Insect Biodiversity Center News | Insect Biodiversity Center

Mar 18, 2021

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.

Full Article

Mar 22, 2021

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.

Full Article

Mar 04, 2021

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.

Full Article

Mar 22, 2021

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.

Full Article

Feb 18, 2021

Silencing the alarm

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

Full Article

Feb 04, 2021

The business of bees

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

Full Article

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

Feb 03, 2021

Penn State entomologists devise a system to control mushroom phorid flies

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

Full Article

Feb 02, 2021

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.

Full Article

Jan 22, 2021

Grozinger receives National Academy's Prize in Food and Agriculture Sciences

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences, will be honored by the National Academy of Sciences for helping the world understand how to address the crisis of global declines in pollinator populations.

Full Article

Feral honey bees gather at the entrance to their nest in an abandoned shed in Harrison Valley, Pennsylvania. Researchers have found that such feral colonies may have higher tolerance to pathogens than managed honey bee colonies. IMAGE: KATY EVANS

Jan 20, 2021

Feral colonies provide clues for enhancing honey bee tolerance to pathogens

Understanding the genetic and environmental factors that enable some feral honey bee colonies to tolerate pathogens and survive the winter in the absence of beekeeping management may help lead to breeding stocks that would enhance survival of managed colonies, according to a study led by researchers in Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences.

Full Article