Machines that simulate flying insects can be used to maneuver into small complex spaces. An important first step to creating insectoid flying machines is studying how an insect flies and creating a 3-D model that replicates its movements. The red milkweed beetle was chosen to be the subject because it was easy to find and capture. Live specimens were captured from the wild and then, using a hig...

Parasites and hosts live in communities consisting of many interacting species, but few studies have examined how communities affect parasite virulence and transmission. We studied a food web consisting of two species of milkweed, two milkweed herbivores (monarch butterfly and oleander aphid) and a monarch butterfly-specific parasite. We found that the presence of aphids increased the virulence...

Anthers and pollen from corn, Zea mays L., expressing Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)-derived protein frequently fall onto common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L., growing in and near corn fields. Previous studies have shown that, alone, Bt anthers do not pose a significant risk to the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus L. To examine how exposure to a combination of Bt anthers and pollen affects lar...

1. Initial herbivory and induced plant responses can influence subsequent aboveand below-ground herbivore attack. When two life stages of the same herbivore damage different plant parts sequentially, there is strong potential for plants to respond with induced plant defence against the later attacker. Alternatively, the earlier attacker could manipulate the host plant to facilitate the later-fe...

Explaining the coexistence of closely related species sharing a single resource has been a long-standing challenge in ecology. Here we report on studies comparing the aphids Aphis nerii and A. asclepiadis that feed sympatrically on the milkweed Asclepias syriaca in northeastern North America. We sought to identify tradeoffs among species’ attributes that might promote coexistence, but in most i...

Cutleaf coneflower (Rudbeckia laciniata L.), crown-beard (Verbesina occidentalis Walt.), and tall milkweed (Asclepias exaltata L.) are wildflower species native to Great Smoky Mountains National Park (U.S.A.). Natural populations of each species were analyzed for leaf ascorbic acid (AA) and dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) to assess the role of ascorbate in protecting the plants from ozone stress. Ta...

The insects that feed on the related plant families Apocynaceae and Asclepiadaceae (here collectively termed "milkweeds") comprise a "component community" of highly specialized, distinctive lineages of species that frequently sequester toxic cardiac glycosides from their host plants for defense against predators and are thus often aposematic, advertising their consequent unpalatability. Such se...

Abstract Milkweed floss was used as a reinforcement to develop lightweight epoxy composites with enhanced thermal insulating properties. Seed fibers from Asclepias Syriaca harvested in Quebec were for this study. Some treated acetone remove their protective hydrophobic coating. Epoxy resin blended 15% w/w of native or acetone‐treated milkweed form prepregs. The prepregs casted into molds, degas...