Marianne M. Alleyne (~ van Laarhoven) is a first- year graduate student at UIUC. After moving to the U.S. eight years ago, I received my B.A. in Biology from the University of California at Berkeley. Recently I received a Master's degree in Entomology from the University of California at Riverside while working in the lab of Dr. Nancy Beckage. My defense could have been entitled "Eating for eight hundred and fifteen" or "Heavy breathing in horny worms" since I studied the effects of the parasitoid (Cotesia congregata) on host (Manduca sexta) feed-ing, metabolism, development, and most importantly respiration. At UIUC I continue to study parasitoid-host relationships, focusing on the host immune response (titles for Ph.D.-defense are welcome). While working with Dr. Rob Wiedenmann I hope to be able to compare responses of different hosts to different parasites (representing both novel and "co-evolved" associations). I feel pretty lucky to have found a research topic that, at least to me, is incredibly interesting. My hobbies include traveling, which I do a lot since my family (including my husband Andrew's family) live pretty much all over the world. Another big time sink is my love of NCAA basketball (Go Bears!); productivity is way down during the month of March (sorry Rob). I am looking forward to my time here at UIUC. Andrew (a.k.a. Omar) is on the tenure track in Engineering, so hopefully we will be in U-C for quite a while.
Christine Armer (finished M.S., August 1996). Howdy! I'm interested in biocontrol of agricultural pests by manipulating the environment to encourage health and happiness for our insect predators and parasitoids. I'm looking at how plant stress affects Orius insidiosus, the insidious flower bug. I'm infecting soybeans with various strains of soybean mosaic virus, and measuring the longevity and fecundity of my insect (BTW, it's a generalist predator that also feeds on the plant, although we don't know if it's for moisture or nutrients) while living on the plants. I'm also figuring out where on the plant my insect feeds; it may be searching out specific tissues, in which case certain nutrients there would be highly important, or it may just feed wherever its mouthparts land. I'd like to continue working on feeding in hemipterans, as well as on environmental manipulation to encourage beneficial insects.
In my spare time (that in which I'm not sleeping or counting O. insidiosus eggs, which doesn't leave much), I like to sew, knit, occasionally garden, and otherwise act domestic. I also like photography and painting, though haven't found the time for either recently, and would like to do some furniture making because I can't afford to buy nice furniture, but might be able to make it. I've got a guinea pig that was once female but became male once his anatomy became more apparent, and he will someday grow up to become a capybara. I had a fish tank, but got tired of cleaning it. The fish got sold back, and the plants can now be viewed in Colin's far cleaner aquarium. I have an awesome oak tree in my back yard, which you can come see any time. You can also help me rake up its leaves this fall if you want. And you know, for all my apparent domesticity, and for all the help from various dinner guests who have helped vacuum the place, my house is still a mess. Sigh.
Ria Barrido was born in the Philippines, but grew up in Chicago and its suburbs. She received her B.S. in Biology from the University of Illinois, and is studying the efficacy of Bt corn on European corn borers with Dr. Kevin Steffey at the Illinois Natural History Survey. She enjoys giving insect presentations at local grade schools, and last summer she judged insect collections at the Illinois State Fair. When she isn't studying, digging up corn roots, or singing songs in flooded corn fields, she is playing with her Siberian huskies, thinking about cleaning her house, or dusting her beloved Macintosh computer.
Lisa Carloye came to entomology through the back door, graduating from Whitman College in Walla Walla, WA, with a degree in History and a minor in English and dreams of becoming a writer. As fate would have it, I landed a job with the Washington State Department of Ecology working in the Air Program doing data entry. While there, I took classes at the University of Washington in basic biology and I eventually decided to return to school full time to pursue a degree in entomology. I enrolled at Washington State University to make up my science deficiencies, and to be sure that entomology was truly my field of choice. With less than a year of biology under my belt, I took the GRE's and, with fingers crossed, sent off an application to the University of Illinois.
Now I'm here and can't seem to get out. For my Master's degree I examined the effect of protein consumption on the dietary choice of Helicoverpa zea under Gil Waldbauer and Stanley Friedman. I am now working on my Ph.D. examining the effects of plant secondary com-pounds on the infectivity of Nosema trichoplusiae, a microsporidian pathogen of Trichoplusia ni and getting my advice from Joe Maddox and May Berenbaum. To date, I have found that xanthotoxin, a furanocoumarin found in many rutaceous and apiaceous plants, can prolong the life of infected larvae. The effect is most likely to be due to suppression of bacterial septicemia rather than a direct inhibition of microsporidian development. I am currently conducting experiments to explore this hypothesis.
