My research program focuses on understanding the ecology and life systems of arthropods affecting agricultural crops and applying that understanding to improve the effectiveness and sustainability of IPM. Research spans sub- organismal, organism, population, community and agroecosystem levels of biological organization and addresses fundamental interactions and processes that influence pest status, population dynamics and the insect/crop interactions that result in damaging infestations. We apply the resulting information in combination with new technologies and strategies to enhance IPM and to develop and implement risk-based pest management decision aids. Areas of current emphasis include insect-plant interactions, resistance management, landscape-scale population dynamics, and epidemiology and management of thrips and whitefly transmitted plant viruses. Current research projects focus on the following: understanding the relationships between multi-crop pesticide (or GM-trait) use patterns, pest population genetic structuring, and pesticide resistance in polyphagous insect pest species to inform resistance management; characterizing the influence of whitefly and thrips vectors on genetic diversity of begomoviruses and orthotospoviruses affecting crops; and integrating virus and vector resistance to manage thrips-borne orthotospoviruses. Additional on-going efforts focus on the ecology and management of thrips as agricultural pests. These efforts include a blend of field and laboratory research and involve collaborations with faculty in Entomology, Plant Pathology, Plant and Microbial Biology, and Biochemistry at NCSU as well as colleagues at other institutions nationally and internationally. We also work closely with extension colleagues, growers, and the agribusiness community to facilitate implementation of new pest management practices.