Tia Hunter

I work on plant-insect interactions, focusing on the phase during which embryos (of Manduca) hatch from their eggs and establish feedings sites on their host plants. Naturally, host plants don't want to be eaten, and they try to poison larvae, prevent them from feeding using physical defenses, or attract parasitic wasps. My project examines desiccation stress during this vulnerable phase. I'm using a nanoliter osmometer to measure the osmotic pressure of larval blood across the transition point, and the experiments use different host plants (Datura, tobacco, devil's claw) that we think stress larvae in different ways.