Professional consulting (2016-current):
Semiochemical Solutions
Insect Pest Management with Pheromones
Beer Yaakov, Israel
Hi, My name is John Byers
Educational Experience:
B.S. - Colorado State University, Entomology
M.S. - Colorado State University, Entomology
Ph.D. - University of California at Berkeley, Entomology
Post Doctoral - Lund University, Animal Ecology
Docent - Lund University, Animal Ecology
Early life (in case anyone else but me is interested):
I was born in Washington D.C. where my parents met as colleagues working in the U.S. Geological Survey. I was the first of four kids of my
parents and we moved from Washington D.C. to Denver (Lakewood) CO (my ages 1-3).
We moved to Claremont, CA, when I was 4 and my first memory of "insects" was trying to kick off a 10-cm long centipede that circled around the brim of my
shoe (my Mom shovelled some dirt onto my shoe by accident and the centipede appeared whereupon I screamed and kicked). The next memory of insects was looking at red harvester ants rebuild
their nest after I took a pee on it.
Every day after kindergarten I repeated the process. A few years later we moved to Grand Junction, CO (2d and 3d grade and I made my first
insect collection that I still have)
and then we moved back to Lakewood CO again (my 4th grade through high school).
I still loved watching insects and was astonished when my high school councilor said I could be an "Entomologist" based on my interests.
I said, "is that really possible as an occupation? That would be too much fun to be "work", I mean would they pay me to do that?
She said yes, Colorado State has such a program and so that was how I eventually got a B.S. in Entomology at Colorado State
University and then an M.S. there in 1973 with Dr. Wayne Brewer. I remembered California from my childhood, so I applied for Ph.D. studies at
the University of California, Berkeley, with Dr. David L. Wood in forest entomology, bark beetles and chemical ecology.
Professional interests on bark beetles: My earlier interests during Ph.D. (1973-1978) and subsequent research in Sweden (1981-2001) included the chemical ecology and behavior of
bark beetles (order Coleoptera: family Scolytidae but now classified in family Curculionidae) in relation to host and non-host trees.
My Ph.D. studies (with Dr. David Wood, Univ. Calif. Berkeley) were primarily with
the bark beetle pest species Ips paraconfusus and Dendroctonus brevicomis
attacking ponderosa pine in California. In 1981, I was accepted for a post-doc in Sweden at Lund University in the Pheromone Group
led by Dr. Jan Löfqvist.
In Scandinavia the species I studied most were Ips typographus and
Pityogenes chalcographus attacking
Norway spruce, and Tomicus piniperda attacking Scots pine. The bark beetle research (Ph.D. and post-doc) involved
laboratory experiments of bark beetle orientation behavior toward
pheromones and semiochemicals, isolation and identification of such
chemicals, and general behavior concerning attack of the host tree and
interactions of individuals (e.g. susceptibility and suitability of host and non-host trees for bark beetles).
I conducted field experiments each spring-summer in Värmland, Sweden,
and sometimes in Colorado (not published) or California (USA). The responses of the bark beetles in
the field to attractive and repellent semiochemicals and host odors
were investigated as well as their general behavior regarding
emergence, flight dispersal, and colonization of host trees.
During cool rainy periods while camping at my study area in middle Sweden during the spring, and when bark beetles were not flying,
I studied red wood ants (Formica aquilonia)
(Hymenoptera: Formicidae) in regard to their
foraging, trail-making, and nest temperatures. A predator of the above bark
beetles in Scandinavia, a clerid beetle
Thanasimus formicarius (Coleoptera: Cleridae)
appears to mimic the behavior and appearance of red wood ants probably as a
means to avoid feeding birds which dislike ants that can spray them with
formic acid.
Other research interests involved insect sounds and swarming of midges
(Diptera: Ceratopogonidae) - which were not published. In many of the studies, I made
models to simulate
observed behavior of insect populations under various
ecological conditions (some of which were published).
