University of Georgia
College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences

Insects and Microbes

A world leader in entomology research
The UGA Department of Entomology is ranked No. 8 in the world among university entomology programs (2017, Center for World University Rankings). That ranking rests on the department's well-balanced strengths in basic, applied and directed science. Our deep, diversified team of outstanding scientists across Georgia enables the department to respond to urgent needs, like controlling an outbreak of whiteflies attacking food crops or identifying new pests like kudzu bugs and brown marmorated stinkbugs appearing in fields or ports. While applied scientists work to get the immediate issue under control, basic scientists go to work in the lab to understand the insect biology and seek long-term control solutions. Entomology is an integral part of UGA multidisciplinary teams working to improve agriculture at home and around the world. The unit plays a role in ensuring the success of every area of agriculture but also impacts public health, animal health and environmental health.
See Related Impact Statements
Bermudagrass stem maggot (2018) Classification and localization of cotton bolls in real-time using 3-D imaging and artificial Intelligence for development of a small robotic cotton harvesting platform (2018) Georgia Pecan Insect Pest Management (2018) Integrating Wetland Ecoystem Services into Agriculture (2018) Investigating vector physiology: hormones and microbes (2018) Management of Spotted-Wing Drosophila in Georgia Blueberries (2018) New Research into Diamondback Moth Insecticide Resistance (2018) Parasite-host interactions (2018) The genetics of social variation in a highly invasive fire ant species (2018)

Our Research

The strength of the UGA Department of Entomology is the breadth and balance of its programs. View the core areas of research below as well as the faculty whose programs contribute to these areas.


Entomology Research News

Two women tour the organic production plots at UGA's Durham Horticulture Farm during UGA's 2014 Organic Twilight Tour. CAES News
Two women tour the organic production plots at UGA's Durham Horticulture Farm during UGA's 2014 Organic Twilight Tour.
Summer open houses highlight sustainable agriculture research at UGA
The University of Georgia is a hub for research that will shape farms tomorrow, and northeast Georgians will get a sneak peek at the future of farming at two farm tour open houses this month.
San Jose scale is a sucking insect pest which damages fruit, like this peach, and can eventually kill a tree by injecting toxins. CAES News
San Jose scale is a sucking insect pest which damages fruit, like this peach, and can eventually kill a tree by injecting toxins.
Horticultural oil best applied after peach trees have been pruned, UGA study finds
Using horticultural oil sprays as an integrated pest management strategy to control San Jose scale in peach trees can be an effective alternative to chemical applications, and a University of Georgia study finds that the best control comes after trees have been pruned, allowing for lower application rates than previously recommended.
Kip Lacy, who is currently a graduate fellow at the Rockefeller University but received his master’s in entomology from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2018, worked with UGA fire ant researcher Ken Ross and DeWayne Shoemaker at the University of Tennessee to isolate and document the multi-queen colonies. CAES News
Kip Lacy, who is currently a graduate fellow at the Rockefeller University but received his master’s in entomology from UGA’s College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences in 2018, worked with UGA fire ant researcher Ken Ross and DeWayne Shoemaker at the University of Tennessee to isolate and document the multi-queen colonies.
UGA entomologists discover the ultimate matriarchy in native Florida fire ants
In most colonies, ants work in service of a single reproductive queen, but that’s not always the way ant societies function.
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UGA Department of Entomology