics.
Selected topics of research in the lab:
(1) Pheromones and hormones regulating reproduction, sexual production, and social behavior in insect societies
(2) The genetic and molecular mechanisms underlying pheromone production, perception and social organization
(3) The evolution of reproductive signaling
(4) The genetic and physiological factors underlying successful diapause in bumble bee queens
(5) The impact of pesticides, pathogens and diet on bee behavior, mating and development
(6) The impacts and underlying mechanisms of carbon dioxide narcosis in bumble bees
(7) Larva development and caste determination in bumble bees and the evolution of castes in social insects
Teaching:
ENT202 - Insect connections: Insect, Globalization and sustainability (every spring)
ENT530 - Supervised mentoring for graduate students, in collaboration with St. Francis University (every fall)
ENT484 - Insect Behavior (every other spring)
Current graduate students:
Nathan Derstine, PhD student - USDA NIFA fellow, Entomology Graduate Program
Sarah Spence, PhD student - Black fellow, Entomology Graduate Program
Ethan Dean, PhD student - Entomology Graduate Program
Website: https://amsalemlab.weebly.com/
Institutes affiliations:
Publications
The influence of the social environment on larval development and resulting caste in Bombus impatiens
Animal Behaviour, Barie, Katherine, Amsalem, Etya, 2023
Differential gene expression underlying the biosynthesis of Dufour's gland signals in Bombus impatiens
Current Research in Insect Science, Derstine, Nathan, Galbraith, David, Villar, Gabriel, Amsalem, Etya, 2023
The Effect of Pollen Diet Composition and Quantity on Diapause Survival and Performance in an Annual Pollinator (Bombus Impatiens)
Integrative Organismal Biology, Treanore, E. D., Ramos-Medero, A. V., Garcia, J., Amsalem, E., 2023
The effect of bumble bee gynes’ reproductive status on the response to CO2 narcosis
Journal of Apicultural Research, Seltzer, Rya, Domer, Adi, Bodner, Levona, Bouchebti, Sofia, Malka, Maya, Amsalem, Etya, Levin, Eran, 2023
Impacts and mechanisms of CO2 narcosis in bumble bees: narcosis depends on dose, caste and mating status and is not induced by anoxia
Journal of Experimental Biology, Cressman, Anna, Amsalem, Etya, 2023
Communication Between Honeybees: More than Just a Dance in the Dark, Amsalem, Etya, 2023
Symptomatic Infection with Vairimorpha spp. Decreases Diapause Survival in a Wild Bumble Bee Species (Bombus griseocollis)
Animals, Orlova, Margarita, Porter, Monique, Hines, Heather M., Amsalem, Etya, 2023
The effect of the brood and the queen on early gene expression in bumble bee workers' brains
Scientific Reports, Santos, Priscila K.F., Galbraith, David A., Starkey, Jesse, Amsalem, Etya, 2022
CO2 narcosis induces a metabolic shift mediated via juvenile hormone in Bombus impatiens gynes
Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Barie, Katherine, Levin, Eran, Amsalem, Etya, 2022
A Gland of Many Uses: a Diversity of Compounds in the Labial Glands of the Bumble Bee Bombus impatiens Suggests Multiple Signaling Functions
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Orlova, Margarita, Villar, Gabriel, Hefetz, Abraham, Millar, Jocelyn G., Amsalem, Etya, 2022
Examining the individual and additive effects of cold storage and CO2 narcosis on queen survival and reproduction in bumble bees
Journal of Insect Physiology, Treanore, Erin, Amsalem, Etya, 2022
Sexual production is regulated by the brood in Bombus impatiens colonies
bioRxiv, Santos, Priscila, Murray, Cameron, Amsalem, Etya, 2022
Dufour’s gland analysis reveals caste and physiology specific signals in Bombus impatiens
Scientific Reports, Derstine, Nathan T., Villar, Gabriel, Orlova, Margarita, Hefetz, Abraham, Millar, Jocelyn, Amsalem, Etya, 2021
Bumble bee queen pheromones are context-dependent
Scientific Reports, Orlova, Margarita, Amsalem, Etya, 2021
Built to change: Dominance strategy changes with life stage in a primitively eusocial bee
Behavioral Ecology, Orlova, Margarita, Treanore, Erin, Amsalem, Etya, 2021
What can mechanisms underlying derived traits tell us about the evolution of social behavior?
Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Treanore, Erin, Derstine, Nathan, Amsalem, Etya, 2021
Optimizing laboratory rearing of a key pollinator, bombus impatiens
Insects, Treanore, Erin, Barie, Katherine, Derstine, Nathan, Gadebusch, Kaitlin, Orlova, Margarita, Porter, Monique, Purnell, Frederick, Amsalem, Etya, 2021
Shift in worker physiology and gene expression pattern from reproductive to diapause-like with colony age in the bumble bee Bombus impatiens
Journal of Experimental Biology, Treanore, Erin D., Kiner, Jacklyn M., Kerner, Mackenzie E., Amsalem, Etya, 2020
A small family business: Synergistic and additive effects of the queen and the brood on worker reproduction in a primitively eusocial bee
Journal of Experimental Biology, Orlova, Margarita, Starkey, Jesse, Amsalem, Etya, 2020
The effect of intrinsic physiological traits on diapause survival and their underlying mechanisms in an annual bee species Bombus impatiens
Conservation Physiology, Treanore, Erin, Amsalem, Etya, 2020
One problem, many solutions: Female reproduction is regulated by chemically diverse pheromones across insects, Amsalem, Etya, 2020
Context matters: plasticity in response to pheromones regulating reproduction and collective behavior in social Hymenoptera
Current Opinion in Insect Science, Orlova, Margarita, Amsalem, Etya, 2019
Do Bumble Bees Produce Brood Pheromones?
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Starkey, Jesse, Derstine, Nathan, Amsalem, Etya, 2019
The road to sociality: brood regulation of worker reproduction in the simple eusocial bee Bombus impatiens
Animal Behaviour, Starkey, Jesse, Brown, Ahja, Amsalem, Etya, 2019
Erratum to: The importance of holistically evaluating data: A comment on Holman (Behavioral Ecology (ary082) DOI: 10.1093/beheco/ary082)
Behavioral Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Grozinger, Christina M., 2018
The importance of holistically evaluating data: A comment on Holman
Behavioral Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Grozinger, Christina M., 2018
Preface: Pheromone-Mediation of Female Reproduction and Reproductive Dominance in Social Species
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Hefetz, Abraham, 2018
Evolution of olfactory functions on the fire ant social chromosome
Genome Biology and Evolution, Cohanim, Amir B., Amsalem, Etya, Saad, Rana, Shoemaker, De Wayne, Privman, Eyal, 2018
Pheromone-mediation of female reproduction and reproductive dominance in social species
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Hefetz, A, 2018
Do Bumble Bee, Bombus impatiens, Queens Signal their Reproductive and Mating Status to their Workers?
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Padilla, Mario, Schreiber, Paul, Altman, N, Hefetz, Abraham, Grozinger, Christina, 2017
Evaluating the molecular, physiological and behavioral impacts of CO2 narcosis in bumble bees (Bombus impatiens)
Journal of Insect Physiology, Amsalem, Etya, Grozinger, Christina, 2017
Chemical communication is not sufficient to explain reproductive inhibition in the bumblebee bombus impatiens
Royal Society Open Science, Padilla, Mario, Amsalem, Etya, Altman, N, Hefetz, Abraham, Grozinger, Christina M., 2016
Conservation and modification of genetic and physiological toolkits underpinning diapause in bumble bee queens
Molecular Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Galbraith, David A., Cnaani, Jonathan, Teal, Peter E.A., Grozinger, Christina M., 2015
A conserved class of queen pheromones? Re-evaluating the evidence in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens)
Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, Amsalem, Etya, Orlova, Margarita, Grozinger, Christina M., 2015
The Physiological and Genomic Bases of Bumble Bee Social Behaviour
Advances in Insect Physiology, Amsalem, Etya, Grozinger, Christina M., Padilla, Mario, Hefetz, Abraham, 2015
The physiological and genomic bases of bumble bee social behavior
Advances in Insect Physiology, Amsalem, Etya, Grozinger, C, Padilla, M, Hefetz, A, 2015
Precocene-I inhibits juvenile hormone biosynthesis, ovarian activation, aggression and alters sterility signal production in bumble bee (Bombus terrestris) workers
Journal of Experimental Biology, Amsalem, E., Teal, P., Grozinger, C. M., Hefetz, A., 2014
The Effect of Caste and Reproductive State on the Chemistry of the Cephalic Labial Glands Secretion of Bombus Terrestris
Journal of Chemical Ecology, Amsalem, Etya, Kiefer, Julia, Schulz, Stefan, Hefetz, Abraham, 2014
Gonadotropic and physiological functions of juvenile hormone in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) workers
PLoS One, Shpigler, Hagai, Amsalem, Etya, Huang, Zachary Y., Cohen, Mira, Siegel, Adam J., Hefetz, Abraham, Bloch, Guy, 2014
Exploring the role of juvenile hormone and vitellogenin in reproduction and social behavior in bumble bees
BMC Evolutionary Biology, Amsalem, Etya, Malka, Osnat, Grozinger, Christina, Hefetz, Abraham, 2014