Description The red oak clearwing moth, Paranthrene simulans (Lepidoptera: Sesiidae), is one of those insects capable of deceiving the human eye by resembling a wasp. In this case the target organism attempts to be less susceptible to predation by resembling…

The Department of Entomology at the University of Kentucky is always glad to help with identification of insects and their relatives. In this day and age, we most often receive our samples as images attached to emails, texts, Tweets, or…

Last year, there was quite the uproar as people reported shipments of unsolicited seeds arriving from other countries. This was the subject of an initial newsletter article in July 2020 and a follow up article earlier this year in March.…

Last year, there was quite the uproar as people reported shipments of unsolicited seeds arriving from other countries. This was the subject of a newsletter article in July 2020. Many dozens, if not hundreds, of these unwanted seed shipments were reported…

People in several states, including several residents in Kentucky, have received unsolicited small packages of foreign seeds in the mail from China. Potentially these can pose a threat to Kentucky agriculture and the environment through the introduction of invasive plants…

Surviving Kentucky winters is a challenge for cold-blooded arthropods. A few species, such as the monarch butterfly, cede cold weather to the hardy and fly south for the winter. Those that remain use a state of arrested development called diapause…

(First published July 27, 2017 at: https://ensia.com/voices/genetically-engineered-crops/) CRISPR gene editing can fight crop disease far more benignly than conventional practices Which is more disruptive to a plant: genetic engineering or conventional breeding? It often surprises people to learn that GE…