Louis B. Bjostad

Professor of Entomology

B.S., Biology, College of William and Mary, 1973, Williamsburg, Virginia;
Ph.D., Entomology, Chemistry Minor, University of California - Riverside, 1978, Riverside, California

 

Research Interests

Chemical ecology is the focus of the research in our laboratory, and this includes both basic and applied investigations of chemical relationships among insects and plants. Behavioral and physiological studies with insects, including bioassays both in the laboratory and in the field, are used as the basis for the isolation and chemical identification of natural products that are involved in these interactions. Our work entails purification of individual components of interest by gas-liquid chromatography and high performance liquid chromatography, and chemical identification of these compounds with spectroscopic techniques (principally, mass spectrometry and NMR) in conjunction with micro-derivatization reactions. Synthesis of these compounds is also carried out in our laboratory, and the synthetic materials are tested in the laboratory and in the field for behavioral and physiological activity.

Our project on chemical cues involved in host location by larvae of the western corn rootworm, one of the most important pests on corn in the United States, is concerned with compounds from the roots of corn plants that attract the larvae underground. We have completed the isolation and chemical identification of some of the important compounds, and behavioral bioassays in our laboratory with the synthetic compounds have verified that they are attractive. We are currently engaged in the isolation and identification of additional compounds that are involved in attraction of the larvae to corn roots. This basic line of research served as the foundation for applied research that we are conducting to reduce the amount of insecticide used in cornfields to control these insects, by using the corn attractants as larval baits on granules that have reduced amounts of insecticide. In addition, we are developing formulations that emit carbon dioxide slowly over the course of the field season, in order to interfere with the ability of rootworm larvae to use carbon dioxide gradients to locate corn roots.

Our research on termites has shown that termites are attracted to carbon dioxide at low concentrations in air, comparable to the concentrations that are found in the colony.  We are presently investigating the potential for termite monitoring and control by using carbon dioxide to attract termites or otherwise influence their behavior.

Current Group

  • Elisa Bernklau, Research Associate
  • Erich Fromm, Research Associate

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    Selected Publications

    Bernklau EJ, Bjostad LB. 1998. Behavioral responses of first-instar western corn rootworm to carbon dioxide in a glass bead bioassay. J. Econ. Entomol. 91:444-456.

    Bernklau EJ, Bjostad LB. 1998. Re-investigation of host location by western corn rootworm larvae: CO2 is the only volatile attractant. J. Econ. Entomol. Accepted for publication 16 July 98.

    Bjostad LB. 1998. Electrophysiological methods. Chapter 9.  Methods in Chemical Ecology.  J.G. Millar and K.F. Haynes, eds. ISBN 0-412-08071-0.  Kluwer Academic Publishers, Norwell, Massachusetts.

    Hibbard, B.E., T.L. Randolph, E.J. Bernklau, E.M. Abou-Fakhr & L.B. Bjostad. 1997. Electroantennogram-active components of maize silk for adults of the western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Environ. Entomol. 26: 285-296.

    Hibbard, B.E., T.L. Randolph, E.J. Bernklau, & L.B. Bjostad. 1997. Electroantennogram-active components in buffalo gourd root powder for western corn rootworm adults. Environ. Entomol. 26: 1136-1142.

    Hibbard, B.E., Jewett, D.K., Bjostad, L.B. 1997. Pentanoic acid attracts Olcella parvis (Adams)(Diptera: Chloropidae) in Colorado corn fields. J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 70: 67-69.

    Jewett DK, and Bjostad LB. 1997. Structure-activity study with haloalkane attractants of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) larvae using a behavioral bioassay. J. Entomol. Sci. 32: 91-105.

    Abou-Fakhr E, Hibbard BE, Jewett DK, Bjostad LB. 1996. Electroantennogram responses of western corn rootworm (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) adults in relation to maize silk morphology and phenology. Environ. Entomol. 25:430-435.

    Bjostad LB, Jewett DK, Brigham DL. 1996. Sex pheromone of the caddisfly Hesperophylax occidentalis.(Banks)(Trichoptera: Limnephilidae). J. Chem. Ecol. 22: 103-122.

    Jewett D, Brigham DL, Bjostad LB. 1996. Hesperophylax occidentalis (Banks)(Trichoptera: Limnephilidae) sex pheromone structure-activity study with electroantennograms. J. Chem. Ecol. 22: 123-138.

    Jewett DK, and Bjostad LB. 1996. Dichloromethane attracts diabroticite larvae in a laboratory behavioral bioassay. Journal of Chemical Ecology 22:1331-1344.

    Breed MD, Page RE, Hibbard BE, Bjostad LB. 1995. Interfamily variation in comb wax hydrocarbons produced by honey bees. J. Chem. Ecol. 21: 1329-1338.

    Breed, M.D., Garry, M.F., Pearce, A.N., Hibbard, B.E., Bjostad, L.B., Page, R.E. 1995. The role of comb wax in honey bee nestmate: genetic effects on comb discrimination, acquisition of comb cues by bees, and passage of cues to individuals. Animal Behaviour 50:489-496.

    Vaughn TT, Antolin MF, Bjostad LB. 1995. Behavioral and physiological responses of Diaeretiella rapae to semiochemicals in its environment. Entomologia experimentalis et applicata 78: 187-196.

    Dong, H., J.S. Quick, D.L. Brigham, L.B. Bjostad, J.B. Rudolph, and F.B. Peairs. 1994. Leaf unrolling of three wheat genotypes in Russian wheat aphid extracts. Cereal Res. Commun. 22: 375-79.

     Bjostad, L.B., Hibbard, B.E., and Cranshaw, W.S. 1993. Application of semiochemicals in integrated pest management programs. Chapter 17 in Newer Pest Control Agents and Technologies with Reduced Environmental Impact. S. O. Duke, J. J. Menn, and J. R. Plimmer, eds. Amer. Chem. Soc. Symposium Series, Washington DC.

     O'Neill, K. M., Evans, H. E., and Bjostad, L. B. 1991. Territorial behavior in males of three North American species of bumblebees (Hymenoptera: Apidae Bombus). Canadian Journal of Zoology 69, 604-613.

     Kendall, D.M. and Bjostad, L.B. 1990. Phytohormone ecology: herbivory by Thrips tabaci induces greater ethylene production in onions than mechanical damage alone. Journal of Chemical Ecology 16, 981-991.

     Hibbard, B.E. and Bjostad, L.B. 1989. Corn semiochemicals and their effects on insecticide efficacy and insecticide repellency toward western corn rootworm larvae. Journal of Economic Entomology 82, 773- 781.

     Bjostad, L.B. 1989. Chemical characterization of sex pheromones and their biosynthetic intermediates. Chemical Senses 14, 411-420.

     Bjostad, L.B. 1988. Insect electroantennogram responses to semiochemicals recorded with a personal computer. Physiological Entomology 13, 139-145.