Resources

A new Iowa State University research project will combine traditional and high-tech uses of the sun’s power by studying how to grow crops amid an array of solar panels. A multidisciplinary team of ISU researchers will raise bees and plant vegetables, fruits and pollinator habitat within the 10-acre Alliant Energy Solar Farm at Iowa State University, studying the emerging concept of agrivoltaics – using solar power sites for agricultural purposes to make more efficient use of the land and create value for the communities where solar panels are located. The hope is that integrating direct local advantages with solar energy will increase support for such projects.

Identification, images, & information for insects, spiders & their kin
An online community of naturalists who enjoy learning about and sharing our observations of insects, spiders, and other related creatures. Using the best resources we have access to, BugGuide creates a knowledge-base to help each other and the online community. 

The Crop Protection Network (CPN) produces unbiased, collaborative outputs on important issues affecting field crops in the United States and Canada. The CPN is a product of Land Grant Universities.

Spread Bug Love - Request a visit!
A traveling outreach program interested in teaching kids (and adults) the importance of arthropods with a hands-on approach. If you are interested in having the Insect Zoo visit, fill out a request form!

The Iowa State University Integrated Pest Management (ISU IPM) team serves the university, external stakeholders and the people of Iowa by coordinating and supporting IPM activities at ISU. Our overall goal is to provide science‐based IPM information to Iowans to increase productivity and economic competitiveness while reducing human health risk and protecting the environment from the adverse impacts of unnecessary or inappropriate pest management strategies.

A community-led organization whose mission is to enhance monarch butterfly reproduction and survival in Iowa through collaborative coordinated efforts of farmers, private citizens, and their organizations.

The Iowa State Insect Collection (ISIC) is the only major entomological collection in the state of Iowa. Although the majority of specimens are from Iowa and the upper Midwest, the collection houses abundant representation from other North American localities. Significant international collections include specimens from Asia (especially India, Nepal, and Thailand), Central America (especially Costa Rica), South America (especially Patagonia), and Australasia.

Have a plant disease or pest problem?
The Plant and Insect Diagnostic Clinic (PIDC) is here to look at your specimen and provide you with a diagnostic report of plant problems and the identification of insects from the field, garden, and home.

A site to coordinate observations of territorial behavior, migration, life history, population studies, seasonal variations in abundance and body size, and number of broods per year (voltinism) of butterflies in the genus Vanessa, including Vanessa atalanta, V. cardui, V. virginiensis, V. annabella, V. tameamea, and V. kershawi. (Red Admiral, Painted Lady, American Lady, West Coast Lady, Kamehameha Butterfly, and Australian Painted Lady).

Soybean cyst nematode (SCN) genomics database.

Masonbrink, R., Maier, T. R., Seetharam, A. S., Juvale, P. S., Baber, L., Baum, T. J., & Severin, A. J. (2019). SCNBase: a genomics portal for the soybean cyst nematode (Heterodera glycines). Database, 2019.

https://doi.org/10.1093/database/baz111