An EconoTimes perspective

Daniel Bliss1

Master's Student in Entomology, Penn State

Master's Student in Entomology, Penn State B.S. in Biology from Urisnus College Areas of expertise: Ecology, Entomology, IPM, Spiders, Carabid Beetles I am interested in the ecology of arthropods--how they interact with plants, with each other, and with us. My research looks for ways to use arthropod ecology to benefit agricultural efficiency, specifically through the process of biological control. Biological control is a strategy of pest management which uses natural enemies (predators and parasitoids primarily) as killing agents, reducing our reliance upon chemical insecticides. My projects are focused on improving this process, identifying new control agents and increasing the effectiveness of those we already use. I recently began studying spiders with the hopes of using them to control problematic pests in alfalfa, a common forage crop. The results so far are very promising.