Ritabrata Chowdhury
banner
ritabrata1907.bsky.social
Ritabrata Chowdhury
@ritabrata1907.bsky.social
PhD student at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge; studying biomechanics and evolution of insect-plant interactions
Last day to submit abstracts for the Cambridge University Entomological Society symposium is tomorrow! Please send your abstracts to entosoc@cambridgesu.co.uk!!

@royentsoc.bsky.social @frankendodo.bsky.social @britentsoc.bsky.social @camzoology.bsky.social @zoologymuseum.bsky.social
The Cambridge University Entomological Society is hosting a symposium on ”The good, the bad, and the monstrous: insects in mythology, literature and media”, at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, on 20th November 2025.

Huge thanks to @royentsoc.bsky.social for supporting us!
October 19, 2025 at 5:25 PM
The Cambridge University Entomological Society is hosting a symposium on ”The good, the bad, and the monstrous: insects in mythology, literature and media”, at the Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, on 20th November 2025.

Huge thanks to @royentsoc.bsky.social for supporting us!
September 25, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Had an amazing time at @behaviour2025.bsky.social in Kolkata! Got to see soo much diverse and cool research in the fields behavioural and integrative ecology and meet so many brilliant researchers.
Thanks to all the organisers!
Lastly, thanks to @biologists.bsky.social for funding my travel!
August 31, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Reposted by Ritabrata Chowdhury
Watch #BiologyLetters author Ritabrata Chowdhury talk about his recent article that reports a previously unknown interaction from the mutualism between ants and Macaranga trees: cassyni.com/events/6Pu6E... #ecology #evolution
Arms race of physical defences: hooked trichomes of Macaranga ant-plants kill lycaenid caterpillars, but one specialist has a counter-defence: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #BiologyLetters #ecology #evolution
June 30, 2025 at 10:19 AM
Happy to share the Naked Scientists' article on my recent paper. Huge thanks to Chris Smith for interviewing me! Also, massive thanks to @camzoology.bsky.social, @biology.ox.ac.uk and @britentsoc.bsky.social for supporting this work!

The link: www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/int...
Bribing caterpillar sparks evolutionary arms race
Greasing some palms...
www.thenakedscientists.com
June 30, 2025 at 10:18 AM
Reposted by Ritabrata Chowdhury
Arms race of physical defences: hooked trichomes of Macaranga ant-plants kill lycaenid caterpillars, but one specialist has a counter-defence: royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/... #BiologyLetters #ecology #evolution
June 12, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Happy to share the first paper from my PhD! We report the discovery of a new insect-plant interaction from Borneo, where one ant-plant has evolved sharp hooked trichomes to pierce and kill lycaenid caterpillars. However, one specialist can survive and has a counter-defence!

doi.org/10.1098/rsbl...
Arms race of physical defences: hooked trichomes of Macaranga ant-plants kill lycaenid caterpillars, but one specialist has a counter-defence | Biology Letters
The coevolution of insects and chemical plant defences has been described as an arms race, but it is unclear whether physical plant defences can produce similar outcomes. Here, we report a previously unknown interaction from the mutualism between ants and ...
doi.org
June 9, 2025 at 10:20 AM
Happy to share my first major PhD work, where we show that Heliconiini caterpillars have developed more puncture resistant cuticle as a counter-adaptation against sharp Passiflora trichomes. However, we also show that the trichomes affect post ingestion, suggesting that the arms-race continues!
Caterpillar counter-adaptations to hooked trichomes: does the coevolutionary arms race continue? https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.03.22.644295v1
March 29, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Had an amazing time presenting at the @britentsoc.bsky.social Annual Member's Day yesterday at the @morethanadodo.bsky.social . Very inspiring talks, amazing people and lots of interesting conversations. Huge thanks to @pselaphacus.bsky.social and the @britentsoc.bsky.social for the opportunity!
March 23, 2025 at 4:11 PM