Professional interests on agricultural pest insects:
After my research funding in Sweden ended in Dec. 2000 after almost 20 years, I made a move to come back to the USA in late 2001.
In the USA, I briefly studied fire ant pheromones at Texas A&M University in Professor Brad Vinson's group. In January 2002,
I began a tenure-track position working on insect chemical ecology at the Western Cotton Research Laboratory,
USDA-ARS, Phoenix, Arizona. After three years I was made permanent and had a new laboratory with chemical instrumentation.
In 2006, the whole facility was moved 25 miles south to a small town called Maricopa (March 2006). Our Western Cotton Research
Laboratory was joined at this time with the Water Conservation Laboratory to form the U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural
Research Center.
Regarding this web site you are reading: I moved this web site on bark beetles and chemical ecology to a USDA server in 2002.
However, due to some of my webpages in JavaScript on probabilities being simulated with examples of gambling, the Area Head told me to limit my activities so I moved the web site
to a private web domain in early 2006:
http://www.chemical-ecology.net
My website was unique because I had many Java Applets (moving animations and interactive programs) pertaining to my research papers. However,
in about 2013 the Chrome browser and other popular web browsers discontinued support for Java Applets (still
had support for Javascript). Only Internet Explorer 11 (still available in Windows 10) after some permissions will work on Applets. Thus, I have
not made any new Applets but have added one or two similar interactive programs in HTML 5 and Canvas that has an enhanced JavaScript capability.
As stated above, from 2002 until July 2015 I was employed by the USDA-ARS where I became interested in the chemical
ecology of aphids, plant bugs, ants, parasitoid wasps, whiteflies, lacewings, and earwigs. I also am interested in plant volatiles of crops and desert plants as potential new crops.
Various methods in GC-MS and GC-EAD were developed. Modelling and computer programming are also still of interest. And of course finishing manuscripts
on old studies of bark beetles (which may go by the wayside). I became interested in many insects because the USDA provided me with a Varian GC-MS that I could use to identify
many insect and plant semiochemicals. By the time I left USDA-ARS, I had amassed about 13,000 GC-MS runs of many pest insects. I doubt seriously that I will process much of this before I die, but
it is comforting to know I can still analyze and produce papers on this. This reminds me of work in Sweden...
I was very happy in 2012 to be awarded the Entomological Society of America's prize for
Creativity and Innovation (the Nan-Yao Su Award). I ought to post my 4-page justification letter during the nomination process as it looks like
I was angling all my life for this award (OK here it is). However, I was actually angling for
a permanent job while remaining a post-doc or similar in Sweden for 20 years. Thank goodness I got a USDA-ARS position in 2002. Unfortunately, I got a new Research Leader late in 2012
who miss-managed the research group and caused me to leave after putting up with him for 2.5 years. I decided it was time to retire and moved to Israel where
I was granted a visiting scientist title and an office/lab at the Department of Entomology
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (but on a branch campus at Rehovot) for about 1-2 years.
I had external funding from the Israeli fruit grower association (mainly Avocado Growers, 2016-2019) to work
on the chemical ecology of an ambrosia beetle (Euwallacea fornicatus).
Since 2017-18 I became less affiliated with Hebrew University (teaching a course there in 2018) and now do work through my registered
private consulting business, Semiochemical Solutions (funded from 2017-2020 by Avocado growers).
I also collaborate closely with Dr. Anat Levi-Zada at Volcani Institute (operated by Agricultural Research Organization of Israel) on chemical ecology
of several insect pests (the above ambrosia beetle, fruit flies, lesser date moth, greater date moth, scarab of wheat, and red palm weevil).
In 2020, I became an editor for the scientific journal: the Science of Nature (formerly Naturwissenschaften) where I handle topics on chemical ecology and entomology.
I have been vaccinated four times
in Israel for covid-19 and have not contracted it, so get vaccinated! I hope heard immunity comes soon, covid dies out, so we can get back to full living and travels.
