This month we have quite a bit of news about bees, the relentless phorid flies, Frost Museum video, FREC farewell, spotted lanternfly still in the news, and a great video about wasp discoveries. Plus some high-level awards for faculty, students, and staff.
Photo Credit: Tammy Winters - Coconut after a Molt
In the News
Bees
- The complex effects of pesticide exposure on bumble bee health
- ‘Buzz me in:’ Bees wearing itty bitty QR codes reveal hive secrets
- Quantity over quality? Different bees are attracted to different floral traits
- Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows
- Native bee populations can bounce back after honey bees move out
Flies
Frost Museum
Fruit Research and Extension Center
Spotted Lanternfly
Trees
Wasps
Awards and Nominations
The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers
Margarita López-Uribe, Ph.D., the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor of Entomology in the College of Agricultural Sciences, was awarded the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers by President Biden earlier this month.
Christina Grozinger to lead Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences as Director
Christina Grozinger, Ph.D., Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and Director of the Center for Pollinator Research, has been named the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. Grozinger, who is globally recognized for her research on pollinator health and social insect behavior, will take over the leadership role on March 15. Grozinger is succeeding Patrick Drew, who has served as interim director since June 2024.
L.O. Howard Distinguished Achievement Award
John Tooker, Ph.D., is the 2025 L.O. Howard Distinguished Achievement Award for Research Excellence from the Northeastern Branch of the Entomological Society of America.
Graduate Student and Staff Awards
Adam Scherr, MS student, is the 2025 recipient of the Asa Fitch Memorial Graduate Student Award
Emily Struckhoff, Vector-borne Disease Program Specialist, won the ESA Eastern Branch ECP Extension, Outreach and Engagement Award.
Mahendra Pawar, Ph.D. student, received the Grants in Aid of Research Award (GIAR) from Sigma Xi for fall 2024.
Publications
- Hormetic response to pesticides in diapausing bees, Etya Amsalem, Nathan Derstine and Cameron Murray, Biology Letters, Volume 21, Issue 1, 2025.
- Tillage type and sentinel insect species affect the relative prevalence of the entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium robertsii, in soil, Shea A. W. Tillotson, Christina A. Voortman, John M. Wallace, Mary E. Barbercheck, PLOS One, Volume 20, Issue 1, 2025.
- Increasing rat numbers in cities are linked to climate warming, urbanization, and human population, Jonathan L. Richardson, Elizabeth P. McCoy, Nicholas Parlavecchio, Ryan Szykowny, Eli Beech-Brown, Jan A. Buijs, Jacqueline Buckley, Robert M. Corrigan, Federico Costa, Ray DeLaney, Rachel Denny, Leah Helms, Wade Lee, Maureen H. Murray, Claudia Riegel, Fabio N. Souza, John Ulrich, Adena Why, and Yasushi Kiyokawa, Science Advances, Vol 11, Issue 5, 2025.
Department of Entomology
Address
501 ASI Building453 Shortlidge Rd
University Park, PA 16802
- Email entomology@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-1895
- Fax 814-865-3048
Department of Entomology
Address
501 ASI Building453 Shortlidge Rd
University Park, PA 16802
- Email entomology@psu.edu
- Office 814-865-1895
- Fax 814-865-3048
