Departmental Seminars
Departmental Seminars
The Entomology Department regularly hosts seminars during the spring and fall teaching semesters. For the 2025/26 academic year, seminars will be held in either the Russell Labs 150 classroom or 243 conference room from 3-4 pm, to be followed by Friday Swarm (4 – 5:30 pm) in room 243. Use this link for joining the seminar virtually via Zoom. Recordings of past seminars will be placed in the schedule when available.
2025 Spring Colloquium
Fridays, 3-4 pm, in either the Russell Labs 243 conference room or 216 FWE library. Seminars to be followed by Friday Swarm 4-6:00 pm.| Date | Speaker | Affiliation | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24 | Dr. Mike Howe | ORISE Fellow, Juneau Forestry Lab, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station | Where, when, and how do population irruptions by forest insects occur? | RL 216 (FWE library) |
| Jan 31 | Stephanie Guzman & Tean Zaheer | Chavez Lab | In a world full of ticks, be pro-act-tick: from epigenetics to tick vaccines. | RL 243 |
| Feb 7 | Schoville Lab students | Schoville Lab | Molecular Ecology on Parade | RL 243 |
| Feb 14 | Dan Young | Young Lab | There and back again: A personal journey | RL 243 |
| Mon, Mar 31 | Fletcher Robbins | Dept of Entomology | MS Exit Seminar | RL 216 (FWE) |
| Wed, Apr 9 | Doane Lecture: Dr. Claire Kremen | University of British Columbia | Conservation and connectivity in agricultural working lands | Watch the recording |
| Thu, Apr 10 | Dr. Claire Kremen | University of British Columbia | Multifunctionality and biodiversity along an agricultural diversification gradient in Central Coast California | RL 584 |
| Apr 11 | Department Town Hall | RL 243 | ||
| Thu, Apr 17 | Sean Schoville | UW Entomology | The Role of Genomics in Studying and Managing Pest Evolution | Biotech Center, 425 Henry Mall, Room 1111 |
| Apr 18 | PJ Liesch | UW Entomology | Insect Diagnostic Lab Update | RL 216 (FWE) |
| Apr 25 | Exit seminar - Sumi | UW Entomology | Estimating the relative contribution of wild bees to crop pollination in apple, cranberry, and squash in Wisconsin (USA) | RL 243 |
| May 2 | Spring Picnic | |||
To subscribe to the Entomology Events Calendar in Outlook, follow the instructions on the Department Resources page.
Doane Lecture Series
The Department of Entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison hosts a special seminar series, entitled “The Charles Chesley Doane Distinguished Lecture.” Typically held during the fall semester, the event includes a main lecture of broad interest to the entire campus community plus a smaller, more specialized lecture or discussion to a narrower audience of mostly entomologists. For more information on the Department’s annual Doane Lecture Series and to view past and future speakers, please click here.
Past Seminars
Recordings of many past seminars are available below. Click any of the seminar series buttons below to expand the content.
+2024 Fall Colloquium
2025 Spring Colloquium
Fridays, 3-4 pm, in either the Russell Labs 243 conference room or 216 FWE library. Seminars to be followed by Friday Swarm 4-6:00 pm.| Date | Speaker | Affiliation | Title | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24 | Dr. Mike Howe | ORISE Fellow, Juneau Forestry Lab, USDA Forest Service Pacific Northwest Research Station | Where, when, and how do population irruptions by forest insects occur? | RL 216 (FWE library) |
| Jan 31 | Stephanie Guzman & Tean Zaheer | Chavez Lab | In a world full of ticks, be pro-act-tick: from epigenetics to tick vaccines. | RL 243 |
| Feb 7 | Schoville Lab students | Schoville Lab | Molecular Ecology on Parade | RL 243 |
| Feb 14 | Dan Young | Young Lab | There and back again: A personal journey | RL 243 |
| Mon, Mar 31 | Fletcher Robbins | Dept of Entomology | MS Exit Seminar | RL 216 (FWE) |
| Wed, Apr 9 | Doane Lecture: Dr. Claire Kremen | University of British Columbia | Conservation and connectivity in agricultural working lands | Watch the recording |
| Thu, Apr 10 | Dr. Claire Kremen | University of British Columbia | Multifunctionality and biodiversity along an agricultural diversification gradient in Central Coast California | RL 584 |
| Apr 11 | Department Town Hall | RL 243 | ||
| Thu, Apr 17 | Sean Schoville | UW Entomology | The Role of Genomics in Studying and Managing Pest Evolution | Biotech Center, 425 Henry Mall, Room 1111 |
| Apr 18 | PJ Liesch | UW Entomology | Insect Diagnostic Lab Update | RL 216 (FWE) |
| Apr 25 | Exit seminar - Sumi | UW Entomology | Estimating the relative contribution of wild bees to crop pollination in apple, cranberry, and squash in Wisconsin (USA) | RL 243 |