Mark Carroll is a graduate student in May Berenbaum's lab. He is originally from Panama City, FL, but has spent some time in Minnesota for a contrast. He received his B.S. in Natural Sciences from New College of USF in Sarasota, FL, after completing a thesis involving isolation of ichthyotoxic compounds from red mangrove trees. His research interests are on the role of fatty acids and their volatile derivatives in plant-insect interactions. Swaying umbels of wild parsnip remind him of his former passion for surfing and snowboarding. In the meantime, he enjoys swimming with his wife Lynnmarie and playing with his pet Nile Monitor, the fearsome Smaug.
Chun-Liang Chen, originally from Taiwan, and wife Chiou Miin Wang came to study entomology here in 1991. I am working with Dr. Hugh Robertson on a project to find new P-like transposable elements. Transposable elements are powerful tools to transform animals with foreign genes. Hopefully, we will find wide application of transposable elements to meet the needs for transgenic insects.
Sean A. Collins is originally from Manhattan, NY; in fact, I lived in the Bronx from the time I was released from the hospital until I came to Illinois in 1992. I received my B.S. in biology from Saint Lawrence University. My main interests are in behavior and ecology of aculeate wasps, primarily those in the families Sphecidae and Vespidae. My current doctoral project is centered on the factors governing the size polymorphism observed in the cicada killer, Sphecius speciosus, and if the ultimate size of the insect has an effect on the potential for females to choose alternate reproductive tactics. I am also interested in the territorial behavior of the males and whether these are long-term or ephemeral associations which have an effect on the mating success of individual males. With regard to the Vespidae, I am very interested in the behavior of the European hornet, Vespa crabro. These insects are among the very few Hymenoptera which have been observed flying away from their nests at night. This behavior has yet to be documented other than anecdotally and an investigation into this activity may yield very interesting results.
Lesley Deem-Dickson received a B.S. in Biology and a certification in secondary education from Clarion Uni-versity of Pennsylvania in 1986. She then began working as a research assistant in Plant Pathology at the University of Illinois. After a year, she started work on an endangered species project at the Army Construction and Engineering Research Lab (CERL) and at the same time she entered the terminal Master's degree program in Biology at Illinois. She enrolled in entomology classes taught by Drs. Robert Metcalf and May Berenbaum. She so thoroughly enjoyed these classes and the instructors that she transferred to Entomology the following semester. Her research interests center on the chemical ecology of insect-plant interactions and how this relationship can be applied in insect pest management. Dr. Metcalf became her research advisor and they did research projects testing various volatile attractants for corn rootworm beetle adults.
Besides graduate school she enjoys getting together with people for tea and gardening. She is also involved with minor breeds conservation at her families' organic farm in Pennsylvania. They raise Tamworth pigs and hope to get a pair of Gloucester Old Spots later this year.
Kay Edly is a first-year Master's student working with Steve Kohler in the Department of Ecology, Ethology and Evolution. For my Master's thesis I will be looking at predation and habitat selection in the stonefly nymph Paragnetina sp. I received my B.S. in Natural Resources at the University of Michigan. My main focus is aquatic ecology. In my spare time, I host the Celtic Music Show on the local community radio station, 90.1 FM, WEFT.
Sarah Farris was born and raised in east-central Iowa. After 18 uneventful years, she graduated from Anamosa High School in 1989. She attended the University of Iowa, initially as a pre-med student with a burning desire to one day perform autopsies for a living. After completing her first general biology course, she decided that she was much more interested in bugs and worms than human beings. After graduating with a B.S. in 1993, she came to UIUC. She currently works with Gene Robinson and Susan Fahrbach studying honey bee neurobiology. Sarah has completed her M.S. thesis and will begin her Ph.D. work, also with honey bees. Most of Sarah's hobbies push the limits of social acceptability. Some of her less deviant pursuits include playing bass guitar and listening to music.
Colin Favret was born in Rwanda, and raised on four other continents. My interests are too many to list here, but include mountain climbing, opera, travel, skiing, politics (Go Newtie!), etc., etc., ...oh, and biology. I received a B.S. in Biology at UIUC and completed an undergraduate research project in paleobotany. I am in Dr. Berenbaum's lab, trying to specialize in molecular evolution and systematics. I have recently begun inves-tigating cytochromes P-450 (detoxification enzymes) and their influence on the evolution of swallowtail butterflies. My life's ambition is to become a truck driver.
Steve Gaimari is a doctoral candidate studying the evolution and systematics of the dipterous family Chamae-myiidae, which are all predators as larvae on soft-bodied homopterans, such as aphids, scales, and mealybugs. He is working on the higher classification of the subfamily Leucopinae, which is quite poorly understood in terms of the relationships among taxa. In fact, the current definitions of genera within the subfamily are vague (a problem that will necessarily be worked out in the project). Steve is approaching problems within the group from three major standpoints, including adult and immature morphology, and molecular studies. Biological observations will be included as much as possible. Besides the group's higher classification, Steve is interested in the evolution and radiation of this cosmopolitan family as a whole, from a biogeographical perspective. He is also doing species-level revisionary work as the project progresses. In addition, Steve is working with Dr. Michael Irwin (his advisor) on a revision of the Nearctic genus Ozodiceromyia of the dipter-ous family Therevidae.
What does Steve do with his very limited spare time? He mainly spends it with his wife, Helen, and his son, Alexander. He has been known to disappear on insect collecting trips for extended time periods, concentrating all his efforts on collecting and rearing his favorite insects, flies.
Jeff Gilardi is a Ph.D. student working in Stewart Berlocher's lab. His project focuses on the population genetics of the classic case of polytypic mimicry in the butterflies Limenitis arthemis and L. astyanax.
Matthew Ginzel, an Illinois native, was new to the department last year. He graduated with departmental honors from Beloit College, Beloit, WI. While an undergraduate, Matt studied the winter temperature and humidity preferences of the mound-building prairie ant, Formica montana. He is currently developing a Master's project with Dr. Gene Robinson. Additionally, Matt worked as a teaching assistant for Bio 104. During his free time, he enjoys camping, hiking, and playing a variety of sports.
Rosanna Giordano works on the effects of the rickettsial bacterium Wolbachia on insects. She has recently published on the effects of this bacterium on two closely related species, Drosophila sechellia and D. mauritiana.
Tugrul Giray is from Turkey. I came to UIUC and to the U.S. for the first time in August 1990. Since then I have been talking on Turkish culture, especially food and drinks. I also had an opportunity to visit Mexico and Puerto Rico. I really liked real Mexican and Puerto Rican food and drinks during my visits. Of course, in the U.S. I developed a taste for Chinese food.
I completed my Master's degree in 1993, working on honey bee division of labor. I have studied the influence of intracolony differences in rates of behavioral development on plasticity in division of labor. Under Gene Robinson's supervision, I am wrapping up my Ph.D. thesis. For my Ph.D., I worked on genetic and hormonal bases of differences in rate of behavioral development in honey bees.
My favorite pastime is chess. But I had acquired another hobby--looking for postdoc opportunities. That hobby ended with a postdoc position at the Smithsonian.
Angel L. Gonzalez was born in San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, on October 11, 1955. I have been married to Maria Libran since 1978. I completed my undergraduate studies in horticulture at the University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Campus (UPRMC) in 1977. Then, I worked for two years at a research station of the UPRMC doing research with insect and weed control on vegetable crops. In 1979, I entered graduate studies in entomology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. These studies were completed in 1982 with an M.S. and a thesis on the management of the potato leafhopper on snap beans. Since 1982, I have been working with the University of Puerto Rico, first in a two-year college, and more recently with the faculty of Agri-culture of the Mayaguez Campus. Throughout this time I have taught courses in entomology and pest control and I have held various administrative positions. Presently, I am an assistant professor at the UPRMC and I have a leave of absence to complete a Ph.D. in Entomology at UIUC. My research interests are in the management of insects on vegetable crops through inter-cropping, trap cropping and biological control. My hobbies include gardening, cultivating orchids, listening to music (classic, jazz, Latin, gospel, and contemporary Christian), and reading.
