It is necessary to understand the relationships between nutrition, feeding behavior, endocrines, and insect reproduction in one species of insect to understand the total insect system. It is almost impossible to transfer information gained on one insect species to explain a particular phenomenon in another insect species. Because of this, the selection of one species to examine the interactions of nutrition, hormones, and oogenesis is important. I selected the black blowfly, Phormia regina, as a model system because of the voluminous literature already available on the regulatory mechanisms controlling its feeding behavior. Much is known about the stimulatory and inhibitory inputs into the gustatory system of this organism, plus the feedback machanisms that modulate intake. Consequently, this species is the best choice to study how the food an insect eats (i.e., nutrition) modifies its endocrines, which in turn affect both reproductive output and behaviors. By combining electrophysiological techniques with behavioral experiments, we can better understand how specific stimuli influence the nervous system, which in turn regulates overt behavior.
Other areas of current research involve salt marsh tabanid bionomics and feeding behavior using Tabanus nigrovittatus, a major pest of people and animals along the Atlantic seacoast. One major component of this work centers on understanding the regulatory mechanisms of feeding behavior and the importance of phagostimulants (i.e., carbohydrates and blood components) in feeding.