| May 2 | Spring Picnic | |||
+2024 Spring Colloquium
2024 Spring Colloquium
Please note the time and location for each seminar alternates weekly.| Date/Time | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Jan 26, 3pm | Susan Paskewitz | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Feb 2, 12pm (noon) | Linda Oforka | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 150 |
| Fri, Feb 9, 3pm | Sean Schoville | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Feb 16, 3pm | Claudio Gratton | Lab talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Feb 23, 3pm | Shawn Steffan | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Mar 1, 3pm | Adela Olivia-Chavez | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Mar 22, 3pm | PJ Liesch | NOW That's What I Call Diagnostics! 10 | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Mar 29 | Spring Break - No Colloquium | |||
| Fri, Apr 5, 12 pm (noon) | Dominic Evangelista | Phylogenetics of the strange and unknown (Blattodea) | University of Illinois - Urbana Champaign | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Apr 12, 3pm | Christelle Guedot | Lab Talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, Apr 19, 12pm (noon) | Stephen Kells | Experiences in the “Let’s Beat the Bug” Campaign to counter societal resurgence of bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) | University of Minnesota | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Apr 26, 12pm (noon) | UW Entomology DEI | Town Hall | UW Entomology | RL 243 |
| Fri, May 3, 3-5pm | Russell Labs picnic | Outside behind RL | ||
| Fri, May 9-10 (TBD) | Silvia Rondon | Pest Monitoring and Climate and Weather-Based Decision Support Tools: Predicting the Unpredictable | Oregon State University | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, May 17, 12:00pm (noon) | Ebony Taylor | M.S. Defense | UW Entomology | RL 150 |
+2023 Fall Colloquium
2023 Fall Colloquium
Please note the time and location for each seminar alternates weekly.| Date/Time | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Sep 8, 3pm | Russ Groves | Chair's Update | UW Entomology | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Thu, Sep 14, 4:30pm | Lars Chittka | The Mind of a Bee | Queen Mary University of London | UW Biotech Center Auditorium - Not recorded |
| Fri, Sep 15, noon | Lars Chittka | Brown Bag Talk | Queen Mary University of London | RL 147 - Not recorded |
| Fri, Sep 22, 3pm | Emily Bick | Lab talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 - Not recorded |
| Fri, Sep 29, noon | Kirsten Biefeld | Communicating with Plant Pests | WI-DATCP | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Oct 6, 3pm | James Crall | Lab talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 - Not recorded |
| Fri, Oct 13, noon | Siyuan Feng and John Pool | Fly genomes through space and time illuminate adaptation to novel environments | UW Madison Genetics | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Oct 20, 3pm | Russ Groves | Lab talk | UW Entomology | RL 243 - Not recorded |
| Fri, Nov 17, noon | Monique Rivera | Understanding and using insect biology to develop biorational techniques to mitigate insect vector transmitted plant pathogens | Cornell | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Dec 1, 3pm | Russ Groves | Celebration of Dr. Tom German | UW Entomology | Plant Pathology Library |
| Fri, Dec 8, noon | DEI / Community Building - Dr. Melina Packer | "Doing Science Differently: Critical Contributions from Queer, Feminist, and Postcolonial Science Studies" | UW Entomology | RL 150 - Watch recording |
| Fri, Dec 15, noon | Jillian Schat | PhD Defense | UW Entomology | RL 150 - Watch recording |
+2023 Spring Colloquium
2023 Spring Colloquium
| Date | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 3 | Molli Pauliot | The Emerald Ash Borer’s Impact on Ho-Chunk Black Ash Baskets | UW-Madison Anthropology | Watch recording |
| Feb 10 | Jennifer Zaspel | Integrating collections, research, education, and exhibits to advance biodiversity science and STEM learning | VP/Academic Dean, Milwaukee Public Museum | Watch recording |
| Feb 17 | Jay Watson | WI DNR's Terrestrial Insect Conservation & Management Program | WI Department of Natural Resources | Watch recording |
| Feb 24 | Jared Ali | CANCELLED: Chemical Ecology of Plant Defense and Multi-trophic Interactions: Bad Bugs, Pungent Parasites and Toxic Travelers | Penn State | Cancelled due to weather |
| Mar 3 | Seth Donoughe | Eggshells and wings: How developing tissues build complex materials, and what this reveals about predictability in evolution | University of Chicago | Watch recording |