Ellen Green is a graduate student in May Berenbaum's lab. She is originally from the Chicago area. Ellen received her B.S. in Biology and an M.S. in Entomology from UIUC. Her research interests explore the role of nutrient deficiencies on cytochrome P450 activity in the parsnip webworm, Depressaria pastinacella. While numerous studies have been performed to assess the effects of nutrient deficiencies on vertebrate detoxification systems, literature on theinfluence of nutrients on insect detoxification enzymes is virtually nonexistent. In 1993 Ellen was named an Environmental Toxicology Scholar, an award which is renewable for up to three years at 50% appointment through the Institute of Environmental Sciences at UIUC.
In her spare time, Ellen enjoys swimming, quilting, gardening, and spending time with her husband of two years and Nigel, their pet.
Dan Guyot entered Entomology in fall 1990. For his Ph.D. thesis he is investigating the mechanistic causes of climbing behavior in corn earworms infected with nuclear poly-hedrosis virus. When he is not observing caterpillars climb to their death, Dan likes to ride his unicycle and hike with wife Zivar.
Marianne Hartman is a Master's student in Rob Wiedenmann's lab. My research is on a beetle that is used in the biological control of purple loosestrife, an exotic weed that invades wetlands. I'm investigating how best to rear these beetles and what factors affect their egg-laying. In addition, I am finishing my undergraduate research project with Mike Irwin, and I play trombone in the U of I basketball band.
Laura Heuser (pictured with fellow graduate student Mark Carroll) is in her third and last year in the department. For my Master's thesis, I looked for possible effects that an octopamine agonist has on nestmate recognition in the honey bee. As you might guess, I work in the laboratory of Gene Robinson, the current UIUC bee guru. I have taught in the introductory biology series for several semesters, and I also was a TA for Gene's Animal Behavior course. In my spare time, I zip around town on my motorcycle and take public trans-portation to Milwaukee to visit my fiance. Teaching has become very important to me, and I hope to find a teaching position in Milwaukee after May 1996.
Chien-Fu Hung finished his doctoral work with May Berenbaum and Mary Schuler in August 1996 on detoxification enzyme systems of two butterflies, black swallowtail (Papilio polyxenes) and tiger swallowtail (P. glaucus). These two butterflies can feed on very toxic plants which contain furanocoumarins, plant secondary metabolites. In both species, cytochrome P450 monooxygenases (P450), detoxification enzymes, are able to metabolize furanocou-marins and are inducible by furanocoumarins. I isolatedP450 cDNAs and genomic DNA clones from both butterflies and expressed them in a baculovirus expression system. This study will lead to a better understanding of interaction between herbivorous insects and plant secondary metabolites.
Hilary Lee is a third-year Ph.D. student. She is pursuing an M.D./Ph.D. through the Medical Scholars Program. Her research interests include the evolution of the host/parasite relationship, especially in mosquitoes. Clinical interests are centered on infectious disease. Hilary also enjoys the physical challenges of T'ai Chi and Kung Fu as well as having philosophical discussions, especially with her dog Jordyn. She hopes to retain her sanity in the next few years.
Phil Lewis' career in Entomology began with a research assistantship with Dr. R.L. Metcalf synthesizing organic herbicide compounds. This led to involvement in field research with Dr. Metcalf investigating corn rootworm pests common to the Midwest. My Master's thesis described the biology and attraction of the striped cucumber beetle to various chemicals that show promise as a method for monitoring and control of populations of this and other pest chrysomelid beetles.
From 1989-92 I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Thailand where I worked as an extension entomologist for a Thai government office. I returned to the U.S. and entered the Ph.D. program in fall 1992. For most of 1994 I conducted research on Asian chrysomelid beetles, in Thailand, under a Fulbright grant. I am currently looking for funding to complete comparative studies of New and Old World chrysomelid beetles by traveling to Central America where many pest species exist and little is known of their ecology and behavior, especially as regards their response to volatile kairomones.
Karen McClellan is a Ph.D. student working with Bob Novak. Her project focuses on the overwintering physiology of Culex vectors of St. Louis encephalitis. Karen and husband Steve are proud parents of a new baby girl, Hannah Rose.
Maya Patel finished her Master's degree with Mike Irwin in August 1996. I did my undergraduate work at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts in biology and had a great time there. Currently I am studying dolicho-podid communities in prairie and agricultural habitats as well as the attractiveness of different colors to dolichopodid and platystomatid flies. When I'm not teaching Bio 120, studying, or keying out flies, I quilt, knit and watch "The X-Files."
