Life hanging on a thread; disrupting the structure and function of lepidopteran silking behaviour. The production and use of silk by many invertebrates is vital for their survival. We develop a means of visualising and understanding the role of silking behaviour as a survival mechanism for Helicoverpa larvae (a key world-wide pest) with a view to disrupting silking. This novel project allows us to understand not just where larvae go but what they do along the way. The project outcomes will have ....Life hanging on a thread; disrupting the structure and function of lepidopteran silking behaviour. The production and use of silk by many invertebrates is vital for their survival. We develop a means of visualising and understanding the role of silking behaviour as a survival mechanism for Helicoverpa larvae (a key world-wide pest) with a view to disrupting silking. This novel project allows us to understand not just where larvae go but what they do along the way. The project outcomes will have wide application to the study and control of lepidopteran pests in natural and agricultural ecosystems and is of interest to applied and fundamental projects associated with insect pest control, behaviour and ecology.Read moreRead less
Putting smells into context: Using in vivo technologies to understand plant-insect odour signalling. How insects find host plants is central to understanding their basic ecology and management. We use a novel cross-disciplinary approach to target a key pest insect's responses to a host-plant, genetically modified to smell different. This insect pest, the cotton bollworm, costs the Australian economy millions in lost revenue every year. Reliance on insecticides to control insect pests is exacerba ....Putting smells into context: Using in vivo technologies to understand plant-insect odour signalling. How insects find host plants is central to understanding their basic ecology and management. We use a novel cross-disciplinary approach to target a key pest insect's responses to a host-plant, genetically modified to smell different. This insect pest, the cotton bollworm, costs the Australian economy millions in lost revenue every year. Reliance on insecticides to control insect pests is exacerbated by increasing insecticidal resistance and is a major economic, environmental and health concern. Our research will open the door to novel control strategies that use the natural odours of plants to reduce their attractiveness to insect pests.Read moreRead less