Professor, Department of Entomology
Chair, TAMU Ecology & Evolutionary Biology Program
Member, TAMU Institute of Neuroscience
Minnie Belle Heep Building, Rm 509
Texas A&M University
College Station, TX 77843-2475
Phone: (979) 845-7304
Fax: (979) 845-6305
E-mail
A bit about my research interests…
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.
Positions, Training and Education
Professor (Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 2014-present)
Associate Professor (Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 2011-2014)
Assistant Professor (Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, 2005-2011)
Research Associate (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)
Editorial Positions & Service
Co-Editor, Journal of Insect Physiology (2013 – present)
Associate Editor, Journal of Animal Ecology (2012 – present)
Associate Editor, BMC Physiology (2010 – present)
Editorial Board, Current Opinions in Insect Science (2013 – present)
Editorial Board, Insect Science (2013 – present)
Editorial Board, Insects (2014 – present)
Vice Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions (2017)
Chair, Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions (2019)
Publications
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Tessnow, A.E., Tamez-Guerra, P., Pusztai-Carey, M. and Sword, G.A.
(2017) Nutrition affects insect susceptibility to Bt toxins. Scientific Reports 7, 39705. [pdf]
Clark, R.M., Zera, A.J. and Behmer, S.T. (2016) Metabolic rate is canalized in the face of variable
life history and nutritional environment. Functional Ecology 30, 922-931. [pdf]
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Fiene, J. and Sword, G.A. (2016) Spatio-temporal, genotypic, and
environmental effects on plant soluble protein and digestible carbohydrate content:
implications for insect herbivores with cotton as an exemplar. Journal of Chemical
Ecology, 42, 1151-1163. [pdf]
Deans, C.A., Sword, GA and Behmer, S.T. (2016) Nutrition as a neglected factor in insect herbivore
susceptibility to Bt toxins. Current Opinion in Insect Science 15, 97-103. [pdf]
Zera, A.J., Clark, R.M. and Behmer, S.T. (2016) Lipogenesis in a wing-polymorphic cricket:
Canalization versus morph-specific plasticity as a function of nutritional heterogeneity.
Journal of Insect Physiology 95, 118-132. [pdf]
Cook, S.C., Eubanks, M.D., Gold, R.E. and Behmer, S.T. (2016) Summer and fall ants have
different physiological responses to food macronutrient content. Journal of Insect
Physiology 87, 35-44. [pdf]
Behmer, S.T. (2016) Virtual Issue: Nutritional Ecology. Journal of Animal Ecology.
Lenhart, P.A., Eubanks, M.D., and Behmer, S.T. (2015) Water stress in grasslands: dynamic
responses of plants and insect herbivores. Oikos 128, 381-390. [pdf]
Clark, R.M., Zera, A.J. and Behmer, S.T. (2015) Nutritional physiology of life-history trade-offs:
how food protein-carbohydrate content influences life-history traits in the wing-polymorphic
cricket Gryllus firmus. The Journal of Experimental Biology 218, 298-308. [pdf]
Deans, C.A., Sword, G.A. and Behmer, S.T. (2015) Revisiting macronutrient regulation in the
polyphagous herbivore Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): New insights via
nutritional geometry. Journal of Insect Physiology 81, 21-27. [pdf]
Caballero, I., Sakla, A.J., Detwiler, J.T., Le Gall, M.*, Behmer, S.T. and Criscione, C.D. (2015)
Physiological status drives metabolic rate in Mediterranean geckos infected with pentastomes.
PLoS ONE 10, e0144477. [pdf]
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Kay, A. and Voelz, N. (2015) The influence of enrichment and
dissolved N:P ratios on mayfly (Baetis spp.) growth in high-nutrient detritus-based streams.
Hydrobiologia 742, 298-308. [pdf]
Roeder, K.A. and Behmer, S.T. (2014) Lifetime consequences of food protein-carbohydrate
content for an insect herbivore. Functional Ecology 28, 1135-1143. [pdf]
Le Gall, M. and Behmer, S.T. (2014) Effects of protein and carbohydrate on an insect herbivore: the
vista from a fitness landscape. Integrative and Comparative Biology 54, 1135-1143. [pdf]
Jing, X., Grebenok, R.J. and Behmer, S.T. (2014) Balance matters: How the ratio of dietary
steroids affects caterpillar development, growth and reproduction. Journal of Insect
Physiology 67: 85-96. [pdf]
Bouvaine, S., Faure, M-L., Grebenok, R. J., Behmer, S.T., and Douglas, A.E. (2014)
A dietary test of putative deleterious sterols for the aphid Myzus persicae.
PLoS ONE 9, e86256. [pdf]
Clark, R.M., McConnell, A., Zera, A.J., and Behmer, S.T. (2013) Nutrient regulation strategies
differ between cricket morphs that trade-off dispersal and reproduction.
Functional Ecology 27, 1126-1133. [pdf]
Jing, X., Grebenok, R.J., and Behmer, S.T. (2013) Sterol/steroid metabolism and absorption in a
generalist and specialist caterpillar: Effects of dietary sterol/steroid structure, mixture
and ratio. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 43, 580-587. [pdf]
Thompson, B.M., Grebenok, R.J., Behmer, S.T., and Gruner, D.S. (2013) Microbial
symbionts shape the sterol profile of the xylem-feeding woodwasp, Sirex noctilio.
Journal of Chemical Ecology 39, 129-139. [pdf]
Behmer, S.T., Olszewski, N., Sebastiani, J., Palka, S., Sparacino, G., Sciarrno, E., and
Grebenok, R.J. (2013) Plant phloem sterol content: forms, putative functions,
and implications for phloem-feeding insects. Frontiers in Plant
Science 4, 370. [pdf]
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]
Behmer, S.T. ( 2012) Ecological and environmental physiology of insects. Ecology 93:
2772-2773. (note: this was an invited book review) [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.
The 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? The 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. The 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. The 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]