Spencer T. Behmer

Associate Professor

     Department of Entomology,
     IRP in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology,
     & Institute of Neuroscience
     Minnie Belle Heep Building, Rm 509
     Texas A&M University
     College Station, TX 77843-2475

     Phone: +001 (979) 845-3411
     Fax: +001 (979) 845-6305
     E-mail: s-behmer@tamu.edu

My interests in insect physiology and behavior began to develop as an undergraduate working on grasshoppers in the sandhills of western Nebraska. Initially I focused on questions grounded in ecology, but as I spent time doing fieldwork I began to wonder why particular species were associated with particular plants and habitats, and which factors were responsible for determining species abundance, coexistence and distribution. I also became curious about what insects were capable of learning as they moved through and experienced their surroundings. I felt some these questions might best be addressed by exploring physiology, and since then my research has tended in this direction, with an emphasis on nutritional physiology and mechanisms associated with resource use. I am a keen observer of insect natural history, and where possible I use a comparative approach to gain insights into the evolution of physiological processes and mechanisms. I also believe that a broader understanding of insect physiology can provide novel insights into conditions affecting humans (e.g. obesity, diabetes) and, in the case of plant-feeding insect pests, lead to the development of novel control approaches that are both target specific and environmental friendly.

Research Associate/Fellow (Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, 1998-2005)
College Lecturer (Hertford College, University of Oxford, 2001-2005)
Ph.D. in Entomology (The University of Arizona, 1998)
M.S. in Ecology/Biology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1993)
B.S. in Biology (University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 1989)

Joern, A., Provin, T. and Behmer, S.T. (2012) Not just the usual suspects: Insect herbivore
     populations and communities are associated with multiple plant nutrients.
     Ecology 93, 1002-1015. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Joern, A. (2012) Insect herbivores viewed through a physiological
     framework: insights from Orthoptera. In Insect Outbreaks Revisited (eds. P. Barbosa,
     D.K. Letourneau and A.A. Agrawal), pp 3-29. Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester, U.K.
     [pdf]

Jing, X., Grebenok, R.J., and Behmer, S.T. (2012) Plant sterols and host plant suitability for
     generalist and specialist caterpillars. Journal of Insect Physiology 58, 235-244.
     [pdf]

Jing, X., Vogel, H., Grebenok, R.J., Zhu-Salzman, and Behmer, S.T. (2012) Dietary sterols/
     steroids and the generalist caterpillar Helicoverpa zea: Physiology, biochemistry and midgut
     gene expression. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. [pdf]

Bouvaine, S., Behmer, S.T., Lin, G.G., Faure, M-L., Grebenok, R.J., and Douglas, A.E. (2012)
     The physiology of sterol nutrition in the pea aphid Acyrthosiphon pisum. Journal of
     Insect Physiology. [pdf]

Cook, S.C., Wynalda, R.A., Gold, R.E., and Behmer, S.T. (2012) Macronutrient regulation in the
     Rasberry crazy ant (Nylanderia sp. nr. pubens). Insect Sociaux 59, 93-100. [pdf]

Cook, S.C., Eubanks, M.D., Gold, R.E., and Behmer, S.T. (2011) Seasonality directs contrasting
     food collection behavior and nutrient regulation strategies of an insect society.
     PLoS ONE 6, e25407. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Grebenok, R.J., and Douglas, A.E. (2011) Plant sterols and host plant suitability
     for a phloem-feeding insect. Functional Ecology 25, 484-491. [pdf]

Goeriz Pearson, R.E., Behmer, S.T., Gruner, D.S., and Denno, R.F. (2011) Effects of diet quality
     on performance and nutrient regulation in an omnivorous katydid. Ecological Entomology
     36, 471-479. [pdf]

Chi, Y.H., Jing, X., Lei, J., Ahn, J-E., Koo, Y.D., Yun, D-J., Lee, S.Y., Behmer, S.T.,
     Koiwa, H., and Zhu-Salzman, K. (2011) Stability of AtVSP in the insect digestive
     canal determines its definsive capability. Journal of Insect Physiology
     57, 391-399. [pdf]

