News
The ISU/UCR Study Abroad Exchange is a reciprocal travel exchange program for student groups in horticulture and allied sciences between Iowa State University (ISU) and the University of Costa Rica (UCR).
Honey bee colonies for operations with 5 or more colonies in Iowa as of April 1, 2018, totaled 45,000 colonies. This is 275 percent above the 12,000 colonies on April 1 last year, and 10 percent above the 41,000 colonies last quarter.
A new soybean pest, the soybean gall midge, has been detected and confirmed in 8 Iowa counties. It has also been detected in the region; Nebraska (2011) and South Dakota (2015).
The link includes photos of the midge and damage and a map of infested counties. If you see these midges infesting a soybean field in Iowa, please let Dr. Erin Hodgson know via email (ewh@iastate.edu) or Twitter (@erinwhodgson)
Scott Hutchins, Entomologist (ISU Alumnus) selected by Donald Trump as new head of scientific research for the US Department of Agriculture.
Brown recluse spiders have been found in Iowa but they remain rare. And since they are reclusive (hence the name!) bites by BRS (and all spiders!) are not common. But BRS is a frequent misdiagnosis for other skin irritations. And to be clear, they are not the cause of human limb amputations. https://www.livescience.com/63124-recluse-bite-amputation.html?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social
This is not about insects, but since earthworms "crawl" that's close enough to entomology for most people. Asian jumping worms were recently confirmed in Iowa for the first time.
The ISU Plant & Insect Diagnostic Clinic's move to its new location in the Advanced Teaching and Research Building was featured in the latest issue of Inside Iowa State.
ISU Department of Entomology graduate, Dr. Scott Hutchins has been selected by President Trump to serve as the U.S. Undersecretary of Research, Education, and Economics (REE) for the USDA.
Tom Sappington, USDA-ARS and ISU Entomology Department Affiliate was highlighted in Entomology Today
Tom Sappington, USDA-ARS and ISU Entomology Department Affiliate was highlighted in Entomology Today for the publication of a collection of reports that describe insect pests of corn, cotton, soybean and wheat in Journal of Integrated Pest Management. These articles describe the frequency of key insect pest infestations and factors that contribute to increasing or decreasing their populations.
Dr. Ryan Smith oversees a program that makes use of traps across the state to monitor the dynamics of the state’s mosquito populations. Read more in the ISU News Service release from June 26, 2018.
A proposal submitted by Megan Rogers and Dr. Ryan Smith was selected for funding for Fall, 2018 College of Liberal Arts Dean's High Impact Award for Undergraduate Research.
R. Isaí Madriz received his Ph.D. from ISU with Dr. Greg Courtney. He received a Fulbright-National Geographic Digital Storytelling Fellowship and has produced the following insect board game for educators.
Isaí Madriz, ISU Entomology Ph.D. alumni, had his latest story published on the National Geographic Voices page. This story is part of a nine month project with Fulbright and National Geographic exploring the surrounding areas of Chile's Northern Patagonia Ice Field.
The story is about the rare primitive crane fly.
The Iowa Monarch Conservation Consortium was one of four groups that was presented the Iowa Secretary of Agriculture Leader Awards at the Iowa Agriculture Leaders Dinner on March 6.
Iowa State had a very strong presence at this year’s North Central Branch-Entomological Society of America meeting. A group of 15 entomology students attended the 2018 NCB-ENT meeting in Wisconsin this past week.
Congratulations to our fall 2017 Entomology scholarship recipients: Edmund Norris, Rebekah Reynolds, Ashley St. Claire, and Niranjana Krishnan
The 2018 Department of Entomology Newsletter (pdf) is now available, featuring Wendy Wintersteen named 16 Iowa State University president, BugGuide upgrade from crowdfunding, Jurenka and O'Neal pollinator patent, Midwestern Center for Disease Vectors, Faculty of Distinction...
Congratulations to Erin Hodgson, who was selected as the 2018 winner of the Entomological Society of America North Central Branch Distinguished Achievement Award in Extension. The award recognizes demonstrated excellent performance through program creativity, impact, achievement...
Isai received his Ph.D. from ISU with a major in Entomology. Greg Courtney was his major professor. His latest story is published on the National Geographic Voices page. This story is part of a nine month project with Fulbright and National Geographic exploring Chile's Northern Patagonia Ice Field.
This story is about a remote, pristine area called Ofqui isthmus.
R. Isaí Madriz, an ISU Entomology alumni, recently had one of his stories published as part of the National Geographic Voices project. This story is part of a nine month project with Fulbright and National Geographic exploring Chile's Northern...
The U.S. Postal Service on August 3, 2017 issued Protect Pollinator stamps to “pay tribute to the beauty and importance of pollinators.” “Two of our continents most iconic” insects are featured: the monarch butterfly and the western honey bee. The insects are pictured pollinating five plants native to North America: coneflower, golden ragwort, zinnia, New England aster, and goldenrod. The Protect Pollinators stamps are Forever® stamps for $0.49 each.
Congratulations to Betsy Buffington on receiving the American Association of Pesticide Safety Educators (AAPSE) Distinguished Achievement in Pesticide Safety Education Award. Betsy has been instrumental in the development of Worker Protection Standards training materials, online educational resources, and manual development at the national level and received the award...
Congratulations to Dr. Erin Hodgson on completing the 2016-2017 Emerging Leaders Academy
Ge Zhang and Teresa Blader each placed third in their respective highly-competitive student competitions at the Entomological Society of America - North Central Branch meeting held in Indianapolis, IN, June 4-6, 2017.
Teresa Blader and Erika Rodbell co-presented a paper at the Entomological Society of America - North Central Branch meetings held recently in Indianapolis, IN.
Erika Rodbell and Teresa Blader competed in the Triplehorn Pinning Challenge.
Happy 40th Anniversary to Dr. Donald Lewis, Extension Entomologist, who started at ISU on March 21, 1977. Photo is from the summer of 1977; Dr. Jerry DeWitt (right) and Lewis.