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Phil Lester

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Professor

Victoria University of Wellington

New Zealand

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About

Phil Lester is a Professor at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. His research encompasses pest management strategies for invasive wasps and Varroa mites, focusing on innovative treatments and the ecological impacts of these species. Recent articles highlight his work on the local attitudes towards invasive wasp management, the dynamics of honey bee colonies in the presence of Varroa destructor, and the development of RNA interference methods for controlling pest species.

Recent Grants

Grant: Close

Virus-virus interactions: a key to unravel global honey bee colony losses?

Open Date: 2023-01-01

Close Date: 2026-01-01

Grant: Close

Silencing immunity to determine how pathogens influence invasion success

Open Date: 2018-01-01

Close Date: 2021-01-01

Grant: Close

Bringing back Honey Bees using beneficial Bacteria

Open Date: 2015-01-01

Close Date: 2017-01-01

Grant: Close

Using interaction networks to explain invasion success and community dominance: wasps in an old and new world

Open Date: 2014-01-01

Close Date: 2017-01-01

Grant: Close

Making a rod for our own backs: do human actions select for traits that promote invasiveness in animals?

Open Date: 2014-01-01

Close Date: 2017-01-01

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Collaborators (12)

James Baty

Victoria University of Wellington

NEW ZEALAND

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Rob Keyzers

Associate Professor

Victoria University of Wellington

NEW ZEALAND

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Lori Lach

Professor

James Cook University

AUSTRALIA

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Benjamin D. Hoffmann

Charles Darwin University

AUSTRALIA

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Ashley Mortensen

The New Zealand Institute for Plant & Food Research Limited

NEW ZEALAND

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Jana Dobelmann

Assistant Professor

Goethe University Frankfurt

GERMANY

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Ocean Mercier

Associate Professor

Victoria University of Wellington

NEW ZEALAND

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Mariana Bulgarella

Senior Research Fellow

Victoria University of Wellington

NEW ZEALAND

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Peter Dearden

Professor

University of Otago

NEW ZEALAND

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David O'Sullivan

Hon Professor

University of Auckland

NEW ZEALAND

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Emily J. Remnant

Senior Lecturer

University of Sydney

AUSTRALIA

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Neil D Tsutsui

Professor

University of California

UNITED STATES

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Phil Lester

Research Interests

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About

Recent Grants

Articles (26)

Exploring distribution, caste-specific seasonality, and winter activity of three invasive wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand using citizen science data

Common wasps, Vespula vulgaris (Hymenoptera, Vespidae), utilise a wide breadth of plants to build nests, as determined via chloroplast metabarcoding

RNAi can be effective for the control of Varroa destructor in honey bee colonies

The miRNAome of the honey bee parasite, Varroa destructor, shows sex-specific expression of miRNA clusters across life stages

Spring Varroa destructor (Mesostigmata: Varroidae) density predicts honey production losses and indicates an action threshold in New Zealand apiaries

The spatial distribution of dispersal-phase adult Varroa destructor mites on two strains of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) in New Zealand

Exploring local attitudes towards current and potential future invasive wasp management in Aotearoa New Zealand

Recent advances and avenues for the pest management of invasive social wasps and hornets

In Silico Analysis of Potential Off-Target Effects of a Next-Generation dsRNA Acaricide for Varroa Mites (Varroa destructor) and Lack of Effect on a Bee-Associated Arthropod

Improving wasp control by identifying likely causes of eradication failure

Are increasing honey bee colony losses attributed to Varroa destructor in New Zealand driven by miticide resistance?

Variable viral loads and immune response in an invasive ant's native and introduced ranges

A novel antibody treatment reduces deformed wing virus loads in the western honey bee ( Apis mellifera )

Beekeepers Support the Use of RNA Interference (RNAi) to Control Varroa destructor

Population dynamics and prey community of the invasive paper wasp Polistes chinensis (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in a protected coastal habitat in New Zealand

Gene drives for invasive wasp control: Extinction is unlikely, with suppression dependent on dispersal and growth rates

Can immune gene silencing via dsRNA feeding promote pathogenic viruses to control the globally invasive Argentine ant?

Sociality reduces the probability of eradication success of arthropod pests

An invasive ant increases deformed wing virus loads in honey bees

Effects of Deformed Wing Virus-Targeting dsRNA on Viral Loads in Bees Parasitised and Non-Parasitised by Varroa destructor

Integrating biochemical and behavioral approaches to develop a bait to manage the invasive yellow paper wasp Polistes versicolor (Hymenoptera, Vespidae) in the Galápagos Islands

The native and exotic prey community of two invasive paper wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) in New Zealand as determined by DNA barcoding

A global review of socioeconomic and environmental impacts of ants reveals new insights for risk assessment

Gene drive and RNAi technologies: a bio-cultural review of next-generation tools for pest wasp management in New Zealand

Viral communities in the parasite Varroa destructor and in colonies of their honey bee host (Apis mellifera) in New Zealand

Identity, Prevalence, and Pathogenicity of Entomopathogenic Fungi Infecting Invasive Polistes (Vespidae: Polistinae) Paper Wasps in New Zealand

Collaborators (12)

James Baty

Rob Keyzers

Lori Lach

Benjamin D. Hoffmann

Ashley Mortensen

Jana Dobelmann

Ocean Mercier

Mariana Bulgarella

Peter Dearden

David O'Sullivan

Emily J. Remnant

Neil D Tsutsui

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