About

Spencer Behmer is a professor in the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M University and a member of the Ecology & Evolutionary Biology PhD program, where he is also the Founding Chair. His research focuses on the nutritional physiology and ecology of insects, including ants, aphids, grasshoppers, caterpillars, and honey bees. He has authored 85 peer-reviewed publications and secured over $15 million in federal funding over the past 20 years to support his research program. Behmer's work has been cited more than 5,400 times in peer-reviewed outlets. He serves as the co-Editor for the Journal of Insect Physiology and is a member of four editorial boards, including Current Opinion in Insect Science, Current Research in Insect Science, Insect Science, and Insects. His professional activities also include chairing the Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore Interactions in 2019, serving as Vice-Chair in 2017, and managing panels such as the USDA-AFRI Pest and Beneficial Species in Agricultural Systems Program in 2018.

Research topics

• Biology
• Ecology
• Genetics
• Evolutionary biology

Selected publications

• From solitude to swarms: The behavioral biology of locusts

  Elsevier eBooks · 2026-01-01

  book-chapterCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

• Dietary shifts illuminate host–microbiome-diet interplay in black soldier fly larvae

  Bioresource Technology · 2026-05-12

  article
  PublisherDOI

• Datasets for: Prediction of density-dependent phase state in the Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria, using resonance Raman spectroscopy of hemolymph and machine learning

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-19

  datasetOpen access

  The CvI datasets contain the fully isolated and crowded S. gregaria juveniles' Raman spectra of hemolymph. The IandG datasets contain the time-dependent transition study juvenile Raman spectra for phase state prediction.

  PublisherDOI

• Population-Level Effects Shape Nutritional Modulation of Bt Susceptibility in a Caterpillar Pest

  Agronomy · 2026-01-09

  articleOpen access

  Plant nutrient content is spatially and temporally dynamic, exposing insect herbivores to substantial nutritional variability. Such variability can constrain insects to feeding on sub-optimal diets, but it can also allow them to regulate their intake towards an optimal nutrient balance. Nutrient regulation is important in pest management, as the nutritional state of insects may alter their susceptibility to insecticides. Diet macronutrient balance has been shown to significantly affect the susceptibility of Helicoverpa zea larvae to endotoxins produced by transgenic crops containing Bacillus thurigiensis (Bt) genes. However, this was demonstrated using a highly inbred laboratory strain, limiting extrapolation to field populations. Here, we test the impact of field-relevant macronutrient variability on the efficacy of two Bt toxins across three field populations to increase the relevance to resistance monitoring and management. While differences in susceptibility were limited across populations, dietary effects were highly population specific. The Bt toxin that was most affected by diet and the diet that supported optimal survival and performance varied across populations. These findings indicate that nutrition can strongly influence Bt susceptibility, but these effects are influenced by population-level differences. To accurately assess Bt susceptibility in the field, bioassay diets should be tailored to the nutritional ecology of local populations.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Datasets for: Prediction of density-dependent phase state in the Desert Locust, Schistocerca gregaria, using resonance Raman spectroscopy of hemolymph and machine learning

  Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research) · 2026-04-19

  datasetOpen access

  The CvI datasets contain the fully isolated and crowded S. gregaria juveniles' Raman spectra of hemolymph. The IandG datasets contain the time-dependent transition study juvenile Raman spectra for phase state prediction.

  PublisherDOI

• Rearing, dissection, and temporal transcriptomic profiling protocols to study density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in <i>Schistocerca</i> (Insecta: Orthoptera)

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-02-19

  articleOpen access

  Summary This protocol generates gregarious and solitarious density-dependent phenotypes in multiple Schistocerca species under controlled environmental conditions. It describes cage setup, feeding, animal handling, and sterile dissection workflows to isolate nervous, chemosensory, gut, fat body, and female reproductive tissues from nymphs and adults. It emphasizes rapid tissue stabilization and RNase-control practices for downstream single-tissue DNA and RNA analyses. Graphical abstract

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• A Perfect Soldier: the black soldier fly as a microbial-mediated physiological resilience model .

  bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory) · 2026-01-21

  articleOpen access

  Understanding the complex interplay between a host, its diet, and its microbiome is crucial for comprehending an organism's health and adaptability. Diet impacts both the host and microbiome, which then influence each other. We used black soldier fly larvae (Hermetia illucens) as a model to investigate this tripartite interaction due to its resilience and bioconversion capabilities. We analyzed life-history traits and metatranscriptomics in larvae fed three diets: carbohydrate-rich, protein-rich, and balanced. Our results showed that dietary macronutrients correlated with shifts in the microbial community and gene expression. The carbohydrate-rich diet, in particular, led to increased microbial diversity and carbohydrate metabolism transcripts. However, this diet also negatively affected larval weight and development, suggesting potential host control over the microbiome. Overall, black soldier fly performance was highest on the balanced diet. This study highlights the black soldier fly's resilience and its value as a model for exploring host-diet-microbe interactions.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Rearing, dissection, and temporal transcriptomic profiling protocols to study density-dependent phenotypic plasticity in the genus Schistocerca

  STAR Protocols · 2026-05-07

  articleOpen access

  Here, we present a protocol for generating gregarious and solitarious density-dependent phenotypes in multiple Schistocerca locust and grasshopper species under controlled environmental conditions. We describe cage setup, feeding, animal handling, and sterile dissection workflows to isolate nervous, chemosensory, gut, fat body, and female reproductive tissues from nymphs and adults. This protocol emphasizes rapid tissue stabilization and RNase-control practices for downstream single-tissue DNA and RNA analyses.

  PublisherDOI

• Selection of stable reference genes for accurate reverse-transcription quantitative PCR in cotton-herbivore studies using virus-induced gene silencing

  Scientific Reports · 2025-07-08 · 4 citations

  articleOpen access

  Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) has been a crucial tool for elucidating gene function in Upland cotton (Gossypium hirsutum) due to its complex allotetraploid genome. Reverse-transcription quantitative PCR is routine for measuring gene expression in VIGS studies, yet reference gene stability has not been adequately evaluated when using VIGS especially under biotic stress in cotton. Here, we employed several statistical methods (∆Ct, geNorm, BestKeeper, NormFinder, and weighted rank aggregation) to evaluate the stability of six candidate reference genes (GhACT7, GhPP2A1, GhUBQ7, GhUBQ14, GhTMN5, and GhTBL6) in wild-type and VIGS-infiltrated plants under cotton aphid herbivory stress over time in a fully factorial experiment. Ranked stability analyses overwhelmingly indicated that the frequently used reference genes GhUBQ7 and GhUBQ14 were the least stable whereas GhACT7 and GhPP2A1 were the most stable under VIGS and cotton aphid herbivory stress. Results were validated by comparing normalization methods of the phytosterol biosynthesis gene GhHYDRA1 in response to aphid herbivory. Normalization using GhACT7/GhPP2A1 revealed significant upregulation of GhHYDRA1 in aphid-infested plants. Conversely, normalization using GhUBQ7 reduced sensitivity to detect expression changes, highlighting the importance of stable reference gene selection for accurate expression normalization and interpretation. This study will facilitate future investigations of the genetics underpinning cotton-herbivore interactions necessary for novel pest management biotechnology discovery.

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Sterol-modified plants reduce aphid performance by limiting sterol availability

  Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology · 2025-08-06 · 1 citations

  articleCorresponding
  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• Collaborative Research: Nutritional physiology of life history allocation trade-offs

  NSF · $329k · 2011–2016

Frequent coauthors

• John B. Heppner

  University of Florida

  1883 shared

• John L. Capinera

  694 shared

• Whitney Cranshaw

  376 shared

• Drion G. Boucias

  346 shared

• Douglas E. Norris

  Johns Hopkins University

  192 shared

• Stéphanie Boucher

  McGill University

  192 shared

• James L. Nation

  192 shared

• Diane M. Calabrese

  192 shared

Education

• Ph.D., Entomology

  Texas A&M University

  2005

• M.S., Entomology

  Texas A&M University

  2000

• B.S., Entomology

  University of California, Davis

  1998

Awards & honors

• Chair for the Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbivore…
• Vice-Chair for the Gordon Research Conference on Plant-Herbi…
• Panel Manager for USDA-AFRI Pest and Beneficial Species in A…