Cook, S.C., Eubanks, M.D., Gold, R.E., and Behmer, S.T. (2010) Colony-level nutrient
     regulation in ants: mechanisms, hoarding and associated costs. Animal
     Behaviour 79, 429-437. [pdf]

Cook, S.C. and Behmer, S.T. (2010) Macronutrient regulation in the tropical terrestrial ant,
     Ectatomma ruidum (Formicidae): a field study. Biotropica 42, 135-139. [pdf]

Roeder, K.A., Kuriachan, I. Vinson, S.B. and Behmer, S.T. (2010) Evaluation of a microbial
     inhibitor in artificial diets of a generalist caterpillar, Heliothis virescens. Joruanl of Insect
     Science 10, Article 197.

Behmer, S.T. (2009) Insect herbivore nutrient regulation. Annual Review of
     Entomology 54, 165-187. (click here for a free PDF)

Behmer, S.T. (2009) Animal behaviour: feeding the superorganism. Current Biology 19,

     R366-R368. [pdf]

Janson, E.M. Grebenok, R.J., Behmer, S.T., and Abbot, P. (2009) Same host-plant, different
     sterols: variation in sterol metabolism in an insect herbivore community. Journal of
     Chemical Ecology. 35, 1309-1319. [pdf]

Warbrick-Smith, J., Simpson, S.J. Raubenheimer, D. and Behmer, S.T. (2009). Three hundred
     and fifty generations of extreme food specialization: testing a prediction of nutritional
     ecology. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 132, 65-75. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Joern, A. (2008) Coexisting generalist herbivores occupy unique
     nutritional feeding niches. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
     USA 105, 1977-1982. [pdf]

Boswell, A.W., Provin, T. and Behmer, S.T. (2008) The relationship between body mass and
     elemental composition in nymphs of the grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Journal
     of Orthoptra Research 17, 1-7. [pdf]

Pompilio, L, Kacelnik, A. and Behmer, S.T. (2006) State-dependent learned valuation drives
     choice in an invertebrate. Science 313, 1613-1615. [pdf]

Warbrick-Smith, J., Behmer, S.T., Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. (2006) 
     Evolving resistance to obesity in an insect. Proceedings of the National Academy
     of Sciences, USA 103, 14045-14049. [pdf]

Lee, K.W., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. (2006) Nutrient regulation in
     relation to diet breadth: a comparison of Heliothis sister species and a hybrid.
     Journal of Experimental Biology 209, 2076-2084. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. (2006) Insect dietary needs: plants as food for insects. In: Encyclopedia
     of Plant and Crop Science (Ed. R. M. Goodman), pp. 1.4. Marcel Dekker Publishers,
     New York, NY. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Belt, C.E and Shapiro, M.S. (2005) Variable rewards and
     discrimination ability in an insect herbivore: what and how does a hungry
     locust learn? Journal of Experimental Biology 208, 3463-3473. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Lloyd, C.M., Raubenheimer, D., Stewart-Clark, J., Knight, J., Leighton, R.S.,
     Harris, F.A. and Smith, J.A.C. (2005) Metal hyperaccumulation in plants: mechanisms
     of defence against insect herbivores. Functional Ecology 19, 55-66. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. (2004) Nutrition in Insects. In: Encyclopedia of Entomology (Ed. J. Capinera),
     pp. 1576-1583. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. (2004) Learning in Insects. In: Encyclopedia of Entomology (Ed. J. Capinera),
     pp. 1278-1283. Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands. [pdf]

Simpson, S.J., Sibly, R.M., Lee, K., Behmer, S.T. and Raubenheimer, D. (2004)
     Optimal foraging with multiple nutrient requirements. Animal Behaviour
     68, 1299-1311. [pdf]

