Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology

07/14/2026

07/14/2026

As cases of a deadly cattle disease rise in Arkansas, researchers with the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station are testing two treatments they hope will help ranchers protect their herds.

The disease is bovine theileriosis and is caused by the parasite Theileria orientalis Ikeda, carried primarily by the invasive Asian longhorned tick. Arkansas cases of the disease increased drastically in 2025, just a year after being confirmed in the state, said Emily McDermott, an assistant professor in the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology for the experiment station, the research arm of the U of A Division of Agriculture.

No approved drugs or vaccines to treat or prevent the pathogen are currently available in the United States, but research on the two methods to control it is now underway at the experiment station thanks to a two-year, $492,218 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Arkansas cattle ranchers are reporting "significant losses of the herd, resulting in economic hardship," said McDermott, project director of the NIFA grant titled "Rapid response strategies to mitigate Theileria orientalis Ikeda spread in Arkansas."

As part of the research, McDermott and her collaborators will evaluate a prescription anti-tick vaccine from the company Medgene for long-term protection and the slow-release parasiticide eprinomectin, used with currently labeled acaricides for the Asian longhorned tick. The eprinomectin will be compared to two available pyrethroid products.

Both treatments are commercially available and can be adopted quickly by producers, she said.
'I Thought It Was Anaplasmosis, But It Was Weird'

In cattle, the symptoms of bovine theileriosis tend to mirror those of anaplasmosis, a bacterial disease also transmitted by ticks to cattle. Symptoms in the cow may include weight loss, reduced milk production, loss of appetite, anemia and reproductive losses.

"One of the tricky things about Theileria is that it looks so much like anaplasmosis that I think a lot of producers might not be aware they have a new disease," McDermott said. "We've heard the same story a lot over the last year … 'I had a bunch of cows die, and I thought it was anaplasmosis, but it was weird.'

"The more that we're getting information out there about Theileria, a lot of producers are starting to think that something else was going on," she said.

A major difference between the two diseases is that bovine theileriosis can cause symptoms in cattle of any age, whereas anaplasmosis symptoms and illness typically occur in older cattle, said Kelly Loftin, extension entomologist for the Division of Agriculture and a collaborator on the research.
Worst Cattle Pathogen Since the Texas Cattle Fever

Two genotypes of the parasite T. orientalis — Ikeda and Chitose — have been confirmed in Arkansas. The more harmful of the two genotypes is Ikeda, which can kill cattle by attacking blood cells. The parasite is not known to cause disease in animals other than cattle, McDermott said.

In preliminary research at the experiment station's Savoy Research Complex in Fayetteville, theileriosis from T. orientalis Ikeda is thought to have contributed to poor reproductive efficiency and a drop in weaning weights, said Jeremy Powell, a veterinarian, professor in the Department of Animal Science for the Division of Agriculture, and collaborator on the research.

Infections of T. orientalis Ikeda have been reported to kill an average of 1% to 5% of infected cattle, but can be as high as 50%, according to a January 2024 USDA Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service fact sheet.

"It's hard to think of a tick-borne cattle pathogen that's had this much of an impact in the United States since Texas cattle fever, which became a major issue in Arkansas from the pre-Civil War era until the mid-20th century," McDermott said.

To clear Arkansas of Texas cattle fever, the state also partnered with the USDA from 1907 to about 1943.
Raising Awareness

The NIFA grant also provides funding for routine outreach through the Division of Agriculture's Cooperative Extension Service to educate county extension agents, ranchers and veterinarians on the risk and transmission of the parasite.

Asian longhorned ticks were first noticed in Arkansas eight years ago, with the first confirmed report in the United States being just a year prior in New Jersey. The ticks reproduce asexually and can lay thousands of eggs at a time.

The first bovine theileriosis cases in Arkansas from T. orientalis Ikeda were confirmed in 2024 in two Arkansas counties, Loftin said. Since then, the disease has been confirmed in 15 Arkansas counties across the state, with 10 counties holding established Asian longhorned tick populations. Loftin said the numbers are anticipated to grow.

Some counties have both ticks and confirmed disease cases, while others have the disease and no ticks, suggesting the disease is moving with cattle after they are relocated, Loftin added.
Mechanical Transmission Potential

McDermott said questions remain about whether other insects might also be able to transmit the pathogen mechanically.

