Mingyue – Insect Neuro Lab

Mingyue Feng

Visiting PhD student

Mingyue acquired her BSc and Master’s degrees from China Agricultural University. For her Master’s research, she focused on the secondary metabolites of host plants that influence the feeding preferences of the bean flower thrips, Megalurothrips usitatus. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Agricultural Insect and Pest Management at China Agricultural University, with a focus on the behavior and biological control of M. usitatus. During her Ph.D., Mingyue has worked on two major research projects: the feeding behavior and host plant preference mechanisms of M. usitatus, and the reception mechanisms for the aggregation pheromone (2E,6E)-farnesyl acetate. These studies aim to develop innovative approaches for the integrated management of M. usitatus.

As behavior is a neural output to environmental stimulus, Mingyue sought to deepen her understanding of insect behavior through neuroscience. In 2024, she applied to join the Insect Neuro Lab at Durham University as a visiting Ph.D. student, supported by the China Scholarship Council. During her time at Durham, she will focus on the function of the larval eye and the developing compound eye of Anopheles gambiae. Mingyue is excited to explore this new field, applying her experience with agricultural insects to study how A. gambiae larvae response to the unpredictable world.