Welcome to the Bug Battles electronic field trip (EFT)! On this trip, students and club members connect with Dr. Christine Miller and her lab team members across the University of Florida / Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Entomology and Nematology Department and Cambridge University in the United Kingdom.

Students will learn the general taxonomy of Narnia femorta (leaf-footed cactus bugs), why scientists choose insects as their subject for research, and how insects, and animals in general, use weapons as protection in their environment. Let’s go!

The Miller Lab focuses on understanding the evolution and diversity of sexually selected weapons in animals, such as the tusks of prehistoric elephants and the claws of fiddler crabs. They study how these weapons, which are used in combat between males for mating rights, vary in size and shape across different species and within closely related groups. The lab conducts experiments to explore how factors like nutrition and seasonal changes impact weapon development and functionality, using insects like leaf-footed bugs as model organisms. Their research also includes investigating trade-offs between weapon growth and other traits, such as testes size, and how these dynamics influence evolution. The Miller Lab is part of the UF/IFAS Department of Entomology and Nematology.

Scientists

Dr. Christine Miller

Professor

cwmiller@ufl.edu

Professor Miller is a new addition to the University of Cambridge, having recently transitioned from a 17-year tenure with the University of Florida. At Cambridge, she will continue her passion for designing scientific experiments, securing funding, collaborating with students, publishing research, and finding innovative discoveries. Originally from Billings, Montana, Dr. Miller grew up surrounded by animals and the outdoors, which sparked her initial interest in wildlife and eventually led her to a career in animal behavior and evolution. Outside work, she enjoys backpacking, mountain biking, and exploring London with her children. Her background includes a family that supported her adventurous spirit, with her mother running a gift store and her father being a builder. Dr. Miller is married to another scientist and values the role of early exposure to science, reflecting on how virtual field trips like Streaming Science could have inspired her as a young student.

Dr. Christina Salerno

Postdoctoral Research and Laboratory Supervisor

salernoc@ufl.edu

Dr. Christina Salerno earned her PhD in December 2023, and is a Postdoctoral Laboratory Supervisor in the Miller Lab. She is a key member of Dr. Miller’s team, focusing on an NSF grant that explores how nutrition affects insect cuticles. Her dual role involves managing the lab, including overseeing staff, ordering supplies, and ensuring experiments are on track, as well as conducting research, analyzing data, performing fieldwork, and mentoring students. Originally from a small town in the Hudson Valley, New York, Christina pursued her undergraduate and doctoral studies at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Initially sparked by a fascination with marine biology and animals, her passion for science has led her to diverse fields including seagrass, oysters, and insects. The first scientist in her family, Christina’s drive is inspired by her immigrant grandparents’ sacrifices and her supportive parents. She cherishes the impact of her inspiring science teachers from middle school, who played a crucial role in her decision to become a scientist.

Alva Mihalik

Graduate Intern

mihalik.azephyr@ufl.edu

Alva is a graduate intern at the Miller Lab, where they contribute to a National Science Foundation-funded project investigating the ecological effects on the exoskeleton of leaf-footed cactus bugs. Originally from Florida, Alva has a deep appreciation for the outdoors, even in the state’s sweltering heat. Their journey through science has included explorations in forensics, medicine, and entomology, ultimately leading them to a focus on evolutionary biology. Influenced by their parents—an expert in microscopy and a specialist in botany—Alva has long harbored a passion for science. They find the most exciting aspect of their field is the endless potential for discovery and the realization of how much remains unknown, often starting with questions right in their backyard.

Noraly van Meer

Postdoctoral Researcher

Noraly van Meer is a postdoctoral researcher in the Miller Lab, where she studies bug legs and measures their muscles and exoskeletons. Originally from The Netherlands, she grew up in a city called Roosendaal, which translates to “Valley of the Roses” in English. Despite the name, the city had neither valleys nor roses. Noraly enjoys playing board games and cycling, which is a common mode of transportation for short distances in her hometown. As a child, Noraly aspired to be a teacher or a police officer like her parents. Today, she is the first scientist in her family. Her long-standing passion for science led her to study biology, specializing in biomechanics—the field at the intersection of biology and physics. Reflecting on her journey, she wishes she had known that everyone, even scientists, makes many mistakes. It’s all about the process of trying, failing, and trying again, rather than achieving perfection.

Grace Bane

Undergraduate REU student

Grace Bane is a biomedical engineering major and an NSF REU intern with the Miller Lab of Evolutionary Biology. Her role involves rearing insects, maintaining their enclosures, sampling, imaging, and analyzing insects to measure various characteristics. Originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, Grace enjoys bug hunting and fishing in her free time. Her current projects include investigating how nutrition affects insect weapons, and she is particularly interested in the intersections of math and biology, which has drawn her to the field of biomechanics.

Giovanna Avellar Figueredo

Undergraduate REU student

Giovanna is an REU student at the Miller Lab and a University Scholar in UF’s Center for Undergraduate Research. This summer, she has focused on a project examining how nutrition impacts cuticle formation, involving tasks such as rearing insects on different diets, managing their growth stages, and collecting data from fieldwork in Etoniah State Forest. She is also working on a follow-up study analyzing how insect spines, reared on varying diets, respond to pressure. Giovanna, originally from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, moved to West Palm Beach in 2020 to complete high school. Her hobbies include hiking, painting, crocheting, and linoleum-cut printing. Inspired by a visit to the Fiocruz Foundation during a school trip, Giovanna’s early fascination with science has led her to encourage 7th graders to pursue their passions and seek out mentors to achieve their goals.

Live EFT Program Recording

This EFT was geared towards students in seventh to tenth grade, but all classrooms and groups are welcome to watch the recordings. You can watch a recording of the LIVE program here or by clicking the image below.

Pre-Recorded Video Segments

Click on each image below to watch the pre-recorded video segments featuring Dr. Miller and members of the research team introducing different aspects of their insect weaponry research including cactus pad collection in the field, a greenhouse tour, insect rearing room tour, and insights into their career pathways!

Standards:

National Standards:

MS-LS1-4 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (6-8 grade)
Use argument based on empirical evidence and scientific reasoning to support an explanation for how characteristic animal behaviors and specialized plant structures affect the probability of successful reproduction of animals and plants respectively.
MS-LS1-5 From Molecules to Organisms: Structures and Processes (6-8 grade)
Construct a scientific explanation based on evidence for how environmental and genetic factors influence the growth of organisms.
MS-LS2-1 Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (6-8)
Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

Florida Standards

SC.7.L.15.2 Diversity and Evolution of Living Organisms – Explore the scientific theory of evolution by recognizing and explaining ways in which genetic variation and environmental factors contribute to evolution by natural selection and diversity of organisms. Strategic Thinking & Complex Reasoning.
SC.7.L.17.2 Interdependence – Compare and contrast the relationships among organisms such as mutualism, predation, parasitism, competition, and commensalism.
SC.7.L.17.3 Interdependence- Describe and investigate various limiting factors in the local ecosystem and their impact on native populations, including food, shelter, water, space, disease, parasitism, predation, and nesting sites.
SC.7.N.1.5 Describe the methods used in the pursuit of a scientific explanation as seen in different fields of science such as biology, geology, and physics.