A NEW METHOD OF AUGMENTING BIOLOGICAL CONTROL: IMPLEMENTING PREDATOR CUES FOR PEST DAMAGE MITIGATION

?Chemical signals play a crucial role in mediating interactions between plants and insects, and researchers have found that manipulating these cues for alternative pest management is a promising and impactful area of study. Extensive research has focused on utilizing plant volatiles and pheromones induced by herbivores to influence pest behavior and mitigate damage to crops. Recent findings have demonstrated that chemical cues emitted by predatory insects can also induce alterations in herbivore physiology and behavior, leading to reduced overall pest damage. Nevertheless, using predatory insect cues as a pest management tool remains largely unexplored.In this project, we will determine which odors from predatory lady beetles allow aphid pests to determine the threat of predation. We will expose all of the individual compounds that are produced by ladybugs to the aphids antennae which will reveal the crucial compounds for behavioral and physiological changes in aphids. We can then expose aphids to the odor blend and assess their feeding, reproduction, assimilation of nutrients, population growth and other traits. Lastly, we will explore how this odor blend affects aphids and other organisms in the field.