Insect specimens

Insect Biodiversity Center

The Insect Biodiversity Center addresses complex issues in insect management and conservation through transdisciplinary partnerships across Penn State and beyond.

Who We Are

The Insect Biodiversity Center creates a unique, transdisciplinary ecosystem that integrates disparate centers of excellence at Penn State in insect biology, management, ecology, technology development, Earth and environment monitoring systems, data science and modeling, decision support systems, human dimensions, communication science, and education.

By fostering transdisciplinary research across a rich and diverse collective of individuals, the Center strives to leverage expertise outside of the domain of the biological sciences to tackle complex biological, environmental, social, economic, and political drivers underlying changes in insect species abundance and distribution.

As such, we strive to explore, understand, and promote insect conservation efforts that maintain and restore balance to natural ecosystems, while also mitigating the adverse effects of economically and environmentally harmful insect species.

The IBC is supported by the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences, the Department of Entomology, the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences, and the Institutes of Energy and the Environment.

News

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee on insect declines

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America.

Feeling salty? Increased salt stress reduces tomato pest activity

Increased soil salinity can reduce damage from prominent tomato pests such as the tomato fruitworm, according to researchers at Penn State. They published their findings in the Journal of Plant, Cell and Environment.

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee to study insect declines in North America

Huck Institutes director Christina Grozinger has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Status of Insects in North America.

News

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee on insect declines

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine recently appointed Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State, to an 18-member study committee to examine the status of insects in North America.

Feeling salty? Increased salt stress reduces tomato pest activity

Increased soil salinity can reduce damage from prominent tomato pests such as the tomato fruitworm, according to researchers at Penn State. They published their findings in the Journal of Plant, Cell and Environment.

Grozinger appointed to National Academies committee to study insect declines in North America

Huck Institutes director Christina Grozinger has been appointed to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Committee on the Status of Insects in North America.

Even sublethal insecticide dose may disrupt pollinator mating process

Insecticides can help protect crops against troublesome pests, but they also pose a risk for beneficial insects such as pollinators. A new study led by researchers at Penn State provided insight into how even sublethal doses of insecticides can negatively affect pollinators by disrupting the mating process.