Field Work

Over thirty years of experience studying insects in the field can be useful to people dealing with practical problems. A recent example:

Field work requires simple tools. Place the board under plant foliage, pound on it with the stick, and small insects are dislodged for study with the hand lens.

a small specialty crop farming region had experienced new and damaging outbreaks of aphid-transmitted virus in their crops.  Through a combination of work time and vacation time I was able to visit the region, develop an understanding of the overall aphid abundance and diversity, identify important host plants, and teach the farmers in the area about aphids, where they live, how to find them, which important species they have, and more.

Research

Another example: my aphid colleague in Vilnius (Lithuania), Rimantas Rakauskas, contacted me several years ago hoping for help with collection of certain aphids (Aphis (Bursaphis)) in North

Aphid lab and collection.

America to provide samples that would complement his research on the group in Europe.  These aphids live on native plants throughout North America.  I coincidentally was planning a 3-week collecting trip through the Rocky Mountains and the desert Southwest, and was able to collect many samples for him.  If there is a plant-feeding insect you as a scientist want found, I can probably find it for you, like I did for Dr. Rakauskas.