@thehungrybug

Postdoc researcher at the Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment. Starving caterpillars for science | insects | plant defence | silicon | eCO2

Joined August 2019
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Here's the step-by-step checklist for this leafhopper nymph's blastoff: ✅squirt a little honeydew ✅tuck the front legs ✅hold a statue pose all the way into outer space unused sequence (captured at 4,300fps) from this: youtu.be/8PW-0r4Fj4Y
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New #siliceousplants paper out in @Plants_MDPI led by @thehungrybug with @ScottJohnsonLab. We found that silicon acts as a direct defence against chewing herbivores by altering the morphology of physical defence structures, not leaf mechanical traits. mdpi.com/2223-7747/9/5/643

Silicon Alters Leaf Surface Morphology and Suppresses Insect Herbivory in a Model Grass Species

Grasses accumulate large amounts of silicon (Si) which is deposited in trichomes, specialised silica cells and cell walls. This may increase leaf toughness and reduce cell rupture, palatability and...

mdpi.com
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Microbes in Helicoverpa armigera oral secretions contribute to increased senescence around plant wounds doi.org/10.1111/een.12886
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Have you got a few minutes to channel your inner possum and see if you can tell the difference between Australian mistletoe leaves and those of their hosts? Play the game here: conflict-ecology-games.githu… . #mimicry #ecology #citizenscience #plantblindness @S112_OU @MBulbert
Photo of a brush tail possum very close to the camera peering at the photographer. Its food with hairy digits and little claws is visible in the foreground.

ALT Photo of a brush tail possum very close to the camera peering at the photographer. Its food with hairy digits and little claws is visible in the foreground.

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Feeling sympathy for the caterpillars 🐛 Counting silicified prickle cells from leaf epidermal peels #Homelab #WFH #siliceousplants #plantdefence @rvandegeer @ScottJohnsonLab
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Home office c/o Andy Austin 🧑🏼‍💻🐴🍷Getting it done! You be the judge. @SoBSPA @InvasionEcology @dnatimelord @DrMGuzik @DrEmSherratt #UoAHomeOffice
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Flies on vacation: evidence for the migration of Australian Syrphidae (Diptera) doi.org/10.1111/een.12856
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I like how the genome of the Wuhan coronavirus trails off in a scream, like it's been stabbed or pushed off a cliff ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nuccore/MN9…
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– at Richmond North, New South Wales
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If you enjoy the flavor of hops this #PhytochemicalFriday, you're tasting isohumulones, products of a hop chemical (humulone) as it degrades during brewing. They provide hops a characteristic bitter flavor. Their parent, humulone, seems to act as an antiviral and antimicrobial.
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Happy #PhytochemicalFriday from #PAGXXVIII #PAG2020! Today: Aconitine: deadly poison from Aconitum spp. (aka Monkshood / Wolf's-bane) that features in modern mysteries and literature from Ancient Rome (Ovid). The alkaloid binds sodium ion channels & interferes with neuron firing.
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Congratulations to Tarikul @Tarikul67150456 on passing his CoC and to Rocky @rputrabio on his birthday. Last lab meeting of @ScottJohnsonLab before Christmas. @Fikadu03792669 @aphid_whisperer @thehungrybug @rvandegeer @jmwaterm @XimeCibils
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🐛 This week I want to show you how beautifully diverse caterpillars have evolved. Which one is your favorite? 🦋 #caterpillarweek #caterpillar #nature #pollinators #wildlife #cute
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New paper out shows that not all droughts are equal in the eyes of a grass... @westsyduhie @asps_ozplants sciencedirect.com/science/ar…
Professor Scott Johnson@ScottJohnsonLab11 Dec 2019
Another super paper from our team. Physiological acclimation of a grass species occurs during sustained b... sciencedirect.com/science/ar… well done @rvandegeer
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Excellent talk by @thehungrybug at #JointAusBio19 on alkaloid defences as affected by plant silicon. Really cool interplay and interaction between resistance mechanisms
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Replying to @rvandegeer
@rvandegeer gives a 5 min speed talk at #JointAusBio19 explaining how interactions between silicon and osmotic stress affect herbivores. Herbivores suffer from both; thicker leaves and physical defences?
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I’ve come across quite a few people who scream when a moth flies at them. So for anyone with a moth phobia (Mottephobia) here is one all tucked up sleeping 💤 on a eucalypt leaf 🍃 in my back yard. Not so scary #eyelashes #moths #lepidoptera #mottephobia
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What’s the one thing better than a #wombat? A wombat with a miniature, even fuzzier version of itself!! #WildOz
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First paper out: ""Silicon and Plant Natural Defenses against Insect Pests: Impact on Plant Volatile Organic Compounds and Cascade Effects on Multitrophic Interactions" !!!! Do not hesitate to have a look: mdpi.com/2223-7747/8/11/444 @jtcornelis @felixdetombeur

Silicon and Plant Natural Defenses against Insect Pests: Impact on Plant Volatile Organic Compounds...

Environmental factors controlling silicon (Si) accumulation in terrestrial plant are key drivers to alleviate plant biotic stresses, including insect herbivory. While there is a general agreement on...

mdpi.com
François Verheggen (Science bestiale)@FrVerheggen25 Oct 2019
New paper out in @Plants_MDPI : "Silicon and Plant Natural Defenses against Insect Pests: Impact on Plant Volatile Organic Compounds and Cascade Effects on Multitrophic Interactions" Free to download: mdpi.com/2223-7747/8/11/444 @AgroBioTech
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