Personal interests:
Programming in QuickBASIC and PostScript for IBM-compatible personal computers
(utilities, games, genealogy, fractals, graphical simulations).
I enjoy designing and updating web pages where I have programmed in
JavaScript as well as since Aug. 2000 in Java.
Other activities include collecting crystals/rocks/minerals and antique scientific instruments, bicycling, tennis, physical training, camping,
and touring Colorado-Western USA in the
summer. I try oil and watercolor painting (including computer art), and video and 35 mm photography (now digital only). Other interests are recording insect
sounds and construction of electronic circuits and devices.
Publications List
included the chemical ecology and behavior of
bark beetles (order Coleoptera: family Scolytidae but now classified in family Curculionidae) in relation to host and non-host trees.
My Ph.D. studies (with Dr. David Wood, Univ. Calif. Berkeley) were primarily with
the bark beetle pest species Ips paraconfusus and Dendroctonus brevicomis
attacking ponderosa pine in California. In 1981, I was accepted for a post-doc in Sweden at Lund University in the Pheromone Group
led by Dr. Jan Löfqvist.
In Scandinavia the species I studied most were Ips typographus and
Pityogenes chalcographus attacking
Norway spruce, and Tomicus piniperda attacking Scots pine. The bark beetle research (Ph.D. and post-doc) involved
laboratory experiments of bark beetle orientation behavior toward
pheromones and semiochemicals, isolation and identification of such
chemicals, and general behavior concerning attack of the host tree and
interactions of individuals (e.g. susceptibility and suitability of host and non-host trees for bark beetles).
I conducted field experiments each spring-summer in Värmland, Sweden,
and sometimes in Colorado (not published) or California (USA). The responses of the bark beetles in
the field to attractive and repellent semiochemicals and host odors
were investigated as well as their general behavior regarding
emergence, flight dispersal, and colonization of host trees.
in late 2001.
In the USA, I briefly studied fire ant pheromones at Texas A&M University in Professor Brad Vinson's group. In January 2002,
I began a tenure-track position working on insect chemical ecology at the Western Cotton Research Laboratory,
USDA-ARS, Phoenix, Arizona. After three years I was made permanent and had a new laboratory with chemical instrumentation.
In 2006, the whole facility was moved 25 miles south to a small town called Maricopa (March 2006). Our Western Cotton Research
Laboratory was joined at this time with the Water Conservation Laboratory to form the U.S. Arid-Land Agricultural
Research Center.
here it is). However, I was actually angling for
a permanent job while remaining a post-doc or similar in Sweden for 20 years. Thank goodness I got a USDA-ARS position in 2002. Unfortunately, I got a new Research Leader late in 2012
who miss-managed the research group and caused me to leave after putting up with him for 2.5 years. I decided it was time to retire and moved to Israel where
I was granted a visiting scientist title and an office/lab at the Department of Entomology
at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (but on a branch campus at Rehovot) for about 1-2 years.
I had external funding from the Israeli fruit grower association (mainly Avocado Growers, 2016-2019) to work
on the chemical ecology of an ambrosia beetle (Euwallacea fornicatus).
Since 2017-18 I became less affiliated with Hebrew University (teaching a course there in 2018) and now do work through my registered
private consulting business, Semiochemical Solutions (funded from 2017-2020 by Avocado growers).
I also collaborate closely with Dr. Anat Levi-Zada at Volcani Institute (operated by Agricultural Research Organization of Israel) on chemical ecology
of several insect pests (the above ambrosia beetle, fruit flies, lesser date moth, greater date moth, scarab of wheat, and red palm weevil).
In 2020, I became an editor for the scientific journal: the Science of Nature (formerly Naturwissenschaften) where I handle topics on chemical ecology and entomology.
I have been vaccinated four times
in Israel for covid-19 and have not contracted it, so get vaccinated! I hope heard immunity comes soon, covid dies out, so we can get back to full living and travels.
Personal interests: