May Roberta Berenbaum (born July 22, 1953) is an American

entomologist Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

, who is a professor of

entomology Entomology (from Ancient Greek ἔντομον (''éntomon''), meaning "insect", and -logy from λόγος (''lógos''), meaning "study") is the branch of zoology that focuses on insects. Those who study entomology are known as entomologists. In ...

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. Her research focuses on the chemical interactions between herbivorous insects and their host plants, and the implications of these interactions on the organization of natural communities and the evolution of species. She is particularly interested in

nectar Nectar is a viscous, sugar-rich liquid produced by Plant, plants in glands called nectaries, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollination, pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to an ...

, plant

phytochemicals Phytochemicals are naturally-occurring chemicals present in or extract, extracted from plants. Some phytochemicals are nutrients for the plant, while others are metabolites produced to enhance plant survivability and reproduction. The field ...

honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

and bees, and her research has important implications for

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture, from ) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in artificial beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most commonly kept species but other honey producing bees such as '' Melipona'' stingless bees are ...

. She is a member of the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, NGO, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the ...

and was named editor-in-chief of its journal, ''

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America'' (often abbreviated ''PNAS'' or ''PNAS USA'') is a peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal. It is the official journal of the National Academy of Scie ...

'' in 2019; she is also a member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

(1996), and a fellow of the

American Academy of Arts and Sciences The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (The Academy) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and other ...

(1996). She has held a Maybelle Leland Swanlund Endowed Chair in

since 2012, which is the highest title a professor can hold at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

. In 2014, she was awarded the

National Medal of Science The National Medal of Science is an honor bestowed by the President of the United States to individuals in science and engineering who have made important contributions to the advancement of knowledge in the fields of behavioral science, behavior ...

Early life and education

Berenbaum graduated summa cum laude, with a B.S. degree and honors in biology, from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

in 1975. Berenbaum discovered an interest in entomology after taking a course on terrestrial arthropods only because it fit her schedule, and found a second passion by taking an elective course in plant biochemistry. After attending a research seminar on

chemical ecology A chemical substance is a unique form of matter with constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Chemical substances may take the form of a single element or chemical compounds. If two or more chemical substances can be combin ...

by Paul Feeny, she decided to integrate her interests in entomology and botany, and began a PhD supervised by Feeny at

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

. Berenbaum received her Ph.D. in ecology and

evolutionary biology Evolutionary biology is the subfield of biology that studies the evolutionary processes such as natural selection, common descent, and speciation that produced the diversity of life on Earth. In the 1930s, the discipline of evolutionary biolo ...

in 1980.

Research

Berenbaum is known for her research into the chemistry of

and its importance as a functional food for bees and

wasps A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...

in the superfamily

Apoidea The superfamily Apoidea is a major group (of over 30 000 species) within the Hymenoptera, which includes two traditionally recognized lineages, the "sphecoid" wasps, and the bees. Molecular phylogeny demonstrates that the bees arose from ...

. As of 2021, approximately 20,000 bee species are known, but there are also signs of declines in bee populations in many countries. Berenbaum's research has shown that honey contains

that help bees to tolerate cold, resist pesticides, fight off infections, heal wounds, and live longer. Important phytochemicals include p-coumaric acid,

quercetin Quercetin is a plant flavonol from the flavonoid group of polyphenols. It is found in many fruits, vegetables, leaves, seeds, and grains; capers, red onions, and kale are common foods containing appreciable amounts of it. It has a bitter flavor ...

abscisic acid Abscisic acid (ABA or abscisin II) is a plant hormone. ABA functions in many plant developmental processes, including seed and bud dormancy, the control of organ size and stomatal closure. It is especially important for plants in the response to ...

, anabasine,

caffeine Caffeine is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant of the methylxanthine chemical classification, class and is the most commonly consumed Psychoactive drug, psychoactive substance globally. It is mainly used for its eugeroic (wakefulness pr ...

gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plant ...

kaempferol Kaempferol (3,4′,5,7-tetrahydroxyflavone) is a natural flavonol, a type of flavonoid, found in a variety of plants and plant-derived foods including kale, beans, tea, spinach, and broccoli. It is also found in propolis extracts. Kaempferol i ...

, and thymol. Furthermore, sick honeybees will choose among different types of honey and eat the one that contains the phytochemicals that can improve their health. Berenbaum's work has important implications, suggesting changes to practices in the

industry which may help bees to survive. One conclusion is that floral diversity matters: bees that have the opportunity to make honey from a diverse range of flowers will be healthier bees. As well, beekeepers should leave their bees a variety of different honeys, gathered at different times from different plants, so that they have a "honey pharmacy" to choose from when ill.

Career

Since 1980, Berenbaum has been a member of the faculty of the department of entomology at the

and has served as head of the department since 1992. In 1996, she was elected a Fellow of the

and she was elected a member of the

in the same year. She served as the editor of ''

Annual Review of Entomology The ''Annual Review of Entomology'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal that publishes review articles about entomology, the study of insects. First published in 1956 from a collaboration between the Entomological Society of America and Annual Rev ...

