The faculty at the University Experiment Stations conduct basic and applied research directed at efficient management of major pests of agriculture, forestry, and public health. Insect pest problems in Georgia are more intense than in other locations in the United States, and faculty work on a wide diversity of pest problems on a variety of commodities that are grown in many other locations. Research projects vary from developing resistant crops and biological pesticides using genetic technologies to intense field study of insect biology and biological control in diverse agricultural environments. Cooperative interdisciplinary research with other disciplines, e.g. crops and soil science, plant pathology, and horticulture are encouraged because of the importance of understanding the insect pest in relation to the physical as well as the biological components of its environment. Social Insect Biology Ongoing research programs involve all groups of social insects, from termites, to fire ants, to wasps, to honey bees.
Emphasis is on behavior, sociobiology, and chemical integrating mechanisms.
The role of pheromones and nutrition in caste determination, allomones in defense, and hormones in development are currently being investigated in various species. Opportunities are available for field studies of behavioral biology in representative tropical and temperate species and for apicultural research involving Africanized honey bees.