I grew up near the Shenandoah mountains collecting and pressing wildflowers with my grandmother and catching insects with my little brother which led me to become an EBIO major. I’m lucky enough to do my research on one of the most beautiful insects: the butterfly. I work in Bower’s lab and have been learning about different plant and insect interactions. More specifically, I have learned a lot about how certain butterfly species prefer native host plants or an alternative introduced plant. One project I worked with focused on an introduced weed, Plantago lanceolata. The project investigated how the introduced plant changed insect interactions with pathogens, predators, and parasitoids. My honors thesis research will be similar in that I will compare two different butterfly species and study their immunological response as well as their ability to sequester plant defenses when given a certain plant. My coursework and love of the outdoors inspired my fascination with plants and insects, but getting involved in undergraduate research has been the highlight of my undergraduate career so far.
