Research

The Price Lab at Salisbury University is working on several projects to document Maryland insects, including scarab beetles, ants, and pollinators of concern.

Current Research Projects:

1. Scarab biodiversity in urban environments.

2. Mammal-dung beetle associations using the dung of different mammal guilds. 

3. Ant biodiversity in urban environments

Ant Research

Several students in my lab are investigating the biodiversity of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in urban environments. Our research uses complementary sampling approaches to examine ant communities across terrestrial and arboreal habitats. Pitfall traps and baiting are used to assess ground-dwelling ant community dynamics, while leaf-litter sampling is used to characterize ants and other litter-dwelling organisms. Aspirators and hand sampling is used to sample arboreal ants from pines and hardwoods.

Pollinators of Concern

I am not currently working on the pollinators, but if you have updates that need to be completed on the website below, please feel free to email me at dlprice@salisbury.edu

This research was a collaboration among several institutions, including Salisbury University, The Salisbury Zoological Park, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, and The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. 

Species of global concern are highlighted, specifically state concern. We completed the pages for Butterflies and Bees. Please visit our site for more information.  https://sites.google.com/view/mdpollinatorsofconcern

© 2021 Price Lab for Entomology, Dana L. Price, updated November 2026.