Department of Entomology
  • About
    • At a Glance
    • Welcome
    • Code of Conduct
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion >
      • DEI Working Group
      • Resources
    • Departmental History
    • For Alumni
    • Support Entomology >
      • Steinhauer Scholarship Fund
    • Contact >
      • Directions
  • News
    • News
    • Seminar Blog
    • Seminar Schedule
    • Awards
  • People
    • Faculty
    • Post Docs
    • Students
    • Staff
    • Alumni
    • For PI/Faculty
    • Proposal Resources
  • Academics
    • Graduate >
      • Admissions
      • MS Degree Requirements
      • PhD Degree Requirements
      • Graduate Student Resources
      • Forms for Grad Students
      • Financial Assistance
      • Award & Funding Opportunities
      • Entomology Student Organization
    • Online Masters in Applied Entomology
    • Undergraduate >
      • Entomology Minor
      • Honors Program
  • Research
    • IPM & Biological Control of Agricultural, Urban & Forest Pests
    • Ecology, Conservation, Restoration, Climate Change >
      • Pollinator Science and Apiculture
    • Evolution, Systematics and Evo-Devo
    • Genetics & Genomics and Medical Entomology
  • Extension/Outreach
    • Educational Outreach
    • Insect Camp
    • Insect Drawings
    • Insect Identification
    • Pesticide Education and Assessment Program
    • Plant Diagnostic Laboratory (PDL)

[Seminar Blog] Moths have Radar Jamming Systems?!?

5/20/2025

 
written by: Carter Dierlam

​Professor Akito Kawahara is a Professor, Curator, and Director of the McGuire Center located in Gainesville Florida. The McGuire Center serves as a primary hub for Lepidoptera (Moths and Butterflies) and biodiversity research in the US. Dr. Kawahara studies the evolution and diversity of Lepidoptera. His lab focuses on answering key questions, such as how growing cities and their light pollution affect nocturnal moths, how different moth species fend off bat attacks, and other aspects of their development. A PhD graduate of the University of Maryland, Dr. Kawahara recently visited and presented to the UMD Entomology department to discuss some of his interesting findings. Specifically, he shared his research on the various adaptations moths use to fend off bat attacks. 

Read More

[Seminar Blog] Pesticides and Agriculture Coexisting with Protected Species: The rules, regulations, and conversations that make it work

5/9/2025

 
written by: Robert Salerno & Helen Craig
​
Have you ever applied a pesticide to control a pest problem in your yard, garden, or farm? If so, have you thought about where the pesticide may end up or the impacts it will have on the environment? If you answered yes to these questions, you may be relieved to know this is the job of environmental risk assessors at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There, they ask important questions like what are the potential effects of a pesticide, how does it move through the environment, how are different organisms in the environment potentially exposed, and what is the likelihood of harmful effects occurring when a pesticide is applied? The answers to these essential questions are what make up an ecological risk assessment. Before a pesticide can be registered, the EPA needs to obtain or produce evidence that the pesticide “will not generally cause any unreasonable risk to man or the environment.”
​
Recently, Annie Krueger, a consultant from Compliance Services International, spoke to the UMD entomology department about the past, present, and future of pesticides and the Endangered Species Act. She highlighted how ecological risks are assessed for a pesticide, described how threatened and endangered species are protected from pesticides, and shared how different groups are working towards the coexistence of pesticides in agriculture and protected species. Her talk shed light on the complex balancing act between protecting biodiversity and supporting agricultural production: a challenge that continues to shape the future of pesticide regulation.

Read More

[seminar blog] Surveillance of Invasive Mosquito Vectors in East Africa

5/6/2025

 
written by: Michael Adu-Brew

When mosquitoes invade new regions, they leave behind a genetic record. Each invasion is preserved within their DNA, detailing stories of survival, adaptation, and their potential role in driving the emergence of disease outbreaks. This makes it crucial to look into the genes of these introduced or invasive mosquitoes. Dr. Tamar Carter's research delves into the genomes of malaria and dengue mosquito vectors in East Africa. Her work sheds light on their origins, movement patterns, and implications for disease transmission. The findings from her research establish a framework for the development of evidence-based strategies and provide actionable insights into malaria dynamics and effective control measures. During her presentation to the University of Maryland’s Department of Entomology, Dr. Carter highlighted the molecular ecology of these invasive vectors, tracing their invasion routes and their impact on disease transmission. 

