15 Dec 2024

Our collaborative work on the chemical communication systems of eastern larch beetle with Brian Sullivan and Emily Althoff has made the front page of the weekend edition of the Minnesota Star Tribune.

2 Dec 2024

Congrats to Rose, for her first ever scientific paper! Rose and our friends Brytten and Erika screened several species of larch for suitability to eastern larch beetle. The results are a tad worrisome.

13 Nov 2024

Brian, Ella, and Sayesha are in Duluth through Thursday, meeting with colleagues and giving presentations at the Upper Midwest Invasive Species Conference.

4 Nov 2024

Brian and Sayesha are off to the Annual Lymantria Dispar Review in Louisville, KY where Sayesha will be sharing our work examining non target effects of Btk sprays. It's been awhile since we've been to this national meeting. 

31 Oct 2024

Random quips I didn't think I'd say to a grad student: "Wow, cool antennae, Emma!" (They were homemade. Crafty graduate student meets pipe cleaners. Excellent form; looked like satin moth). Happy Halloween!

15 Oct 2024

Best of luck this year to Emma and Clarissa, who are submitting NSF Graduate Research Fellowship proposals. My reference letters are in. And now, the long wait for spring results.

8 Oct 2024

Grading, I just laughed at a midterm answer pointing out a question ambiguity that everyone, including the prof, missed. The student is in my lab. Grateful for creative students that embarrass me, ha!

13 Sept 2024

Back from NCFPW, where yes the trivia team of Reed, Wegmueller, Otto, Kramer, Cooke, Roe, and Aukema did win the forest health trivia! Shout out to Dr. Roe's mastery of spruce coneworm that carried us.

9 Sept 2024

With talks and posters done (or mostly done), the lab is off to the annual gathering of forest health professionals that is North Central Forest Pest Workshop. Sault Ste. Marie, here we come!

15 Aug 2024

A beautiful late summer day in the woods can make you feel like dancin' - especially when you almost step on a friendly prairie rattler at the base of a Ponderosa pine in the Black Hills. PS: Ian can jump!

19 July 2024

You cannot wipe the smiles off our faces for Rose. Monday: interview. Tuesday: defense. Wednesday: deep breath.... Thursday? Dream job offer! Courageous career change complete! Bravo!!

12 July 2024

Yay Emily! With PhD in hand, she starts in three weeks as Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist in a creative joint venture between U Missouri & Lincoln U. Mizzou, you're getting a good one!

10 July 2024

Lab summer social celebrating several completions and new arrivals! Great weather for slingin' some pizzas in the backyard and yes, several creative toppings made their return.

9 July 2024

Congrats to Grace who successfully defended her MS thesis on the resin defenses of tamarack. A great collaboration with Marcella Windmuller-Campione and Dan Griffin.

4 July 2024

Three upcoming defenses in the lab on larch beetle and tamarack: Grace, Emily, and Rose on July 9, 12, and 16! Incredibly proud of the work these students have done.

1 July 2024

Happy Canada Day! Today Brian is using British spelling for all student thesis edits for extra colour and flavour. (Edits can be reverted on Thursday as desired.)

12 June 2024

It's amazing how fast drought has turned to flooding. Many thanks to Two Rivers Towing for sending in a skid steer to rescue the budworm crew's vehicle in the Arrowhead.

31 May 2024

Who doesn't enjoy a good tractor pull!? Spring rains + field work = grad school stories. The spongy moth crew appreciates our local Minnesota [non-judgmental] farmers with John Deere tractors.

29 May 2024

Paying it forward: Congrats to Kristy McAndrew, who became the first PhD graduate of one of our of our lab's graduates (Sam Ward). Well done Kristy! She starts as Asst. Prof. Extension Forestry at Mississippi State U in July.

22 Apr 2024

Grace and Rose are taking a break from writing their Masters theses to share their work at the Western Forest Insect Work Conference in Missoula, Montana

20 Apr 2024

We repurposed a flock of old Christmas trees from this paper into a scavenger hunt at The Great Minnsect Show that hosted close to 2,000 of our closest friends.

20 Apr 2024

The scavenger hunt for forest insects at The Great Minnsect Show was a hit, as was our local emerald ash borer!  This one looked friendlier than most, and looked a lot like Sayesha 

15 Apr 2024

Congrats to Jess who received a 2024 President's Student Leadership & Service Award after nomination from her peers. Thanks for all you do to improve our community!

26 Mar 2024

Congrats to our most recent alum, August Kramer, for his new position as the Central Region Forest Health Specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources! Go August!

23 Mar 2024

Brian was in Northfield to talk to growers at the 15th Annual Upper Midwest Hazelnut Growers Conference. Gutsy move by the organizers to put the bug guy between the flavor talk and lunch!

11-13 Mar 2024

Despite a flight cancellation, every one of our three grad and postdoc visitors made it for a recruiting visit.  We think they'll make great additions to the team; stay tuned for exciting announcements soon!

28 Feb 2024

Many thanks to our Forest Service partners for the invitation to present a research synopsis at the Forest Health Coop meeting in Roseville! Always great to see so many friends and colleagues.

21 Feb 2024

Rose and Grace presented work on host screening and tree defense with attendees at the 2024 Forestry and Wildlife Research and Practice Review. Always great to share results with land managers!

12 Feb 2024

Elucidating host breadth is a cruical component to forecasting potential tree mortality for an invasive species. Check out this new paper on elongate hemlock scale led by Dr. Robert Venette.

6 Feb 2024

Packed house at the annual DNR/US Forest Service Forest Health Day in Grand Rapids, where Jess and Grace shared their work. Everyone is hoping that conditions in 2024 fare better than 2023!

9 Jan 2024

Emily's working with a collaborator at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC this week, describing and identifying what appears to be a new species of parasitoid from her field work! 

8 Jan 2024

Sayesha is presenting a poster on her research plans with spongy moth at the USDA Interagency Research Forum on Invasive Species in Annapolis, MD.

1 Dec 2023

Oh she does so, so much more than budworms. Congrats to Jess, who just won the college graduate student chili cookoff! Bravo!

25 Oct 2023

Welcome to our newest team member, Clarissa, who joins us on the elongate hemlock scale project. As it turns out, she shares a birthday with the PI. Big party next month!

6 Oct 2023

Emily and Sayesha just wandered in carrying three enormous puffballs! We're pretty sure they're edible, although we might consult with our friends in plant pathology before making risotto. 

15 Sep 2023

There were some great student presentations at the North Central Forest Pest Workshop this week. Congrats to Jess, Emily, and Rose for the UMN sweep of the student awards!

12 Sep 2023

Our newest lab member Sayesha is also giving a presentation today: the Valedictory Address at the MS graduation ceremony for the Erasmus Mundus program in Valencia, Spain!

11 Sep 2023

With posters printed and slides assembled, the lab is off to Wausau, Wisconsin for the North Central Forest Pest Workshop.

24 Aug 2023

The lab made cookies together today. Yes, a few trees were sectioned during chainsaw training. We are proud to use Stihl products.