The palatability of Oenothera flava for Hyles lineata larvae​

Hyles lineata hawkmoths play an important role in pollinating many plant species with night blooming flowers, but in the case of evening primroses (genus Oenothera), they eat the leaves of the same plants when in their larval stage. The differing behaviors of adults and larvae create conflicting selective pressures for the plant. The food available during the larval stage is also largely dependent on the flowers that female H. lineata hawkmoths visit. To explore preferences during the larval stage, this experiment investigated the palatability of yellow evening primrose populations, Oenothera flava from Cloudcroft NM and Snowbowl (Los Alamos, NM). To determine palatability, a positive control, Mirabilis jalapa, and negative control, Oenothera harringtonii, were used based on previous results from Balbuena et al. (2022) to determine differences in survival and development over twelve days. Larvae began dying very early on the controls whereas deaths on the O. flava populations saw most deaths beginning day eight. The results of the Kaplan-Meier survival curves suggested that O. flava is more palatable with survival probability being statistically different. The masses of the caterpillars for O. flava were also statistically different on days six and nine of the experiment, furthering the idea that O. flava is more palatable. Since the positive control plants were not at peak health with a slight thrip infestation, a follow-up on this experiment would be worthwhile to see if O. flava is statistically significant from the positive control.

I applied to the BTI REU program to gain experience in research to help make an informed decision regarding my plans after college. Going to grad school is a common path, but I wanted to give summer research a try before committing to graduate school. While I still do not know for sure what my plan is, research through this program has given me skills that will be transferable regardless of my career path. Experiments do not always go as planned and with this program, I got hands on experience with problem solving, experimental design and collaborating with my peers. This program was also a great chance to put my R coding skills to use. Having further developed my skills as a scientist, I am excited to explore my future career path options.