Read More

Can farm ponds support dragonflies that control pests of cattle?

4/25/2025

 
written by: Benjamin P Gregory

​Over the past few years, a number of reports have shaken the entomology world by indicating that insect populations are declining globally at an unprecedented rate. Dubbed the “insect apocalypse” by the media, this decline in insect population raises a number of serious concerns for the biosphere. Insects make up the foundation of many food chains, and are fundamental to ecosystems all over the world.
​
So why is this decline happening? Among many drivers, pesticide use is very significant. Pesticides can be helpful tools for reducing populations of harmful insects, like those that feed on our crops or spread diseases. But for all of their strengths, pesticides often lack precision, and their broad application kills all insects, including beneficial species that provide important ecosystem services.

Read More

Supporting soil arthropods in forage systems

4/25/2025

 
written by: Makayla Harrison

​​We often forget about the vibrant and essential world that lives beneath our feet, which includes microorganisms and soil arthropods. While farms often use machines and chemicals, the benefit of working with the world underground often goes unnoticed. Robert Salerno – a graduating master’s student and member of the Lamp lab– discussed his thesis work exploring the response of soil arthropods to ecological intensification in agricultural forage systems during a recent colloquium with the Entomology department. Forage systems are used to feed livestock, and they are managed in many different ways. While some systems are managed in a conventional manner, using heavy machinery and chemical inputs, other systems use the ecosystem's natural functions to support and regulate the land. The method of using the natural functions of the ecosystem to sustainably produce agricultural goods is called ecological intensification. 

Read More

[Seminar Blog] Rebuilding the Wildscape: The importance of making a home out of your yard

4/24/2025

 
house on manicured lawn
unmanaged landscape
written by: Maggie Schaefer

When you drive through the suburbs, you often see nothing more than barren, empty lawns. These yards are voids for senses, both for us and for other life. Nancy Lawson’s yard is the exact opposite. With an explosion of signals between the native plants she has cultivated and the animals they have brought, she observes every day just how important a conservation garden can be.
​
Lawson, a certified Chesapeake Bay Landscape Professional, master naturalist, and University of Maryland journalism alumna, recently presented her talk “A World of Discovery: Blending Science and Heart in the Sensory Wildscape.” Starting with journalism work for an animal protection organization, she felt most drawn to stories on urban wildlife. Now, she pursues that passion for wildlife writing as a full-time career, giving talks, writing books, and compiling her writings and photographs at The Humane Gardener. 

Read More

You have to break a few eggs to make a butterfly omelette

4/9/2025

 
written by: Ben Burgunder 
​
​Many of us are fascinated by insects and their stories. We are amazed by the transformation of the earth-bound caterpillar to the glorious butterfly. But before a caterpillar can become a butterfly, it first must hatch from the egg. How much do we know about the building blocks that allow a tiny egg to become a caterpillar in the first place? A largely unexplored world of genetic machinery tirelessly works to form the developing embryo beneath the egg’s shell. With advanced genetic tools, researchers can tinker with the embryological building blocks that shape caterpillars and begin to reveal this hidden world.

Read More

[Seminar Blog] How researchers use genomic monitoring to fight mosquitoes spreading malaria

4/9/2025

 
PictureAnopheles gambiae mosquito. Photo from James Gathany, CDC/Wikimedia Commons
written by: Allison Elizabeth Huysman
​

​Mosquitoes are well known as both irritating and as vectors of dangerous diseases. In parts of the world like Africa, southeast Asia, and South America, mosquitoes in the genus Anopheles spread the life-threatening disease malaria. Public health measures to control disease transmission by mosquitoes include physical prevention with bed nets and chemical prevention using insect repellents. However, the effectiveness of chemical measures depends on the mosquitoes not developing a resistance to them.


