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Invasive Species Research and Extension Lab
Virginia Tech

Congrats to our new undergraduate research assistants on completing their onboarding and joining our team! We are so excited to have you with us and can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish in the next few months. Stay tuned to hear about what they’ll be up to this summer! ☀️

Congrats to our new undergraduate research assistants on completing their onboarding and joining our team! We are so excited to have you with us and can’t wait to see what we’ll accomplish in the next few months. Stay tuned to hear about what they’ll be up to this summer! ☀️

Our lanternflies have hatched! We are rearing these in our quarantine facility for an upcoming experiment on food source preferences, led by our Master’s student, Andrea Lopez. Stay tuned for more!

Our lanternflies have hatched! We are rearing these in our quarantine facility for an upcoming experiment on food source preferences, led by our Master’s student, Andrea Lopez. Stay tuned for more!

We are sad to say farewell to two members of our team here at Virginia Tech, Anika Tsutsumi and Erin Hassett @erinmhassett, both who are graduating this semester. Anika and Erin have been essential to the research projects going on in our lab, and we appreciate all the hardwork they have done! We will miss you both, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

We are sad to say farewell to two members of our team here at Virginia Tech, Anika Tsutsumi and Erin Hassett @erinmhassett, both who are graduating this semester. Anika and Erin have been essential to the research projects going on in our lab, and we appreciate all the hardwork they have done! We will miss you both, and we wish you all the best in your future endeavors!

Congratulations to our research support specialist @erinmhassett for passing her PhD defense exam! Her thesis is titled: Spatial Heterogeneity in Wetland Hydrology and Subsurface Biogeochemistry Affect Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: a Field and Process-based Modeling Approach. Congrats, Erin! 🎉

Congratulations to our research support specialist @erinmhassett for passing her PhD defense exam! Her thesis is titled: Spatial Heterogeneity in Wetland Hydrology and Subsurface Biogeochemistry Affect Greenhouse Gas Fluxes: a Field and Process-based Modeling Approach. Congrats, Erin! 🎉

🚨 Pest Alert for the Two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper!

The two-spot cotton leafhopper (referred to by some as the two-spotted cotton leafhopper or the cotton jassid), Amrasca biguttula (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was first detected in Puerto Rico in 2023 and on the mainland United States in Florida in 2024. In 2025, extensive surveying efforts have identified the pest as far west as Texas and as far north as Northampton County, North Carolina, just south of the Virginia border. As of December 31, 2025, the two-spot cotton leafhopper has not been confirmed anywhere in Virginia. This pest can cause significant economic injury to major crops grown in Virginia, including cotton and peanut.

Be on the lookout!

Read more:
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/pubs_ext_vt_edu/en/ENTO/ento-639.html

🚨 Pest Alert for the Two-Spot Cotton Leafhopper!

The two-spot cotton leafhopper (referred to by some as the two-spotted cotton leafhopper or the cotton jassid), Amrasca biguttula (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), was first detected in Puerto Rico in 2023 and on the mainland United States in Florida in 2024. In 2025, extensive surveying efforts have identified the pest as far west as Texas and as far north as Northampton County, North Carolina, just south of the Virginia border. As of December 31, 2025, the two-spot cotton leafhopper has not been confirmed anywhere in Virginia. This pest can cause significant economic injury to major crops grown in Virginia, including cotton and peanut.

Be on the lookout!

Read more:
https://www.pubs.ext.vt.edu/content/pubs_ext_vt_edu/en/ENTO/ento-639.html

Well done, Taylor! He gave his PhD proposal seminar today “Getting Knotty: Japanese Knotweed as an ecosystem engineer”. A great conclusion to the fall semester!

Well done, Taylor! He gave his PhD proposal seminar today “Getting Knotty: Japanese Knotweed as an ecosystem engineer”. A great conclusion to the fall semester!

While we are sad to see Christina leave the lab, we are excited for her next career journey! If you see Christina around VT, give her a big congratulations 🎉

While we are sad to see Christina leave the lab, we are excited for her next career journey! If you see Christina around VT, give her a big congratulations 🎉

Our lab members are at it again with the invasive bamboo removal!

Our lab members are at it again with the invasive bamboo removal!

Our lab members are in the news! In Blacksburg, Anika (first picture, left) and Christina (first picture, center) joined ASEZ to remove invasive bamboo, helping restore the park’s natural ecosystem and improve sunlight access for native vegetation. Nice work, Team!

Read the full article below:
https://asez.org/asez-in-the-us-removing-invasive-plants/

Our lab members are in the news! In Blacksburg, Anika (first picture, left) and Christina (first picture, center) joined ASEZ to remove invasive bamboo, helping restore the park’s natural ecosystem and improve sunlight access for native vegetation. Nice work, Team!

Read the full article below:
https://asez.org/asez-in-the-us-removing-invasive-plants/

This year, Hokie Bug Fest was on October 18th 2025 at Virgina Tech, amassing thousands of visitors of all ages to celebrate the science of entomology! At this event, participants learned about the science that goes on at each of the Entomology labs, saw live critters at the Arthropod Zoo, and enjoyed fun games and crafts!

