In a paper published in Genetics today (https://www.genetics.org/content/215/4/1027) Entomology graduate student Katie Reding (Pick lab) used CRISPR/Cas9 to make a genomic deletion of the white gene in the milkweed bug Oncopeltus fasciatus. The white gene was one of the first genes identified in Drosophila, over 100 years ago, where it is necessary for the red eye color of flies. Interesting, in Oncopeltus, white is necessary for pigmentation throughout the body but it is also necessary for organismal survival, as animals homozygous for the white mutations do not survive to adulthood. This is the first demonstration that CRISPR is effective in Oncopeltus. Methods Katie developed will be useful for researchers to test the function of other genes in this and related species.
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Entomology's Mike Raupp weighs in on enormous wasps about to emerge en masse throughout the eastern half of the U.S. to hunt cicadas—and to worry people. They are black with caution-yellow markings and the size of a USB stick.
Read the full story in the The New York Times. [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences] Does spraying Listerine in your yard repel mosquitoes? That idea may be popping up in your social media, but Entomology's "Bug Guy" Mike Raupp says there's no official evidence it would work. And it could be harmful.
Learn more via WUSA 9 [College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences] Paula Shrewsbury, Professor and University of Maryland Extension Specialist, id's three invasive insects that have yet to reach the UK but have the potential to cause widespread disruption should they cross the pond.
https://www.hortweek.com/pests-diseases-concern-uk-arborists/arboriculture/article/1690411  Congratulations to Entomology faculty member Dr. Leo Shapiro who has been promoted to the rank of Senior Lecturer!
Since joining the UMD Department of Entomology in 2014, Leo has made significant contributions to teaching and service. He teaches two of the core BSCI undergraduate courses, BSCI160 (Principles of Ecology & Evolution) and BSCI207 (Organismal Biology) and has been very involved with BSCI 161 (Principles of Ecology & Evolution Lab). These high enrollment classes have Leo engaging with several hundred Terps each semester! He is actively engaged with teaching innovation for the core BSCI curriculum and was a UMD Teaching & Learning Transformation Center Elevate Fellow in 2018, working to redesign key parts of his BSCI 160 course. Leo advises numerous Biology majors each semester, supporting their academic pursuits and often providing important broader guidance and mentoring as well. He has served on a range of departmental committees and regularly serves on Entomology and Biology Honors thesis committees, supporting undergraduate research activities. In addition to teaching and service, Leo continues to be involved in research. Over the past several years, he has published a study on methodological and statistical considerations for large-scale sampling of bee communities and a paper elucidating the species identity of a visually striking terrestrial alga from coastal California that is regionally common but taxonomically confusing. He is currently working on a new insect biology textbook for Sinauer/Oxford University Press. Congratulations again Leo on reaching this important, well-deserved milestone!  Shout out to Entomology faculty member Dr. Tammatha O’Brien who has been promoted to the rank of Principal Lecturer!
Tammatha has a long standing and exemplary record with the department of entomology. In 2009, shortly after graduating from the University of Maryland with her PhD in Entomology, she was recruited as a lecturer with the Department. Since then O’Brien has been teaching a variety of courses both within the College and outside – lectures, labs, online courses, many with large enrollment. In addition to O’Brien’s undergraduate teaching and advising roles she serves as the Director of the Department’s on-line Applied Entomology Master’s Program. Tammatha has been recognized as a leader in teaching, receiving the Allen L. Steinhauer Award for Excellence in Teaching, CMNS Dean’s Outstanding Lecturer Award, Provost’s Excellence in Teaching Award and the CMNS Board of Visitors Creative Educator Award. Furthermore, Tammatha received media mentions this Spring for her expertise in delivering outstanding online instruction to students. With energy and spirit, Tammatha rallied behind the universities move to transition all courses online due to COVID. She offered sage advice and encouragement to leading instructors and students as campus moved all courses to online instruction. Her efforts have been mentioned in the Washington Post and MD Today. Please join me in congratulating Tammatha on reaching this important, well-deserved milestone! Congratulations to Gussie Maccracken who has been awarded an NSF Postdoctoral Research Fellowship in Biology for FY2020. Starting in March 2021, she will be studying plant-insect interactions across the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event.