Read More

Returning to the Roots and Branching Out

3/28/2025

 
Morgan Thompson in front of treeMorgan Thompson
written by: Amanda Rae Brucchieri
​

​Back in the UMD Entomology Department where she previously earned her Master’s degree, Dr. Morgan Thompson is now a Postdoctoral Research Associate in the Burghardt Lab. Upon returning to the department, she shared some interesting findings from her doctoral research. At this week’s Colloquium, Dr. Thompson told three stories: undercover operation, eavesdropping plants, and phytochemical diversity. Altogether, these research tales earned her the prestigious title of PhD from Texas A&M University. 


Read More

[Seminar blog] What do you do with a drunken crayfish?

3/21/2025

 
written by: Jillian Stewart

What do you do with a drunken crayfish? If you’re in the Herberholz lab, you quantify how long it takes for the crayfish to get well and truly sloshed, and use it to model the impacts of social isolation on the nervous system.
​
Crayfish are a valuable model for the nervous system, with which researchers are quite familiar. Their relatively large neurons are easy to work with and can survive outside the animal for several hours. The crayfish nervous system has been well mapped and the roles of individual nerves are often known (Venuti et al, 2021).

In addition to their nervous systems, crayfish exhibit simple social behaviours. Crayfish form linear social hierarchies by dueling with each other. These hierarchies last for about seven days, after which the crayfish forget who won and duke it out again. Dr. Herberholz and his lab at UMD’s Department of Psychology used these social systems to model how isolation affects the nervous system’s response to alcohol. They placed individual crayfish, some socially isolated for seven days and others communally housed, in a tank of water with alcohol in it.

Crayfish exhibit distinct phases of intoxication: for the first ten or fifteen minutes, they are unaffected. Then, they start to stand up tall on their tip-toes. Next, they perform an escape maneuver by flipping their tail repeatedly (image 1). Finally, the crayfish lands on its back and is unable to right itself. At this point, the crayfish is returned to fresh water and recovers in a couple hours. 
Image 1) Crayfish demonstrates an escape maneuver by flipping its tail. This maneuver is governed by the two lateral giant interneurons (LG) on either side of the animal.
Image 1) Crayfish demonstrates an escape maneuver by flipping its tail. This maneuver is governed by the two lateral giant interneurons (LG) on either side of the animal. Image credit: Alexis Exum and Jens Herberholz/University of Maryland, College Park

Read More

Insects and Public Health: Bridging Knowledge and Application

3/10/2025

 
written by: M. Rho Ma

​Insects are both essential to ecosystems and a source of challenges for human health and agriculture. They pollinate crops, serve as food for other species, and contribute to nutrient cycling, but they can also act as vectors for diseases or suffer population declines due to human activity. Striking a balance between conserving beneficial insects and managing harmful ones is a pressing concern in entomology. The following research-in-progress talks by graduate students demonstrate how entomological research bridges the gap between ecological understanding and practical solutions, focusing on pesticide impacts, mosquito adaptation, and disease surveillance.  

Read More

[Seminar blog] Pesticide Ecological Risk Assessment at the USEPA

3/10/2025

 
written by: Michael Adu-Brew and Leo M Kerner
​
​The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was instituted in 1970 and is tasked with matters of environmental protection. Its mandate is to provide clean air, land, and water, reduce environmental risk based on science, administer and enforce federal laws protecting human health and the environment, and promote environmental stewardship1 . As part of the UMD Department of Entomology seminar series, Mr. Keith Sappington – a Senior Science Advisor at EPA’s Office of Pesticide Programs – provided an overview on December 6 th , 2024 of the agency’s procedures for pesticide ecological risk assessment and how these procedures are used to assess risk to insect pollinators and endangered species.

Read More

Hamby Lab evaluates effectiveness of preventative insecticide treatments in field corn

3/10/2025

 
Picturephoto credit: Pest Management Science
The Hamby Lab works to encourage the use of Insect Pest Management (IPM) in agroecosystems, aiming to improve management tactics and create more sustainable alternatives. Their latest study, “Preventative insecticides reduce seedling injury, but do not increase yield in Bt and non-Bt corn grown in the mid-Atlantic” demonstrates that while preventive tactics, like neonicotinoid seed treatments and in-furrow pyrethroids, effectively manage pests, consistent pest pressure is needed to justify their use. 
​
After evaluating the effectiveness of these preventative insecticide treatments in field corn production, their study finds that while damage can be reduced using these early season preventive measures, at the end of the season yield is not significantly increased. The take-home message from the study: These preventive measures do not pay off in all situations and insecticide use could be reduced. A more effective IPM approach incorporates pest pressure, using preventative insecticides where pests consistently occur and foliar insecticides for sporadic issues that spring up. Multiple non-chemical prevention strategies should also be used before resorting to chemical treatments.

