Kendra J. Greenlee

Professor

Faculty

Biological Sciences

Kendra Greenlee smiling confidently.

Areas of Study & Research

Insect physiology, thermal biology, and metabolism

Courses Taught

BIOL 150 General Biology 1

BIOL 270 Undergraduate Research Experience: Antibiotic Discovery

BIOL 460/660 Animal Physiology

Current Grants

CERL: Effects of pollinator plantings and nutrition on pollinators across ecological, organismal, and molecular levels

NSF: Collaborative Research: Insults for free: the roles of metamorphosis and dormancy in aging dynamics

USDA-ARS: Insect Responses to Intraspecific Floral Trait Variation in Asteraceae

USDA-ARS: Overwintering physiology of insect pollinators and pests

Awards & Honors

James A. Meier Senior Professor, College of Arts and Sciences, NDSU, 2025-2028

LEAD21 Graduate Class 20

Professional Associations

Editor, Biology Open

American Physiological Society, member and Comparative and Evolutionary Physiology Steering Committee

Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology, member

Entomological Society of America, member

Publications

  1. Galante, H., Lane, S.J., Elderbrock, E.K., Kittilson, J.D., Greenlee, K.J., and Greives, T.J. (2026) Photoperiod, but not testosterone, increases basal metabolic rate in House Sparrows. Integrative Organismal Biology. In press.

  2. Johnson, M.G., Waylett, C., Sokalski, L., Rinehart, J., Bowsher, J., and Greenlee, K. (2026) Size, sex, & survival: water balance across temperatures in the alfalfa leaf cutting bee. Journal of Insect Physiology. 169: 104958. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2026.104958

  3. Mondal, B. Walter, R., Rinehart, J.P., Yocum, G.D., Basile, F., and Greenlee, K.J. (2026). Metabolome of diapause-destined Megachile rotundata prepupae differs from those undergoing direct development. Journal of Insect Physiology. 2026:104949 104949. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2026.104949

  4. Mondal, B. Walter, R., Rinehart, J.P., Greenlee, K.J., and Basile, F. (2026) Metabolome changes of Megachile rotundata across pupal stages measured by mass spectrometry-based untargeted metabolomics. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology: 104513. doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2026.104513

  5. GPithan, J. B., Kohler, B., Rajamohan, A., and Greenlee, K. J. (2025) Reproductive Senescence in the Pollinator, Megachile rotundata. Insects. 16:612. doi.org/10.3390/insects16060612

  6. Szejner-Sigal, A., Heidinger, B. J., GKucera, A., Kittilson, J. D., GTorson, A., Rinehart, J. P., Yocum, G. D., Bowsher, J. H., and Greenlee, K. J. (2025) Hypoxia extends lifespan but does not alter telomere length or oxidative stress in a solitary bee (Megachile rotundata). Journal of Experimental Biology. 228, jeb250500. doi.org/10.1242/jeb.250500

  7. Szejner Sigal, A., Rinehart, J. P., Bowsher, J. H., and Greenlee, K. J. (2025) Senescence and

    early-life performance as predictors of lifespan in a solitary bee. Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 292: 20242637. doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2024.2637

  8. GEarls, K.N., Rinehart, J.P., and Greenlee, K.J. (2025) Microclimate and season affect flight initiation in the alfalfa leafcutting bee. Ecological Entomology. 2025: 1–13. doi.org/10.1111/een.13432

  9. Greenlee, K.J. and Padilla, D.K. (2024) Modeling organismal responses to changing environments. Integrative and Comparative Biology. 63:900-904. doi.org/10.1093/icb/icae131

  10. GPithan, J.B., Rinehart, J.P., Greenlee, K.J., and López-Martínez, G.C. (2024) Effects of age on oxidative stress and locomotion in the pollinator, Megachile rotundata. Journal of Insect Physiology. 157: 104666. doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2024.104666

  11. Grula, C., Rinehart J.P., Anacleto, A., Kittilson, J. D., Heidinger, B.J., Greenlee, K.J., Rinehart, J.P., Bowsher, J.H. (2024) Telomere length is longer following diapause in two solitary bee species. Scientific Reports. 14: 11208. doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-61613-2

  12. Campbell, J.B., Shingleton, A.W., Greenlee, K.J., Gray, A.E., Smith, H.C., Callier, V.J., GLundquist, T. and Harrison, J.F. (2024) HIF-signaling in the prothoracic gland regulates growth and development in hypoxia but not normoxia in Drosophila. Journal of Experimental Biology. 227: jeb247697. doi.org/10.1242/jeb.247697

13. GEarls, K. M., Campbell, J. B., Rinehart, J. P., and Greenlee, K. J. (2023) Effects of temperature on metabolic rate during metamorphosis in the alfalfa leafcutting bee. Biology Open. 12:bio060213. doi.org/10.1242/bio.060213