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Elizabeth E. Graham
Department of Entomology University of Illinois @ Urbana-Champaign 320 Morrill Hall 505 S. Goodwin Urbana, IL 61801 Phone: 217-333-7783 Fax: 217-244-3499 E-mail: eegraham(at)life.uiuc.edu |
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RESEARCH: I study the relationship between tree stress and attack by wood-boring beetles in the family Cerambycidae. There is a bit of a “chicken and the egg” issue with this relationship. Which came first, the stress or the beetles? Did the stressed tree attract the beetles or did beetles cause the tree to be stressed? Trees are subject to a variety of factors that can contribute to their stress: drought, flooding, competition, soil compaction, lack of nutrients etc... Controlling these factors in the field would be extremely difficult, time consuming, and expensive. A greenhouse study would also be extremely difficult to do and would not accurately represent conditions found in natural settings. So what do I do? I started a project last summer using dendrochronology to catalog the history of beetle attacks in individual trees. Long horned beetles exit the tree through a hole they chew through the bark. The following year the tree will grow over this hole, leaving a distinct change in the growth rings. By looking at the growth rings I hope to determine how the tree was growing before and after beetle attacks, how often beetles attack the tree, where the beetles attack, and how the attack impacts the tree’s health. I am working with the black locust borer, Megacyllene robiniae, which is the only wood borer to attack living black locust trees in this area, making it an ideal candidate for this study. I also study chemical communication in longhorned beetles. Hydrocarbons found in the wax layer of long horned beetles are commonly used as contact pheromones. I am looking at the quanty of these compounds throughout the beetle's life and post mortem. I have served as the Outreach Coordinator for the EGSA. I go to area schools and events to educate and fascinate elementary students with live insects and our “wow” collections. The insects sell themselves, but I've also been working on developing insect lessons that teachers can incorporate into their curriculum. ABOUT ME: I received my M.S. in Forest Ecology and Management from Michigan Technological University in 2005, working with Dr. Andrew Storer. My research focused on chemical communication amongst two different species of bark beetles, Dendroctonus simplex and Ips pini. Prior to that I worked in the education department of the Field Museum and served time in Bulgaria for the Peace Corps. Most my time at the U of I has been spent either wielding my chainsaw in the field, yelling at beetles in the lab, staring at tree rings, or teaching undergrads to not use their cell phones in class. I love to bake and am always looking for a new challenge in the kitchen. You can usually find me listening to Bruce Springsteen, planning my next Springsteen concert, or talking about Springsteen. |
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