Entomology professor mentors summer interns to awards, success

A summer intern from Virginia State University — working in the lab of James Tumlinson, Ralph O. Mumma Professor of Entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences — has presented an award-winning lecture in the Emerging Researchers National Conference in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics in Washington, D.C., on the research they conducted during their summer at Penn State.

Andrew Read elected to American Academy of Arts and Sciences

Andrew Read, Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology in Penn State's Eberly College of Science and the College of Agricultural Sciences, has been elected as a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (AAAS).

Busy Bees: Penn Staters share how they protect pollinators

Most people have probably seen the phrase “bees are dying at an alarming rate” on the internet. Most pass it off as a joke, but one Penn State organization is taking it to heart.

Faculty Spotlight - Julie Urban

This is the 2nd 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.

Lanternfly Research to Aid Grape Growers

When the spotted lanternfly showed up in Berks County four years ago, grapes were one of the first crops researchers worried about.

Faculty Spotlight - Tanya Renner

This is the 1st of ten 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.

Cockroach infestation on campus leaves student residents plagued with pests.

Thousands of unwanted guests have moved into Cal State LA’s campus housing, forcing Cal State LA residents to fight off an infestation of American cockroaches.

WAMU-FM (NPR), Washington, D.C.: Pollinator -- Judgment Day

Margarita Lopez-Uribe, assistant professor of entomology, was a guest on the "1A" program to discuss pollinator health and the importance of feral bee species

$1M gift from Galen and Nancy Dreibelbis to support Pollinators' Garden

A generous commitment from local leaders will help The Arboretum at Penn State to move forward with its plans for a world-class pollinators’ garden. State College real estate developer Galen Dreibelbis, and his wife, Nancy, have committed $1 million to support construction of the new Pollinators’ Garden in the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens. The Dreibelbises’ gift — together with a major investment from Skip Smith and gifts from other donors — completes the project’s initial fundraising goal and will allow the University to break ground on the project.

Investment from Skip Smith to launch construction of Pollinators' Garden

Investment from Penn State alumnus and leading philanthropist Charles H. “Skip” Smith will enable The Arboretum at Penn State to fulfill its longstanding vision for a garden that will attract and sustain native pollinator species of birds and insects. Smith, whose founding gift launched construction of the Arboretum in 2010, has made a series of gifts totaling $4.5 million to support construction of a new and enhanced Pollinators’ Garden in the H.O. Smith Botanic Gardens. The gifts — together with commitments from other donors — complete the project’s initial fundraising goal of $5.3 million and will allow construction to begin.

Zombie Apocalypse: Ants Can't Tell When Their Colony Is Overrun by a Deadly Fungus

Carpenter ants appear to have a hard time figuring out when one of their own is infected with a parasite that will eventually make it kill itself. Researchers from Pennsylvania State University published their findings February 23 in PLoS One.

Invasive insect spreads beyond Pennsylvania farms and orchards to backyards

Add another invader to the list of destructive insects that have infiltrated Pennsylvania: The spotted lanternfly has joined the ranks of emerald ash borers and brown marmorated stink bugs.

Penn State researchers tackling mushroom phorid fly infestations

Working with mushroom growers and residents in southern Chester County, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is ramping up ongoing research efforts to alleviate mushroom phorid fly infestations in southeastern Pennsylvania.

Put a ghost in your orchard to keep away brown marmorated stink bugs

Some apple orchards in Pennsylvania were surrounded by benevolent ghosts last year: a length of specially treated netting draped over a shepherd’s hook. Each successfully drew in and then killed hundreds of brown marmorated stink bugs.

Lures lead to better moth management

Growers who use mating disruption for oriental fruit moths now have a lure that effectively monitors the pests, according to new research.

Does winter's harsh cold air mean lower tick activity during spring, summer?

Areas that have had harsh winter weather are most likely looking forward to the summer months that are filled with sunshine and warmth. But with sunny, warm weather comes bugs, ticks included.

