Jessa

Thurman

I am an entomology PhD student studying insect ecology in agriculture. I'm interested in how we can promote biodiversity on farms to reap ecosystem services like pollination and pest suppression. My experience in this field has used a series of field cage experiments to determine the impact of parasitoid wasps and other natural enemies on pest suppression. My work has also used arthropod surveys to determine how farming practices impact communities of arthropods, particularly predators and pests. These surveys have then been paired with molecular work to determine what these predators consume.

Aside from my PhD research, I have worked on the taxonomy of leaf insects (family Phylliidae) and parasitic wasps (family Eupelmidae and Braconidae). I have also worked on projects to document the life history of parasitic wasps including the giant wood wasp (Virgulibracon endoxylaphagus) and how it is shaped by that of its host, the giant wood moth (Endoxyla cinereus).