October 30, 2019
The spotted lanternfly’s U.S. invasion has crossed the border from Pennsylvania into Maryland.
October 29, 2019
A unique undertaking in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences will shine a light on how solar farms can contribute to healthy ecosystems and boost pollinator populations.
October 25, 2019
Recently, bumble bees have been visiting libraries and museums around Pennsylvania. The bees have been helping families learn about the life sciences and how scientists study how bees and other animals live and are adapted to their environments.
October 24, 2019
Evolutionary biologists retrace the history of life in all its wondrous forms. Some search for the origin of our species. Others hunt for the origin of birds.
October 24, 2019
State and federal agriculture officials in several Northeastern states are having limited success in containing the spread of the spotted lanternfly, an invasive insect from China threatening billions of dollars in crop losses.
October 21, 2019
After entering the museum, visitors who head toward the left wall will encounter a great swarm of insects. The pinned specimens are arranged in 16 repurposed insect drawers, configured in a four-by-four grid. Looking closer, visitors will observe that the insects are clustered, not randomly—but according to their taxonomic group. The eagle-eyed may notice that the size of each cluster is proportional to that group’s diversity: a cloud of flies, a battalion of beetles, a mass of moths and butterflies; just a smattering of scorpionflies, a handful of stick insects. Within the multitudes, 100 specimens are adorned with a number corresponding to a poster with more information about that species.
October 17, 2019
The invasive pest has killed vines and forced the closure of wineries in Berks and Lehigh counties. Bucks County is already seeing damages, as researchers study a nearby vineyard with an eye toward solutions.
October 17, 2019
Pennsylvania is the fourth largest producer of wine in the country, but there's a serious threat affecting some of the vineyards in our area.
October 17, 2019
Tailgates, football games and festivals. It's a busy time for people to be zig-zagging across Pennsylvania and that's causing new fears from the state. They don't want an invasive bug, the spotted lanternfly catching a ride into our area.
October 11, 2019
Interactions between insects, predators and plants may be difficult to observe, but they contain powerful clues to how we could save our crops and natural spaces. Enter the world of entomology, where plants and beetles are the masters of natural chemical weapons and the risk of being eaten is real.
October 10, 2019
Penn State Entomology graduate students were able to bring aspects of their research to the public at the annual Great Insect Fair (GIF). Located in the Snider Agricultural Arena, the GIF theme for 2019 was “A world with(out) insects” and students were able to showcase what our world would look like without some key critters and certainly what outreach efforts look like with graduate students at the forefront.
October 9, 2019
Spotted lantern flies have been destroying fruit trees and vineyards in the Philadelphia area.
October 8, 2019
Invent Penn State's Tech Tournament is a showcase of disruptive technologies and early-stage companies
October 7, 2019
A $7.3 million grant awarded to Penn State will support an interdisciplinary, multi-institutional team of researchers as they conduct research and develop strategies to combat the spotted lanternfly.
October 3, 2019
In the Great Spotted Lanternfly War, Pennsylvania’s citizen-soldiers are fighting back with fly swatters and vacuums, dish soap and sticky tape. They’re stomping and spraying and zapping and bragging about their kills on social media. “DESTROY THEM,” a propaganda poster urges. “Die, die, die, spotted lanternfly,” a balladeer sings.
October 3, 2019
The spotted lanternfly is damaging Pennsylvania vineyards and threatening other farm goods and trees. Researchers are looking at a fungus and tiny wasps as options to kill it.
October 3, 2019
Researchers testing a biopesticide to control spotted lanternfly in areas of Norristown Farm Park this past summer are encouraged by the results and say they may have discovered a very effective weapon to stamp out the invasive pests.
October 1, 2019
With summer now behind us and autumn nectar flows drawing to close, your honey bees will likely spend less time foraging as the temperature continues to drop.
October 1, 2019
As the fall season approaches, we at Beescape hope you’ve all had a productive spring/summer
October 1, 2019
The Barbercheck Lab is seeking one Master’s student to start in the Summer or Fall of 2020.
September 27, 2019
I didn’t think it would happen to me, but I have become one of those parents. You know the ones: the type who are always bragging about their children’s latest achievements, proudly showing photos to anyone who displays even the vaguest interest, and vocally declaring that their progeny are geniuses.
September 27, 2019
What kinds of ethical considerations, if any, are relevant to research, management, or conservation efforts involving insects? What limits might be appropriate for those actions? These are questions we ask as members of a profession—one that’s devoted to the study of certain organisms.
September 27, 2019
Marjorie A. Hoy is internationally recognized for her groundbreaking research with the first laboratory-modified natural enemy deployed in a pest management program. The natural enemy had been genetically improved through selection to be resistant to three pesticide classes. Hoy is also highly regarded for the development of classical biological control of invasive pests of Florida citrus.
September 26, 2019
Rudolf Schilder, assistant professor of entomology at Penn State University, took some time to explain why Pennsylvania residents are seeing so many dragonflies this month. He studies dragonfly factors that impact their flight performance, usually in a laboratory.
September 26, 2019
With a theme of “Living With(out) Insects,” the 2019 edition of Penn State's Great Insect Fair will explore the widely publicized, worldwide decline of insects from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. Saturday, September 28, at the Snider Agricultural Arena on the University Park campus.
September 26, 2019
Desperate times call for desperate measures. The Pensylvania Department of Agriculture (PDA) is waging an all-out war on a tiny insect called the spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). Researchers at the Beneficial Insects Introduction Research Unit (BIIRU), a subdivision of the PADA, in Newark, Delaware, have come up with a plan to eradicate the invasive insect once and for all, using a curious weapon: wasps.
September 26, 2019
Hordes of spotted lanternflies are flapping through the state, threatening agriculture. “They jump, they’re big, they’re scary,” one Pennsylvanian said. “It’s like all of your worst nightmares coming to fruition.”
September 25, 2019
Christina Grozinger is the director of the Center for Pollinator Research at Penn State. She joined us to talk about the health of Pennsylvania's bee population, and how we can help.
September 25, 2019
The Department of Entomology in Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences has released its first diversity statement, which articulates the department’s goal to “cultivate a community of people who have diverse ways of thinking, views, values and perspectives and who represent the composition of our society.”
September 23, 2019
Penn State Extension has established a new vector-borne disease team that focuses on diseases transmitted by ticks and mosquitos. To ensure that its efforts address community needs, the team is launching a survey, the results of which will allow extension educators to deliver responsive programming to educate the public on vector-borne diseases, how to prevent them, and how people can protect themselves.
