My name is Inis Winde and I am postdoctor with the Pheromone Group since November.
Within the field of chemical ecology my research interests started with plant-insect interactions and the adaptation mechanisms of insects to their host plants (PhD from Technical University in Braqunschweig). Then my research focus changed from the inside of the insects to the odorants outside and the insects´ main odorant cues, kairomones and pheromones. As a postdoctor at SLU in Alnarp I was working on the identification of insect kairomones and pheromones as well as applying them in the field for monitoring purposes.
The target insects of my project in the Pheromone Group are scale insects (Physocermes spp.) feeding on coniferous trees of which one species, the Hungarian spruce scale, has recently been documented for Sweden for the first time. I work on the identification of potential kairomones/pheromones that might be used for monitor these otherwise very inconspicuous species and to closer describe their lifecycle in Sweden. The long-term aim of the project is to value the pest potential of these scale insects on the important forest crop Norway spruce and to provide pest control methods. The project is done within the BECC framework.