Karlene Ramsdell (on right, with Karen McClellan), by birth and temperament, is a native of the "finest city in the U.S., Chicago." My interest in rocks and animals began as a child. Mom received many gifts of shiny pebbles found in cinder alleys. She reciprocated by sewing aerial nets and buying a complete set of Golden Guides. These were used by her children when they studied nature in vacant lots, which we called prairies, and during innumerable camping trips in the Midwestern wilds. I knew the carefree single life was over when I came downstairs for a first date to find that Steve, the man who is now my husband, had viewed my mineral collection and managed to engage my father in conversation. His opening remark was, "I know where we can find some pyrite." We both became interested in paleontology and began collecting Mazon Creek fossils. Because of our collecting zeal, thousands of fossils are now housed at the Royal Ontario Museum, Field Museum of Natural History, and Northeastern Illinois University. Several fossil species have been named for us, including the thysanuran Ramdelepidion schusterl Kukalova-Peck.
During the financial lows of the 1980s, I decided to give up a lucrative pencil-pushing career, bite the bullet (relearn algebra), and return to school (Northeastern Illinois University) to become a biologist. I graduated as an Honors Scholar, summa cum laude, with a B.S. in Chemistry and Biology. Senior thesis research was con-ducted during a U.S. Department of Energy Science and Engineering research semester at the Marine Research Laboratory of Battelle, Inc., Sequim, WA. Because swim-ming in salt-water makes me nauseous, I decided to do graduate work on terrestrial arthropods at the UIUC. M.S. research was of a parasitoid wasp used in the biological control of house flies and stable flies in cattle feedlots. My present research interests include the ecology and evolutionary genetics of Parasitica, and their use in biological control. Other interests and activities consist of the use of native plants and landscape structure to attract wildlife to urban and suburban areas, organic gardening, pickling, collecting vegetable head salt and pepper shakers and beetle boot-jacks, going to auctions, walking, and reading Agatha Christie mysteries.
Susan T. Ratcliffe, a Champaign native, is married and has three children (Mary, 13; Carolyn, 9 and Robert 7). She has received two degrees from the University of Illinois, an A.B. in Political Science with a minor in Business ('93) and an M.S. in Entomology ('95). Susan is currently working on her Ph.D. in Entomology. Previous research involved the use of rDNA to identify fly species of forensic importance and current research employs similar techniques to determine if puparia of house and stable flies have been parasitized. In addition to pursuing her entomological interests, in her free time she also enjoys ice skating, running, weight lifting and attending as many of her children's activities as humanly possible.
Claire Rutledge (on right, with Marianne Alleyne) is a second-year Ph.D. student with Rob Wiedenmann. I am originally from New York state, and got my B.A. from Oberlin College in Ohio. After college I worked for two years as a biological technician at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. I then switched from primates to insects, and got my M.S. at UIUC with May Berenbaum working on the behavior of a tachinid parasitoid of Helicoverpa and Heliothis larvae. My current research focus is on habitat and host location in braconid parasitoids of pyralid stem borers.
David Schulz is a second-year graduate student in the department this year. He received his B.S. in Biology from UIUC in May 1995. As an undergraduate, Dave graduated with Highest Distinction and was awarded the Helen E. Hess award for undergraduate research. Being a member of Dr. Gene Robinson's lab for the past year and a half, he has developed an interest in the behavioral mechanisms associated with division of labor in honey bees. His current research interests lie in the neurochemical correlates of the biogenic amines dopamine, serotonin, and octopamine, and specific behaviors being exhibited by worker honey bees. A side project deals with the effect of colony food shortage on the development of foragers in bee colonies. However, his entire life, believe it or not, is not consumed by the pursuit of entomological enlightenment. When not in the lab, in class, or stuck behind a computer terminal, Dave likes to go biking as well as waste countless hours watching movies and TV. He also strongly encourages anyone interested in biking, be it mountain biking or touring, to let him know so that he can find someone, anyone, to ride with.