 Interested in seeing bess beetles, some of mother nature's champion recyclers, at work? Now is a great time, blogs Bug of the Week's Professor Raupp. Bess beetles can be spotted scurrying across the forest floor recycling wood of fallen trees.
http://bugoftheweek.com/blog/2020/6/15/recyclers-in-the-circle-of-life-bess-beetles-odontotaenius-disjunctus?fbclid=IwAR3nMOEDl6zPU85efeIeIHbY71LpzDztE39PkoYLgQ0kppdWpnXDRYZjhwc Moths and butterflies play a vital role in pollinating plants on wild and manged lands. So how vital are they? Associate Professor and Extension Specialist, Cerruti Hooks, and Assistant Professor, Anahi Espindola pair up to respond. The two blog in Maryland Agronomy News about the efficiency of moths and butterflies as pollinators and advocate for the conservation of these important insects.
http://blog.umd.edu/agronomynews/2020/06/05/moths-butterflies-and-pollination/?fbclid=IwAR38RrfISP3NMTRxjMpvZcEtyzgb0eny3ToMotZNc4Fi1EwD-W0nCtQ2PY4  Congratulations to Dr. Marcia Shofner who has been awarded the Provost’s Excellence Award for Professional Track Faculty. This well-deserved recognition celebrates Marcia’s use of active learning approaches in her classes, her work with TLTC redesigning her introductory class and her participation in NSF-funded grants to revamp BSCI curriculum. In addition to acknowledging Marcia as a dynamic lecturer in both the in-person and online environments, she is recognized for her service. She is on various college and university committees and engaged with groups that work to promote more diverse student participation in science.
TikToks About Strawberries With Bugs In Them Are Going Viral, But Experts Say It’s Rare, reports Bustle. "When we eat any food, animal or vegetable, we are actually consuming many different types of organisms, bacteria, fungi, and yes, sometimes insects or parts of insects," Professor Emeritus. Mike Raupp, tells Bustle.
There has been much confusion about whether murder hornets are in Maryland. No, the murder hornet is not in the DMV yet but there are hornets that look similar, says UMD Professor Emeritus, Mike Raupp. He shows viewers how to ID common MD look a-likes.
https://www.wbaltv.com/article/murder-hornets-maryland-cicadas/32718891?fbclid=IwAR25o8eP0trjNkbLJelzaHqq_KzaX4q48eFzgMttYnpdH0iWRX482MlKPBc  Congratulations to Environmental Science and Policy major, Maggie Tan (Palmer Lab), who successfully defended her entomology honors thesis last week. Her thesis entitled, “Changes in Hydrology and Water Quality Resulting from a Regenerative Streamwater Conveyance System in Campus Creek", received honors. Under the supervision of Michael Williams, her honors thesis investigated how Campus Creek’s regenerative stream conveyance restoration project influences the water quality of the Chesapeake Bay. Maggie used hydrological and water chemistry data to document changes that occurred in Campus Creek, on the north side of campus, when step pools were placed in the stream in 2019. Their data provides a preliminary picture that RSC may reduce runoff as well as nutrient and sediment concentrations.
It has been wonderful having Maggie in the Entomology Honors Program. She graduated from UMD Environmental Science and Policy program this Spring with a concentration in Geosciences and Restoration and minoring in Geochemistry. Maggie has plans to start graduate school this fall in Arizona.
Despite challenges presented, Entomology kept teaching, kept learning and kept working during the spring 2020 semester. Check out research & teaching during COVID, promotions, publications, awards, defenses, workshops and much more.
