Lopez-Uribe Lab

10/28/2026

🌼🐝 Humans have changed the flowers of our crops through breeding. What does that mean for pollinators?

About 40% of Earth’s land has been converted to agriculture, and crops are the dominant plants there. But we know surprisingly little about how breeding has changed the way crop flowers advertise to pollinators, or whether those changes affect pollinator behavior.

In our new paper, led by Kristen Brochu-De Luca, we compared wild and domesticated squashes and pumpkins (Cucurbita). We found that domestication is associated with changes in every floral trait we measured: flower shape, scent, pollen, and nectar. These changes were linked to more visits from generalist pollinators like bumble bees, but didn’t change the behavior of specialist squash bees.

We’ve reshaped the flowers across a big part of the planet, and the changes match what generalist pollinators prefer.

📖 Read the open-access paper: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10682-026-10425-z

National Science Foundation (NSF)
Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

10/24/2026

This week, we spoke to the National Organic Standards Board about Organic Apiculture. We have been working for over a decade on science-based recommendations to help US beekeepers access this market. And now this science may be incorporated into policy. Read about our NOSB testimony on organic apiculture and what the science says: https://lopezuribelab.com/2026/10/24/commentary-for-nosb-on-organic-apiculture/

10/16/2026

🎃 Drought doesn’t just stress your pumpkins and squash. It also affects the bees that pollinate them.

In a new Penn State Extension article from work led by Nina Devine, we tested 8 Cucurbita varieties under well-watered and drought conditions, using rainout shelters. What we found:

💧 Drought-stressed plants produced more male flowers and about 40% fewer female flowers. Only female flowers set fruit.
🐝 Bee visits dropped from about 1 per flower on well-watered plants to about 0.3 on drought-stressed plants.
📉 Yields fell in every variety, by 43% to 73%. “Blue Ballet” was the most drought-tolerant.
🐛 Aphids and cucumber beetles were more abundant on drought-stressed plants. Butternut varieties had the lowest pest pressure overall.

What growers can do: irrigate at least 3x/week during dry spells (drip is preferred over sprinklers to limit powdery mildew), choose varieties with pest susceptibility in mind, and scout regularly so insecticide goes on only when thresholds are exceeded and not during peak bloom, when pollinators are most active.

Read the full article: https://extension.psu.edu/irrigation-and-cultivar-selection-for-cucurbit-pollination-and-ipm

Research by Monica Kersch-Becker, Margarita López-Uribe, Luis Duque, Patricia Prade, 📷 Jaydyn Isiminger

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences Penn State Extension

Cucurbit growers can use resistant varieties and proper irrigation to manage insect pests, protect pollinators, and improve crop resilience under drought and other environmental stresses.

10/01/2026

🐝 How many bee species are there in Colombia? More than we thought! 🇨🇴

Despite Colombia’s incredible biodiversity in birds, plants, and butterflies, much of what we know about bee diversity comes from temperate regions. In our new study, we bring together data from local entomological collections, public databases, and taxonomic literature to create the first comprehensive checklist of bees in Colombia.

🔎 We documented 738 bee species across 123 genera and 5 families, including:
🐝 246 new records for Colombia
🌿 140 endemic species (19% of the total)
🌎 Bees from diverse ecosystems across the country
🏡 57% solitary species and 57% above-ground nesters

Our analyses also reveal important gaps in our knowledge. Sampling has been heavily concentrated in the Andes, while Colombia’s xeric ecosystems remain critically understudied. Accumulation curves suggest that ~26% of Colombia’s bee fauna may still be undescribed or unreported!

This study provides an important baseline for understanding, monitoring, and conserving Colombia’s remarkable bee diversity—and highlights the power of collaboration among institutions and researchers to document biodiversity in megadiverse regions.

🐝🌎 There is still so much to discover!

📖 Read the paper and explore Colombia’s incredible bee diversity: https://peerj.com/articles/21684/ #

_______________________________

🐝 ¿Cuántas especies de abejas hay en Colombia? ¡Más de lo que pensábamos! 🇨🇴

A pesar de la extraordinaria biodiversidad de Colombia en aves, plantas y mariposas, gran parte de nuestro conocimiento sobre la diversidad de abejas proviene de regiones templadas. En nuestro nuevo estudio, integramos información de colecciones entomológicas locales, bases de datos públicas y literatura taxonómica para construir la primera lista completa de las especies de abejas de Colombia.