As part of the festival, the Invasive Species Research and Extension (ISRE) Lab educated participants about the difference between common look-a-like tree species that resemble the Tree-of-Heaven, a highly invasive species that attracts the problematic Spotted Lanternfly. Here, Taylor showed the distinguishing characteristics of each species, highlighting both physical and sensory (smell!) cues. Paired with this demonstration, lab members Anika and Andrea taught folks how to make Spotted Lanternfly origami, featuring all life stages!

This year, Hokie Bug Fest was on October 18th 2025 at Virgina Tech, amassing thousands of visitors of all ages to celebrate the science of entomology! At this event, participants learned about the science that goes on at each of the Entomology labs, saw live critters at the Arthropod Zoo, and enjoyed fun games and crafts!

As part of the festival, the Invasive Species Research and Extension (ISRE) Lab educated participants about the difference between common look-a-like tree species that resemble the Tree-of-Heaven, a highly invasive species that attracts the problematic Spotted Lanternfly. Here, Taylor showed the distinguishing characteristics of each species, highlighting both physical and sensory (smell!) cues. Paired with this demonstration, lab members Anika and Andrea taught folks how to make Spotted Lanternfly origami, featuring all life stages!

Ph.D. student Taylor Darnell has won a $2500 research grant from the Invasive Species Collaborative to study the effects of Japanese knotweed stem characteristics on regeneration following aquatic vs. terrestrial dispersal.
Congratulations, Taylor! 🎉

Ph.D. student Taylor Darnell has won a $2500 research grant from the Invasive Species Collaborative to study the effects of Japanese knotweed stem characteristics on regeneration following aquatic vs. terrestrial dispersal.
Congratulations, Taylor! 🎉

Spotted Lanternfly counting has wrapped up for the season! We started seeing egg masses laid this week of sampling, and the adult counts are tapering off. Can’t beat peak leaf (and apple harvest season) in Virginia either!

Spotted Lanternfly counting has wrapped up for the season! We started seeing egg masses laid this week of sampling, and the adult counts are tapering off. Can’t beat peak leaf (and apple harvest season) in Virginia either!

Not a bad day to count lanternflies! Thanks, Andrea, @erinmhassett , and Gracie for aiding this dispersal research study!

Not a bad day to count lanternflies! Thanks, Andrea, @erinmhassett , and Gracie for aiding this dispersal research study!

Our students are hard at work at the farm examining our knotweed rhizomes, repotting new growth, and preparing the plants for the winter months! Thank you, Anika, Amber, and AJ!

Our students are hard at work at the farm examining our knotweed rhizomes, repotting new growth, and preparing the plants for the winter months! Thank you, Anika, Amber, and AJ!

A great talk by Dr. Stacy Endriss: “Plant invasions as “natural” experiments: linking ecology, evolution, and practice.”

Dr. Endriss started as an Assistant Professor of Invasive Species Research and Extension in Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology approximately one year ago. Dr. Endriss is an evolutionary ecologist whose research focuses on introduced plants, both in the context of invasion ecology and plant-insect intersections. Dr. Endriss’s research is unique in addressing basic ecological and evolutionary questions while also contributing to applied solutions to pressing conservation challenges, often through coproduction with local experts and land managers.

A great talk by Dr. Stacy Endriss: “Plant invasions as “natural” experiments: linking ecology, evolution, and practice.”

Dr. Endriss started as an Assistant Professor of Invasive Species Research and Extension in Virginia Tech’s Department of Entomology approximately one year ago. Dr. Endriss is an evolutionary ecologist whose research focuses on introduced plants, both in the context of invasion ecology and plant-insect intersections. Dr. Endriss’s research is unique in addressing basic ecological and evolutionary questions while also contributing to applied solutions to pressing conservation challenges, often through coproduction with local experts and land managers.

The Invasive Species Collaborative is excited to launch the Extension Subcommittee!

As a first step, we envision that this subcommittee can focus on identifying and filling critical gaps in Virginia’s publicly available invasive species resources.

What is this subcommittee about? Our goal is to improve access to high-quality, research-informed extension materials—such as factsheets, management guides, and ID sheets—covering high-priority invasive species identified by state agencies, recent legislation, and local stakeholders. Additionally, we aim to explore new outreach and education opportunities that support practitioners, landowners, educators, and the public more generally.

The Invasive Species Collaborative is excited to launch the Extension Subcommittee!

As a first step, we envision that this subcommittee can focus on identifying and filling critical gaps in Virginia’s publicly available invasive species resources.

What is this subcommittee about? Our goal is to improve access to high-quality, research-informed extension materials—such as factsheets, management guides, and ID sheets—covering high-priority invasive species identified by state agencies, recent legislation, and local stakeholders. Additionally, we aim to explore new outreach and education opportunities that support practitioners, landowners, educators, and the public more generally.

Congratulations, Andrea Lopez! A strong start to the fall semester with a 2nd place prize for her extension talk at the Kentland Farm Field Day and winning a $500 travel award! Well done, Andrea!

Congratulations, Andrea Lopez! A strong start to the fall semester with a 2nd place prize for her extension talk at the Kentland Farm Field Day and winning a $500 travel award! Well done, Andrea!

We are happy to launch our lab’s IG page to showcase our research, lab members’ achievements, and extension work! Follow along to stay up to date with what we’ve got going on!

We are happy to launch our lab’s IG page to showcase our research, lab members’ achievements, and extension work! Follow along to stay up to date with what we’ve got going on!

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