Entomology

Following the sounds of prairie cicadas

2020-09-25

When I arrive at the Loda Cemetery Prairie Nature Preserve, Katie Dana is already out there. She’s wearing knee-high boots to ward off chiggers and ticks, and she’s carrying an insect net. Dana is on the prowl for cicadas: the loudest insects on the planet...

Have you become obsessed with bugs or hummingbirds? In the pandemic, you’re not alone.

2020-09-14

In the midst of the grief, confusion and anger of the past few months, many Americans have developed a new obsession with the creepy little things in life, by which I mean bugs. I’ve never heard so many people talking about bugs as I have through this spring and summer, never seen so many social...

Building a prairie & watching for bees with ESA Fellow Alex Harmon-Threatt

2020-08-07

person writing on a clipboard in a field

Join us in celebrating Entomology's Alexandra Harmon-Threatt, elected as a 2020 Early Career Fellow by the Ecological Society of America (ESA) for her...

Group genomics drive aggression in honey bees

2020-07-07

Researchers often study the genomes of individual organisms to try to tease out the relationship between genes and behavior. A new study of Africanized honey bees reveals, however, that the genetic inheritance of individual bees has little influence on their propensity for aggression. Instead, the...

How Humanity Unleashed a Flood of New Diseases

2020-06-22

What do Covid-19, Ebola, Lyme and AIDS have in common? They jumped to humans from animals after we started destroying habitats and ruining ecosystems.

Gene Robinson named interim dean of the College of LAS

2020-06-16

Renowned scholar, teacher, and administrator begins role July 1 Gene Robinson, a professor of entomology and director of the Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, has been named interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts...

SIB's Commitment to Diversity and Equity

2020-06-01

Dear SIB Community, At the end of May, 2020, Chancellor Jones sent out an email with a powerful message of unity for this campus - we must come together and care for one another. He reminds us that the University of Illinois is a "...

Cicadas Are Delightful Weirdos You Should Learn to Love

2020-06-04

As Brood IX takes flight for the first time in 17 years, cicada lovers have their ears open. Around this time of year, Marianne Alleyne hosts dozens of houseguests in her basement. Far from using camping equipment or cots, they sleep upside-down, clinging to a...

Genetically modified mosquitoes could be released beginning this summer

2020-06-03

Silver bullet or jumping the gun? This summer, for the first time, genetically modified mosquitoes could be released in the U.S. within the states of Florida and Texas. On May 1, 2020, the company Oxitec received an ...

Calling all pollinator fans: University of Illinois seeks citizen scientists

2020-05-12

For the second year, University of Illinois Extension is calling all lovers of bees, butterflies, and other pollinators that keep our crops and gardens growing to join scientists in tracking their distribution and habitat use across the state.

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