Welcome Lecturers

2/3/2025

 
Collage of Chloe and Jessie's headshotsphoto: Chloe Garfinkel and Jessie Mutz
This semester we welcome aboard two new lecturers to the Department of Entomology, Drs. Chloe Garfinkel and Jessie Mutz. 
​
Chloe Garfinkel joins us after wrapping up her appointment as Assistant Teaching Professor of Biology at Loyola University Maryland, where she taught Environmental Biology and Insect Biology. Between her instruction at Loyola and her teaching assistantship at the University of Colorado Boulder, where she earned her PhD in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Chloe brings 7+ years of instructional expertise and experience back to UMD. We say, “back to UMD” because, excitingly, Chloe is a Terp alum, earning a B.S. in Biological Sciences: Ecology and Evolution, 18’, with honors in Entomology under the advisement of Dr. Lamp.  This Spring Chloe will bring her professional career full circle, teaching some of the very same courses she took as an undergrad student.
Fun facts about Chloe: Chloe has a 9-year-old orange male cat named Chompy. She is an avid crafter (crochet, card making, painting, etc.) and proud owner of a Cricut (the craft cutting machine, not a pet insect) that you would be welcome to borrow.
Jessie Mutz earned her Ph.D. in Biological Sciences from Florida State University, focusing on the evolutionary ecology of herbivorous insects. While earning her degree she taught courses in Ecology, Evolution, and Experimental Design. Most recently, she completed a USDA Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, using experiments and modeling to investigate how plant inducible defenses influence plant-herbivore population dynamics. We are excited to have Jessie bring her in-depth scientific knowledge and decade of instructional experience to the classrooms of UMD.  
Fun facts about Jessie: Jessie performed in a band during grad school and has written fan-favorite folk rock songs about turtles and spider ballooning. Her dog, Tito, is a total sweetie but probably the wrong combination of too big and too excitable to make regular on-campus appearances (bummer).

Please join us in giving Chloe and Jessie a warm welcome to Entomology! You can meet up with them in person at their offices (PLS 3142 & PLS3146). Alternatively, catch up with them via email at ([email protected] & [email protected]).

Congrats Fall 24 Cory Award Recipients

12/20/2024

 
Collage of student winnersphoto credit: Jimenez, Kato and Helbling
Congratulations to the recipients of the Fall 24 Ernest N. Cory Undergraduate Scholarship, recognized for their extraordinary efforts in Entomology.

Veronika Valverde Jimenez is a senior at the University of Maryland majoring in Cell Biology and Genetics. She has been working in the Pick Lab since summer of 2023, with a focus on assessing the function of the ebony gene in Oncopeltus fasciatus with the help of Dr.  Katie Reding, work she continued this fall semester.In the Pick Lab she is learning to perform procedures such as RNAi and CRISPR injections. Afterwards, she plans to pursue genetic counseling, saying that “research has provided me with beneficial knowledge that will prepare me for this career.”

Margaret Kato is a junior majoring in Biological Sciences with a minor in Computer Science. Since June of 2023, she has worked as a lab technician in Krishnan Lab, helping with projects related to insect toxicology and how non-target species are impacted by pesticide application. She is also working on an entomology honors thesis about Coleopteran sensitivity to the major insecticide classes. Margaret says, “I am grateful for the hands-on experience offered by the Entomology Department and hope to use the skills and knowledge I have gained in my future career!”

Yasmine Helbling is an Ecology and Evolution Major, with an Entomology minor and Entomology honors student. She started off working in the Burghardt Lab dabbling in urban ecology research collecting insects off native red maple trees and invasive Norway maples. She currently works in the Lamp lab where she is embarking on her first independent research project which looks into whether host-plant resistance is reducing biological control, thereby allowing secondary pests to thrive. This semester she attended the Entomological Society of America’s annual meeting to present, “Does host-plant resistance inadvertently increase secondary pest populations by reducing biocontrol?”

Admired lecturers bid farewell to UMD Entomology

12/20/2024

 
By the close of the year 2024, Entomology will have said farewell to three long-term lecturers. Dr. Magdalene Ngeve, Dr. Tammatha O’Brien and Dr. Marcia Shofner have made a collective 46 years of impact on the Department, the College and the students at UMD. While we are saddened to see them depart, we wish them all the best in what is next.
Ngeve in mangrove, tammtha in anatomy class, marcia feeding wolfdog
Photo credit: Ngeve, O'Brien and Shofner

Read More

There’s something smelly down in Texas - how insects Respond to plant odors

12/13/2024

 
written by: Jillian Stewart 
​

There’s something smelly down in Texas. These odors are produced by plants under attack by insects. Plants react to their insect attackers by producing specific blends of odor compounds. These responses to pests, and how they differ between plants was the topic of Dr. Emily Russavage’s Doctoral thesis, which she presented at UMD recently. She tested the reaction of different cultivars of sorghum when the sorghum aphid -a major, destructive pest- arrived and started sucking their juices.

Read More

How the performing arts can help us better communicate science

12/13/2024

 
 Drew Barker, Performing Arts LibrarianDrew Barker, Performing Arts Librarian
written by: Allison Huysman
​
​What do entomologists and stage actors have in common? We both speak in front of crowds of people. We may not think of scientific presentations as performances, but according to Drew Barker, University of Maryland Performing Arts Librarian, we should. Drew Barker grew up in the theatre and teaches oral communication through the Theatre department at UMD. At a recent seminar, he shared tips from the world of performing arts that scientists can use to make their presentations more engaging.


Read More

[Seminar Blog] Walking generalist predators as pest management in high tunnel systems

11/26/2024

 
Figure 1. External view of a high tunnel system (from Dr. Wallingford’s presentation, used with permission).Figure 1. External view of a high tunnel system (from Dr. Wallingford’s presentation, used with permission).
 written by: Makala Nicole Harrison 
​

The looming threat of climate change highlights the importance of developing agricultural systems that can stand against the forces of pest arthropods, especially insects, and extreme weather. As part of the UMD Department of Entomology seminar series, Dr. Anna Wallingford – a USDA research scientist in the Invasive Insect Biocontrol & Behavior Lab in Beltsville, Maryland – discussed how the use of high tunnel systems can protect crops and increase their productivity. High tunnel systems, also called “hoop houses” consist of metal hoops covered in plastic or fabric to create a greenhouse-like structure (Fig. 1). High tunnel systems protect crops from rain and extreme weather, both being consequences of climate change, which increases the shelf-life and marketability of the produce while decreasing the occurrence of fungal diseases. While widespread use of high tunnels is fairly recent in the United States, the structures are used worldwide [1]. The structures can utilize varying levels of technology, some have electricity that powers automatic rolling side walls and air conditioning, while others are simple structures that require the farmer to roll up the sides manually. When the tunnels are equipped with passive heating and cooling systems, they are able to extend the growing season by staying warm into the cooler winter months. The tradeoff for using high tunnel systems is that unique pest control issues can arise. 


Read More

Biodiversity is more than meets the eye

11/21/2024

 
Fig. 8. Schematics of wild-type and Blimp1 mutant embryos. (Fig. 8. Schematics of wild-type and Blimp1 mutant embryos. (photo credit: Science Advances)
written by: Pick lab
​
Visible features of organismal body plans are often highly conserved within large taxa. For example, different species of birds have wings and beaks. For insects, segmentation is a shared and defining feature of the body plan.  Screens in the model insect Drosophila previously identified genes responsible for the development of body segments and one might have thought that different insects would all utilize the same genes, given that they all are segmented. In a paper published from the Pick lab in Science Advances, Reding et al. show that this is not the case: different insects use different genes to achieve the same outcome – formation of body segments. Studying the milkweed bug, Oncopeltus fasciatus, graduate student Katie Reding undertook a challenging screen to ask if novel genes control segmentation in this species. Collaborating with scientists at the Institute for Genome Science, University of Maryland School of Medicine, she analyzed the sequences of genes expressed at time points during embryonic development when segmentation is established. She then analyzed the expression patterns of over 50 of these genes and identified one, Blimp1, expressed in a pattern expected for a role in segmentation. She followed this with RNA interference experiments that suggested a role for Blimp1 in generating segments. To stringently test Blimp1’ s function, Katie used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing, a technique she had previously developed in the Pick lab, to generate a mutation in the newly identified gene. This mutation showed a Drosophila-like segmentation phenotype, although Blimp1 is not required for segmentation in Drosophila. This exciting result demonstrated genetic diversity underlying the highly conserved feature of segmentation in insects: during evolution, regulatory genes have changed function dramatically but without any impact on phenotype or morphology. Thus, organisms are even more diverse than their phenotypes show us: even for a shared feature, the genes controlling it may be wholly different in different species - an invisible layer of biodiversity in animal systems. 

[Seminar Blog] The Xerces Society: An Invertebrate Conservation Mission

11/19/2024

 
comicFigure 1. Where did all the bugs go?!? My window sure is clean though!
written by: Robert Salerno
​
​Have you noticed throughout the past few decades that the windshield of your vehicle rarely seems to receive smudges from collisions with insects anymore? Is it because the aerodynamics of your vehicle have improved so much so that the insects glide right by unscathed; or are there other forces at play?
​
​This decrease reflects a larger problem. Studies around the world have revealed declines in insect abundance, diversity, and biomass throughout the past 20+ years1. It should come as no surprise that insects are facing a multitude of anthropogenic threats including habitat loss, climate change, pollution, and the introduction of invasive species (just to name a few). If these anthropogenic influences weren't severe enough on their own, combining them leads to interactions and synergies which have the potential to wreak havoc on insect communities.


Read More

Rake Less, See Butterflies More

11/7/2024

 
Figure 1: Dr. Ferlauto with his netted emergence traps Figure 1: Dr. Ferlauto with his netted emergence traps
written by: Ben Burgunder
​
Across Maryland and the Mid-Atlantic United States, fall is rapidly approaching. But as the weather chills and pumpkins appear on porches, yard-owning Americans have a big choice to make: should they remove fallen leaves or let them rest? Every year, trees in urban America drop an estimated 37 million tons of leaves (Nowak & Greenfield, 2018). When homeowners elect to remove their fallen leaves, what happens to the spiders, caterpillars, beetles, and other insects that rely on decaying leaves for food and shelter? While it had been determined that removing leaves was bad news for soil-dwelling arthropods (Ober and DeGroote, 2014), inspiring campaigns to “Leave the Leaves” (AP News, Xerces Society), no one had yet tested this for aboveground insects and spiders.

Dr. Max Ferlauto (Fig. 1), the state entomologist of Maryland and recent graduate of the University of Maryland’s Department of Entomology, was up for the challenge. Over two years, he experimented with the fallen leaves of 20 pesticide-free suburban Maryland yards to work out the hidden effects of leaf removal on insects and the ecosystem. He set up experimental and control square meters across the lawns. In the experimental squares in ‘high maintenance’ spaces, areas of yards that were regularly raked, he added leaves. In the ‘low maintenance’ experimental squares, located in areas of the yard where leaves were historically left to rest, he removed the leaves. In the spring, he set up traps that captured insects emerging from these squares, which allowed him to sample the tens of thousands of pollinators, predators, herbivores, and decomposers that dwell in yards.


Read More

[Seminar Blog] Hey mosquito, do you smell that? A case of how genetic, chemical and behavioral research determines the true function of mosquito “repellents.”

10/25/2024

 
written by: Amanda ​Brucchieri​

​
You’re standing in front of a wall of mosquito repellent. You need to choose the best product, or you are going to be itchy and rather miserable. An ad for some obscure product interrupts the music from the store's speakers and you know you are running out of time to decide. What bottle do you reach for? Dr. Chris Potter, a researcher and professor from Johns Hopkins may have some useful information that will have you choosing the right product for you. 