| Mar 10 | Olivia Bernauer | Global change and pollinators: Functional diversity and resilience | UW-Madison Entomology | Watch recording |
| Mar 17 | No Colloquium | Spring Break | ||
| Mar 24 | PJ Liesch | Tales from the Insect Diagnostic Lab: Trends and other Stories from 2022 | UW-Madison Entomology | Watch recording |
| Mar 31 | Miriam Kishinevsky | Parasitoids in the field: what do we assume and what do we know? | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Apr 7 | Allee Hochmuth | Communication and Conflict Transformation 101: A Cross-Disciplinary Approach | UW-Madison | Watch recording View slides |
| Apr 14 | August Easton-Calabria | MS defense | UW-Madison Entomology | Watch recording |
| Apr 21 | Quinn McFrederick | The weird world of pathogens, microbes, and meat-eating bees | UC Riverside | Watch recording |
| Apr 28 | Ben Iuliano | Ph.D. defense: Ecological and social dimensions of insect natural enemy conservation in Wisconsin agricultural landscapes | UW-Madison Entomology, Integrative Biology | Watch recording |
| Tue, May 2, 1pm | Kristina Lopez | Ph.D. defense: Evaluating adult mosquito control and insecticide resistance in a West Nile virus hot-spot | UW-Madison | Russell A228 or via zoom |
| May 5 | Skye Bruce (Harnsberger) | Ph.D. defense: Landscape ecology & conservation of grassland butterflies in Wisconsin | UW-Madison Entomology | Watch recording |
| Tue, May 9, 2-3pm | Dr. Marilia Gaiarsa | Special Seminar | UC-Merced | In-person, Russell 594 |
| May 12 | Matt Hetherington | Ph.D. defense: Exploring the sensory ecology and behavioral management of two North American Lygus species | UW-Madison | In-person or via zoom |
+2022 Fall Colloquium
2022 Fall Colloquium
| Date | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 16 | Berry Brosi | Effects of experimentally induced community-level phenological mismatches on plant pollination and fecundity | University of Washington | Watch recording |
| Sep 23 | Rick Lindroth | The butterfly effect: highlights, lowlights, and insights from my 37-year career at UW-Madison | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Sep 30 | Shawn Steffan and Allee Hochmuth | Departmental Codes and Policies etc. | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Oct 7 | Ainsley Seago | Evolution of beetle iridescence | Carnegie Museum of Natural History (Pittsburgh, PA) | Watch recording |
| Oct 14 | Russ Groves | Departmental awards and recognition | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Oct 21 | Prarthana Dharampal | Microbes within food webs--the invisible dark matter that matters | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Oct 28 | Bobbi Peckarsky | Effects of climate change on stream insects | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Nov 4 | Ignacio Escalante Meza | Mechanisms and evolutionary implications of behaviors: biomechanics and communication in an arachnid | UW-Milwaukee/University of Illinois at Chicago | Watch recording |
| Thu Nov 10 | Victoria Lason | Characterizing Insect Feeding Behaviors Which Enhance Epiphytic Salmonella enterica Bacterial Populations | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Nov 11 | Zeyaur Khan | An Adventure in Applied Entomology: A History of Three Decades of Research and Future Directions of Push-Pull Agriculture in Africa | International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya | Watch recording | View slides |
| Nov 18 | Xia Lee | Zuam thiab Hmoob (Ticks and the Hmong) | WI DHS + UW Entomology | Watch recording |
| Nov 25 | No Colloquium | Thanksgiving Break | ||
| Thu, Dec 1, 4-5pm | Dr. Laura Figueroa | Bees, bugs & beyond: one researcher's story to understand and promote pollinator health and inclusivity in science | University of Massachusetts-Amherst | Watch recording |
| Dec 9 | Anurag Agrawal | Doane Lecture | Cornell EEB | Watch recording |
| Thu, Dec 15 | Mitchell Lannan | MS Exit Seminar: Impact of attract-and-kill on Popillia japonica (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and survey of bee abundance and diversity in Wisconsin vineyards | UW-Madison Entomology |
+2022 Spring Colloquium
2022 Spring Colloquium
| Date | Speaker | Topic/Title | Affiliation | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 28 | Celso Oliveira | Phytochemical diversity and plant-insect interactions | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| Feb 4 | Dr. Shalene Jha | Plant-animal interactions and ecosystem services in the face of global change | University of Texas, Austin | Watch recording |
| Feb 11 | Dr. Lynn Adler | Floral traits mediating bee-pathogen interactions | University of Massachusetts, Amherst | Watch recording |
