Habitat management

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.

Department of Entomology

http://www.ent.msu.edu
288 Farm Lane
243 Natural Science Building
Michigan State University
East Lansing MI 48824
Phone 517-355-4633
Fax 517-432-7061

MSU AgBioResearch

109 Agriculture Hall
East Lansing, Michigan 48824
517-355-0123
http://agbioresearch.msu.edu/

Dr. Zsofia Szendrei

szendrei@msu.edu
517-974-8610
Vegetable Entomology Lab
Department of Entomology
Michigan State University
1129 Farm Lane, Room 348
Food Safety and Toxicology Bldg.
East Lansing MI 48824