"Mechanical transmission, I always say, is kind of like a dirty needle with wings," McDermott said. "Theileria can be mechanically transmitted because it is a blood-borne pathogen, and so theoretically, anything that breaks the skin is a means to transmit this. Things like horse flies are biting the animal and then quickly moving to another animal to bite, and that's where there's the potential to move that pathogen between animals without it actually infecting the insect."

Biological transmission, as opposed to mechanical transmission, is when the vector is an active and essential part of the pathogen's life cycle. Once the vector acquires the pathogen, usually through a blood meal, the disease-causing agent must multiply, develop or undergo crucial life-cycle stages inside the vector before it can be transmitted to a new host.

Instructions on taking blood samples to limit unintended mechanical transmission are part of the outreach.

"There's a whole lot of interest, and we have a dedicated website that we're going to continue with this study," Loftin said. "We'll also do a few field days regionally that will involve showing the different treatment techniques for the tick and passing out free needles."

Loftin has been sharing information about the tick and disease through a webinar series and the Asian Longhorned Ticks & Theileriosis in Arkansas website.

This work is supported by the Rapid Response to Emerging and Re-emerging Pest and Disease Events program, project award no. 2026-68019-46340, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The Departments of Entomology and Plant Pathology and Animal Science are part of the Division of Agriculture and the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences at the U of A.

(story by John Lovett)

https://tinyurl.com/mwan3hef

Kelly Loftin's webinar series on Asian longhorned ticks & theileriosis in Arkansas:

https://tinyurl.com/4wpukxky



AG | FOOD | LIFE

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Department Of Animal Science - UA American Society of Animal Science - ASAS Arkansas Entomology Arkansas Cattlemen's Association Cattlemen's Association at the University of Arkansas National Cattlemen's Beef Association Arkansas Beef Council Arkansas Beefmaster Breeders Association Beefeater Tick Safety Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Arkansas Department of Agriculture

06/24/2026

With support, University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture research is identifying weak points in soybean cyst nematodes by disrupting how they hijack plant cells to survive.

Read more: https://aaes.uada.edu/news/soybean-cyst-nematodes/
Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station

06/24/2026

Thirty students were named Senior Scholars for 2025-26, and each department in U of A's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences has named its outstanding students for the year.

Seventeen students are First-Ranked Senior Scholars, signifying a 4.0 grade point average with all coursework completed at the U of A, and 13 are Senior Scholars, signifying students with the highest GPA (also all 4.0s) with at least half of their coursework completed at the U of A.

First-Ranked Senior Scholars

Henry Mikel Acuff, agricultural business
Abigail Rains Barker, animal science
Kenna Baysinger, food science
Charlotte Ruth Cleckler, human nutrition and dietetics
Sofia Crosier, human nutrition and dietetics
Audrey Felton D***s, animal science
Samantha Edwards, food, nutrition and health
Andie Katelyn Forbes, environmental, soil and water science
Cason Frisby, food science
Adison Declerk Halbert, human development and family sciences
Dason Lemuel Hensley, agricultural education, communications and technology
Gweneth Keith-Powell, environmental, soil and water science
Lauren Pruitt, environmental, soil and water science
Sophia Grace Roussel, apparel merchandising and product development
Wyatt Edward Scherer, animal science
Kaeleigh Grace Stroud, apparel merchandising and product development
Jorie Mae Wright, agricultural business

Senior Scholars

Dallis Noel Beverlin, agricultural education, communications and technology
Grace Carroum, human nutrition and dietetics
Caroline Madisyn Cash, agricultural business
Acey Fahr, animal science
David Christopher Frawley, agricultural education, communications and technology
Rachel Griffith, human nutrition and dietetics
Katie Kasserman, animal science
Harlynn Reese Lester, apparel merchandising and product development
Samuel Roark Lowry, human development and family sciences
Susan Richey, human development and family sciences
Sydney Talley, environmental, soil and water science
Sydney Ann Terry, human nutrition and dietetics
Elizabeth Tynes, apparel merchandising and product development

Departmental Outstanding Students

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness
Chet Hudgens, senior
Tyler Blazzard, M.S.

Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology
Joshua Uptigrove, senior
Molly McKettrick, M.S.
Marcus Martin, Ph.D.

Animal Science
Kate Henderson, senior
Jacy Riddle, M.S.
Robin Cheek, Ph.D.

Crop, Soil and Environmental Sciences
Andie Forbes, senior
Jonathan Brye, M.S.

Entomology and Plant Pathology
Soumya Unnikrishnan, M.S.
Devi Balakrishnan, Ph.D.

