Riverside Insect Fair

Hannah Chu is an Entomology PhD candidate at the University of California, Riverside in the Murillo lab. She studies blow flies, the common shiny flies you see around trash. These flies are also important in legal investigations, so forensic entomologists (think Grissom from the TV show CSI!) are very interested in their development and behavior. Hannah's project focuses on finding the different species of blow flies in Southern California and how they can survive in many environments, like the desert. Hannah is always excited to talk more about blow flies, you can find her at hannahhchu.com!

Dr. Alec Gerry studies insects that harm animals. Research is focused on the biology and ecology of flies, including blood-feeding flies that transmit pathogens to animals and humans.

Dr. Alec Gerry studies insects that harm animals. Research is focused on the biology and ecology of flies, including blood-feeding flies that transmit pathogens to animals and humans.

Caleb Hubbard is a Postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Entomology at UC Riverside. His current research focuses on investigating parasite treatment effects on laying hen production, welfare, behavior, and arthropod parasite infestations, developing wearable sensor technology to improve cattle welfare, and investigating filth fly behavior and management in animal agriculture systems. His doctoral research focused on elucidating mechanisms of behavioral resistance to the insecticide imidacloprid in the house fly.

My expertise lies in biomechanics which is defined as seeing the natural world through the lens of engineering. Since 2010, I have participated in and led research in various biomechanics questions which lie at the intersection of insect behavior, movement, and flight. I have experience in handling, and identifying insects, high speed videography, materials testing (primarily insect cuticle), and manipulating large data sets (in MATLAB/Python). I also have a strong background in promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within my previous communities since I was an undergraduate student. Currently, I am a postdoctoral researcher in the Choe Lab using entrapping surfaces to augment non-chemical IPM approaches to bed bug control. Such approaches are critical to the monitoring and treatment of bed bugs, particularly for low-income areas.

Thread-legged assassin bugs are a group of insects found all over the world, several of which use spiderwebs to both steal prey caught in the web and to attack the resident spider who built the web! I study relationships between these fascinating insects, and the evolution of this incredible behavior.

My name is Savana Becerra, I am a second-year PhD student in the Mauck Lab studying pest management of melon viruses transmitted by aphids and whiteflies. Did you know that plants have an immune system too? If we can boost their immunity, they can be protected from the virus attack, a similar concept to a vaccine! I am working to optimize these plant defense responses in melons and understand their interactions.

Dr. Murillo studies mites and lice that negatively impact the behavior, welfare, and egg production of chickens. By understanding how parasites interact with their chicken hosts, she hopes to develop control methods to keep animals healthy.

I am a PhD candidate interested in the defensive mechanisms that survival honey bees use against Varroa mites. My research aims to understand the agents that help the bees to overcome a mite infestation to create a molecular breeding program focusing on honey bee health.

Jun-Yin's research focuses on the German cockroach, a significant urban pest commonly found within households. Using a combination of toxicology and population genetics, Jun-Yin studies how insecticide resistance can be inherited in these insects. By improving our understanding of insecticide resistance, we hope to develop better methods of controlling these cockroaches, which are rapidly evolving to become "unkillable".

Greg has worked in the Entomology department for over 25 years and has a broad background working in agricultural and urban entomology throughout his career. He worked for many years with Dr. John Trumble to manage research projects in agriculture studying applied aspects of integrated pest management programs for commodity boards such as the California Celery Research Board, California Pepper Commission, California Potato Board, and the California Tomato Commission. Their research encompassed numerous insect pests associated with these commodities and numerous plant pathogens. He has continued this research with the commodity boards and numerous industry contacts to assist with bringing new products to market to satisfy requirements of the Food Quality Protection Act. He also has experience with global warming and pollution studies focusing on the effects of contaminants on plant physiology and the insect to plant interactions associated with these contaminants. His experience in urban entomology started in the lab of Dr. Michael Rust and Donald Reierson. He was responsible for research support of cockroach, flea, ant, and termite studies. Currently his research efforts are focusing on the study of new insecticides that may provide a benefit to the urban pest control market in light of the increased level of resistance by cockroaches and bed bugs. Additionally he is providing support for the molecular identification of key genes that may be contributing to resistance.

