Spencer Behmer

Spencer Behmer
Spencer Behmer
Country	United States
Organizations:	The Insect Physiology & Behavior Research Group, Behavioral Plasticity Research Institute, Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University
Titles:	Professor
Focal areas:
	Biology; Ecology; Geometric Framework; Insect Behavior; Insect Locomotion; Nutrition; Phase Polyphenism; Phenotypic Plasticity; Physiology; Plant Biology;
Focal species:
	Desert locust (Schistocerca gregaria); Migratory locust (Locusta migratoria); Migratory grasshopper (Melanoplus sanguinipes);
Twitter:	https://twitter.com/stbehmer

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Techer, M.A., Santana, V.A.P., Woo, B., Marquess, R., Brennan, C., Mechti, A.M.C., Linde, J.B., Behmer, S.T., Sword, G.A., Song, H., 2026. Rearing, dissection, and temporal transcriptomic profiling protocols to study density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in Schistocerca (Insecta: Orthoptera). https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.02.17.705994
Deans, C.A., Sword, G.A., Vogel, H., Behmer, S.T., 2022. Quantity versus quality: Effects of diet protein-carbohydrate ratios and amounts on insect herbivore gene expression. Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology 145. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibmb.2022.103773
Tessnow, A.E., Behmer, S.T., Sword, G.A., 2020. Protein‐carbohydrate regulation and nutritionally‐mediated responses to Bt are affected by caterpillar population history. Pest Management Science ps.6022. https://doi.org/10.1002/ps.6022
Verlinden, H., Sterck, L., Li, J., Li, Z., Yssel, A., Gansemans, Y., Verdonck, R., Holtof, M., Song, H., Behmer, S.T., Sword, G.A., Matheson, T., Ott, S.R., Deforce, D., Van Nieuwerburgh, F., Van de Peer, Y., Vanden Broeck, J., 2020. First draft genome assembly of the desert locust, Schistocerca gregaria. F1000Research 9:775. https://doi.org/10.12688/f1000research.25148.2
Deans, C.A., Sword, G.A., Lenhart, P.A., Burkness, E., Hutchison, W.D., Behmer, S.T., 2018. Quantifying Plant Soluble Protein and Digestible Carbohydrate Content, Using Corn (Zea mays) As an Exemplar. Journal of Visualized Experiments : JoVE. https://doi.org/10.3791/58164
Tessnow, A.E., Behmer, S.T., Walsh, T.K., Sword, G.A., 2018. Protein-carbohydrate regulation in Helicoverpa amigera and H. punctigera and how diet protein-carbohydrate content affects insect susceptibility to Bt toxins. Journal of Insect Physiology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2017.07.004
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Tessnow, A.E., Tamez-Guerra, P., Pusztai-Carey, M., Sword, G.A., 2017. Nutrition affects insect susceptibility to Bt toxins. Scientific Reports 7:39705. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39705 http://www.nature.com/articles/srep39705
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Tessnow, A.E., Tamez-Guerra, P., Pusztai-Carey, M., Sword, G.A., 2017. Nutrition affects insect susceptibility to Bt toxins. Scientific Reports 7:39705. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39705
Clark, R.M., Zera, A.J., Behmer, S.T., 2016. Metabolic rate is canalized in the face of variable life history and nutritional environment. Functional Ecology 30:922–931. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12574
Deans, C., Sword, G., Behmer, S., 2016. Nutrition as a neglected factor in insect herbivore susceptibility to Bt toxins. Current Opinion in Insect Science 15:97–103. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2016.04.005
Deans, C.A., Behmer, S.T., Fiene, J., Sword, G.A., 2016. Spatio-Temporal, Genotypic, and Environmental Effects on Plant Soluble Protein and Digestible Carbohydrate Content: Implications for Insect Herbivores with Cotton as an Exemplar. Journal of Chemical Ecology 42:1151–1163. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-016-0772-1
Zera, A.J., Clark, R., Behmer, S.T., 2016. Lipogenesis in a wing-polymorphic cricket: Canalization versus morph-specific plasticity as a function of nutritional heterogeneity. Journal of Insect Physiology 95:118–132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2016.09.015
Clark, R.M., Zera, A.J., Behmer, S.T., 2015. Nutritional physiology of life-history trade-offs: how food protein-carbohydrate content influences life-history traits in the wing-polymorphic cricket Gryllus firmus. Journal of Experimental Biology 218:298–308. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.112888
