Dr. Tracy C. Leskey, research leader/station director and research entomologist at USDA-ARS, Appalachian Fruit Research Station, Kearneysville, West Virginia, was elected Fellow in 2024. She is internationally known for her research on behavioral ecology of invasive and persistent native pests of temperate fruit crops and development of sustainable tools for their management.
Leskey grew up in rural western Pennsylvania, where she developed an early fascination for insects. Her mother supported this interest by encouraging her to collect and rear insects in her various “bug zoos” and by providing her every science book that she ever wanted to read. Leskey’s first kindergarten show-and-tell presentation was on the lifecycle of monarch butterflies. Leskey graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in biology from Wilson College (1990). Following a short stint in the private sector, she pursued a M.S. degree in ecology (1995) through the Entomology Department at Penn State University under the guidance of Dr. E. Alan Cameron. Her work focused on how sugar maple flowering enhanced survivorship and fecundity of pear thrips. Leskey then moved to the University of Massachusetts to pursue a Ph.D. (2000) under the guidance of Dr. Ronald J. Prokopy, where she identified olfactory and visual cues guiding plum curculio to host plants. Leskey then joined USDA-ARS as a research entomologist in 2000 and became station director in 2015.
Leskey’s research has resulted in the development of several effective management tools for temperate fruit pests. She and colleagues identified the pheromone of and developed mating disruption tools for dogwood borer. She led development of a multi-life-stage management strategy for plum curculio, incorporating both attract-and-kill and entomopathogenic nematodes. Leskey led the effort to manage the invasive brown marmorated stink bug following its devastating outbreak in the mid-Atlantic in 2010. She and her ARS colleagues identified the pheromone of this pest and, with university partners, developed behaviorally compatible trap designs and sensitive pheromone lures. Recently, Leskey and her team have tackled quantifying host use patterns as well as natural and human-assisted dispersal of the invasive spotted lanternfly. Leskey and colleagues are currently developing an areawide management program for spotted lanternfly and its favored host, tree of heaven.
Leskey has published 194 peer-reviewed journal articles, 12 book chapters, and several patents, and she received more than $21 million in competitive extramural support. She has been fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with many talented and caring postdoctoral scholars, students, and colleagues throughout her career. Leskey was awarded the ESA Founders’ Memorial Award, USDA-ARS Early Career and Senior Scientist of the Year Awards, Outstanding Researcher Award from the International Fruit Tree Association, L.O. Howard Award Distinguished Achievement Award from the Eastern Branch, and Volunteer of the Year from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of the Eastern Panhandle. Leskey has appeared on NPR’s Science Friday and C-SPAN and has been interviewed by the New York Times, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal. Leskey is a former subject editor for Environmental Entomology, ESA Governing Board member, and Eastern Branch president and current Board of Trustees member for Wilson College.