| Wed, Feb 16 | Dr. Emily Bick | Digital Entomology: Approaches in precision pest ecology | University of Copenhagen | Not recorded |
| Feb 18 | No seminar | - | - | - |
| Feb 25 | Dr. Punya Nachappa | Wild wild west: emerging viruses and viroids of hemp in Colorado | Colorado State | Watch recording |
| Mar 4 | No noon seminar | - | - | - |
| Wed, Mar 9 | Dr. Sara Emery | Big data, conservation biological control and precision pest ecology | UC Davis | Not recorded |
| Mar 11 | Dr. Art Woods | Thermal ecology of aspen leaf miners | University of Montana, Missoula | Watch recording |
| Mar 18 | SPRING BREAK | - | - | - |
| Mar 25 | PJ Liesch | 2021's Trends and Highlights from the UW Insect Diagnostic Lab | UW-Madison | PJ Liesch |
| Thu, Mar 31 | Dr. Diana Six | From little to big: Bark beetle-fungus symbiosis effects at the landscape level | University of Montana, Missoula | Not recorded |
| Apr 1 | Dr. Diana Six | Forests, bark beetles and a changing climate: Finding trees that have what it takes to persist in the face of severe outbreaks | University of Montana, Missoula | Watch recording |
| Apr 8 | Dr. Amelia Lindsey | Symbiont-mediated losses of sex in parasitoid wasps | University of Minnesota | Watch recording |
| Apr 15 | Dr. Lora Richards | Caterpillars, chemistry, and plants: A story of diversity and scale | University of Nevada, Reno | Watch recording |
| Apr 22 | Dr. Emily Poppenborg Martin | Arthropod biodiversity and ecosystem services in farmland: pathways to prediction, pathways to enhancement? | University of Hannover | Watch recording |
| Apr 29 | Yi-Ming Weng | Evolution in sky islands: how alpine beetles respond to glacial cycles | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
| May 6 | Erin Lowe | Dissertation defense | UW-Madison | Watch recording |
+2021 Fall Colloquium
2021 Fall Colloquium
| Date | Speaker | Title | Affiliation | Format |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri, Sep 10 | EGSA-hosted picnic | In person | ||
| Fri, Sep 17 | Dr. Matt Smith | The mechanisms and ecological impact of individuality in insect behavior | UW-Madison (from Harvard) | In person + Virtual |
| Fri, Sep 24 | Dr. Genevieve Pugesek | The cryptic life cycle stages of bumble bees: using natural history to guide conservation | UW-Madison (from Tufts) | In person + Virtual |
| Fri, Oct 01 | Dr. D. André Green II | Monarch migration as an integrative model of complex trait evolution | University of Michigan | Virtual |
| Fri, Oct 08 | Dr. Joe Louis | Regulation of plant defense responses to sap-sucking aphids | University of Nebraska | Virtual |
| Fri, Oct 15 | Dr. Mary Jamieson | Understanding drivers of plant-insect interactions: from landscapes to molecules | Oakland University | In person + Virtual |
| Fri, Oct 22 | Dr. Lynette Strickland | Variation in nature: maintenance, control and benefits | University of Memphis | Virtual |
| Fri, Oct 29 | Dr. Lora Richards | Phytochemical diversity, plant-insect interactions | University of Nevada-Reno | In person + Virtual |
| Fri, Nov 05 | No colloquium (Entomology Society of America Meeting) | |||
| Tue, Nov 9 | Dr. Gebbiena Bron - Research Seminar | From plague to Rift Valley fever: exploring vector-borne pathogen invasion, persistence, and control | Wageningen University | In person (Rm 150) |
| Wed, Nov 10 | Dr. Gebbiena Bron - Teaching Seminar | Zoonotic vector-borne diseases: How they stay with us and how to control them | Wageningen University | In person (Rm 216) |
| Fri, Nov 12 | Dr. Anurag Agrawal | Convergence and divergence in the diversity of insects feeding on a toxic plant | Cornell University | In person (Doane Lecture) + Virtual |
| Mon, Nov 15 | Dr. Andrew MacDonald | Infectious disease in a changing world: Land use and climate change impacts on vector-borne disease | University of California, Santa Barbara | In person (Rm 150) + Zoom |
| Tue, Nov 16 | Dr. Andrew MacDonald | Planetary health impacts of land use and land cover change | University of California, Santa Barbara | In person (Rm 216) + Zoom |
| Fri, Nov 19 | Dr. Anthony Vaudo | Bee nutritional ecology: unifying behavior, communities, and conservation | University of Nevada-Reno | Zoom |
| Fri, Nov 26 | No colloquium (Thanksgiving) | |||
| Mon, Nov 29 | Dr. Jean Tsao - Research Seminar | Distribution of Lyme disease risk in the eastern US: it's not just about the ticks....or is it? | Michigan State | In person (Rm 150) + Zoom |
| Tue, Nov 30 | Dr. Jean Tsao - Teaching Seminar | Emerging infectious diseases and spillover events: Cats, mink, deer, oh my! | Michigan State | In person (Rm 216) + Zoom |
| Fri, Dec 03 | DEI Committee | |||
| Fri, Dec 10 | Martin Ventura | Student Defense | UW-Madison | In person + Zoom |