Emily is currently a lab assistant in Dr. Chow-Yang Lee's lab and she will be continuing his lab as a PhD student starting this fall. Her research interest falls in the realm of insect behavior of German cockroaches. She hopes to discover insect behavioral differences between insecticide-resistant and susceptible strains of German cockroaches to better improve pest management control.

Robert (Luke) Kresslein is an systematist at the University of California, Riverside that studies parasitoid wasps. While most people think of wasps as large stinging nuisances, the wasps that Luke studies are tiny (no bigger than a gnat) and attack other insects. Researchers can use this parasitoids wasps to control agricultural insects pests (biological control), reduce dependency on toxic chemicals and lower pest control costs. Luke research focuses on describing new species, and the identification of parasitoid wasps (taxonomy) and understanding the evolutionary relationships between groups of parasitoid wasps (phylogenetics). Understanding of the fundamental biology of parasitoid wasps aids in the effectiveness of biological control and prevents the release of incorrectly identified parasitoids

Ho Eun Park (Joyce) is a staff research associate at the University of California of Riverside in the Entomology department. Joyce is in the urban entomology and works with Dr. Rust, Dr. Choe, and Dr. Lee on cockroaches, ants, termites, and yellow-jackets. Previously, Joyce worked with bedbugs and fleas as well. Current projects include developing and incorporating a more effective integrated pest management programs using the patent pending hydrogel beads and pheromone adjuvants under Dr. Choe.

Did you know that an invasive pest of avocados is on the move? Paloma Dadlani is a Graduate Student Researcher at UC Riverside who researches the phenology and ecology of the invasive Avocado Lace Bug (ALB). She is assessing the effects of temperature on ALB development and survivorship rates; monitoring their population and associated natural enemies; and employs genetic methods to profile the ALB populations in parts of California, Florida, Hawai'i, and Mexico.

I am a first year PhD student studying the evolutionary history of a group of small bugs know as the plant bugs. Plant bugs are closely associated with plant hosts and can be found here in California and all over the world!

Stephanie Castillo is a graduate student in UC Riverside’s Entomology program. She studies biological diversity and relationships among true bugs to understand the evolution of bizarre features such as asymmetric male genitalia. Her work focuses on the pirate assassin bugs (Peiratinae) and the lobe-headed assassin bugs (Pseudocetherinae). By investigating the evolution of unique structures, she hopes to improve the classification of these bugs while discovering the functional significance of under-studied morphologies.

I study local harvester ants in Riverside county, and how they interact with their ecosystem. Specifically, how they influence local plant species, both native and invasive.

Magda studies the microbiota associated to wild bees in natural environments like the Channel Islands, in CA.

My name is Ashley Bui and I am a 2nd PhD student in the Heraty lab, studying parasitic wasp phylogenetics. My current projects entail looking at the biogeography of parasitic wasps on various island archipelagos like the Hawai'ian Islands and the Galápago Islands. I absolutely love studying wasps; their biology and life histories are so fascinating and they are so diverse! My goals are to eventually work in museum curation or continue working in academia at a university.

Alejandra Rocha is a graduate student in the Heraty lab at the University of California, Riverside. She studies a group of parasitoid wasps that attack ants. Her research focuses on understanding the evolutionary relationships and describing new species within the group.

I am interested in evolutionary biology, phylogenetics, and natural history. My research investigates species-level relationships, hybridization, and also deeper-level phylogenetic patterns. My favorite insects are assassin bugs.

My research is on the effectiveness of over the counter pesticides on German cockroaches! Most of the current pesticide testing on German cockroaches uses professional grade pesticides, but it is interesting to see what kind of results DIY-pest management can provide.