Deans, C.A., Sword, G.A., Behmer, S.T., 2015. Revisiting macronutrient regulation in the polyphagous herbivore Helicoverpa zea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae): New insights via nutritional geometry. Journal of Insect Physiology 81:21–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2015.06.015
Lenhart, P.A., Eubanks, M.D., Behmer, S.T., 2015. Water stress in grasslands: dynamic responses of plants and insect herbivores. Oikos 124:381–390. https://doi.org/10.1111/oik.01370
Le Gall, M., Behmer, S.T., 2014. Effects of protein and carbohydrate on an insect herbivore: the vista from a fitness landscape. Integrative and Comparative Biology 54:942–954. https://doi.org/10.1093/icb/icu102
Roeder, K.A., Behmer, S.T., 2014. Lifetime consequences of food protein-carbohydrate content for an insect herbivore. Functional Ecology 28:1135–1143. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12262
Clark, R.M., McConnell, A., Zera, A.J., Behmer, S.T., 2013. Nutrient regulation strategies differ between cricket morphs that trade-off dispersal and reproduction. Functional Ecology 27:1126–1133. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.12103
Behmer, S.T., Joern, A., 2012. Insect Herbivore Outbreaks Viewed through a Physiological Framework: Insights from Orthoptera. In: Insect Outbreaks Revisited, pp. 1-29. John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester, UK. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118295205.ch1
Joern, A., Provin, T., Behmer, S.T., 2012. Not just the usual suspects: Insect herbivore populations and communities are associated with multiple plant nutrients. Ecology 93:1002–1015. https://doi.org/10.1890/11-1142.1
Cook, S.C., Eubanks, M.D., Gold, R.E., Behmer, S.T., 2011. Seasonality Directs Contrasting Food Collection Behavior and Nutrient Regulation Strategies in Ants. PLoS ONE 6:e25407. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0025407
Goeriz Pearson, R.E., Behmer, S.T., Gruner, D.S., Denno, R.F., 2011. Effects of diet quality on performance and nutrient regulation in an omnivorous katydid. Ecological Entomology 36:471–479. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2011.01290.x
Cook, S.C., Eubanks, M.D., Gold, R.E., Behmer, S.T., 2010. Colony-level macronutrient regulation in ants: mechanisms, hoarding and associated costs. Animal Behaviour 79:429–437. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2009.11.022
Cook, S.C., Behmer, S.T., 2010. Macronutrient Regulation in the Tropical Terrestrial Ant Ectatomma ruidum (Formicidae): A Field Study in Costa Rica: Macronutrient Regulation in a Tropical Ant. Biotropica 42:135–139. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2009.00616.x
Behmer, S.T., 2009. Insect herbivore nutrient regulation. Annual Review of Entomology 54:165–187. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.ento.54.110807.090537
Janson, E.M., Grebenok, R.J., Behmer, S.T., Abbot, P., 2009. Same Host-Plant, Different Sterols: Variation in Sterol Metabolism in an Insect Herbivore Community. Journal of Chemical Ecology 35:1309–1319. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-009-9713-6
Warbrick-Smith, J., Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S.J., Behmer, S.T., 2009. Three hundred and fifty generations of extreme food specialisation: testing predictions of nutritional ecology. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 132:65–75. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1570-7458.2009.00870.x
Behmer, S.T., Joern, A., 2008. Coexisting generalist herbivores occupy unique nutritional feeding niches. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105:1977–1982. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0711870105
Boswell, A.W., Provin, T., Behmer, S.T., 2008. The relationship between body mass and elemental composition in nymphs of the grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Journal of Orthoptera Research 17:307–313. https://doi.org/10.1665/1082-6467-17.2.307
Lee, K.P., Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J., 2006. Nutrient regulation in relation to diet breadth: a comparison of Heliothis sister species and a hybrid. Journal of Experimental Biology 209:2076–2084. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.02253
Pompilio, L., Kacelnik, A., Behmer, S.T., 2006. State-dependent learned valuation drives choice in an invertebrate. science 311:1613–1615.
