Agricultural drainage ditches are essential for water management on farms with high water tables, including those on the Delmarva Peninsula. These seemingly mundane agricultural infrastructures are home to insect biodiversity that provides valuable ecosystem services,such as pollination, biological control of pests, decomposition of plant and animal matter, and food support for wildlife. In this presentation, we will learn about phosphorous sequestration by tube-dwelling, non-biting midges that help to clean water before it flows downstream, and parasitoid wasps and other arthropods that eradicate nuisance insects. You’ll never look at a ditch in the same way again.
Dr. Bill Lamp is a Professor of Entomology at the University of Maryland, College Park. His research is interdisciplinary, applying Integrated pest management practices within sustainable agriculture systems with a focus on forage-based agriculture. Since starting at the University of Maryland in 1985, his research has included plant-insect interactions, aquatic entomology, non-target risk analysis, and biological control. Dr. Lamp has published three books on forage management, and written15 chapters and 76 refereed articles. He has given 65 invited presentations for his research, and received 78 grants, including 24 from USDA (e.g., Sustainable Agricultural Systems, Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education, Alfalfa and Forage Research, and Biotechnology Risk Assessment Program). He has taught Integrated Pest Management, Plant Protection, Biology of Insects, Sustainability, Insect Biodiversity, Freshwater Biology, and Insect Apocalypse: Real or Imagined over the last 40 years and received a Distinguished Teaching Award from the Eastern Branch Entomological Society of America in 2009. He also received Undergraduate Mentor of the Year in 2002 and the Winston Family Honors Faculty Award in 2021 at the University of Maryland. He has advised 12 Master’s and 14 Ph.D. students. He received the Herb T. Streu Meritorious Service Award for the Eastern Branch Entomological Society of America in 2016 and served as President of the Eastern Branch in 2021-22. During his presidency, he created EntoQuest, an annual meeting focused on informal interactions among students and ESA members in a natural setting, now held four times. Finally, he has served as science editor for 16 National Geographic Kids books.
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