MICAH FLORES completed his PhD in 2013. His research examined the interactions between the native secondary screwworm Cochliomyia macellaria and the invasive hairy maggot blow fly Chrysomya rufifacies. The interactions between these two species have relevance to the field of decomposition ecology.
Co-occurrence of the larvae of these two species on a resource impacts the life history traits of both species. Using baseline laboratory development data he examined the non-consumptive effects of Chrysomya rufifacies on Cochliomyia macellaria. He also has served as a teaching assistant for Dr. Jeff Tomberlin’s Introduction to Forensic Science Course, Dr. Aaron Tarone’s Forensic Entomology course and Dr. Darrell Bay’s Veterinary Entomology course. He collaborated with Dr. Tawni Crippen at USDA-ARS as well during his PhD- specifically identifying components of C. rufifacies excretion-secretions and their relevance to non-consumptive effects on the development of C. macellaria. Currently, Micah is a research entomologist with the Department of Wound Infections with the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research in Maryland.