Fall 2025
Launching butterflies
Monarch butterflies get a helping hand in Elkton, Oregon. » More ...
Entomology
Fall 2025
Milkweed for monarchs
People often ask David James what they can do to help monarch butterflies. “Plant milkweed,” is his response.
Milkweed is a keystone plant, says James, associate professor of entomology at Washington State University who works at the Prosser Irrigated Agricultural Research and Extension Center.
“It’s not just monarchs you are helping by planting it, it’s pollinators generally,” he says. “Bees love it, but so do ladybugs, parasitic wasps, and other beneficial insects. We encourage farmers to leave patches of milkweed near their crops for biological pest control.”
After monarchs were proposed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act … » More …
Fall 2024
Briefly noted
Books by Washington State University alumni, faculty, and staff » More ...
Winter 2022
It’s fungi to the rescue
The value and virtues of fungi are deceptively simple. » More ...
Fall 2020
Cricket chili
Richard Zack organized a Bug Buffet as part of his Entomology 101 course for about 20 years. One of the mainstays of the insect-eating event was his cricket chili.
“It’s a kind of standard chili recipe,” he says.
Then he would add the insects.
“I would buy like 10,000 crickets,” says Zack, now the associate dean for academic programs at WSU’s College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences.
He’s no longer teaching the class nor hosting the famed Bug Buffet. But, here, he offers his cricket chili recipe for readers who might want to try it at home. It’s based … » More …
Fall 2020
A world without insects?
Insect abundance and biodiversity are declining worldwide. For Washington State University scientists, complacency is not an option. » More ...
Fall 2020
In a crunch for lunch?
Not only are insects packed with protein, vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, and flavor, they offer a sustainable way to eat. » More ...
Fall 2020
Bug recipes
David George Gordon, aka “The Bug Chef,” doesn’t eat bugs every day. And bugs aren’t his only source of protein. But, for. more than 20 years, he’s traveled the country giving cooking demonstrations and convincing people to eat crickets and cockroaches and other insects and arachnids. Here, he shares a few of his recipes, including one—his personal favorite—for the Deep-Fried Tarantula he shared on “The Late Late Show” with James Corden in 2015.
Need some inspiration? Check out the links below to videos featuring Gordon preparing bugs at the famed Explorers Club gala in New York City as well as his appearance on “The Late … » More …
Summer 2020
Celebrating 30 years
Three stories celebrating three decades of Washington State University in Spokane, Tri-Cities, and Vancouver » More ...
Winter 2018
Plan Bee
With honey bees in peril, agriculture turns to our wild bee species to help pollinate America’s crops. » More ...