Food Science
Cason Frisby, senior
Saydul Safwa, M.S.
Sumanjot Kaur, Ph.D.

Horticulture
Rylee Brown, senior
Claire Plassmeyer, M.S.
Alexander Silva, Ph.D.

Poultry Science
Allie Bowerman, senior
Emily Green, M.S.
Blake Nelson, Ph.D.

School of Human Environmental Sciences
Rachel Griffith (human nutrition & dietetics), senior
Elizabeth Amoako (human development & family sciences), M.S.

They were recognized at a reception on April 23 at the Don Tyson Center for Agricultural Sciences.

https://redirme.com/7egkq4

AG | FOOD | LIFE

Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, University of Arkansas Agricultural Education, Communications and Technology Department Of Animal Science - UA Crop, Soil, & Environmental Sciences (CSES) at the University of Arkansas Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Department of Food Science, University of Arkansas Uark Horticulture School of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Arkansas University of Arkansas Human Development & Family Sciences University of Arkansas Hospitality Management University of Arkansas Poultry Science Department Honors College - University of Arkansas

06/24/2026

It is not just humans enjoying the warmer weather; it is also insects and pests

05/05/2026

The Arkansas Insect Festival is back this fall and includes the varying sizes and colors of crawling insects and arthropods kids love, but there are changes this year.

In the past, the every-other-year event was held during the week and primarily served as a field trip experience for students from area schools. This year, kids are still welcome, but with their families and friends. The family-friendly event gives visitors of all ages the chance to discover facts, learn the benefit and value of, and the beauty of insects through hands-on exhibits, live critters and expert guidance from local entomologists.

Arkansas Insect Festival 2026 is a free event set for Saturday, Sept. 12, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Pauline Whitaker Animal Science Center (1335 W. Knapp Dr., Fayetteville). A sensory-friendly hour, for those wanting a quieter environment, is scheduled from 9-10 a.m.

Insect Fest is put on by faculty, students and staff in U of A's Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology in the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences. The event is a service and outreach effort to introduce families to the world of insects.

"We are so excited to be hosting this event once again," said Ken Korth, department head. "Along with our fantastic community partners, we will share the importance of insects, agriculture and science in the daily lives of Arkansans. The festival will have a slightly different format this year, but the emphasis is still the same with cool displays, accurate information and fun."

Visitors will meet entomologists and plant pathologists from across the state; interact with live critters in a safe, educational setting; enjoy returning favorite activities, including live cockroach races; and learn how insects impact food production, the environment and everyday life.

Planned activities and exhibits include insect displays; live arthropod zoo; butterfly house; cockroach races (cheer for a Madagascar hissing roach); honeybee display (peek inside a live hive); Scott Family Amazeum hands‑on activities; aphids: plant vampires; bats and other insect‑eating animals (Arkansas State Parks); butterflies in the garden (Master Gardeners); insects of medical, veterinary, agricultural and forest importance; Northwest Arkansas Master Naturalists; insects in culture and the arts; microscope display; plant disease diagnostic clinic; and insect crafts and coloring.

Individuals and groups wanting to host an exhibit as a Community Partner Exhibitor or serve as a volunteer should complete the registration form.

Since 1993, the Arkansas Insect Festival has been a biennial event welcoming more than 3,000 community members to each event to explore the world of insects and arthropods. Most visitors spend one to two hours enjoying the full range of displays and activities.

The festival is hosted by the: Department of Entomology & Plant Pathology, the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the U of A System Division of Agriculture and Bumpers College.

https://redirme.com/kng9gq



AG | FOOD | LIFE

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Arkansas Entomology Entomological Society of America The Bug Chicks Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service Fayetteville Flyer KUAF 91.3 Public Radio Ozarks at Large Only In Arkansas Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette CitiScapes Magazine

04/27/2026

It's that time of year again folks!

The Plant Pathology Graduate Student Association is putting on their annual Tomato Plant Sale! 🍅🌱

Email [email protected] or scan the QR code to see the items listed for sale or if you have questions.

You can place an online order here (recommended): https://commerce.cashnet.com/RSOUARKSO42

-OR-

See what they have left (quantities limited!!) the days of the event. Plants will be available for pickup or purchase in-person on May 1st and 2nd from 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM at the Cralley-Warren greenhouses (CWRL; 2601 N Young Ave, Fayetteville, AR 72704).

Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences University of Arkansas Graduate School and International Education
Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service