Dr Harold Grau's Cotton Stainer Home Page

This site is dedicated to current research on St. Andrew's cotton stainer, Dysdercus andreae. Members of the insect genus Dysdercus (Pyrrhocoridae; Heteroptera) are known collectively as cotton stainers because many of the species have feeding habits that include transfer of fiber-staining microorganisms to the cotton bolls they feed on. (Dysdercus andreae) D. andreae is a New World species that inhabits most of the islands of the West Indies. Our population is from the island of St. Thomas (U.S. Virgin Islands). I have studied the insects in the field as well as in our lab at Christopher Newport University, where we have maintained a live population since May of 1994. This provides for undergraduate research opportunities for students in our Biology, Chemistry, & Environmental Science Department in the College of Business, Science & Technology. This site contains some results of the studies we've done.

hgrau@cnu.edu

To see a map of St. Thomas, click HERE