Read More

A Career through Public Engagement and Science: Alumna Dr. Holly Menninger’s reflections at the University of Maryland Entomology Retreat

10/22/2024

 
Menninger standing in front of screen talking to entomology Dept in board room.Photo Credit: Amy Yaich
written by: Margaret Ann Schaefer

​In her talk “Working at the Intersection: Reflections on public engagement in science,” Dr. Holly Menninger, Executive Director of the Bell Museum in Minnesota, discussed her path into a career of science communication.
 
Although Dr. Menninger is now deeply involved in public engagement, it was not her original plan when she started at the University of Maryland as a student of Dr. Margaret Palmer. She also states she “never had an ah-ha moment” where she suddenly realized that was what she wanted to do – her career has been a journey in different areas of engagement (including science policy and extension) that ultimately led her to the museum field. While she was at UMD, she studied the effect of the nutrient pulse from the 2004 Brood X cicada emergence (and subsequent input to many streams) on stream metabolism. These periodical cicadas took flight across the Washington DC Metro area after seventeen years of feeding on tree roots as nymphs. When they came out and generated interest in the public, Dr. Menninger – as part of a group of grad students known as the “Cicadamaniacs” -- found herself the spokesperson. She noted that she had her first foray in media outreach live on CNN’s American Morning because Dr. Mike Raupp, the ‘Bug Guy,’ was appearing on ABC’s Good Morning America.


Read More

Entomology Department 2024 Retreat: Celebrating a year of change and continuity

10/22/2024

 
written by: Jenan Baher El-Hifnawi
​

The Entomology Retreat looked quite different this year than it did in years prior. For the first time ever the department’s students, staff, and faculty piled into the wood-paneled walls of the Samuel L. Riggs Alumni Center. Historically, the event has been held in Annapolis, at The National Socio-Environmental Synthesis Center (SESYNC). Notably, the center was founded by the department’s own Dr. Margaret Palmer. More recently, departmental surveys revealed that the distance to the retreat as well as its being held on a Saturday were factors hindering department members ability to attend. In response to these findings the retreat was moved to an on-campus location and held on a Friday, maximizing attendance, and with it, opportunities for connection. This change was implemented for the first time last year, taking place in the Edward St. John Teaching and Learning Center, and the retreat has continued to evolve since.

Read More
<<Previous

    Categories

    All
    Awards
    Colloquium
    Faculty Spotlight
    Fall 2013 Colloquium
    Fall 2014 Colloquium
    Fall 2015 Colloquium
    Fall 2016 Colloquium
    Featured
    Innovation
    News
    Publications
    Science Projects
    SESYNC
    Spring 2014 Colloquium
    Spring 2015 Colloquium
    Spring 2016 Colloquium
    Talks
    Undergraduate

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    RSS Feed

Picture
Picture
Picture
Department of Entomology 
University of Maryland 
4112 Plant Sciences Building 
College Park, MD 20742-4454
USA

Telephone: 301.405.3911 
Fax: 301.314.9290
Picture
Web Accessibility
  • About
    • At a Glance
    • Welcome
    • Code of Conduct
    • Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion >
      • DEI Working Group
      • Resources
    • Departmental History
    • For Alumni
    • Support Entomology >
      • Steinhauer Scholarship Fund
    • Contact >
      • Directions
  • News
    • News
    • Seminar Blog
    • Seminar Schedule
    • Awards
  • People
    • Faculty
    • Post Docs
    • Students
    • Staff
    • Alumni
    • For PI/Faculty
    • Proposal Resources
  • Academics
    • Graduate >
      • Admissions
      • MS Degree Requirements
      • PhD Degree Requirements
      • Graduate Student Resources
      • Forms for Grad Students
      • Financial Assistance
      • Award & Funding Opportunities
      • Entomology Student Organization
    • Online Masters in Applied Entomology
    • Undergraduate >
      • Entomology Minor
      • Honors Program
  • Research
    • IPM & Biological Control of Agricultural, Urban & Forest Pests
    • Ecology, Conservation, Restoration, Climate Change >
      • Pollinator Science and Apiculture
    • Evolution, Systematics and Evo-Devo
    • Genetics & Genomics and Medical Entomology
  • Extension/Outreach
    • Educational Outreach
    • Insect Camp
    • Insect Drawings
    • Insect Identification
    • Pesticide Education and Assessment Program
    • Plant Diagnostic Laboratory (PDL)