Campuses:
New UofM Video on the contributions of students to the research mission, features Entomology Graduate Student, Lindsey Christianson, working on the cold hardiness of the Emerald Ash Borer in Minnesota. Her advisor is Dr. Rob Venette, U.S. Forest Service, and Adjunct Assoc. Faculty member, Dept. of Entomology.
Diamesa mendotae, a cold-hardy but delicate insect also known as a midge, may provide a measure of how the state's climate is warming, and what effect that might have. Researchers from the University of Minnesota are working to understand more about the relationship between these unusual freeze-resistant insects and the fish that eat them in streams in the southeastern part of the state. "We're thinking that a changing climate and increasing air temperatures will affect water temperatures, and that could reduce [fish] populations," said entomology professor Len Ferrington, principal investigator on the project. (Click here for full article)
Marla Spivak is a world expert on honeybees. Carl Flink is a leading dancer and choreographer. These U of M faculty members work in what seem radically different disciplines. Yet the heart of what drives them—and countless other seekers, whether they're labeled "teachers" or "students"—is remarkably similar. See for yourself.
Growing up in a coastal Brazilian town, Renata Borba loved to surf year-round. And as a student at the University of Ceara, she came to love honeybees.
But that university requires students to spend their final semester in an internship outside its walls. So Borba applied to study bees through the Minnesota Agricultural Student Trainee (MAST) program, which could have sent her anywhere in the United States. (Click here for full article)
The resurgence of a major corn pest has led to a growing debate about the role of genetically modified corn, and cast doubts on the economic and environmental benefits of one of the nation's most popular seed lines.
Rootworms have damaged corn plants in Minnesota and other states, and research suggests rootworms have developed immunity to the protections in Monsanto's genetically modified corn. (Click here for full article)
The Minnesota Department of Agriculture has stepped up its fight against the spread of emerald ash borer in the past year, releasing stingless wasps and setting purple traps to eradicate the invasive insect. "When the eggs are deposited in the tree, they will hatch out and eat through the live part of the tree," explained Andrea Hefty, a graduate student at the University of Minnesota and member of the research team studying the bothersome bug.
As a St. Paul resident herself, she said the removal of the trees is personally heartbreaking -- but it also helps them find ways to treat the trees and eradicate the insect.
"The faster we can get rid of them, the better," she said. (Click here for full article)
Assistant Professor & Extension Entomologist Soybean Entomology
View Job Description
Plant Resistance to Insects (April 1-4)
Minneapolis, MN
New findings from Dr. Kells on how to keep bed bugs away(KSTP).
December 28, 2011 - Kenneth Ostlie: Corn rootworm resistance concerns.
December 27, 2011 - Marla Spivak and breeding a better bee.
December 19, 2011 - Stephen Kells' Bed Bug Hotline (KSTP)
August 28, 2011 - Ian MacRae was interviewed by The Prairie Star regarding remote sensing for soybean aphids.
August 25, 2011 - Marla Spivak and her PhD student, Elaine Evans were featured in an article about Prairie Day, near Princeton, MN
August 16, 2011 - Elaine Evans (Advisor, Marla Spivak) was featured in the Southwest Minneapolis Patch - Counting Bumble Bees in the Peace Garden
August 1, 2011 - Lindsey Christenson (Advisor, Rob Venette), New M.S. Student, featured in UofM News, "Power in small things"
Ralph Holzenthal has been honored with the University's Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education and Roger Moon received the 2011 ESA North Central Branch Distinguished Achievement Award in Teaching. Congratulations to both of them!
