While current theories describing the insect-plant interaction
have emphasized the biochemical aspects of the relationship,
morphological components can also play a significant role in
determining which plants or tissues are susceptible to insect attack.
Xylem sap on which spittlebugs feed may lack many of the plant
compounds responsible for host...
Biology of Scaptomyza apicalis Hardy (Diptera: Drosophilidae) was studied in
relation to its host, meadowfoam, Limnanthes alba, a recent oil seed crop grown in the
Willamette Valley, Oregon. Populations of flies and larvae were monitored weekly over
three consecutive crop-years beginning in 1996. Yellow sticky traps gave relative
population estimates...
The probing behavior and feeding activity of green peach aphid, Myzus persicae
Sulzer, on Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. tenebrionis- transgenic potatoes, insecticide
treated potatoes, and host plants with different preference were electronically
monitored. I found that first, transgenic potatoes had no effect on green peach aphid
probing suggesting that transmission of...
Small remnants of 'natural' habitats exist today throughout much of the world. Upland prairies in the Willamette Valley, Oregon have been nearly eliminated by conversion to agriculture and other uses. As a result, very few prairies remain and at least four butterfly species that require this habitat appear to be...
The biology and behavior of the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), was studied to
determine factors responsible for differences in susceptibility to moth damage among apple
and pear cultivars.
In release experiments, codling moth adults were intercepted in significantly greater
numbers in host (apple, pear) than in non-host (maple) trees,...
Live western larch, Larix occidentalis Nutt., a tree species resistant to the Douglas-fir beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae Hopkins, produces the monoterpene 3-carene in higher concentrations compared to Douglas-fir, the preferred host of D. pseudotsugae (Reed et al. 1986). The inhibitory effects on attraction to aggregation pheromones and toxicity of 3-carene to...
Three studies on Douglas-fir beetle (DFB), Dendroctonuspseudotsuae, were conducted to investigate its basic and applied biology. Studies included investigations into the spatial relationship of DFB infestations over multiple years and multiple landscapes, relationships between DFB brood adult lipid levels and position of development along the length of tree boles, and...
Defensive chemical and nutritive quality of young leaves were measured for 72 individual trees of Chrysolepis [Castanopsis] chrysophylla in conjunction with light intensities of two different stand types and population numbers of Habrodais grunus herri in the Cascade mountains of Oregon. Leaves were collected in the spring and leaf characteristics...
I developed a conceptual model of Douglas-fir bark beetle dynamics and associated host mortality across spatial and temporal scales. I proposed that a hierarchy of factors influence host resistance to attack at different spatial scales. I then tested this model by measuring the association between the occurrence of beetle-kill and...