Michael J. Skvarla

My duties as the head of the Insect Identification Laboratory at Penn State include identifying insects and other arthropods submitted by the public, writing and maintaining entomology fact sheets, presenting science-based information to the public via seminars and workshops, and conducting limited original research.

Since starting at Penn State in 2017, much of my research has often based on specimens that have been submitted to the Insect ID Lab. Past projects have included work on Sclerodermus wasps, which parasitize wood-boring beetles and can infest homes with beetle infestations, and European red-and-black melyrids, which are soft-winged flower beetles that can appear in homes during the spring and early summer. The bulk of my current research is focused on deer keds (Lipoptena cervi), including whether they are vectors of arthropod-borne pathogens; this work is done in collaboration with the Veterinary Entomology Laboratory.

Beyond specimens that are submitted to the Insect ID Lab, I am broadly interested in arthropod biodiversity, surveying arthropods using mass trapping techniques (e.g., Malaise traps, pitfall traps, and pan traps), and taxonomy and systematics of understudied groups (e.g., prostigmatid mites and aphids). Below are select publications that provide a sense of the work I do. For a full listing of publications, please see my Google Scholar profile.

Deer ked publications

Skvarla, M. J., K. Poh, C. Norman, and E. T. Machtinger. 2024. Commercial products are not effective at repelling European deer keds, Lipoptena cervi (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) but may increase mortality after exposure. Journal of Medical Entomology 61(6): 1435–1442. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjae109

Skvarla, M. J., K. C. Poh, C. Norman, E. D. Struckhoff, and E. Machtinger. 2023. A comparison of European deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena cervi (Linnaeus)) and blacklegged ticks (Ixodida: Ixodidae: Ixodes scapularis Say) on elk (Cervus canadensis (Erxleben)) and white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus (Zimmermann, 1780)) in Pennsylvania. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario 154: 1–13.

Olafson, P. U., ^‡ C. Poh, ^†J. R. Evans, M. J. Skvarla, and E. T. Machtinger. 2022 (2023). Limited detection of shared zoonotic pathogens in deer keds and blacklegged ticks co-parasitizing white-tailed deer in the eastern United States. Medical and Veterinary Entomology 37(2): 179–188. http://doi.org/10.1111/mve.12620

Poh, K.C., J. R. Evans, M. J. Skvarla, G. Hickling., J. M. Mullinax, and E.T. Machtinger. 2022. Patterns of deer ked (Diptera: Hippoboscidae) and tick (Ixodida: Ixodidae) infestation on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in the eastern United States. Parasites & Vectors, 15: 31 https://doi.org/10.1186/s13071-021-05148-9

Poh, K.C. M. J. Skvarla, ^§J. R. Evans, and E. T. Machtinger. 2020. Collecting deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena Nitzsch, 1818 and Neolipoptena Bequaert, 1942) and ticks (Parasitiformes: Ixodidae) from hunter-harvested deer. Journal of Insect Science, 20(6): 19; 1–10. doi: 10.1093/jisesa/ieaa024

Skvarla, M. J., and E. T. Machtinger. 2019. Deer keds (Diptera: Hippoboscidae: Lipoptena and Neolipoptena) in the United States and Canada: New state and county records, pathogen records, and an illustrated key to species. Journal of Medical Entomology, 56(3): 744–760. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjy238

Publications from the ID lab

Skvarla, M. J., J. R. Fisher, and J. G. Hill. 2024. First record of Tetramorium bicarinatum (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in Pennsylvania. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 155: 1–5.

Skvarla, M. J., and J. R. Fisher. 2022. Rediscovery of Polystoechotes punctata (Neuroptera: Ithonidae) in eastern North America. Proceedings of the Washington Entomological Society 124(2): 332–345. https://doi.org/10.4289/0013-8797.124.2.332

Skvarla, M. J., and S. A. Schneider. 2022. First record of crapemrytle bark scale (Hemiptera: Eriococcidae: Anthococcus lagerstroemiae) from Pennsylvania. Proceedings of the Washington Entomological Society, 123(4): 862–868. DOI: 10.4289/0013-8797.123.4.862

Skvarla, M. J., M. A. Bertone, J. J. Liesch. Murder hornet mayhem: The impact of the 2020 Asian giant hornet panic and COVID-19 pandemic on arthropod identification laboratories. American Entomologist, 68(2): 38–43. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmac029.

Skvarla, M. J., and S. Fleischer. 2018. First report of yellowmargined leaf beetle, Microtheca ochroloma Stål, 1860 (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), in Pennsylvania. Coleopterists Bulletin, 72(4): 688–690. org/10.1649/0010-065X-72.4.688

Skvarla, M. J. 2018. A review of Sclerodermus Latrielle, 1809 (Hymenoptera: Bethylidae) infestations and report of the first case in North America north of Mexico. Journal of Medical Entomology, 55(3): 752–756. https://doi.org/10.1093/jme/tjx238

Review papers

Skvarla, M. J., and J. L. Larson. 2024. A survey of pesticide use in horticulturally-grown carnivorous plants, with a review of arthropod pests. Carnivorous Plant Newsletter, 53(2): 75–103.  

Skvarla, M. J., and J. R. Fisher. 2023. Online community photo-sharing in entomology: a large-scale review with suggestions on best practices. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 116(5): 276–304. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad021

Skvarla, M. J., J. L. Larson, J. R. Fisher, and A. P. G. Dowling. 2021(2020). A review of terrestrial and canopy Malaise traps. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 114(1): 27–47. doi: 10.1093/aesa/saaa044

Skvarla, M. J., J. L. Larson, and A. P. G. Dowling. 2014. Pitfalls and preservatives: A review. Journal of the Entomological Society of Ontario, 145: 15–43. Available online at: https://journal.lib.uoguelph.ca/index.php/eso/article/view/3734

Student publications

Stenger, L. R., M. Ferguson, and M. J. Skvarla. 2025. Seasonal patterns of lotic water mite assemblages. Acarologia, 65(3): 917–926. https://doi.org/10.24349/aixr-puzv

Mathis, C., D. J. McNeil Jr., M. Kammerer, J. L. Larkin, and M. J. Skvarla. 2024. Distance models reveal biases associated with passive trapping methods for measuring wild bee abundance. Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution 12(1380622): 1–10. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2024.1380622

Riggins, N., M. R. Young, T. Renner, F. Beaulieu¹, and M. J. Skvarla¹. 2024. New record of Micromegistus bakeri, Trägårdh 1948 (Acari: Mesostigmata: Parantennulidae) a mite symbiotic on carabid beetles, and notes on the species’ distribution and host specificity. Acarologia, 64(2): 575–591. https://doi.org/10.24349/40qb-lv0m. ¹ co-senior authors, arranged alphabetically by last name.

Stenger, L. R., F. M. Ferguson, and M. J. Skvarla. 2024. Water mites and their use as bioindicators of water quality conditions: a Pennsylvania case study. Acarologia 64(1): 146–163. https://doi.org/10.24349/qo5i-rvld

Torres-Cruz, T. J., L. A. Ré, J. R. Johnson, D. M. Geiser, and M. J. Skvarla. 2023. Diversity of arthropods that visit Xyris spp. (Xyridaceae): new observations from Guyana. Proceedings of the Washington Entomological Society, 125(2): 246–255. DOI: 10.4289/0013-8797.125.2.246