Link: https://indd.adobe.com/view/d123a720-6a05-433c-9cf5-f1cd5cf7eb2a  Figure 1: Cx. pipiens – one species with two bioforms: form pipiens and form molestus (image credit: Anna Noreuil). written by: Mike Nan, PhD student, St. Leger lab and Dylan Kutz, MS student, Lamp lab
Anna Noreuil, an M.S. student in the Fritz Lab in the Department of Entomology at the University of Maryland, has been studying host-seeking behavior and differential chemosensory gene expression in above- and below-ground Culex pipiens for her master’s research. Cx. pipiens (Diptera: Culicidae) is a mosquito found in the northern regions of the U.S. and is also found in urban and suburban temperate areas around the world. Cx. pipiens is the primary vector of West Nile virus (WNV), a mosquito-borne disease that affects the nervous system, in the Northeastern US. Oddly, although there is only one species known as Cx. pipiens, two “bioforms” of the species exist which are morphologically indistinguishable but genetically, physiologically, and behaviorally different: “Cx. pipiens form pipiens” and “Cx. pipiens form molestus.” Cx. pipiens form pipiens differs from Cx. pipiens form molestus in three distinct ways: (1) it breeds in above-ground habitats, (2) it requires blood meals for egg production, and (3) it prefers avian hosts over humans (Figure 1). However, these two “bioforms” readily hybridize or crossbreed and as such they are both classified as the same species (Figure 2). Dr. Bill Lamp is seeking an undergraduate student, sophomore or junior, to join his lab as a part-time intern, 10-15 hours/week, to focus on molecular approaches applied to the study of plantinsect interactions of an invasive insect, the spotted lanternfly. The position requires a current University of Maryland student who has experience with molecular biology and basic molecular techniques, or has a strong desire to learn them. The student will use molecular techniques to aid in the identification of host plants of the spotted lanternfly using DNA barcoding of their gut contents. Entomological experience is not required, but an interest in or willingness to learn about insects is useful.
Follow link to read more>>  Entomology faculty member Dr. Kelly Hamby has been promoted to the rank of Associate Professor with tenure effective August 2020!
Since joining the UMD Department of Entomology in 2014, Dr. Hamby has developed a nationally and internationally recognized research and extension program that focuses on characterizing spotted wing drosophila's interactions with yeast and fruit rot microorganisms and developing cultural control tactics for this invasive pest. Hamby’s lab is also evaluating the pest suppression benefits and non-target impacts of neonicotinoid seed treatments in mid-Atlantic grain crop rotations. In 2017, The Entomological Society of America recognized Dr. Hamby with the Early Career Professional Extension Award for her demonstrated contributions to entomology. Giant gypsy moths could bring 'serious, widespread damage' to the US. "Were it to become fully established and spread widely, it would affect forests and landscape trees and shrubs in the invaded range," says Prof. Emeritus Mike Raupp.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/05/12/giant-asian-gypsy-moths-attack-washington-state/3111191001/?fbclid=IwAR3VVYQHV5WZnJ0wBLy8btAN_i7SOz29wXKq2uNSGn7mTrz_JhupFhdKptY As we lead up to Spring 2020 graduation, celebrating the success of our entomology grads and honors undergrads, UMD Today reminds us, the first woman to graduate with a four year degree shared their interest, a passionate pursuit of knowledge about the natural world. Discover more about entomology major Elizabeth Hook and how she helped set the stage for future generations to follow.
https://today.umd.edu/articles/marylands-leading-lady-13908450-7512-4e0c-9d8c-31b555afc903
Entomology's Todd Waters is recognized as Dean's Outstanding Employee! A well deserved recognition, for sure. Todd's creativity & enthusiasm for entomology engages audiences of all backgrounds -community members, staff, students, faculty, etc - inspiring them to want to discover more about insects. Congrats, Todd!
https://cmns.umd.edu/news-events/features/4579  Congratulations to Public Health Science at University of Maryland, College Park student, Rebecca Kaminsky (Fritz Lab), who successfully defended her entomology honors thesis, "Larval rearing conditions conducive for Aedes aegypti autogeny expression and theoretical population growth." She received high honors for her research into autogeny - the ability of a mosquito to lay eggs without a blood meal. Becky found that increased larval nutrition was consistent with increased phenotypic expression of autogeny.
It has been wonderful having Becky in the Entomology Honors Program actively engaging in research these last few years. We wish her all the best in her future pursuits! What affects will the asian giant hornets have on local and national ecosystems. Should we worry about asian giant hornets in the DMV? 1A, WJLA, WTOP and WUSA9 reach out to Professor Emeritus Mike Raupp for answers. In short, "Here in Maryland, in the DMV, we've got a bit of time," he says. See full interviews to learn more:
1A: https://the1a.org/segments/newly-arrived-hornets-pose-threat-to-honeybees/ WJLA: https://wjla.com/news/local/murder-hornet-maryland-dc-virginia WTOP: https://wtop.com/animals-pets/2020/05/murder-hornet-arrives-in-u-s-expert-shares-whether-its-a-threat-to-our-region/ WUSA9 Verify: https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify/verify-murder-hornets-in-the-dmv/65-8ca95a23-5ac0-4b93-8341-15ecc8606c70
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