Research in the lab focuses on two main areas, which are not mutually exclusive: 1) biological control of arthropod pests; 2) insect symbiosis. Biological control is defined as the deliberate use of organisms (natural enemies) to regulate the population size of pest organisms. Many natural enemies harbor microbial symbionts. We study the ecology and evolution of the microbial symbionts, their effects on insect natural enemies and their relevance to biological control.