Invasive insects invade PA/Chesapeake Bay update

Insects that aren't native to Pennsylvania have invaded the state's forests, farm fields and homes and new ones appear every few years.

Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Awards $7 Million to 16 Research Teams Advancing Science and Technology to Improve Pollinator Health

New Tools and Science-Based Best Practices Will Enhance Efforts to Combat Native and Managed Pollinator Population Declines

Researchers to study ramps' market, flavor profile, vulnerability to pest

A good way to describe ramps, it has been said, is to note what they are not. Ramps are not leeks, nor are they scallions or shallots. Ramps look like scallions, but they're smaller and have one or two broad, flat leaves.

Curious Wasp Specimen Leads Entomologist to Find a First

When Michael Skvarla, Ph.D., started at his job as Insect Identifier and Extension Educator at Penn State University in 2017, it wasn’t long before he had a mystery on his hands.

Newly Discovered Fungi Turn Ants Into Zombies and Use Them to Breed

Mushrooms have always been a risky dinner menu option: Sure, plenty of them are delicious, but some are deadly. Ants stumbling on the wrong type of fungus can meet an even grimmer fate: These organisms can take control of the insects, forcing them to kill themselves. And scientists have just identified another 15 fungi with this gruesome talent.

Maryland braces for invasion of lanternflies, races to slow their spread

Mary Kay Malinoski has seen plenty of harmful insects swarm into Maryland during her long career, from the tree-eating gypsy moth, which invaded in the 1980s, to the malodorous brown marmorated stink bug, which arrived in 2006.

A bad new bug, a glowing plant, and flytraps without flies: The latest in gardening research

Let's peek into the science labs this week to see what gardening researchers have discovered lately that affects how we garden:

Terrifying Parasitic Wasps Knife Their Way Out of Bug Corpses With Spikes on Their Backs

Wasps have a bad reputation for their sharp stingers, but a new species of wasp appears to take inflicting pain to a whole new level. Scientists believe the parasitic wasp grows up in another animal's body and then, once it reaches adulthood, saws its way through the host's body to freedom, according to a recent paper published in Biodiversity Data Journal.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue visits Penn State

As Congress prepares to enact a new five-year farm bill, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue paid a visit to Penn State's University Park campus Jan. 24 as part of a tour through Pennsylvania to unveil the Department of Agriculture's legislative principles. Perdue met with College of Agricultural Sciences faculty, students and administrators and visited research facilities.

It Takes a Colony - The value of supporting research for the greater public good

Surveys of U.S. beekeepers have documented a 28 percent decline (on average) in honey bee colonies each winter during the last ten years, and a 28-45 percent decline (on average) during the full year. In Pennsylvania, beekeepers reported a loss of 52 percent of their colonies over the last winter (2016-2017).

Stink Bug Enemy a Welcome Find

A major natural enemy of the destructive brown marmorated stink bug has been found in Pennsylvania, but don’t expect pest pressure to lessen any time soon.

Agriculture Department, Penn State Release Recommendations to Maintain Healthy, Diverse Pollinator Populations

Standing in front of one of the more popular exhibits at the Pennsylvania Farm Show—an educational display on the importance of bees to society—state Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding today helped unveil a new report intended to support healthy pollinator populations in the face of challenges that have decimated some species.

New research agenda for malaria elimination and eradication

Two Penn State researchers have participated in the formulation of a new updated research agenda for global malaria elimination and eradication. Together with more than 180 scientists, malaria program leaders, and policy makers from around the world, Manuel Llinás, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology, and Jason Rasgon, professor of entomology and disease epidemiology, contributed to the Malaria Eradication Research Agenda (malERA) Refresh Collection, which defines a forward-looking research and development agenda that will accelerate progress towards malaria elimination and global eradication. The malERA Refresh collaboration resulted in seven research papers that were recently published as a special collection in the journal PLOS Medicine.

State officials work to contain spread of destructive lanternflies

Over the past three years, an invasive insect, native to China and eastern parts of Asia, has been recognized as a serious threat to agriculture and businesses in Pennsylvania.