Management & Biological Control Research Unit

My areas of expertise include insect behavior, ecology and physiology.  My research focuses on the mechanisms regulating development, dispersal and reproduction in a variety of insects.  I examine the behavioral, hormonal and physiological changes in insects as they mature, and the endogenous and exogenous stimuli that regulate this transformation.  I am particularly interested in how interactions with conspecifics are perceived and translated into developmental responses affecting reproductive dynamics.  My principal study organism is the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus.  I am currently determining the effects of population density on the pacing of development and gamete production, the effect of mating status on female attractiveness tom ales, and the major endocrine changes accompanying maturation.  Additional research is being conducted on the physiological basis of reproductive caste determination in Zootermopsis angusticollis.