Latest News
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news
Research finds that gall-inducing wasps have enlarged venom glands
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/innovative-research-led-by-collaborator-antoine-guiguet-finds-that-gall-inducing-wasps-have-enlarged-venom-glands
2023-12-12T03:13:00ZNews ItemTooker featured on The AgEmerge Podcast
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/tooker-featured-on-the-agemerge-podcast
Tooker joined the podcast to talk about conservation-based farming and integrated pest management2023-12-01T03:47:27ZNews ItemBoy's discovery reveals highly complex plant-insect interaction
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/some-oak-galls-have-elaiosome-like-caps-that-attract-ants-which-disperse-galls-to-their-nests
Some oak galls have fatty acid-rich caps that attract ants to disperse gall to their nests.2023-12-01T03:37:15ZNews ItemWasps harness power of pitcher plants in first-ever observed defense strategy
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/wasps-harness-power-of-pitcher-plants-in-first-ever-observed-defense-strategy
Research led by Antoine Guiguet found that a gall wasp species induces a gall with an acidic pH that is as low as the pH in lemons and pitcher plants.2023-11-29T20:56:16ZNews ItemCover crops more effective than insecticides for managing pests
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/cover-crops-more-effective-than-insecticides-for-managing-pests-study-suggests
Research led by recent PhD graduates Elizabeth Rowen and Kirsten Pearsons found that cover crops can be more effective at reducing pest density and crop damage than using insecticides.2023-11-29T16:13:28ZNews Item'Sustainable intensification' of cropping systems good for farmers, environment
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/sustainable-intensification-of-cropping-systems-good-for-farmers-environment
By diversifying their crop rotations to create conditions that promote beneficial, predatory insects to combat pests, farmers can reduce their reliance on insecticides to control early-season crop pests, such as caterpillars, and still produce competitive yields of corn and soybeans. 2020-03-16T15:44:19ZNews ItemHalf a billion dead honey bees in Brazil show what happens when you roll back pesticide regulations
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/half-a-billion-dead-honey-bees-in-brazil-show-what-happens-when-you-roll-back-pesticide-regulations
Insecticides kill insects. It should be no surprise, then, that in Brazil, which has seen a 27% increase in pesticide sales since last year, roughly 500 million honey bees were found dead in piles across four states in early spring. The country’s pesticide use has grown by 770% between 1990 to 2016, as reported by Bloomberg. 2019-08-30T12:38:16ZNews Item 'Planting green' cover-crop strategy may help farmers deal with wet springs
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/planting-green-cover-crop-strategy-may-help-farmers-deal-with-wet-springs
Allowing cover crops to grow two weeks longer in the spring and planting corn and soybean crops into them before termination is a strategy that may help no-till farmers deal with wet springs, according to Penn State researchers.2019-07-03T11:36:59ZNews ItemWhy it’s time to curb widespread use of neonicotinoid pesticides
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/why-its-time-to-curb-widespread-use-of-neonicotinoid-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. 2018-06-27T14:17:48ZNews ItemJen shares her experience of working in the Tooker lab
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/jen-shares-her-experience-of-working-in-the-tooker-lab
Hi! I’m Jen, and I am a senior majoring in plant science, horticulture option. 2017-11-06T15:30:46ZNews ItemNew paper highlights limitation of neonicotinoid seed treatments and incompatibility of their current use with IPM
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/new-paper-highlights-limitation-of-neonicotinoid-seed-treatments-and-incompatibility-of-their-current-use-with-ipm
2017-10-27T14:30:00ZNews ItemPlant 'smells' insect foe, initiates defense
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/plant-smells-insect-foe-initiates-defense
It cannot run away from the fly that does it so much damage, but tall goldenrod can protect itself by first "smelling" its attacker and then initiating its defenses, according to an international team of researchers.2017-08-28T18:57:03ZNews ItemThe Morning Mixtape: Insects! Bugs!
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/the-morning-mixtape-insects-bugs
John Tooker and Elizabeth Rowen from the Penn State Department of Entomology talk about insects: what they are, why we need them, and why reaching for your shoe when you see a bug might not be the right move. This is the first installment of a monthly entomology series that will air on the second Wednesday of each month.2017-08-09T14:45:00ZNews ItemSummer internship with Dan Wisniewski
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/summer-internship-with-dan-wisniewski
This summer has been full of insects, corn, soy, and so much dirt! I am Dan Wisniewski a rising sophomore majoring in Plant Science with a minor in Environmental Resource Management at Penn State.2017-07-21T12:47:06ZNews ItemPodcast: Collateral Neonic Impacts
https://ento.psu.edu/research/labs/john-tooker/news/podcast-collateral-neonic-impacts
Neonicotinoids (neonics) are a class of insecticides based on natural plant compounds that disrupt the insect nervous system. They are used because they have relatively low toxicity on non-insects. They are applied as seed coatings, so when a seed germinates the water-soluble insecticides are taken up and mobilized throughout the plant, providing protection against insects that feed on it. The strategy decreases the need for aerial spraying of broad-spectrum insecticides. 2017-07-11T12:09:48ZNews Item