an insect with wings on a white background

News

Box Tree Moth

New York State residents are encouraged to keep on the lookout for a new invasive species that has established itself in Western New York. Box Tree Moth (Cydalima perspectalis) was first discovered in July 2021 and the IDL has been working closely with New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, as well as USDA, in monitoring the spread of the moths. 

Read New York state's press release

Giant Hornets

There is a lot of concern about an Asian hornet in a few places in western USA, but as of May 2020 it is not found in eastern USA. All of the “giant hornets” we have been sent photos of in New York and nearby areas, are instead actually the European hornet (Vespa crabro), which has distinctive markings of black and yellow on the abdomen, and red-brown color on the front of the body. 

Read the PSU Factsheet

Spotted Lanternfly 

A new invasive pest of orchards, vineyards, and tree-of-heaven (Ailanthus), the Spotted Lanternfly (“SLF”) has been found in southeastern Pennsylvania and Virginia, and is continuing to show up in new locations in 2018, including 2 sites in New York State.

For updates on Spotted Lanternfly infestations and other information

Other news

Petra Hafker looks at honey bees from a hive.

News

Petra Hafker: Enhancing honeybee health
Petra Hafker is a Ph.D. student of entomology in the lab of Christophe Duplais, associate professor of entomology at Cornell AgriTech. Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, as an undergraduate student, Petra studied the invasive spongy moth at the...
  • Cornell AgriTech
  • Entomology
A wild bee drinking nectar from a flower

News

With new tool, birds can help track – and save – wild bees

A new publicly available tool uses data from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s eBird program to track and estimate the diversity of wild bees across the eastern and central U.S. - with implications for conservation and agriculture.

  • Cornell Atkinson
  • Lab of Ornithology
  • Entomology
Brent Sinclair Headshot

Spotlight

Meet our faculty: Brent Sinclair
Academic focus: Insect environmental physiology Research summary: I study how insects survive and thrive in harsh environments. Although we center our research on the insect, we follow mechanisms all the way to molecular biology and consequences...
  • Department of Entomology
  • Entomology
  • Physiology
Beatriz Willink Headshot

Spotlight

Meet our faculty: Beatriz Willink
Academic focus: Trait evolution, genomics and phylogenetics Research summary: I study why and how phenotypic traits evolve in insects. I focus on traits that often differ between the sexes, such as color patterns, and try to understand how...
  • Department of Entomology
  • Entomology
  • Genomics
Melissa Guzman Headshot

Spotlight

Meet our faculty: Melissa Guzman
Academic focus: Biodiversity big data and insect conservation Research summary: The goal of my research is to help improve insect conservation by developing statistical methods that better use all available data. While the distribution of some...
  • Department of Entomology
  • Entomology
  • Pollinators