A few years ago, they were able to show that certain female sawflies actually varied the sex of their offspring depending on the vigor of the plant on which they chose to lay eggs. The ASU West researchers found that female size plays a large role in how successful the sawflies are at producing offspring. The bigger the plant, the bigger the female fly. On the other hand, males sawflies do not require great size or strength to mate. As a result, they tend to come from much smaller plants.
Ecology is an intensely complex subject.
Researchers must work hard to understand even the simplest ecological system. Craig and Itami believe that big ideas can come from small animals. Charles Darwin thought the same way. The English naturalist spent a number of years writing a book on earthworms. From their investigations, Craig and Itami are devising ideas that could someday help us better understand our own place on this planet.