05-23-06

News Tip: Iowa State experts can comment on the bugs of summer

AMES, Iowa -- They fly, they bite, they sting, they chew. And as temperatures in Iowa begin to soar, so do the bugs of summer. Iowa State University's entomology department is ready to help you decipher this year's insect invasion.

Mosquitoes and ticks

Lyric Bartholomay

Assistant professor and medical entomologist

(515) 294-0594 or lyricb@iastate.edu

Bartholomay directs the university's Medical Entomology Laboratory, including the surveillance program for the state of Iowa (http://www.ent.iastate.edu/medent/surveillance). The program provides public health and general information about mosquito populations and the potential for disease transmission.

Insects in and around the home

Donald Lewis

Professor and extension entomologist

(515) 294-1101 or drlewis@iastate.edu

Lewis leads activities of the extension urban entomology program. He can discuss insects found in the home, yard and garden -- from ants and beetles to spiders and termites.

Flies, ticks, lice, mosquitoes

Kenneth Holscher

Associate professor and extension entomologist

(515) 294-1101 or kholsche@iastate.edu

Holscher is an expert on insects of medical or veterinary interest -- flies, ticks, lice, mosquitoes -- and their management in the livestock and poultry industry.

Insect repellents

Joel R. Coats Professor

(515) 294-4776 or jcoats@iastate.edu

Coats is an entomologist and toxicologist and researches natural repellents like catnip, and chemical insecticides like DEET. He can discuss these as well as the degradation and movement of insecticides and pesticides in the environment.

Additional information on Iowa insects and current insect problems in the state is online at http://www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/iiin/.

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