My research involves the striped cucumber beetle (Acalymma vittatum), a common pest of cucurbit species east of the Mississippi River. If you have ever planted squashes, cucumbers, melons, or pumpkins, then you are probably very familiar with this insect and the myriad ways it causes misery after it moves into your garden. The adult beetles can appear suddenly in great numbers, and chew on the leaves, stem, and flowers of the plants. A single female can lay a few hundred eggs, and when they hatch, the larvae will chew on the roots of cucurbits and even bore into the stems.

As if this weren't enough, the beetle is also the primary vector of bacterial wilt of cucurbits (Erwinia tracheiphila), which is lethal for many species and will, at the very least, cause wilting and reduced yield in infected plants. The disease spreads quickly in a field, probably through the frass of the beetles, and can only be managed by removing the beetles from the area.

Past work indicates that the bacteria are long-term residents in the beetle, using it as both an overwintering site and a vector. Because of this close relationship, there is some suspicion that the bacteria may be interacting with the beetle on a higher level than plain, boring commensalism. My initial research is focused on extracting viable DNA from the frass of the beetle, and then using this to identify the presence of bacteria - thus identifying which beetles are vectors and which are not. The eventual goal is to identify any effects of carrying the bacteria on aspects of the beetles' life history, such as longevity, fecundity, behavior, and metabolism.