Scott McArt

Associate Professor, Department of Entomology

Scott McArt is an Associate Professor of Pollinator Health and current Director of Graduate Studies in the Department of Entomology at Cornell University, where he oversees the Dyce Lab for Honey Bee Studies and the Cornell Chemical Ecology Core Facility.

McArt earned his BA from Dartmouth College, his MS from the University of Alaska-Anchorage, and his PhD from Cornell University. He spent two years as a USDA postdoctoral fellow at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst prior to starting as a Research Scientist at Cornell in 2014. In 2017, he started as an Assistant Professor.

McArt’s main research interests are ecotoxicology, risk-benefit analysis, and disease ecology. His lab is currently focused on understanding how pesticides, pathogens, and management practices impact the health of honey bees and wild pollinators. He's keenly interested in working with stakeholders (beekeepers, farmers, regulatory agencies, and other members of the public) to do science that addresses real-world problems and improves pollinator health. This works well with his 60/40 research/extension appointment, which gives him the privilege of interacting with many passionate people. When not engaged in research, McArt enjoys going on any flavor of adventure with his family (outdoor adventures often include his occasionally well-behaved dog, James), and amateur nature photography.

Education

BA, Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, 2001 Dartmouth College
MS, Biological Sciences, 2006 University of Alaska-Anchorage
PhD, Entomology, 2012 Cornell University
Postdoctoral, Entomology, 2014 UMass-Amherst

Recent Research

McArt’s main research interests are ecotoxicology, disease ecology, community ecology, and chemical ecology. His lab is focused on understanding how pesticides, pathogens, and habitat impact the health of honey bees and native wild pollinators. He is keenly interested in working with stakeholders (beekeepers, farmers, the public) and regulatory agencies to do science that addresses real-world problems and improves pollinator conservation and health. This works well with his 60/40 research/extension appointment, which gives him the privilege of interacting with many passionate stakeholders. When not engaged in research, McArt enjoys trying to stay in running shape (often with his loyal dog, James), going on any flavor of outdoor adventure with his family, and amateur nature photography.

Selected Publications:

McArt, S. H. 2021. Parasite transmission between hives and spillover to non-Apis pollinators. Pages 219-228 in “Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner”, Eds. T. R. Kane and C. M. Faux, Wiley Blackwell Press. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119583417.ch18
Davis, A. E., K. R. Deutsch, M. J. Mata Loya, A. T. Gonzales, P. A. Muñiz, W. H. Ng and S. H. McArt. 2021. Eristalis flower flies can be mechanical vectors of the common trypanosome bee parasite, Crithidia bombi. Scientific Reports 11:15852.
Chen, J., J. Webb, K. Shariati, S. Guo, J. K. Montclare, S. H. McArt and M. Ma. 2021. Pollen-inspired enzymatic microparticles to reduce organophosphate toxicity in managed pollinators. Nature Food 2:339-347.
Figueroa, L. L., S. M. Compton, H. Grab and S. H. McArt. 2021. Functional traits linked to pathogen prevalence in wild bee communities. Scientific Reports 11:7529.
Urban-Mead, K. R., P. A. Muñiz, J. Gillung, A. Espinoza, R. Fordyce, M. Van Dyke, S. H. McArt and B. N. Danforth. 2021. Bees in the trees: Diverse spring fauna in temperate forest edge canopies. Forest Ecology & Management 482:118903.
Adler, L. S., R.E. Irwin, S. H. McArt and R. L. Vannette. 2021. Floral traits affecting the transmission of beneficial and pathogenic pollinator-associated microbes. Current Opinion in Insect Science 44:1-7.
Figueroa, L. L., C. Grincavitch and S. H. McArt. 2021. Crithidia bombi can infect two solitary bee species while host survivorship depends on diet. Parasitology 148:435-442.
Graystock, P., W. H. Ng, K. Parks, A. D. Tripodi, P. A. Muñiz, A. A. Fersch, C. R. Myers, Q. S. McFrederick and S. H. McArt. 2020. Dominant bee species and floral abundance drive parasite temporal dynamics in plant-pollinator communities. Nature Ecology & Evolution 4:1358-1367.
Urbanowicz, C. M., P. A. Muñiz and S. H. McArt. 2020. Honey bees and wild pollinators differ in their preference for and use of introduced floral resources. Ecology & Evolution 10:6741-6751.
Figueroa, L. L., H. Grab, W. H. Ng, C. R. Myers, P. Graystock, Q. S. McFrederick and S. H. McArt. 2020. Landscape simplification shapes pathogen prevalence in plant-pollinator networks. Ecology Letters 23:1212-1222.

Awards & Honors

Cornell CALS Outstanding Accomplishments in Extension/Outreach (Pollinator Health Team) 2017 CALS

Courses Taught

ENTOM 9900: Doctoral Level Thesis Research
ENTOM 9900: Doctoral Level Thesis Research
ENTOM 4990: Undergraduate Research in Entomology

Contact Information

4132 Comstock

(607) 255-1377

shm33 [at] cornell.edu

Scott in the news

News

August 24, 2026

NY pesticide ban: Growers and Cornell work to protect crops, pollinators

Preliminary Cornell research on managing the dreaded seedcorn maggot is giving hope to growers across the state ahead of New York’s 2029 ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in field crops: Side-by-side farm trials of neonic-treated vs. untreated...

Cornell AgriTech
Cornell Integrated Pest Management
Agriculture

News

July 30, 2026

Insights into bee biology could ease US rules for organic honey

Strict regulations have prevented continental U.S. beekeepers from participating in the lucrative organic honey market, but new findings could provide evidence to open organic markets to U.S. producers.

Entomology
Food