About

The Department of Entomology was founded in 1896 at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva, New York.

Our mission is threefold: to pursue studies to understand basic and applied aspects of insect biology; to provide a robust and modern curriculum as part of preeminent undergraduate and graduate programs; and to inform and educate the public about the issues related to insects and other arthropods.

Our faculty primarily works on two campuses: Cornell University’s main campus in Ithaca and Cornell AgriTech in Geneva. We also work in two agricultural field stations in New York state. Our department houses some of the world’s preeminent resources for the study of entomology, including one of the world’s largest insect collections, working farms of all sizes, a major honey bee colony and state-of-the-art laboratories.

Entomology at a glance

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Faculty

40+

Graduate Students

40+

Undergraduate Students

Did you know?

Nation’s first entomology textbook

​​​​​​Founding faculty entomologists John Henry Comstock and Anna Botsford Comstock wrote the nation’s first textbook on entomology.

Limnology pioneer

In 1908, entomologist James G. Needham (Ph.D. 1898) is credited with teaching the nation’s first course in limnology, the study of the biological, chemical and physical features of lakes and other bodies of fresh water.

Small fruits research

​​​​​Entomologists at Cornell AgriTech in Geneva were trailblazers for conducting the first major research program on insect and mite pests of strawberry, raspberry and other small fruits in the eastern U.S.

Contact us

For general department inquiries

Ithaca campus

Lisa Westcott
Phone: (607) 255-7723
Fax: (607) 255-0939
Email: lew1 [at] cornell.edu (lew1[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Geneva campus

Holly King
Phone: (315) 787-2323
Fax: (315) 787-2326
Email: hak3 [at] cornell.edu (hak3[at]cornell[dot]edu)

Mailing addresses

Ithaca campus

Cornell University
Department of Entomology
2126 Comstock Hall
Ithaca, NY 14853

Geneva campus

Cornell AgriTech
Department of Entomology
630 West North Street
Barton Lab
Geneva, NY 14456

Are you interested in visiting?

To facilitate your visit to the department and allow us a chance to set up meetings with faculty and staff who can best answer your questions, please contact jsv22 [at] cornell.edu (Jessica Tracey) (Ithaca) or hak3 [at] cornell.edu (Holly King) (Geneva) a week in advance so that we may schedule your visit with appropriate individuals.

Latest entomology news & discoveries

Ann Fraser, a consultant on the grant and retired biology professor from Kalamazoo College, hand pollinates an apple flower in Uttarkhand region, India. Photo by Kiran Cunningham.

News

The project will compare smallholder apple farms in the Western Himalayas and in Central New York to study how people might act collectively to promote wild pollinator health.

  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Department of Entomology
  • Natural Resources and the Environment
Microarthropod mites from three different taxonomic families. Photo by Hayden Bock.

News

The assortment of species of tiny soil animals – small enough to stand on the head of a pin – differ from one urban park to another, unlike plants and larger animals where a few species are often found across many parks.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Department of Entomology
  • Soil and Crop Sciences Section