Insect Biodiversity Center News | Insect Biodiversity Center

Christina Grozinger was appointed the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State. Credit: Christina Grozinger / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 21, 2025

Christina Grozinger to lead Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences as director

Christina Grozinger, Publius Vergilius Maro Professor of Entomology and director of the Center for Pollinator Research, has been named the new director of the Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences at Penn State.

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PlantVillage, a Penn State-based research lab, is working with smallholder farmers in Africa, Asia and the Americas to adapt to climate-related challenges. To guide its expansion and commercial efforts, PlantVillage participated in the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps regional short course, which helps researchers start on the path toward commercializing their innovations. Credit: Katie DeFiore / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 14, 2025

PlantVillage empowers farmers around the world to combat climate change

UN-supported Penn State research-based non-profit expands into for-profit sector with help from Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps programming

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PSAA Presents is every Penn Stater’s home for all of the virtual and in-person programming that the Penn State Alumni Association offers. Credit: Penn State Alumni Association. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 13, 2025

Virtual speaker to discuss impact and potential of PlantVillage on Jan. 21

The next Virtual Speaker Series from the Penn State Alumni Association will highlight PlantVillage, an AI-enabled "land grant in a phone" that uses data sharing to help farmers adapt to climate change and manage emerging pests and diseases.

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The study focused on the horned-face bee, which helps pollinate crops like apples and blueberries, and the alfalfa leafcutting bee, which pollinates alfalfa. Credit: Alain C./Flickr. All Rights Reserved.

Jan 07, 2025

Quantity over quality? Different bees are attracted to different floral traits

When it comes to deciding where they’re going to get their next meal, different species of bees may be attracted to different flower traits, according to a study led by researchers at Penn State and published in PNAS Nexus.

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Flies play a crucial role as pollinators, second only to bees in terms of the volume of crops and habitat they pollinate. Pictured here is a blue fly pollinating common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Credit: Martha B. Moss/Penn State Extension Master Gardener / Penn State. Creative Commons

Jan 02, 2025

Pollinators most vulnerable to rising global temperatures are flies, study shows

New research led by Penn State scientists suggests flies are increasingly at risk due to rising global temperatures.

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Phil Choo, professor of graphic design, had his self-funded work designing postal stamps for all 63 U.S. national parks on display at Seoul National University of Technology in October. Credit: Provided. All Rights Reserved.

Dec 19, 2024

Stuckeman graphic design professor’s work showcased at exhibition in Seoul

Penn State Professor of Graphic Design Phil Choo in the College of Arts and Architecture’s Stuckeman School was recently invited to present an exhibition of his research work on U.S. National Parks.

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Oct 14, 2024

Penn State researchers earn funding for sustainable weed and insect management

Three Penn State research teams have received awards totaling $1.78 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture to investigate climate-smart approaches to pest control in agriculture.

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Recent findings will help identify the groups of bees that may be most at-risk and aid in creating conservation strategies, according to researchers. Credit: Neringa Normantaite/Unsplash. All Rights Reserved.

Oct 08, 2024

Adding fall blooming plants may help both managed and wild bees in cities

Recent findings will help identify the groups of bees that may be most at-risk and aid in creating conservation strategies, according to researchers.

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Sep 11, 2024

Three projects receive Huck Innovative and Transformational Seed Fund grants

Three potentially high-impact, high-risk research projects have been selected to receive seed funding for the latest round of the Huck Innovative and Transformational Seed (HITS) Fund initiative.

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A mining bee (Andrena sp.) climbs on a blueberry flower. The bee species was one spotted by volunteers through a program led by Penn State. Credit: Nash Turley / Penn State. Creative Commons

Aug 29, 2024

Volunteers record bee biodiversity and discover new species in Pennsylvania

A new study, recently published in the Annals of the Entomological Society of America, evaluated the efficacy of a monitoring program, finding that 26 trained program volunteers were more than twice as effective at documenting bee diversity than thousands of users of the photo-based app iNaturalist.

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