Dr. John Diaz-Montano Postdoctoral Research Entomologist Stored Product Insect Research Unit Center for Grain & Animal Health Research 1515 College Ave. Manhattan, KS 66502 Voice: (785) 776-2761 Fax: (785) 537-5584 john.diaz-montano@ars.usda.gov www.ars.usda.gov/npa/cgahr/spiru/diaz-montano

John Diaz-Montano is a Research Entomologist with the USDA-ARS at the Center for Grain and Animal Health Research in Manhattan, Kansas. He received his B.S. in Agriculture from the National University of Colombia (Palmira) in 2001, his M.S. in Entomology from Kansas State University in 2006, and his Ph.D. in Entomology from Cornell University in 2011. He was a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California (Riverside) from 2010 to 2012. His research interests focus on projects related to integrated pest management, host plant resistance to insects, and insect behavior.

Study of psocid behavior and ecology to improve pest management
Psocids are insect pests of stored grains but were not considered of economic importance until the 1990s in Australia and China and until the 2000s in the United States. They are difficult to control with conventional methods (chemical insecticides) used to control other insect pests of stored grains such as beetles and moths. Therefore, it is necessary to explore alternative methods of control through the study of psocid responses to attractants and to different abiotic factors such as temperature and humidity.