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Professor of Entomology
Department of Plant, Soil & Insect Sciences
Fernald Hall 204A
University of Massachusetts
Amherst, MA 01003
Tel. (413) 545-1046
stoff@ent.umass.edu
Ph.D. 1969, University of Connecticut
- Distance Learning
- Feeding Behavior of Flies
- Insect Behavior
- Insects in the K-12 Classroom
- Mating Behavior of Flies
- Reproductive Biology of Flies
- Saltmarsh Tabanid Biology
It is necessary to understand the relationships between nutrition, feeding behavior, endocrines, and insect reproduction in one species of insect to understand the total insect system. It is almost impossible to transfer information gained on one insect species to explain a particular phenomenon in another insect species. Because of this, the selection of one species to examine the interactions of nutrition, hormones, and oogenesis is important. I selected the black blowfly, Phormia regina, as a model system because of the voluminous literature already available on the regulatory mechanisms controlling its feeding behavior. Much is known about the stimulatory and inhibitory inputs into the gustatory system of this organism, plus the feedback machanisms that modulate intake. Consequently, this species is the best choice to study how the food an insect eats (i.e., nutrition) modifies its endocrines, which in turn affect both reproductive output and behaviors. By combining electrophysiological techniques with behavioral experiments, we can better understand how specific stimuli influence the nervous system, which in turn regulates overt behavior.
Other areas of current research involve salt marsh tabanid bionomics and feeding behavior using Tabanus nigrovittatus, a major pest of people and animals along the Atlantic seacoast. One major component of this work centers on understanding the regulatory mechanisms of feeding behavior and the importance of phagostimulants (i.e., carbohydrates and blood components) in feeding.
Collaborations include work with Drs. Giorgi, Mazzini, Angioy, Crnjar, Carcupino, and Liscia ( Italy), R. A. Nichols ( Univ. of Michigan) and R. J. Nachman (USDA, Texas).
Qin, W.-H., C.-M. Yin and J.G. Stoffolano, Jr. 1995. The role of the corpus allatum in the control of vitellogenesis and fat body hypertrophy in Phormia regina (Meigen). J. Insect Physiol. 41: 617-626.
Yin, C.-M. and J.G. Stoffolano, Jr. 1997. Juvenile hormone regulation of reproduction in the cyclorrhaphous Diptera with emphasis on oogenesis. Arch. of Insect Biochem. and Physiol. 35: 513-537.
Evans, B.P., J.G. Stoffolano, Jr., C.-M. Yin and J.S. Meyer. 1997. A pharmacological and endocrinological study of female insemination in Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J. Insect Behavior. 10: 493-508.
Stoffolano, J.G., Jr., E. Schauber, C.-M. Yin, J.A. Tillman and G.J. Blomquist. 1997. Cuticular hydrocarbons and their role in copulatory behavior in Phormia regina (Meigen). J. Insect Physiol. 43: 1065-1076.
Evans, B.P., J.G. Stoffolano, Jr., C.-M. Yin and J.S. Meyer. 1998. The effects of injection of amphetamine on female insemination in the black blow fly, Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Physiol. Entomol. 23: 20-24.
Yin, C.-M., W.-H. Qin and J. G. Stoffolano, Jr. 1999. Regulation of mating behavior by nutrition and the corpus allatum in both male and female Phormia regina (Meigen). Jour. Insect Physiol. 45: 815-822.
Richer, S., J.G. Stoffolano, Jr., C.-M. Yin and R. Nichols. 2000. Innervation of dromyosuppressin (DMS) processes and effect of DMS and benzethonium chloride on the Phormia regina (Meigen). Jour. Comp. Neurology. 421: 136-142.
Tu, M.-P., R. Kou, Z.-S. Wang, J.G. Stoffolano, Jr. and C.-M. Yin. 2001. Immunolocalization and possible effect of a moth allatotropin-like substance in a fly, Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J. Insect Physiol. 47:233-244.
Tu M.-P, Kou R., Wang Z.-S., Yin C.-M., and Stoffolano, J.G., Jr. 2002. Allatotropic activity in the brain of female Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). J. Insect Physiol. 48: 733-741.
Haselton, A.T., J.G. Stoffolano, Jr., R. Nichols and C.-M. Yin. 2004. Peptidergic innervation of the crop and the effects of an ingested nonpeptidal agonist on longevity in female Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae). 2004. Jour. Medical Entomol. 41: 686-690.
Heping Lin, Chih-Ming Yin, John G. Stoffolano, Jr. and Robert S. Garofola. 2005. Immunological localization of mosquito ovary ecdysteroidogenic hormone I and fruit fly insulin receptor in adult Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Ann. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 98: 329-335.
Haselton, A.T., C.-M. Yin and J.G. Stoffolano, Jr. 2006. Occurrence of serotonin immunoreactivity in the central nervous system and midgut of adult female Tabanaus nigrovittatus (Diptera: Tabanidae). J. Medical Entomol. 43: 252-257.
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