Insect guru to tell OSU grads how the tiny yield big future

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Entomologist David Denlinger is studying pests such as the emerald ash borer and mosquitoes with West Nile virus.

When he was a boy, David Denlinger used a net his mother made to collect bugs on the family farm near Lancaster, Pa., for a 4-H Club project.

Then he talked to a Penn State entomologist at a club meeting and "realized that guy was making money for what I thought was fun."

For the past 30 years, Denlinger has been doing the same while studying back-biters, blood-suckers, pollinators and parasites from Africa to Antarctica.

And today, he becomes the first entomologist to speak at an Ohio State University commencement since Raymond C. Osburn addressed graduates in 1924.

His message is simple:

"I want to encourage them

to think small," said Denlinger, 62.

Not your standard graduation message, but his enthusiasm for the tiny is, well, huge.

Denlinger has published more than 200 research papers and received nearly 30 grants for his work, including $1 million to figure out how the Antarctic midge survives spending 22 months of its 24-month life encased in ice.

Insects, by the way, are small because they don't have lungs, Denlinger explained. They absorb oxygen through their windpipes. They simply can't take in enough oxygen to support a larger body.

His choice as commencement speaker is timely -- insects are making headlines.

Millions of honeybees that pollinate crops have mysteriously disappeared, invasive species are destroying native plants and trees, and disease-carrying insects are an increasing concern.

"Pests are coming with our new economy," Denlinger said. "The emerald ash borer and long-horned beetle have caused so many problems; mosquitoes here now carry West Nile virus."

Scientists say before they can stop these pests, they've got to get small -- down to the genes. Decades ago, that was just a dream.

Now, researchers including Denlinger are doing just that, and their work is promising.

Denlinger, for example, has identified genes that trigger fat storage, which allows mosquitoes that carry the West Nile virus to essentially hibernate.

So instead of attacking insects with pesticides that can harm beneficial wildlife, "If we can go in and block out genes and make them skinny, they'll lack the fat needed for winter survival."

David Frantz, secretary to the OSU Board of Trustees and a member of the speaker-selection committee, said that after Denlinger was nominated, he was asked to meet with the committee.

"He's a very fine speaker, and he's got a great sense of humor," Frantz said.

So today, Denlinger will leave his microscope and talk bugs with about 1,900 graduates at the commencement ceremony, which begins at 1 p.m. in the Schottenstein Center.

"I want to encourage them to think small."

David Denlinger
entomologist and graduation speaker for OSU