🔎 Documentamos 738 especies de abejas, pertenecientes a 123 géneros y 5 familias, incluyendo:
🐝 246 nuevos registros para Colombia
🌿 140 especies endémicas (19% del total)
🌎 Abejas de una gran diversidad de ecosistemas
🏡 57% de especies solitarias y 57% que anidan sobre el suelo

Nuestros análisis también revelan importantes vacíos de conocimiento. El muestreo se ha concentrado principalmente en los Andes, mientras que los ecosistemas xéricos de Colombia siguen siendo muy poco estudiados. Las curvas de acumulación sugieren que ~26% de la fauna de abejas colombiana podría aún estar sin describir o sin registrar.

Este estudio proporciona una base fundamental para comprender, monitorear y conservar la extraordinaria diversidad de abejas de Colombia, y demuestra el valor de la colaboración entre instituciones y científicos para documentar la biodiversidad de regiones megadiversas.

🐝🌎 ¡Todavía tenemos muchísimo por descubrir!

📖 Lee el artículo y descubre la diversidad de abejas de Colombia: https://peerj.com/articles/21684/ #

09/14/2026

Another successful year for the Great Insect Fair! 🐝🦋🐞

The Great Insect Fair is the annual outreach event hosted by the Department of Entomology at Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences. This year, thousands of people came out to celebrate the fascinating world of insects!

The LU Lab had the opportunity to share our knowledge and passion for bees and pollination with kids, families, and adults. One of the most rewarding parts of our work is helping people overcome their fear of insects and replace negative perceptions with curiosity, amazement, and appreciation for these incredible animals and the essential roles they play in our ecosystems. 🌎🌸🐝

We love seeing the next generation of insect enthusiasts being inspired! 💚🐝

Photos by Tunç Dabak

08/19/2026

A Penn State apiarist at Ag Progress Days demonstrated how honeybee drones find the queen in order to mate.

08/11/2026

NEW BOOK! Free download!

The Bee Genera of North and Central America (Hymenoptera: Apoidea): Second Edition

This second edition presents a fully updated treatment of the bees of North America, with illustrated keys to the genera, notes on the biology, ecology, and classification of each of the 173 genera, and color habitus photographs of both the male and female of each genus. Smaller, more manageable keys with improved illustrations and images help make this edition essential to identification by bee researchers for the foreseeable future.

Smithsonian Scholarly Press
Download PDF 👉https://hymenoptera.short.gy/GCdh1P

07/30/2026

Unfortunately, yellow-legged hornets have been found in North Carolina.

07/30/2026

Sign up for “Introduction to Honey Bee Microscopy” 🔬
August 8 @ 10:00 am – 12:00 pm
At St James School in East Falls
You don’t need to be experienced or a scientist to enjoy this incredible journey into the microscopic world of bees, varroa, small hive beetle vs wax moth larvae, and more ‼️

Join Dr. Robyn Underwood from Penn State Extension
for a hands-on exploration of bees and their pests. Get up close and personal with pinned worker bees, varroa mites, small hive beetle and wax moth larvae, and more. Use a dissecting microscope to understand why swiffer pads catch shb adults, how to look for tracheal mites, what is contained in bottom board debris, etc. No previous experience required.

Sign up at our events page ( 🔗 in IG bio) at phillybeekeepers.org

07/30/2026

🍯 Did you know that honey produced in the continental U.S. may actually be as pesticide-free as imported organic honey?

Our latest research shows that honey produced by organically managed honey bee colonies in the northeastern US is comparable to imported certified organic honey. Our findings highlight the need to rethink how organic honey is certified and labeled in the US. With some changes to the current organic beekeeping guidelines, it may be possible to support local beekeepers in producing organic honey bee products that meet high organic standards and are safe for consumers.

Read more about the study here: https://www.psu.edu/news/agricultural-sciences/story/honey-continental-us-may-be-pesticide-free-imported-organic-honey

The original study is open access:
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972600714X?via%3Dihub

Honey from the continental U.S. can’t currently be certified organic due to specific land requirements, but farms in the Northeast may still produce honey that is as low in pesticide residue as imported organic honeys, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State, Cornell University a...