Our recently completed project aimed at understanding the effect of nutrient inputs and natural enemies on the butterfly (Pieris rapae) host plant choice and was lead by former Ph.D. student, Margie Lund, with funding from USDA-NIFA-OREI. We also investigated the consumptive and non-consumptive effects of predators on different life stages of the herbivore.
Asparagus beetles feed exclusively on asparagus when they are larvae and adults. They overwinter as adults in the plant debris left in the field after the growing season and in the surrounding vegetation outside asparagus fields. In her M.S. project, Jen Zavalnitskaya is exploring what are the different habitats these insects successfully overwinter in and how these could potentially be managed by growers to reduce their survival.