Post Doctoral Research in the US - 2023 June onwards

I am in the U.S. to study the ecology of flat-headed borers with the goal of developing effective management strategies.
My research includes investigating the impact of cover crops and irrigation on flat-headed borer damage in maple trees, as well as evaluating different traps for capturing adult borers in the field. Additionally,
I am receiving specialized training in identifying the species group Chrysobothris femorata.

Chrysobothris quadriimpressa

I am studying the diversity of parasitoids associated with Chrysobothris species in the southeastern U.S. So far, we have reared 18 species of parasitoids from Chrysobothris-infested logs.

Atanycolus sp.

I am also studying the diversity of parasitoids of Japanese maple scale. So far, we have identified three parasitoids from this pest in Tennessee:

Pteroptrix chinensis

Aphytis hispanicus

Marlattiella prima

We aim to conduct further research on these parasitoids in the coming spring of 2025.

Pteroptrix chinensis

Post Doctoral Research in Israel- 2020-2023

Heliothis nubigera -the prey caterpillar

Project-1: Foraging Ecology of Potter Wasp

Females of the potter wasp Delta dimidiatipenne collect Heliothis nubigera from the surrounding vegetation and place them inside their mud-constructed nest cells to provide for their offspring. However, it has been observed that females frequently collect caterpillars that are already internally parasitized by the gregarious parasitoid wasp Copidosoma primulum. In such cases, the potter wasp offspring’s food supply may become depleted, and they may fail to complete their development, while the Copidosoma primulum offspring mature but remain trapped and eventually die within the mud cell.

This raises the questions:

Why do potter wasp females continue to bring parasitized caterpillars into their nests? Can they distinguish parasitized from

non-parasitized caterpillars ?

Copidosoma primulum- the gregarious parasitoid

Delta dimidiatipenne - the potter wasp

While investigating the potential mechanisms sustaining it, we aimed at quantifying the fitness costs of this behaviour.

Our findings of this fascinating behaviour were published in Animal Behaviour Journal

Kindly read more regarding this interesting system by clicking the button below

Brown widow female guarding the egg sacs

The brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus, is a hazardous and highly invasive species globally. One of the suggested mechanisms enhancing this spider’s invasiveness is its lower susceptibility to natural enemies, in particular, the egg sac parasitoid wasp Philolema latrodecti. This wasp is known to attack the egg sacs of the brown widow spider, as well as those of white widow spider which is native to Israel.

We compared wasp development success in egg sacs exposed to increasing wasp densities. We found higher developmental success, with both more and larger parasitoids developing in the egg sacs of the native host species, L. pallidus, compared to the invasive host species, L. geometricus.

Philolema latrodecti parasitizing the eggs of brwon widow

Native adult white widow spider (female)

Our interesting findings got published in Biological Invasions journal

Read our publication

Research Associate (2020) - Indian Institute of Science

During my brief time at the Center for Ecological Sciences, IISc, Bangalore, I explored the diversity of nest architecture in mud wasps to understand their intrinsic bioengineering principles.

Delta pyriforme building nest

Paraleptomenes humbertianus

We tested the integrity of these mud nests by soaking them in water. To our surprise, the nests maintained their structure for over a week!

During my time in IISc, I also studied the diversity of pollinating and non-pollinating fig wasps from the Ficus elastica, the living root bridge tree of the Eastern Himalaya, Khasi and Jaintia Hills of Meghalaya

Kindly click the button below to read our publication

Ants Vs Fig Wasps

As a Senior Research Fellow - Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

After completing my Ph.D., during my research at the Insect Museum of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, I traveled extensively throughout India for insect collections. During these expeditions, we discovered and made several new insect records.

Some notable finds include:

Volucella, a bee-mimicking hoverfly genus, and Monoceromyia, a potter wasp-mimicking genus, both reported for the first time in South India.

Saturnia cidosa, a moth reported for the first time in India.

Ph.D research in Tamil Nadu Agricultural University

The objectives of my Ph.D. were as follows:

Documenting parasitic hymenopterans associated with rice ecosystems in India.
Measuring the diversity of collected parasitoids using diversity indices.
Rearing host insects to establish plant-herbivore-parasitoid relationships.
Identifying collected parasitoids through morphological characterization.

Mymar Sp.

Callipteroma sexguttata

During the study period, parasitoid individuals representing 11 superfamilies, 28 families, and 174 species were collected.Field experiments conducted to evaluate the efficiency of six different parasitoid collection methods—sweep net, yellow pan trap at ground level, yellow pan trap at canopy level, Malaise trap, suction trap, and light trap—revealed that the yellow pan trap placed at ground level was the most effective for trapping parasitoids.

I have also described a new species in the family Evaniidae Prosevania austrina sp. n.

98 Evaniscus rufithorax Enderlein copy.png

Master's research

I evaluated the efficacy of profenofos and hexithiazox against major tea pests and quantified the pesticide residues to determine the safe waiting period after applying these chemicals. Additionally, I assessed the safety of these pesticides for the predominantly available parasitoids in the tea ecosystem.