Penn State team gets $100,000 grant for satellite crop surveillance

November 14, 2018

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.

Anopheles mosquitoes could spread Mayaro virus in U.S., other diverse regions

November 12, 2018

Mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles are well known as primary vectors of malaria. But a new study suggests that Anopheles species, including some found in the United States, also are capable of carrying and transmitting an emerging pathogen, Mayaro virus, which has caused outbreaks of disease in South America and the Caribbean.

Gates Foundation grant to support research on satellite crop surveillance

November 9, 2018

A research team in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences has received a Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Led by David Hughes, associate professor of entomology and biology, the group will study the potential role of satellites in diagnosing crop pest and disease problems on African smallholder farms.

Spiders get unfair rep as creepy creatures

November 7, 2018

It’s no wonder that many of us two-leggers get the heebie-jeebies at the sight of spiders. With their far-too-many legs, shiny or furry bodies — often painted with cryptic symbols — and mechanical, creeping movements, they seem alien next to soft, clumsy human bodies.

To fight dreaded mushroom flies, Penn State to hire new researcher

November 7, 2018

Entomologists at Pennsylvania State University are poised to hire a researcher to act as a liaison for Chester County residents besieged by aggressive mushroom flies.

Get to know the spotted lanternfly

November 7, 2018

The Clinton County commissioners got a lesson on the spotted lanternfly on Monday. Tom Butzler, a horticulture extension educator for the Penn State University Cooperative Extension, talked about the invasive insect from Asia that may be found on imported Christmas trees brought to the state and gave a presentation on keeping the pest contained.

Grad Student Reads: The Professor Is In

October 31, 2018

If you are a graduate student and you want to get a job in academia, then you need The Professor Is In: The Essential Guide to Turning Your Ph.D. into a Job. Also, if you’re a graduate student like me, and you might be interested in academia but you really have no idea what kind of a job you’re heading towards, then this is still a really useful book.

Citizens play a vital role in spotted lanternfly management efforts

October 30, 2018

Citizens are important allies in the fight against the spotted lanternfly, a war that is being waged in 13 counties -- Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Chester, Delaware, Lancaster, Lebanon, Lehigh, Monroe, Montgomery, Northampton, Philadelphia and Schuylkill.

Senior class chooses Pollinator’s Garden Entry Gate as 2019 class gift

October 26, 2018

Penn State’s class of 2019 has chosen as its class gift legacy the Pollinators’ Garden Entry Gate at the Arboretum at Penn State.

Eastern US States: Grape growers combating spotted lanternfly

October 24, 2018

While the dreaded spotted lanternfly has mostly been seen in the counties of eastern Pennsylvania, it is spreading quickly and is feeding on orchards and vineyards.

Central Pa. Growers And Researchers Work To Stop The Spotted Lanternfly

October 24, 2018

Happy Valley Vineyard and Winery owner Barbara Christ stands among ten acres of grapevines on neat rows of trellises.

From Agriculture to Art — the A.I. Wave Sweeps In

October 22, 2018

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.

Penn State Beekeepers Club fosters importance of honey bees

October 15, 2018

A club in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences is creating quite a buzz around campus.

Crawling Dead: How Ants Turn Into Zombies

October 10, 2018

Allow us to explain the gruesome process by which ordinary ants become the pawns of an insidious and spectacularly clever fungus.

Duquesne, Penn State researchers genetically alter mosquitoes to fight malaria

October 10, 2018

Preventing malaria requires multiple approaches — vaccine development, new pesticides and bed-net technologies with a current focus on sterilizing male mosquitoes and manipulating the genomes of female mosquitoes to kill off the malarial parasites they carry.

Grape growers feeling brunt of spotted lanternfly effects

October 10, 2018

Expert says adult spotted laternfly females are currently laying eggs for next year.

Penn State Altoona students help protect monarch butterfly species

October 9, 2018

Every fall, hundreds of millions of monarch butterflies make their way from the United States and Canada to overwintering sites in Mexico. In recent years, this phenomenal migration is threatened by habitat loss in North America and at their overwintering grounds, so people across the continent have been setting up monarch way stations to help protect this species.

America Isn’t Ready for the Lanternfly Invasion

October 3, 2018

A bizarre pest from Asia is spreading fast and putting billions of dollars’ worth of resources at risk.

The Pest Management Professional Magazine has announced their 2018 Hall of Fame

October 2, 2018

The Pest Management Professional Magazine (PMP) staff is pleased to announce the five newest nominees for the PMP Hall of Fame.

Report spotted lanternfly sightings

September 26, 2018

In the past week, there have been numerous sightings of spotted lanternfly in Ephrata Borough, Ephrata Township, Akron Borough, West Cocalico Township and Clay Township, according to Chief William Harvey, Ephrata borough emergency management coordinator and spotted lanternfly instructor for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Master Gardeners lend expertise, support to spotted lanternfly fight

September 26, 2018

With home gardening season now in the rear-view mirror, Penn State Extension Master Gardeners in Berks County thought calls to their garden hotline would wind down a bit, as in years past.

Fruit research and extension projects receive funding from industry groups

September 21, 2018

The State Horticultural Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Apple Program recently awarded nearly $233,000 in funding to support new and ongoing fruit research and extension projects in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences. The grants will support projects aimed at enhancing pest management, production efficiency and fruit quality.

Andrew Read named director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences

September 21, 2018

Andrew Read has been appointed director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State effective Jan. 1, 2019. Read is an Evan Pugh University Professor of Biology and Entomology, Eberly Professor of Biotechnology and director of the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics.

Great Insect Fair will put bugs on center stage at Penn State

September 19, 2018

Everything insect, from edible bug-based treats to bug-centered games and crafts to an insect zoo of strange creatures, will pack Snider Agricultural Arena at Penn State's University Park for the Department of Entomology's annual Great Insect Fair from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, September 22.

Pest Management Recommendations for Spotted Lanternfly

September 19, 2018

Penn State University Extension recently updated conventional spray recommendations for spotted lanternfly in both grape and tree fruit.

Tracking the Health of Feral Bees in PA, 2018

September 17, 2018

Since 2016 the López-Uribe lab has been leading a citizen science project that aims to map and characterize the health status of feral bees across Pennsylvania

Penn State's Great Insect Fair celebrates insects in pop culture

September 17, 2018

Appreciating insects' influence in popular culture will be the focus of Penn State's 2018 Great Insect Fair, scheduled for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Snider Agricultural Arena on the University Park campus. The event is sponsored by the entomology department in the College of Agricultural Sciences.

Entomology professors honored by Entomological Society of America

September 13, 2018

Two professors in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences have been lauded for their significant contributions to the field of entomology by the Entomological Society of America.

Program combines mobile devices and the outdoors in an unlikely pairing

September 13, 2018

In the age of digital technology, mobile devices are good for more than just text messaging and playing games. According to Penn State College of Education researchers, the combination of technology and the outdoors is getting children and their families outside to learn more about science and their communities.

Will Hurricane Florence smash the monarch butterfly migration in Pennsylvania?

September 12, 2018

Nearing the end of what anecdotally appears to have been a strong summer for the monarch butterfly population in Pennsylvania and elsewhere, the butterflies are coming up on time for their fall migration to mountains in central Mexico, just as Hurricane Florence is expected to smash into the region.