Introduction
Throughout its more than 100 year history faculty, students and post-doctoral fellows in the Department of Entomology have been actively involved in research, teaching and extension. Although in many ways we maintain our historical focus on insects and their relatives, the Department currently has broad and diverse interests but remains unified by a commitment to maintaining a balance between research, teaching and extension, as well as to outreach and public service. The interests of our faculty, students and post-doctoral fellows span a diversity of subdisciplines, including ecology, ecosystem ecology, aquatic biology, molecular and developmental biology, genetics, biological control of insects and weeds, systematics, evolutionary biology, integrated pest management, toxicology, and insect pathology.

Students in the Department include M.S. and PhD students in the Entomology Graduate program and students in interdisciplinary graduate programs such as Behavior, Ecology, Evolution, and Systematics (BEES), Marine-Estuarine-Environmental Sciences (MEES), Molecular and Cellular Biology (MOCB), and Toxicology.



Training of students and the teaching, research and extension activities of faculty and staff is enriched and facilitated by interactions with many off-campus public, governmental, and private organizations. These include the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center and National Agricultural Library, Smithsonian Institution, National Institutes of Health, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, National Park Service, and others.

Mission
For over 100 years we have sought to combine the best in basic and applied biology to meet the public need for research, outreach, and instruction regarding entomology and related subjects, particularly as these bear on pest management and on stewardship of the environment.

Place in the administrative universe
Belongs to College of Chemical and Life Sciences (CLFS), but with many partial appointments in the Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station (MAES) and/or Maryland Cooperative Extension Service, which are administered through the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (AGNR). Chair reports to both CLFS and AGNR Deans.

Physical location
College Park campus, suburban Maryland
Plant Sciences Building, 3rd and 4th floors, dedicated Sept. 1997; 5 min. walk or less to nearly all other CLFS and AGNR departments

Main research foci

• Systematics/Morphology
• Evolutionary Biology
• Molecular Biology, Physiology, Toxicology, and Molecular Genetics
• Insect Pathology
• Ecology/Biological Control
• Freshwater and Estuarine Entomology
• Agricultural Pest Management
• Urban, Structural, and Green Industries Pest Management
• International Crop Protection
• Pesticide Education, Assessment, and Policy