Dr. Alexander Butcher
I study how insects, the pathogens they carry and the plants they feed on interact in working farms, and I use that to build pest management tools growers can actually use.
About
I came to entomology from the kitchen. After culinary school and several years cooking professionally in Portland, I went back for a biology degree at Portland State University, then followed the question of where food comes from into insect science. I earned an M.S. in Crop Science and a Ph.D. in Horticultural Science, both with an entomology focus, at Oregon State University.
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at Washington State University in Scott Harper’s lab, working with Marco Pitino at the USDA-ARS Temperate Tree Fruit and Vegetable Research Unit in Wapato, Washington. There I lead field trials of trunk-injected treatments for X-disease in cherry and peach orchards.
My research sits where pest management meets production. I have run field trials in potato, vineyards, nurseries and cherry orchards, working directly with growers to test tools under commercial conditions: plant-defense elicitors against the Colorado potato beetle, mating disruption and entomopathogenic nematodes for mealybugs, and trunk-injected therapeutics for cherry X-disease.
I also care about training the next generation. I have mentored undergraduate researchers from project design through conference presentations, taught graduate courses in IPM and insect physiology, and I work in Spanish with field crews and collaborators.
Education
- 2025
- Ph.D., Horticultural Science (Entomology option), Oregon State University. Advisor: Vaughn Walton
- 2023
- M.S., Crop Science (Entomology option), Oregon State University. Advisor: Silvia Rondon
- 2020
- B.S., Biology, Portland State University
- 2013
- A.A., Culinary Arts, Western Culinary Institute
Research
Trunk injection trials for cherry X-disease
Field trials testing trunk-injected treatments against Candidatus Phytoplasma pruni in commercial cherry and peach orchards. Explore tree-level titer, treatment assignments, bronzing and leafhopper vector trap counts across the R3, Lapins and Summer Flare 2025 sites.
Insect-vectored disease in tree fruit
X-disease phytoplasma in cherry and peach: mapping pathogen titer, tracking leafhopper vectors and testing therapeutic trunk injections.
Biorational control in vineyards
Mating disruption for grape mealybug, and entomopathogenic nematodes paired with black soldier fly frass adjuvants for vine mealybug.
Plant defense and herbivore behavior
How elicitor-induced defenses in potato change host selection, feeding and fitness of the Colorado potato beetle.
Insects in agriculture
Black soldier fly production and frass as an agricultural input, and natural enemy attraction with semiochemical lures in nursery crops.
Publications
Peer reviewed
- Butcher, A. M., Lee, J., & Rondon, S. I. (2026). Sublethal effects of potato plant defenses induced via synthetic elicitors against the Colorado potato beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Insect Science, 26(2), ieag013. doi:10.1093/jisesa/ieag013
- Butcher, A. M., & Walton, V. M. Black soldier fly, Hermetia illucens, frass adjuvants improve the efficacy of Steinernema feltiae against the vine mealybug, Planococcus ficus, under laboratory conditions. Biological Control.Accepted 2026
- Butcher, A. M., Shrestha, G., & Rondon, S. I. Differential feeding behavior between seasonal populations of Geocoris punctipes Say (Hemiptera: Geocoridae) adults in western populations. Pan-Pacific Entomologist.Accepted 2026
- Butcher, A. M., Rondon, S. I., Lee, J., & Paul, R. (2024). Effects of elicitors on plant host selection by adult Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae). Journal of Insect Science, 24(6), 8. doi:10.1093/jisesa/ieae112
- Butcher, A. M., Rendon, D., Harrington, S., & Lee, J. C. (2024). Evaluating methyl salicylate lures on natural enemies, pests and meristem damage in red maple fields. Journal of Environmental Horticulture, 42(3), 101–108. Article
In preparation
- Butcher, A. M., & Walton, V. M. Mating disruption of grape mealybug (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) in Oregon vineyards.
- Butcher, A. M., Shrestha, G., & Walton, V. M. Impacts of delta trap design on efficacy and bycatch.
Media and outreach
- Wine Minute series with V. Glenn: Future of Mealybug Research, Sustainability in Research, A Unique Journey to Wine. PNW Ag Network, 2025.
- The tiny fly that could transform agriculture. Ambrook Research, 2024.
- Fighting for your French fries. Inspiration Dissemination, 2023.
- Emergence of elicitors: a potential new tool in the pesticide toolbox. Spudman, 2023.
Teaching & mentoring
Courses, Oregon State University
- Principles of Integrated Pest Management (graduate): delivered most lectures, designed assessments
- Insect Physiology (graduate): redesigned weekly assessments, lectured on flight, digestion and reproduction
- Pest, Plagues and Politics (160+ students, in person and online)
- Career Exploration in Horticulture (Ecampus)
Undergraduate researchers mentored
Seven undergraduate projects spanning vine mealybug mating disruption, native bee communities in restored prairie, pollen load diversity, black soldier fly production and composting, and Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly release timing.
Selected funding and awards
- USDA NIFA National Needs Fellowship (2021)
- Oregon Wine Board, collaborator on mealybug mating disruption and biocontrol research (2023–2026)
- Principal investigator on four undergraduate experiential-learning and outreach grants (Agricultural Research Foundation; E.R. Jackman Friends and Alumni Association)
- Entomological Society of America Entomology Games, 2nd place (2024, 2025)
Contact
For research inquiries or collaboration, email me at alexander.butcher@wsu.edu or connect on LinkedIn.