@article{benda_brownie_schal_gould_2011, title={Field Observations of Oviposition by a Specialist Herbivore on Plant Parts and Plant Species Unsuitable as Larval Food}, volume={40}, ISSN={0046-225X 0046-225X}, url={http://dx.doi.org/10.1603/EN09335}, DOI={10.1603/en09335}, abstractNote={Where a female places her eggs can have a major impact on the fitness of her offspring, especially for insects in which the winged adults are far more mobile than the neonates. Larvae of Heliothis subflexa (Guenee) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a specialist moth phylogenetically nested within a generalist clade, feed only on fruit of some Physalis species. Field observations of the oviposition behavior of H. subflexa revealed that 1) females laid most of their eggs on leaves of the Physalis plant, despite the larvae's frugivorous diet, and 2) females laid nearly 20% of the eggs on nonhost plant species. Most eggs oviposited on nonhosts were placed close to the host plant-88% were within 15 cm of the Physalis plant. However, in a study of neonate movement, we found that a distance of 2 cm from the hatch site to the host plant significantly decreased the ability of neonates to establish on the host plant. The estimated fitness cost, quantified as reduced neonate survival, for females ovipositing on nonhosts is 8-17%. Many ecological and evolutionary factors could result in oviposition on less suitable host parts and on nonhosts. One possibility is that specialization on Physalis has recently evolved in H. subflexa, and females have not fully optimized their oviposition behavior. However, the fitness cost of oviposition on nonhosts may be balanced by fitness benefits of such behavior, such as faster decision-making and reduced predation.}, number={6}, journal={Environmental Entomology}, publisher={Oxford University Press (OUP)}, author={Benda, Nicole D. and Brownie, Cavell and Schal, Coby and Gould, Fred}, year={2011}, month={Dec}, pages={1478–1486} }
 @article{benda_brownie_schal_gould_2009, title={Fruit abscission by Physalis species as defense against frugivory}, volume={130}, ISSN={["1570-7458"]}, DOI={10.1111/j.1570-7458.2008.00792.x}, abstractNote={Fruit abscission as a response to herbivory is well-documented in many plant species, but its effect on further damage by mobile herbivores that survive fruit abscission is relatively unstudied. Physalis plants (Solanaceae) abscise fruit containing feeding larvae of their main frugivore, Heliothis subflexa Guenée (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), a specialist moth. We tested the ability of H. subflexa larvae placed under the plant canopy to find and climb onto two architecturally different Physalis species. Physalis pubescens L., a low, shrub-like, spreading plant, abscises its fruit at a higher rate than Physalis angulata L., a tall arborescent plant. As a result, small larvae are more often dropped from P. pubescens. Third and fifth instars located P. pubescens faster and with a higher probability than P. angulata. Although fifth instars outperformed third-instar caterpillars at finding P. angulata, P. pubescens was located equally fast by the two instars. Heliothis subflexa located Physalis plants more successfully and more quickly than a close relative, the generalist Heliothis virescens Fabricius. The higher fruit abscission rates in P. pubescens may be an evolved response to its greater susceptibility to searching caterpillars.}, number={1}, journal={ENTOMOLOGIA EXPERIMENTALIS ET APPLICATA}, author={Benda, Nicole D. and Brownie, Cavell and Schal, Coby and Gould, Fred}, year={2009}, month={Jan}, pages={21–27} }
 @article{gemeno_snook_benda_schal_2003, title={Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for volatile sex pheromones in Parcoblatta wood cockroaches}, volume={29}, number={1}, journal={Journal of Chemical Ecology}, author={Gemeno, C. and Snook, K. and Benda, N. and Schal, C.}, year={2003}, month={Jan}, pages={36–54} }
 @article{gemeno_snook_benda_schal, title={Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for volatile sex pheromones in Parcoblatta wood cockroaches.}, volume={29}, number={1}, journal={Journal of Chemical Ecology}, author={Gemeno, C. and Snook, K. and Benda, N. and Schal, C.}, pages={37–54} }