Entomology

Congratulations to Wendy Valencia-Montoya (PhD '25, Naomi Pierce, Advisor) awarded The Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize. The Theodosius Dobzhansky Prize is awarded annually by the Society for the Study of Evolution to recognize the accomplishments and future...

Congratulations to Wendy Valencia-Montoya (PhD ‘25, Naomi Pierce, Advisor) recipient of the Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award from the Fred Hutch Cancer Center. Wendy is one of 12 recipients honored for their exceptional achievements of graduate...

In a new study published as a cover story in Science, the team led by MCZ alum Wendy Valencia-Montoya (PhD '25) reports that cycads, an ancient lineage of seed plants dating back roughly 275 million years, actively heat their reproductive cones to attract...

One of Kaylin's projects involves finding ticks attached to animals in MCZ collections and she was recently directed to an eel specimen in our ichthyology collection that was collected over 150 years ago. Read about why this is a notable find in...

In a twist worthy of a detective novel, a long-misidentified fossil at Harvard’s Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ) has emerged as a key discovery in early animal evolution. Originally described in 1865 as a caterpillar, Palaeocampa anthraxshuffled...

MCZ Faculty-Curator in Entomology is featured in Harvard Magazine's Five Questions. Five Questions with Brian D. Farrell: A professor and curator of entomology on beetles, biodiversity, and evolutionary change

Congratulations to Naomi Pierce, Hessel Professor of Biology and MCZ Curator of Lepidoptera, recipient of the 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society for the Study of Evolution. Naomi's work focuses on the evolution of species interactions, and...

Research from former MCZ postdoc Gerard Talavera, colleagues, and MCZ Curator of Lepidoptera, Naomi Pierce, demonstrate a transatlantic flight for Vanessa cardui butterflies. This incredible feat for insects took a diverse team of researchers and methods...

MCZ PhD candidate Richard (RJ) Knecht ( Naomi Pierce Lab, Entomology) and co-authors describe two new species of whip scorpions from the Carboniferous Narragansett Basin of Massachusetts. Parilisthelyphonus bryantae is named in honor of the late American...

Congratulations to MCZ Curator of Lepidoptera, Naomi Pierce, on her election into the National Academy of Sciences! Elected members are recognized for their distinguished and continuing achievements in original research.