Draft - Specific Aims

Specific Aims Working Draft

Overall objective: To select different Ulmus species for sampling on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus in order to obtain data on the leaf mining insects that infest them, as well as to help understand the oviposition habits of these insects.

Specific Aim 1. To sample each species of Ulmus present on the UMass Amherst campus, and to survey them for leaf mining insects. In the preliminary work, leaf miners were found inhabiting a resistant Ulmus americana. This leaf miner is likely to be Stigmella Mulltispicata, however, they are only known to predate on Ulmus pumila. We will attempt to screen a sample of each Ulmus species on campus in order to assess the level of predation and locate possible factors.

Specific Aim 2.