Graduate Students

Title Degree Areas of Interest Advisor
Pheylan Anderson M.S.

Cold hardiness and biology of soybean gall midge

Robert Koch
Emily Althoff Ph.D.

Eastern Larch Beetle

Brian Aukema
Sabrina Celis Ph.D.

Parasitoid wasps and their applications in biological control

George Heimpel
Jay Delacy M.S.

Biological control of spotted wing drosophila using Ganaspis brasiliensis

Mary Rogers
Chan Dolan M.S.

I am interested in how bumble bees use different habitats for foraging and nesting. I would also like to work towards developing efficient methods for locating bumble bee nests, including those of the endangered Rusty-patched Bumble Bee (Bombus affinis).

Dan Cariveau
Tatum Dwyer M.S.

Bt protein resistance in European corn borer

Fei Yang
Isabell Dyrbye Wright M.S.

Honey bees

Marla Spivak
Laura Fricke Ph.D.

Genetics behind the host-microbe relationship within the parasitoid wasp Trichogramma pretiosum and its symbiont, Wolbachia.

Amelia Lindsey
Megan Jones Ph.D.

Wolbachia genetics

Amelia Lindsey
Sayesha Khanna Ph.D.

Spongy Moth

Brian Aukema
Sarah Lisak Ph.D.

Biological Control of soybean gall midge

Robert Koch
Amelia Lindsey
Mary Powley Ph.D.

Native bees, including bumble bee occupancy modelling

Dan Cariveau
Mauricio Ramirez Ph.D.

Taxonomy and systematics of the subfamily Stactobiinae (Hydroptilidae).

Robin Thomson
Maya Vellicolungara M.S.

I’m comparing pollinator biodiversity in remnant and restored prairies. The pollinators I’ll be focusing on are bumblebees and butterflies. The restored prairies are a part of the Conservation Reserve Program, which incentivizes farmers to set aside land and plant native species on it.

Dan Cariveau

Graduate Students in Other Programs

Title Degree Areas of Interest Advisor
Alyssa Gooding Ph.D. George Heimpel
Rose Picklo M.S.

Influence of temperature on developmental thresholds of the eastern larch beetle, Dendroctonus simplex.

Brian Aukema
Jessica Rootes Ph.D.

I will be studying a native insect called the eastern spruce budworm, or Choristoneura fumiferana. This moth is a pronounced disturbance agent on Isle Royale, but has not yet been studied there. My dissertation research will study the population dynamics of spruce budworm in northern Minnesota and on Isle Royale, and whether or not wolf reintroduction to the island has helped facilitate the regeneration of Balsam fir within canopy gaps caused by spruce budworm by suppressing excessive moose browse.

Brian Aukema