Opstad, R., Rogers, S.M., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. (2004) Behavioural correlates
     of phenotypic plasticity in mouthpart chemoreceptor numbers in locusts. Journal of
     Insect Physiology 50, 725-736. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Nes, W. D. (2003) Insect sterol nutrition and physiology: a global overview.
     Advances in Insect Physiology 31, 1-72. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. (2003) The effects of distance between
     foods on nutrient regulation in a highly mobile insect herbivore. Animal Behaviour
     66, 665-675. [pdf]

Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D, Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. (2003) A correlation
     between macronutrient balancing and insect host-plant range: evidence from the
     specialist caterpillar Spodoptera exempta (Walker). Journal of Insect
     Physiology 49, 1161-1171. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J. and Raubenheimer, D. (2002) Herbivore foraging in
     chemically heterogeneous environments: nutrients and secondary metabolites.
     Ecology 83, 2489-2501. [pdf]

van der Zee, B., Behmer, S.T. and Simpson, S.J. (2002) Food mixing strategies in the
     desert locust: effects of phase, distance between foods and food nutrient
     content. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 103, 227-237. [pdf]

Lee, K.W., Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. (2002) A geometric analysis
     of nutrient regulation in the generalist caterpillar Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval).
     Journal of Insect Physiology 48, 655-665. [pdf]

Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D., Behmer, S.T., Whitworth, A. and Wright, G.A. (2002)
     A comparison of nutritional regulation in solitarious and gregarious phase nymphs
     of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. Journal of Experimental
     Biology 205, 121-129. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D. and Simpson, S.J. (2001) Frequency-dependent food
     selection in locusts: a geometric analysis of the role of nutrient balancing. Animal
     Behaviour 61, 995-1005. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Elias, D.O. (2000) Sterol metabolic constraints as a factor contributing
     to the maintenance of diet mixing in grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Physiological
     and Biochemical Zoology 73, 219-230. [pdf]

Frazier, M.R., Harrison, J.F. and Behmer, S.T. (2000) Effects of diet on titratable acid-base
     excretion in grasshoppers. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 73, 66-76. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O. and Bernays, E.A. (1999) Post-ingestive feedbacks and
     associative learning regulate the intake of unsuitable sterols in a generalist
     grasshopper. Journal of Experimental Biology 202, 739-748. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O. and Grebenok, R.J. (1999) Phytosterol metabolism and
     absorption in the generalist grasshopper Schistocerca americana (Orthoptera: Acrididae).
     Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 42, 13-25. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Elias, D.O. (1999) The nutritional significance of sterol metabolic
     constraints in the generalist grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Journal of
     Insect Physiology 45, 339-348. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Elias, D.O. (1999) Phytosterol structure as a basis of food aversion
     learning in the grasshopper Schistocerca americana (Orthoptera: Acrididae).
     Physiological Entomology 24, 18-27. [pdf]

Behmer, S.T. and Grebenok, R.J. (1998) Impact of dietary sterols on life-history traits of
     a caterpillar. Physiological Entomology 23, 165-175. [pdf]

Joern, A. and Behmer, S.T. (1998) Impact of diet quality on demographic attributes in
     adult grasshoppers and the nitrogen limitation hypothesis. Ecological Entomology
     23, 174-184. [pdf]

Joern, A. and Behmer, S.T. (1997) Importance of dietary nitrogen and carbohydrates to
     survival, growth and reproduction in adults of the grasshopper Ageneotettix deorum
      (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Oecologia 112, 201-208. [pdf]

Chambers, P., Sword, G., Angel, J., Behmer, S. and Bernays, E.A. (1996) Foraging by
     generalist grasshoppers: dietary mixing and the role of crypsis. Animal
     Behaviour 52, 155-165. [pdf]

Behmer, S. and Joern, A. (1994) The influence of proline on diet selection: sex-specific
     feeding preferences by the grasshoppers Ageneotettix deorum and Phoetaliotes
     nebrascensis (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Oecologia 98, 76-82. [pdf]

Behmer, S. and Joern, A. (1993) Diet choice by a grass-feeding grasshopper based on the
     need for a limiting nutrient. Functional Ecology 7, 522-527. [pdf]