News

Entomologist to examine how plant domestication influences pollinator evolution

A grant of nearly $1.4 million from the National Science Foundation will support a researcher in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences in a study examining the influence of plant domestication on the ecology and evolution of wild pollinator species in agricultural landscapes.

Master Gardeners to celebrate pollinator-friendly garden program milestone

Without pollinators such as bees and butterflies, the world’s food supply would be reduced drastically, threatening the survival of many plants, animals and humans.

Ottar Bjørnstad elected to Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters

Ottar N. Bjørnstad, distinguished professor of entomology and biology and J. Lloyd & Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair of Epidemiology at Penn State, has been elected to the Norwegian Academy of Sciences and Letters. Bjørnstad was recommended as a result of his significant contributions to the fields of population ecology and quantitative epidemiology.

A wing and a prayer: Chickens, praying mantises among likely lanternfly enemies

Potential predators of the spotted lanternfly are being brought into focus thanks to shutterbugs who have captured images of birds, insects, mammals and even fish consuming the invasive planthopper.

Undergraduate Research Award Funds Pollinator Photo Project

Darya Alvarez completed a photography project funded by an Apes Valentes Undergraduate Research Award. Her goal is to help viewers gain a greater appreciation of the critical role that bees play in the survival of terrestrial ecosystems.

InsectEye team, which includes IBC Fellow Mathis, is selected to compete in Nittany AI Challenge!

Twenty Penn State teams with students from seven different colleges and six campuses, including for the first time Penn State World Campus, will each be awarded $500 to compete in the Prototype Phase of the 2021 Nittany AI Challenge.

Silencing the alarm

An enzyme in the saliva of certain insects prevents their food plants from warning neighboring plants of an attack.

The business of bees

The economic value of insect pollination services is much higher than previously thought in the U.S., new research finds.

Finding a solution to the mushroom phorid fly problem was critical because Pennsylvania leads the nation in mushroom production.

Penn State entomologists devise a system to control mushroom phorid flies

Working with producers, researchers develop method to give beleaguered residents relief from pest

Summer weather conditions influence winter survival of honey bees

Winter survival of honey bee colonies is strongly influenced by summer temperatures and precipitation in the prior year, according to Penn State researchers, who said their findings suggest that honey bees have a "goldilocks" preferred range of summer conditions outside of which their probability of surviving the winter falls.