After COVID-19 limited the research that could be done in Summer 2020, we are excited to be back in the field! This summer we have a few cool projects, including one with a Fulbright Fellow that was delayed from last Year!

Legacy effects on late summer feeding insects

Patricia Fernandez, Fulbright Fellow, is visiting the lab from the National Council for Science and Technology (CONICET) Argentina. Patricia is working with Kayla Okla, an undergraduate student, on a series of experiments that aim to better understand how early summer feeding summer insects affect the concentrations of plant defense compounds in leaf tissue, and how this affects late summer feeding insect performance and preference.

   

Patricia Fernandez (left) and Kayla Okla (right)

An unexpected experiment

This Spring we discovered a huge amount of Lymantria dispar egg masses in one of our common gardens. We were set for an outbreak of the insect formerly known as the gypsy moth. We quickly got together with a couple other labs and organized a project to study the seasonal changes in aspen chemistry throughout this outbreak.

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