Deer keds are blood-feeding flies from which several human and animal pathogens have been detected, including the causative agent of Lyme Disease (Borrelia burgdorferi). Cervids, which are the primary hosts of deer keds, are not natural reservoirs of B. burgdorferi, and it has been suggested that deer keds may acquire bacterial pathogens by co-feeding near ticks that are infected with the bacteria. We tested this hypothesis by using a molecular assay to screen for presence of Anaplasma spp., Bartonella spp., Borrelia spp., and Rickettsia spp. in specimens of European deer keds (n=306) and blacklegged ticks (n=315) collected from 38 individual white-tailed deer in Pennsylvania. There was limited similarity in the bacterial DNA detected between these ectoparasites per host, suggesting that co-feeding may not be a mechanism by which deer keds acquire these bacteria.

This dataset includes data collected from two experiments that examined the potential induction of phenolic compounds in the roots of grapevines fed upon by ring nematodes.

Dataset consists of monitoring the levels of 15 amino acid and 21 phenolic compounds in Cabernet franc grapevine leaves infected with Grapevine red blotch-associated virus or Cabernet sauvignon grapevine leaves infected with Grapevine leafroll-associated virus 3 during May, July, and September of 2018 and 2019 in Davis, California.

Data from choice and no-choice tests associated with the paper cited below. Drought leading to water deficit stress is known to reduce performance of galling insects. The shoot tip-galling fly Parafreutreta regalis has been released for biological control of Cape-ivy (Delairea odorata) in California. Lack of moisture during the dry season causes wilting of Cape-ivy shoots, and subsequent reduced host quantity and quality could influence the fly’s ability to multiply and establish. We imposed water deficit stress on potted Cape-ivy plants, then measured the plant’s and insect’s response to water deficit compared to fully-watered plants.