Communicating the intricate structure of pollinator communities can be a difficult task, but thanks to a collaboration between the School of Visual Arts and the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State, there is a new tool that could have success both inside and outside of the classroom.
An exotic tick turning up in some neighboring states has yet to be documented in Pennsylvania, but two Penn State professors researching the invasive bloodsucker say it’s probably here, too.
Dennis Calvin, director of Penn State Extension and associate dean in the College of Agricultural Sciences since 2009, has assumed a new role overseeing the college's efforts to combat the invasive spotted lanternfly. His appointment, which comes with the title of associate dean and director of special programs, was effective July 1.
This is the 9th of eleven short news articles written by students, during the professional development class. This year we had the students interview their advisor(s), in an effort to help them better understand the larger context of their projects.
Zombies are real—and they'll be at Penn State's Art of Discovery Booth at the Arts Festival from 11 to 1 p.m on July 13. Learn how a parasitic fungus turns ants into its mindless zombie servants through multimedia sculpture and augmented reality!
A field of flowers in Carlisle isn't being grown for its beauty. It's a pollinator garden and is now being used for bigger research.
This is the 8th of eleven short news articles written by students, during the professional development class. This year we had the students interview their advisor(s), in an effort to help them better understand the larger context of their projects.
David Hughes, Penn State professor of entomology and biology, studies the effects of something that sounds like it’s straight out of a science fiction story: a fungus that infects living ants, takes control of their muscles against their will, and forces the ant to become a mindless zombie driven to help spread the fungus to take over even more ants. Now, “The Zombie Ant Experience,” an installation in the Millennium Science Complex at University Park, brings this research to life through art.
Some of you may have heard of the spotted lanternfly. Even if you have, I want to revisit this insect pest to enlist you in the effort to monitor its movement in our area.
As Japan rebuilt its economy in the decades following World War II, it shipped goods to U.S. consumers who loved the low prices. In more recent decades, China has taken Japan’s role as the low-cost shipper to the U.S. The way Hannah Burrack sees it, it just makes sense we have all these invasive pests from Asia.
This is the 7th of eleven short news articles written by students, during the professional development class. This year we had the students interview their advisor(s), in an effort to help them better understand the larger context of their projects.
When Daryl Branford — one of the minds behind the groundbreaking multimedia instillation “The Zombie Ant Experience” — first came to Penn State in the 90s, it was the Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts that convinced him Penn State was the place for him.
Penn State and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization launch new mobile app to fight fast-spreading pest
Study represents largest effort to date to identify novel pathogens in global bee populations. An international team of researchers has discovered evidence of 27 previously unknown viruses in bees. The finding could help scientists design strategies to prevent the spread of viral pathogens among these important pollinators.
The spotted lanternfly is starting to sour the grape and wine industries in southeastern Pennsylvania, and research underway in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences aims to spoil the invasive pest's party.
What do you want to know about the invasive spotted lanternfly?
This is the 6th of eleven short news articles written by students, during the professional development class. This year we had the students interview their advisor(s), in an effort to help them better understand the larger context of their projects.
An army of microscopic critters is interrupting life for many of Pennsylvania’s black bears.
Winery owner Darvin Levengood is no fan of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect that can wreak havoc on grapes.
On Thanksgiving 2015, Margo Woodacre had to send her family home on empty stomachs. A month later, Barbara and David Runkle were unable to put up their Christmas tree. In the years since, neighbors have worn out vacuum belts, spent untold amounts of money on black lights, and become amateur experts on homeopathic pesticides.
Planting season for corn and soybeans across the U.S. corn belt is drawing to a close. As they plant, farmers are participating in what is likely to be one of the largest deployments of insecticides in United States history.
A bizarre pest from Asia is spreading fast and putting billions of dollars’ worth of resources at risk.
The internet is a technology of low-cost communication and connection. Everything from email to e-commerce to social networks has hinged on the internet’s transformative role in changing the economics of communication. All those connections suddenly became both possible and cheap.
A research team in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has received a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant — an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
A new step forward in managing a pernicious pest of golf course putting greens comes with an assist from an unlikely source: marine biology.
You may have heard about them. They invade our natural habitats and managed landscapes, our farms and forests, our yards and gardens — and sometimes our homes. They raise our anxiety as they cause ecological and economic damage, threaten our health, and force costly responses from government agencies, industry sectors, and research institutions.
When the temperature drops and the days get shorter, honey bees don’t hibernate—they huddle. Meanwhile, worker bees produced in the fall are plump and have longer lifespans than their spring counterparts. These winterized workers form a “thermoregulatory cluster” around their queen. Powered by honey stores, they shiver their muscles to produce heat, keeping temperatures at the center of the cluster around a comfortable 21 degrees Celsius (C). Still, winter is a stressful time for honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies. In the United States around 30 percent of colonies don’t survive until spring.
I was thrilled to receive my first request to peer review a paper while working on my Ph.D. Then I realized I didn’t know how to peer review. It had never been covered in my classes, so I started asking around and sending emails, reaching out to my friends in other programs, but with little luck. As important as peer review is, it seems that few STEM programs actively teach students about how to navigate the peer review process and make the decisions involved, such as whether to accept or reject a paper for publication.
This is the 1st of eight short news articles written by students, during the professional development class, about each other's research.
Let's catch up this week on some gardening news and interesting tidbits ... Bird and pollinator gardens coming to Penn State
