Bumblebees are able to learn to associate new odors with their colony’s queen, instead of being preprogrammed to recognize the queen’s pheromones from birth, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.
Honey from the continental U.S. can’t currently be certified organic due to specific land requirements, but farms in the Northeast may still produce honey that is as low in pesticide residue as imported organic honeys, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State, Cornell University and Auburn University.
Penn State graduate student Kehinde “Kenny” Kolapo is finding innovative ways to make a difference for Pennsylvania agriculture and beyond.
Diets rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids — a type of fat that supports brain function, cell growth and heart health — may help protect honey bees against the toxic effects of pesticides, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State.
Grace Tiwari, an entomology and international agriculture and development graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded the Future Leaders Fellow Scholarship from the Association of International Agriculture and Rural Development.
Penn State researchers will use $2.8 million in funding from the National Institutes of Health’s Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease to develop new tools to investigate the genetics underpinning the relationships between mosquitoes and various microbes.
Margarita López-Uribe, previously the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professor, has been awarded the Nancy and John Steimer Professorship in Agricultural Sciences.
Thirty-six Penn State graduate students have received scholarships of up to $10,000 from the J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Endowment, established by Jeff and Ann Marie Fox’s $20 million naming gift to Penn State’s J. Jeffrey and Ann Marie Fox Graduate School. The 36 students are studying in 32 master’s or doctoral degree programs.
Whether diagnosing plant problems, identifying insects or planning a landscape, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners can help visitors tackle gardening questions with research-based advice in the Yard and Garden Area during Penn State’s Ag Progress Days, Aug. 11-13, at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs.
Heather Grab, assistant professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, has been awarded the Lorenzo L. Langstroth Early Career Professorship in Entomology.
A Penn State Extension Master Gardener might spend one day helping a home gardener select pollinator-friendly plants and another collecting data that could help researchers better predict which flowers attract bees and butterflies. During National Pollinator Week, June 22-28, Master Gardeners across Pennsylvania continue to support several pollinator-focused research, education and conservation efforts.
Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, discussed the state of the current screwworm outbreak — and what risks the insect poses to Pennsylvania and beyond.
The Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences has selected three faculty members to serve as Huck Leadership Fellows for the 2026-27 academic year. The competitive program prepares faculty for future leadership roles while engaging them in strategic initiatives that advance interdisciplinary research at Penn State.
Penn State’s Beescape tool is gaining a new feature that allows users to download county-specific lists of pollinator-attractive plants, offering a more localized approach to improving pollinator habitats across Pennsylvania.
A new study led by researchers at Penn State explored why some bumble bee larvae become workers and others become queens, despite coming from the same eggs.
In recognition of Lyme Disease Awareness month, Erika Machtinger, associate professor of entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, offered practical tips on protecting against ticks in this Q&A.
Long before she led reforestation efforts in her native Lebanon, Maya Nehme was a graduate student in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences, researching ways to combat invasive species threatening forests. Even then, her vision extended beyond the lab — helping to inspire what would become the college’s international agriculture and development graduate dual-title degree program, known as INTAD.
Bruce McPheron and his wife, Marilyn, have made both a future pledge and an outright gift to support student experience opportunities in the College of Agricultural Sciences Department of Entomology and at the Frost Entomological Museum.
The Communication, Science & Society Initiative, a research partnership between Penn State’s Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and the Department of Communication Arts and Sciences in the College of the Liberal Arts, has announced the grant recipients from its 2025 request for proposals.
A wide variety of Penn State museums and special galleries will be open to the public during the spring “Night at the Museums” event, from 4 to 8 p.m. on April 23.
As climate change accelerates and threats from pests and diseases intensify, a growing cohort of Penn State researchers is developing innovative solutions to help crops not only survive but also thrive.
Bordenstein was honored for "distinguished contributions to the microbiome sciences, particularly for advancing our knowledge of host-associated microbiomes across the animal kingdom."
Jason L. Rasgon, Dorothy Foehr Huck and J. Lloyd Huck Endowed Chair in Disease Epidemiology and Biotechnology, has been named a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
The inaugural Penn State-Ghana Research Partnerships Seed Grant Program has awarded nine projects to fuel global impact, including crop disease surveillance, removing heavy metals from mining wastewater and understanding multimodal traffic streams.
Bridge funding for global research, changing chemicals used to attract squash bees, Penn State Extension's new AI tool, awards and grants, publications, and more in this month's newsletter from The Department of Entomology.
Domestication has changed the chemicals squash flowers use to attract bees, according to a new study from researchers at Penn State.
Penn State Entomology's Student Spotlights highlight the work being done by students. In her spotlight, Anju Poudel, a Ph.D student, talks about her time in the Jared Ali lab researching cover crops.
Science storytelling, a new addition to the animal diagnostic lab, frozen slugs, and more are in this newsletter edition. Awards have been granted, EGSA Graduate Presentations are recognized, and some publications in this newsletter from The Department of Entomology.
Kara Fikrig is an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology who seeks to understand the crossroad of entomology and public health, and to better protect public health. She primarily studies mosquitoes and how the diseases they carry affect people.
