​Join Dr. Sara Via, Professor & Climate Extension Specialist for the 2021 Climate and Sustainability Webinar Series beginning at 4 p.m. on June 23. Learn about the impacts of climate change and what you can do to help every other Wednesday in this summer-long series ending Sept. 15. Learn more and register for one or all of the webinars at https://climatecorner.org/webinars/

The Department of Entomology is a participant of the Green Office Program and is working towards Bronze certification. The GO Representative is Amy Yaich.

​Check out our Spring 2021 Department of Entomology Newsletter to see what we've been up to! Content includes news on publications, awards, defenses, media mentions and much more. 
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​Is there something you'd like to see in the Summer 20201 edition? Let us know by sending an e-mail to umdentomology@umd.edu.

"Maryland is at the epicenter of the cicada emergence, so there will be spectacular numbers of cicadas emerging very heavily, starting perhaps in early May," Michael Raupp, Prof Emeritus at UMD, told WJLA. "But the big ‘cicada-palooza’ is going to happen the last two weeks of May and into early June. So in some areas, there will be 1.5 million cicadas per acre emerging from the ground."

WJLA article: 'Cicada-palooza' is coming. Maryland will be at the epicenter

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
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[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.
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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. 
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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!

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.
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​Link: https://indd.adobe.com/view/d123a720-6a05-433c-9cf5-f1cd5cf7eb2a

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>>

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  

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.
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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

​Unusually warm weather has bugs emerging sooner than expected. "People need to understand that as soon as the temperatures reach maybe 55 to 60 degrees, those ticks are going to be active -- they’re going to be looking for food and that’s going to be you,” Professor Emeritus, Mike Raupp tells WBALTV.  Raupp also reminds viewers, it’s not just pests that are emerging early it’s pollinators too.

Follow link to story: https://www.wbaltv.com/article/spring-like-temperatures-bugs-emerging/31262917?fbclid=IwAR1KByUyuwXxGF8D7uBW309zwn_Ql6gS2-3NR4FNCHuR5_B4MdniPZLStiM

The St. Leger laboratory, Department of Entomology at The University of Maryland (UMD), invites applications for a Postdoctoral Scholar – Employee position starting Spring 2020 on a National Science Foundation funded project entitled “Unraveling the mechanisms by which novel fungal-plant associations evolve”. The candidate post-doctoral associate will work on a unique experimental system involving a radiating genus of fungi (Metarhizium spp) which have rapidly diversifying lifestyles. The goal is to ask fundamental questions about lifestyle shifts - where a pathogen jumps from one host (insect) species to another, or changes its role from just pathogen to plant symbiont. By taking a comparative approach, with a strong set of hypotheses from ecological and evolutionary theory, the project will provide insights into the genetic and molecular underpinnings determining evolutionary shifts in lifestyles that will be generally applicable to pathogens and hosts. Understanding these shifts is critical, especially in light of environmental change, invasive species and the laboratories work on transgenic approaches to controlling vectors of human disease. A combination of experimental approaches will be used, and there will be many opportunities to develop new projects to explore the evolution of lifestyle shifts.
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Click here for the complete Job Announcement. 

written by: Nancy Harding
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On November 5th the Entomology Department conducted an educational community outreach event that provided hands-on experience with insects and other arthropods to 27 students along with a couple of their teachers (Karen McCabe, Dan Hatfield and Brenda Stephens) from Pocomoke Middle School.  Dr. William Lamp welcomed and provided the students with a glimpse into the fascinating world of insects.  An overview of the innovative and important research currently being conducted in the department was provided by the following: Anna Noreuil, Ph.D. student (Fritz lab) gave a presentation and hands-on activity regarding the northern house mosquito; Rachel Kuipers, Lab Assistant (vanEnglesdorp lab) gave an overview of the research to further understand the loss in honey bee colonies in the United States; Maria Cramer, PhD student & Dr. Torsten Schöneberg (Hamby lab) spoke to the students about the important relationship between lady beetles (predator) and aphids (prey); Alexander Forde, Ph.D.student (Gruner lab) and Todd Waters, Agricultural Technician Supervisor and caretaker of the department’s Insect Zoo, gave the students an opportunity to look at and hold native and exotic arthropods.  Nancy Harding, Research Assistant, (Shrewsbury lab) and Todd Waters set up and coordinated the visit from Pocomoke Middle School. Feedback from the students and teachers was extremely positive (see Pocomoke Middle School facebook page).