Heather Grab

Assistant Professor of Applied Systems Ecology

Heather Grab

Research Summary

The ecological drivers of insect populations on working lands and application of those principles to reduce conflicts between wild and human systems.

Huck Affiliations

News Articles Featuring Heather Grab

PestWatch Provides Updates to Vegetable Growers

Penn State Extension now publishes the PestWatch Report, a weekly online report that provides sweet-corn growers with statewide pest trap counts and timely management recommendations.

Hidden microclimates attract bees and boost farm yields

Climate usually conjures images of vast regions and decades-long change, but it also shifts over a few miles in a single afternoon. A team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University has shown that these microclimates can nudge bees toward particular patches of a field and, in doing so, make or break yields of wild blueberries.

Warmer Spots Within Fields Have More Blooms And More Bees

Climate can vary across large areas of land, but it also can vary within much smaller areas such as farms. A new study by researchers at Penn State examined whether these microclimates — the climate of a very small or restricted area — affect pollination by both wild and managed bees and resulting wild blueberry yields.

Warmer spots within fields have more blooms and more bees

Climate can vary across large areas of land, but it also can vary within much smaller areas such as farms. A new study by researchers at Penn State examined whether these microclimates — the climate of a very small or restricted area — affect pollination by both wild and managed bees and resulting wild blueberry yields.