John Sherwood, born in Flint, MI, in 1970, completed his undergraduate degree at the University of Michigan-Flint, in Honors Biology and English. The honors program enabled me to spend three months in Tasmania, Australia, where I studied marine chemical ecology of bryozoans and their symbionts. My interest in chemical ecology brought me here to work in May Berenbaum's lab. Her work with molecular aspects of host plant allelochemical detoxification by oligophagous insects via cytochrome P450's brought me into molecular biology. As a participant on the NIH Cell and Molecular Biology Training Grant here, lab rotations took me through Mary Schuler's lab and ultimately to Hugh Robertson's lab. I am currently working on using the transposable element mariner as an in vivo transformation system. I like to watch a lot of TV even though I don't have cable. So instead I play SEGA Genesis which often cuts into study and lab work time. But that's okay, sometimes. In the summer I like to go fishing in Michigan, even Canada. After completing my Master's at UIUC, I hope to pursue a Ph.D. in Immunology.
Michael Slamecka is a third-year Master's student working with Daniel Schneider on aquatic ecosystems. He is looking at the effects of river management on floodplain organisms on the Illinois River. His interests include science fiction, little creepy critters of all kinds, and he is a life long Miami Dolphins fan. Michael got his B.S. at the UIUC in EEE and knows way too much useless information about animals of all sorts. Aquatic Bugs Rule!
Lee Solter: When my son, Ravi, was about 4 years old, I overheard him explaining why he squashed the sowbug he held in his hand to a group of squealing friends. "Don't blame me, my mom does this every day at her job!" That just about sums up the last seven years--I figure I have "squashed" well over 30,000 insects looking for diseases, most of which we initiated in the lab. To backtrack a bit, I came to UIUC via a Virginia swine/peanut farm, teen through college years in Los Angeles (B.S. in Zoology, Cal Poly, Pomona), several years of banking in Davis, CA, and New York City, and then (mercifully) back to school for an M.A. in Biology from Montclair State University in NJ.
Currently, I am a full-time research scientist at the Illinois Natural History Survey in Joe Maddox's lab. Our projects range from describing several species of micro-sporidia (Protista) to studies of the host range of micro-sporidia under consideration for biological control of the gypsy moth. My specific interests are the development of microsporidian disease in the target tissues of the insect hosts and the progression of disease (or lack of) in non-target hosts. I also dabble in insect baculoviruses, TEM (still very much in the learning mode), and am interested in the ecology of insect disease transmission. I have a growing interest in science education, and continue to enjoy working with fourth graders on entomology projects.
Joseph Sullivan is staying in the race, studying, and doing research for Gene Robinson and Susan Fahrbach. The Allerton Park race this past fall was my only real cross-country competition. Running and swimming keep me in the human race by preventing me from fusing to the floor at my desk. Lately, I have been scheming about adding biking to the picture and trying to be a triathlete. Bill Chantz is training avid students including myself in the swimming portion this winter. I hope to continue learning how to train myself to become one of the nuts that are competitive at triathlons. I am working on becoming sufficiently crazed and restless by taking courses and doing research. Also, I have the good fortune to live in the Cosmopolitan House. It is a group home housing 12 international graduate students from all over the planet. They teach me their culture and cooking, and we all learn from talking over everything from different worldviews.
Bees teach me the beauty of a complex solution to the simple challenge to survive in a world of competition. For my Master's project, I began to investigate the behavioral and neuroanatomical effects of removing juvenile hormone in adult worker honey bees. A distinct increase in the hemo-lymph titers of juvenile hormone in worker bees has been associated with tasks like foraging performed by the oldest bees in the colony. I performed a surgery on recently enclosed worker bees to remove the only identified source of juvenile hormone, the corpora allata. Our hypothesis was that bees lacking juvenile hormone should not forage. I introduced the bees to a glass-walled observation colony to watch behavior of allatectomized, sham-operation, and control bees inside the colony and at the entrance. The behavioral analysis supported the hypothesis. Nine allatec-tomized out of 25 foraged while 16 out of 17 sham-operation bees foraged. I am learning a radio-immunoassay to check the hormone titers in the hemolymph samples from the foragers. The hormone analysis will be critical in confirming the juvenile hormone titers in the nine putatively allatectomized bees which foraged. The second thrust of my important portion of the project will examine if the mushroom bodies, corpora pedunculata, in the brains of the allatectomized bees undergo the volume changes observed to occur during the orientation flight period of normal worker bees. My bet is there will not be a difference because the allatectomized bees had orientation flight behavior indistinguishable from the sham operation bees. I could not have done any of the work without the generous assistance of those in my lab and two undergraduate assis-tants. I plan on pursuing my doctorate with Gene and Susan, so there is more to come. Please drop me a note to let me know what your thoughts are: jsullivn@uiuc.edu.
