Biography
At Virginia Tech, Morgan completed an M.S. degree focused on varroa mite acaricide resistance in VA and also tested several known and novel acaricides against small hive beetle larvae and honey bees. After completing her M.S., she continued to research small hive beetle physiology and behavior as part of her Ph.D. research at Virginia Tech. Morgan’s PhD research included testing small hive beetle antennal responses to a series of attractant and repellent compounds and contrasting these responses with behavioral tests performed on small hive beetles using olfactometry experiments. Throughout this work, she was able to discover which repellents were most effective against small hive beetles and found that some repellents could obscure responses to attractants in behavioral testing. Morgan is establishing an apiary at LU for teaching and research at the Morris Campus Farm and plans to incorporate this apiary into introduction to entomology and other biology courses. She plans to continue her research in the hope that it can one day be applied in apiary settings in the form of safe and species-specific repellents for small hive beetles.
Courses Taught
- BIOL 125 – Animal Diversity and Conservation
- BIOL 224 – General Biology 1 lab
- BIOL 225 – General Biology 2 lab
- BIOL 320 – Introduction to Entomology
Professional Membership
- Entomological Society of America (ESA)
- American Chemical Society (ACS)
- Virginia Academy of Science (VAS)
Publications