Prayan Pokharel

Entomology

University of Hohenheim

Currently, I am a doctoral student in Insect Chemical Ecology. My research work is based on the conceptual framework of plant-insect coevolution. In brief, I am interested in plant-herbivore interactions, mainly in the uptake and use of plant toxins by herbivorous insects (i.e. sequestration). Specifically, I investigate the mechanisms underlying the sequestration of cardiac glycosides (cardenolides) in milkweed bugs (Lygaeinae). During my doctoral research, I try to understand the mechanisms and the evolution of these physiological processes.

a large brown male scorpion on a leaf

Mattoni et al. on Wikimedia Commons

Female scorpions pay a steep cost when they shed their tails for survival

Many species shed limbs and tails to escape sticky situations

Prayan Pokharel
green leaves with bugs on the bottom

whitefly

International Institute of Tropical Agriculture / Flickr CC BY 2.0

Whiteflies evolved to disarm plants' defenses with sugar

This adaptive sugarcoating means trouble for agriculture

Prayan Pokharel
close-up of a bumblebee feeding on a purple flower

 Photo by Luis Graterol on Unsplash

Though smelling sweet, linden trees are bad for bumblebees

A new study finds that linden nectar inflicts a one-two punch of toxicity and starvation on bees that depend on it

Prayan Pokharel