Christine Wagener-Hulme completed her undergraduate work in Ecology, Ethology, and Evolution at the U of I in 1980, and was commissioned into the U.S. Air Force at graduation. She spent the next 12 years in a myriad of jobs in the Air Force. While in the Boston area, working on communication systems research, she worked on her Master's degree from Harvard University. It was during her assignment to McChord AFB, Tacoma, WA, as an aircraft maintenance officer supervising C-141 cargo aircraft maintenance, that she was "recruited" into their medical entomology field, in part due to her thesis work from Harvard. She left her short-lived career in aircraft maintenance for the Armed Forces Pest Management Board in Washington, DC, where she involved herself in preventive medicine of military troops, as well as the military's environmental efforts. She was chosen to com-plete an Air Force-sponsored Ph.D. program in entomology, and she chose to attend UIUC to work with Gene Robinson and his honey bees ("go ahead, just ask what the Air Force has to do with honey bees"). Major Wagener-Hulme returned to the Air Force after three (short!) years to use her newly acquired knowledge. And, just as soon as she finishes her dissertation while working at her new job in environmental research and development in Panama City, FL, she will find time to enjoy riding her horse, sailing with her husband Michael, and relaxing in the jacuzzi of their newly found home. She's happy to report, "the bugs are good in Florida!"
Chiou Miin Wang and her husband, Chun-Liang Chen, came to Urbana from Taiwan in the fall of 1991. We were married in 1989. We enjoy the study here, although we still miss some homemade dishes. I work in Dr. Fahrbach's lab. My research interests are on the neuroendocrine modulation of development in insects. It is well known that nerve cells in insects are one of the most important endocrine organs responsible for insect growth and development. I am able to identify some neuroendo-crinal nerve cells and a novel protein from the nervous system of Manduca sexta by using monoclonal antibodies. My goal is to be able to take these results of further research back to Taiwan and to have this research available to other countries as well.
Honghong Zhang is a Ph.D. student working in Mike Irwin's lab. His project focuses on the effect of biotic and abiotic perturbations on the movement of apterous aphids.
New Graduate Students:
Yehuda Ben-Shahar--B.S., Tel-Aviv University, Israel, is in Gene Robinson's lab
Erin Bullock--B.S., University of Illinois
Terry Harrison--B.S., Eastern Illinois University, Charleston, is in May Berenbaum's lab
Kevin Holston--B.S., University of Texas, Austin, is in Mike Irwin's lab
Mark Metz--B.S., UCLA; M.S., California State University, Northridge; is in Mike Irwin's lab
Matt O'Neal--B.S., University of Illinois, is in Mike Gray's lab
Rebecca Peterson--B.S., University of Notre Dame, is in May Berenbaum's lab
Peter Reagel--B.S., University of Illinois
John Tooker--B.S., Bates College, Maine
Mark A. Hissong--Immunochemistry of the xanthotoxin-inducible cytochrome P-450 in the black swallowtail, Papilio polyxenes. Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
1992
Stephanie Bailey--Physical and biological perturbations: their effect on the movement of apterous Rhopalosiphum padi L. (Homoptera: Aphididae). Advisor: M. Irwin.
Daniel Guyot--Advisor: M. Irwin.
1993
Lisa Carloye--Advisors: J. Maddox and M. Berenbaum.
Lesley Deem-Dickson--Semiochemical baits for controlling adult corn rootworms: field evaluations and refinement of attractant mixtures. Advisor: R. Metcalf.
Tugrul Giray--Intracolony differences in rates of development result in plasticity in division of labor in honey bee colonies. Advisor: G. Robinson.
Chuiying Li--Furanocoumarin responses of wild and culti-vated parsnip roots to abiotic and biotic stresses. Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Honghong Zhang--External morphology of the antennal sensilla of five species of adult corn rootworm beetles (Coleop-tera:Chrysomelidae). Advisor: R. Metcalf.
1994
David Levin--The effects of barley yellow dwarf virus on tethered flight duration, wingbeat frequency and age of maiden flight in Rhopalosiphum padi (Homoptera: Aphididae). Advisor: M. Irwin.
Claire E. Rutledge--Host-defense and host-size as determining factors of host specificity in Eucelatoria bryani (Diptera: Tachinidae). Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
1995
Ellen S. Green--An ecological benefit of silk-spinning behavior in the parsnip webworm, Depressaria pastinacella (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae). Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Karlene Ramsdell--Host effects on the longevity and repro-duction of Spalangia nigroaenea Curtis (Hymenoptera: Ptero-malidae). Advisor: R. Weinzierl.
