ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION OF MICROBIAL SYMBIOSIS IN LEPIDOPTERA

Welcome! I am a doctoral student in Noah Fierer's lab and in Deane Bowers' lab at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I study the communities of microorganisms ("microbiota") that live symbiotically associated with Lepidoptera—the butterflies, moths, and their caterpillar larvae. Across many types of insects, bacteria and other microbes have been shown to have important roles in host nutrition, development, coloration, defense against enemies, and interactions with plants. However, we know comparatively little about the microbial symbionts of butterflies and moths—a group of animals that are otherwise well studied scientifically and widely appreciated for their beauty and fascinating ecology. I study the size, diversity, ecological influence and evolutionary history of microbiota across a wide range of lepidopteran species and in both temperate and tropical habitats. Given that many major crop pests are caterpillars, knowledge of their microbiota could help in the development of new management practices, and could help us understand how insects evolve resistance to insecticides and colonize new crops.

Blacklighting for moths in Guanacaste, Costa Rica

Check out my research page for what I'm currently working on, and feel free to contact me via the button at the top of the page.

Keywords:
Lepidoptera
microbiome
symbiosis
caterpillars
microbial communities
Heliconius butterflies
plant-insect interactions
gut microbiota

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