**AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** A MAJOR CHALLENGE IN US AGRICULTURE IS THE SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT OF INSECT PESTS THAT THREATEN FOOD SECURITY. ONE LINE OF DEFENSE IS THE USE OF INSECT PREDATORS AND PARASITOIDS (NATURAL ENEMIES) AS BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS IN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. NATURAL ENEMIES PROVIDE BENEFITS TO CROPS BY DIRECTLY CONSUMING PESTS AND THUS REDUCING CROP DAMAGE. HOWEVER, IT HAS ALSO BEEN SHOWN THAT THE MEAREPRESENCE OF THIER NATURAL ENEMIES CAN MODIFY PEST PHYSIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR THAT MIGHT REDUCE THEIR IMPACTS ON CROPS. ONE WAY TO MIMIC THE PRESENCE OF A PREDATOR IS TO SIMULATE THE CUES THAT PEST INSECTS USE TO DETERMINE THAT DANGER IS NEARBY, SUCH AS THE VISUAL, VIBRATORY, OR ODOR CUES. THIS WORK PROPOSES TO UNDERSTAND THE ROLE OF NATURAL ENEMY ODOR CUES IN ELICITING CHANGES IN PEST INSECT BEHAVIOR AND DAMAGE ON AGRICULTURAL CROPS.PRELIMINARY DATA SUGGEST THAT LADY BEETLE ODOR CUES INFLUENCE THE MOVEMENT AND REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF A NOTORIOUS CROP PEST - APHIDS. WHILE THIS RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT APHIDS ARE IMPACTED BY PREDATOR ODOR CUES, FEW STUDIES HAVE DIRECTLY CONFIRMED THAT APHIDS CAN DETECT NATURAL ENEMY ODOR CUES, AND WHETHER APHIDS WILL RESPOND TO THESE CUES IN NATURAL SETTINGS. THIS PROPOSAL WILL EXPAND THIS WORK BY 1) CONFIRMING THAT APHIDS DETECT AND AVOIDNATURAL ENEMY ODOR CUES 2) DETERMINING WHETHER ODOR CUES FROM TWO DIFFERENT NATURAL ENEMIES (LADY BEETLES AND PARASITIC WASPS)INTERACT TO ENHANCE RISK EFFECTS, AND 3) EXAMINING THE IMPACT OF NATURAL ENEMY ODOR CUES ON APHID ABUNDANCE AND OTHER PEST AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS IN A NATURAL SETTING. OVERALL, THIS WORK WILL ADVANCE THE PRIORITY AREA OF PLANT HEALTH AND PRODUCTION BY REDUCING AGRICHEMICAL INPUTS AND INCREASING THE EFFICIENCY OF SUSTAINABLE PEST MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.