'' from 1997 until 2018, and was named editor-in-chief of '' Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA'' in 2019. She has also chaired two National Research Council committees, the Committee on the Future of Pesticides in U.S. Agriculture (2000) and the Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America (2007). She has written numerous magazine articles, as well as books about insects for the general public: * ''Ninety-nine gnats, nits, and nibblers'' (1989) * ''Ninety-nine more maggots, mites, and munchers'' (1993) * ''Bugs in the system: insects and their impact on human affairs'' (1995) * ''Buzzwords: a scientist muses on sex, bugs, and rock'n roll'' (2000) * ''Earwig's tail: a modern bestiary of multi-legged legends'' (2009) * ''Honey, I'm homemade: sweet treats from the beehive across the centuries and around the world'' (2010) Berenbaum has also gained some measure of fame as the organizer of the Insect Fear Film Festival at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Personal life

Berenbaum is a strict

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the Eating, consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects as food, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slau ...

in her personal life. She has researched and taught entomophagy to her students, but never eats insects herself.

Awards and honors

* A character in ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The original series aired from September 10, 1993, to Ma ...

was'' named after her: Dr. Bambi Berenbaum, a famous entomologist and love- May-berenbaum-barack-obama

interest of Agent Mulder. * She is the recipient of the 1996

Entomological Society of America The Entomological Society of America (ESA) was founded in 1889 and today has more than 7,000 members, including educators, extension personnel, consultants, students, researchers, and scientists from agricultural departments, health agencies, ...

North Central Branch Distinguished Teaching Award *Awarded the prestigious Ecological Society of America Robert MacArthur Award in 2004 for outstanding contributions to ecology * Berenbaum received the 2009 Public Understanding of Science and Technology Award from the

American Association for the Advancement of Science The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) is a United States–based international nonprofit with the stated mission of promoting cooperation among scientists, defending scientific freedom, encouraging scientific responsib ...

. * She is an Honorary Member of the

British Ecological Society The British Ecological Society is a learned society in the field of ecology that was founded in 1913. It is the oldest ecological society in the world. The Society's original objective was "to promote and foster the study of Ecology in its widest ...

. * In March 2011, she was awarded the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

's Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement. *In 2012, she was named a Swanlund Chair at the

*In 2012, she received the Edward O. Wilson Biodiversity Technology Award * In November 2014, she had her first new species named after her, a cockroach, ''Xestoblatta berenbaumae'' (Evangelista, Kaplan, & Ware 2015). * On October 3, 2014, President Barack Obama awarded the

to Berenbaum. She received the medal in a White House ceremony on November 20, 2014.

Selected works

* Berenbaum, M., Miller, J. R., & Miller, T. A. (1988). ''Insect-Plant Interactions''. New York: Springer. * Berenbaum, M. (1989). ''Ninety-nine Gnats, Nits, and Nibblers''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. * Rosenthal, G. A., & Berenbaum, M. R. (1992). ''Herbivores: Their Interactions with Secondary Plant Metabolites''. (Herbivores.) San Diego: Academic Press. * Berenbaum, M. (1993). ''Ninety-nine More Maggots, Mites, and Munchers''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. * Berenbaum, M. (1996). ''Bugs in the System: Insects and their Impact on Human Affairs''. Reading, Mass: Addison-Wesley. * Berenbaum, M. R. (2001). ''Buzzwords: A Scientist Muses on Sex, Bugs, and Rock'n Roll''. Washington, DC: Joseph Henry Press. * Jeffords, M. R., Post, S. L., Warwick, C., & Berenbaum, M. (2008). ''Biologists in the Field: Stories, Tales, and Anecdotes from 150 Years of Field Biology''. Champaign, Ill: Illinois Natural History Survey. * Berenbaum, M. R. (2009). ''Earwig's Tail - a Modern Bestiary of Multi-legged Legends''. Harvard University Press * Berenbaum, M. R. (2010). ''Honey, I'm Homemade: Sweet Treats from the Beehive Across the Centuries and Around the World''. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. * Sadava, D. E., Hillis, D. M., Heller, H. C., & Berenbaum, M. (2014). ''Life: The Science of Biology''. 10th ed. * * Berenbaum, M. R. (2023). “Debugging” insect-related conspiracy theories. ''Annals of the Entomological Society of America'', Article saad018. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/aesa/saad018

References

External links

May Berenbaum
at National Academy of Sciences {{DEFAULTSORT:Berenbaum, May 1953 births Living people Cornell University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences alumni Fellows of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Members of the United States National Academy of Sciences University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty Yale College alumni National Medal of Science laureates Fellows of the Ecological Society of America Members of the American Philosophical Society American women entomologists Entomological writers American women biologists Jewish American scientists Jewish biologists Chemical ecologists Annual Reviews (publisher) editors Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America editors Graduate Women in Science members