Susan T. Ratcliffe--rDNA identification of select calliphorid and sarcophagid fly species of forensic importance in determining postmortem interval (PMI). Advisor: H. Robertson.
1996
Christine Armer--Effects of soybean mosaic virus on life history parameters of the phytophagous predator Orius insidiosus (Heteroptera: Anthocoridae). Advisor: R. Wiedenmann.
Chun-Liang Chen--Generation of antibodies to cell adhesion molecules involved in neuronal pathfinding and molecular cloning of neuroglian in Manduca sexta. Advisor: J. Nardi.
Sean Collins--Foraging behavior of honey bees (Apis melli-fera) on Brassica nigra and Brassica rapa grown under simulated ambient and enhanced UV-B radiation. Advisor: G. Robinson.
Sarah Farris--Behavorial reversion affects juvenile hormone titers but not brain structure in the worker honey bee. Advisors: S. Fahrbach and G. Robinson.
Maya Patel--Attracting and characterizing the community of Dolichopodidae (Diptera) of a soybean and a hill prairie habitat with color pan traps. Advisor: M. Irwin.
Kimberly O. Walden--Attempts to amplify ancient DNA from amber fossil specimens of a stingless bee, Proplebeia dominicana. Advisor: H. Robertson.
Doctor of Philosophy
1990
Harry Bottenberg--Aphid movement and aphid-borne virus spread in mixed cropping systems of legumes and cereals. Advisor: M. Irwin.
Mohammad Naeem--Selective feeding on green bean Phaseolus vulgaris by Heliothis zea. Advisor: G. Waldbauer.
Alan C. Schroeder--Production and use of soybean callus cultures to investigate mechanisms of resistance to insects. Advisor: M. Kogan.
1991
Lynetta C. Binger--Molecular analysis of the cDNA and gene for a major protein from flexible cuticles of the giant silkworm Hyalophora cecropia. Advisor: J. Willis.
Michael B. Cohen--Characterization of a hostplant-inducible cytochrome P450 from the black swallowtail caterpillar, Papilio polyxenes (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Bruce A. Steinly, Jr.--Focused orientation of campaniform sensilla of Periplaneta americana L. (Orthoptera: Blattidae) trochanters and femurs. Advisor: R. Metcalf.
Mark A. Sturtevant--Limb and thoracic segments of crayfish contain the same segmental field. Advisor: J. Mittenthal.
1992
David Lampe--Molecular analysis of a cDNA and gene encoding a protein from rigid cuticles of the giant silkmoth, Hyalophora cecropia. Advisor: J. Willis.
Saraswathi Lanka--Studies on the microsporidium, Octosporea muscaedomesticae in two species of calypterate Diptera. Advisor: J. Maddox.
Intan Ahmad Musmeinan--Dietary self-selection by the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta: Self-selection from defined diets and the role of the maxillae in this process. Advisor: G. Waldbauer.
1993
Mikyung K. Choi--The regulation of motoneuron survival in the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta. Advisor: S. Fahrbach.
1995
Gwendolyne Y. Fondufe--The effect of varying mixtures of soybean and cereals on the landing rates of aphid vectors and spread of soybean mosaic virus (SMV) and maize dwarf mosaic virus (MDMV). Advisor: M. Irwin.
Eric S. McCloud--Stratospheric ozone depletion and plant-insect interactions: Effects of UVB radiation on generalist and specialist herbivores on a tropical tree and a temperate forb. Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Steven C. Passoa--Larval and pupal systematics of Nearctic Amphisbatinae and Depressariinae (Lepidoptera: Oecophoridae). Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Felipe N. Soto-Adames--A molecular phylogeny of the families and orders of Collembola (Arthropoda: Hexapoda) using the 18S rDNA gene. Advisor: H. Robertson.
1996
Michael D. Baker--A molecular phylogeny of the Micro-sporida. Advisor: J. Maddox.
Chien-Fu Hung--Isolation and characterization of cytochrome P450s from Papilio polysenes and Papilio glaucus. Advisor: M. Berenbaum.
Leellen Solter--Host specificity of Microsporidia: physiological and ecological considerations. Advisor: J. Maddox.