Stressful juvenile developmental conditions can affect performance and fitness later in life. In holometabolous insects such as butterflies, development under stressful conditions may lead to smaller adult size, lower reproductive output and shorter lifespan. However, how larval developmental stress

The purpose of this study was to track year-to-year variation in aphid abundance on the host plant Ligusticum porteri (Apiaceae). We censused arthropod abundance on the flowering stalks of L. porteri weekly in June-August from 2012 to 2020. The censuses took place in ten L. porteri populations near

Numerous factors, including climate, resource availability, and habitat diversity, act as determinants of global species diversity. I collected baseline species richness data at three sites along an elevation gradient. Discovery curves indicated that I recorded all species at a site. Interestingly,

Experimental infections of Arabidopsis thaliana (Arabidopsis) with genomically charac- terized plant pathogens such as Pseudomonas syringae have facilitated the dissection of canonical eukaryotic defence pathways and parasite virulence factors. Plants are also attacked by herbivorous insects, and th

1. We revisited bumble bee survey data collected by Pyke in 1974 (Pyke, Ecology , 63 , 555–573, 1982) to evaluate seasonal changes in abundances of bumble bees and their floral resources, diel patterns of bumble bee activity, and elevation effects on plant and bumble bee phenology. 2. Bumble bee abu

1. The extent to which flower colour and other visual cues influence butterfly flower choice in the field is poorly understood, especially in comparison with choices by Hymenoptera. 2. Using a novel approach to studies of visitation behaviour by butterflies, flower colour of four Asteraceae species

One possible effect of climate change is the generation of a mismatch in the seasonal timing of interacting organisms, owing to species-specific shifts in phenology. Despite concerns that plants and pollinators might be at risk of such decoupling, there have been few attempts to test this hypothesis

Climate change is expected to alter patterns of species co-occurrence, in both space and time. Species-specific shifts in reproductive phenology may alter the assemblages of plant species in flower at any given time during the growing season. Temporal overlap in the flowering periods (co-flowering)

Ant and aphid interactions are often assumed to be mutualistic, with both participating parties receiving a benefit that outweighs the cost. Yet this interaction can range between mutualistic and antagonistic due to factors that alter this ratio of cost and benefit. Some factors that can affect the

One of the most talked about potential consequences of climate change is that of phenological mismatches between interacting species, such as flowering plants and their pollinators. While there is ample long term data for plant phenology, there is little data on pollinator phenology. It is becoming

Brassicaceae plants, such as bittercress (Cardamine cordifolia) produce characteristic glucosinolates, which are secondary metabolites used as defense compounds to deter pathogens and insect herbivores, such as the leaf mining fly (Scaptomyza nigrita). These compounds are produced constitutively and

Black sage aphids, Obtusicauda frigidae, are infected by the bacterial endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa. The bacteria confers a resistance to parasitism by the solitary endoparastic wasp Aphidius ervi. The bacteria also confers a number of other advantages to the aphids. Despite the number of advan

Spatio-temporal patterns of snowmelt and flowering times affect fruiting success in Erythronium grandiflorum Pursh (Liliaceae) in subalpine western Colorado, USA. From 1990 to 1995, I measured the consistency across years of snowmelt patterns and flowering times along a permanent transect. In most y