Warbrick-Smith, J., Behmer, S.T., Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S.J., 2006. Evolving resistance to obesity in an insect. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 103:14045–14049. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0605225103
Behmer, S.T., Lloyd, C.M., Raubenheimer, D., Stewart-Clark, J., Knight, J., Leighton, R.S., Harper, F.A., Smith, J.A.C., 2005. Metal hyperaccumulation in plants: mechanisms of defence against insect herbivores. Functional Ecology 19:55–66. ://000227672000008
Behmer, S.T., Belt, C.E., Shapiro, M.S., 2005. Variable rewards and discrimination ability in an insect herbivore: what and how does a hungry locust learn? Journal of Experimental Biology 208:3463–3473. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.01767
Opstad, R., Rogers, S.M., Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J., 2004. Behavioural correlates of phenotypic plasticity in mouthpart chemoreceptor numbers in locusts. Journal of Insect Physiology 50:725–736. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2004.05.010
Simpson, S.J., Sibly, R.M., Lee, K.P., Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D., 2004. Optimal foraging when regulating intake of multiple nutrients. Animal Behaviour 68:1299–1311. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2004.03.003
Behmer, S.T., Cox, E., Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S.J., 2003. Food distance and its effect on nutrient balancing in a mobile insect herbivore. Animal Behaviour 66:665–675. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2003.2243
Behmer, S.T., Nes, W.D., 2003. Insect sterol nutrition and physiology: A global overview. Advances in Insect Physiology 31:1–72. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0065-2806(03)31001-x
Behmer, S.T., Nes, W.D., 2003. Insect sterol nutrition and physiology: A global overview. In: Advances in Insect Physiology, Vol 31, pp. 1-72.
Lee, K.P., Raubenheimer, D., Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J., 2003. A correlation between macronutrient balancing and insect host-plant range: evidence from the specialist caterpillar Spodoptera exempta (Walker). Journal of Insect Physiology 49:1161–1171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jinsphys.2003.08.013
Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D., 2002. Herbivore foraging in chemically heterogeneous environments: Nutrients and secondary metabolites. Ecology 83:2489–2501. http://www.jstor.org/stable/3071809
Simpson, S.J., Raubenheimer, D., Behmer, S.T., Whitworth, A., Wright, G.A., 2002. A comparison of nutritional regulation in solitarious- and gregarious-phase nymphs of the desert locust Schistocerca gregaria. Journal of Experimental Biology 205:121–129. https://doi.org/10.1242/jeb.205.1.121
Zee, B., Behmer, S.T., Simpson, S.J., 2002. Food mixing strategies in the desert locust: effects of phase, distance between foods, and food nutrient content. Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata 103:227–237. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1570-7458.2002.00978.x
Behmer, S.T., Raubenheimer, D., Simpson, S.J., 2001. Frequency-dependent food selection in locusts: a geometric analysis of the role of nutrient balancing. Animal Behaviour 61:995–1005. https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.2000.1695
Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O., 2000. Sterol metabolic constraints as a factor contributing to the maintenance of diet mixing in grasshoppers (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Physiological and biochemical zoology : PBZ 73:219–230.
Frazier, M.R., Harrison, J.F., Behmer, S.T., 2000. Effects of diet on titratable acid-base excretion in grasshoppers. Physiological and Biochemical Zoology 73:66–76. https://doi.org/10.1086/316722
Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O., Grebenok, R.J., 1999. Phytosterol metabolism and absorption in the generalist grasshopper, Schistocerca americana (Orthoptera : Acrididae). Archives of Insect Biochemistry and Physiology 42:13–25. ://000082372900003
Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O., 1999. Phytosterol structure and its impact on feeding behaviour in the generalist grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Physiological Entomology 24:18–27.
Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O., Bernays, E.A., 1999. Post-ingestive feedbacks and associative learning regulate the intake of unsuitable sterols in a generalist grasshopper. Journal of Experimental Biology 202:739–748.
Behmer, S.T., Elias, D.O., 1999. The nutritional significance of sterol metabolic constraints in the generalist grasshopper Schistocerca americana. Journal of Insect Physiology 45:339–348. ://000079628100005
Joern, A., Behmer, S.T., 1998. Impact of diet quality on demographic attributes in adult grasshoppers and the nitrogen limitation hypothesis. Ecological Entomology 23:174–184. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2311.1998.00112.x
Joern, A., Behmer, S.T., 1997. Importance of dietary nitrogen and carbohydrates to survival, growth, and reproduction in adults of the grasshopper Ageneotettix deorum (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Oecologia 112:201–208. https://doi.org/10.1007/s004420050301
Chambers, P., Sword, G., Angel, J.E., Behmer, S., Bernays, E.A., 1996. Foraging by generalist grasshoppers: Two different strategies. Animal Behaviour 52:155–165. ://A1996VA49700015
Behmer, S.T., Joern, A., 1994. The influence of proline on diet selection: sex-specific feeding preferences by the grasshoppers Ageneotettix deorum and Phoetaliotes nebrascensis (Orthoptera: Acrididae). Oecologia 98:76–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf00326093
Behmer, S.T., Joern, A., 1993. Diet choice by a grass-feeding grasshopper based on the need for a limiting nutrient. Functional Ecology 7:522. https://doi.org/10.2307/2390127
Behmer, S.T. Overturning dogma: tolerance of insects to mixed-sterol diets is not universal. Current Opinion in Insect Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cois.2017.08.001