The main thrust of my research programme is to understand the
reproductive strategies of insects that migrate in response to either
predictable or unpredictable habitat change. The research is
multidisciplinary in nature, looking at the behavioural and ecological
aspects, as well as using physiological and molecular approaches to
understand the mechanisms controlling the reproductive biology in
species where mate location and mate choice are modulated by sex
pheromones. I am also interested in different aspects of plant-insect
and host-parasitoid interactions that involve chemical cues
(infochemicals). I have generally chosen to work on pest species, or
their natural enemies, as model research systems. This allows us to not
only address basic questions in reproductive biology but also to
generate data that may be used in the development of more
environmentally rational approaches to insect control.
