This page is no longer being updated and remains online for informational and historical purposes only. The information is accurate as of the last page update.
For questions about page contents, contact the Communications Division.
Chuck Holliday, professor of biology, has been quoted in an article about a sighting in Pennsylvania of a rare pink katydid. The article appeared in media outlets across the country, including MSNBC, PhillyBurbs.com, Yahoo News, The Boston Globe, Anchorage Daily News, and Maclean’s in Canada.
In an image taken several years ago, Chuck Holliday, professor of biology, examines an eastern cicada killer wasp and its prey.
Katydids, which are close relatives to crickets, are typically green for camouflage. The rare pink color is caused by a mutation and makes the insect very vulnerable to predators.
In the article, Holliday notes that the pink color “will mark it as dinner for birds.”
A member of the faculty since 1987, Holliday’s primary area of expertise is the biology and physiology of cicada killer wasps. He studies populations of cicada killers in Arizona, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and locally in Easton. He often includes students in his research and has been published in dozens of scholarly journals. He has received Lafayette’s Thomas Roy and Lura Forrest Jones Faculty Lecturer for excellence in teaching and scholarship, a Marquis Distinguished Teaching Award, and three Student Government Superior Teaching Awards.