The first time I ever spoke with entomologist Dan Horton, I was calling to ask him about a dragonfly drone collaboration between the University of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology.
When I got him on the phone, he told me he hadn't had any time to focus on that particular project because he'd gotten so wrapped up in addressing the Spotted Wing Drosophila problem. And well, that was an opening if I had ever heard one.
That's fine, I told him. Tell me about the Spotted Wing Drosophila. It was the most important lead I ever followed.
Horton had a lot to say about the fruit fly, its spread through the Georgia blueberry industry and how farmers were reacting to the invasive species. So did the president of the Georgia Blueberry Growers' Association. I blew through my word limit, much to my editor's consternation.
It was the first article about an invasive species I ever wrote. During my two years as the science beat reporter for The Red & Black, I wound up writing about invasive species quite often-tawny crazy ant, emerald ash borer, kudzu bug. Those articles were the start of a preoccupation with invasive species, their ecological and economic effects, and the people who try to manage and control them.I came to the Masters of Specialized Journalism program at the University of Southern California for the multimedia skills I could learn and for California's fascinating agricultural issues. When I was brainstorming theses topics, though, I settled on California's equally fascinating invasive species issues.
While working on this project I've: visited a USDA quarantine facility and insect hatchery, waded through a creek filled with red swamp crayfish, attended a symposium dedicated entirely to oak trees and watched the sun set over the hills of Riverside.
I've met some dedicated ecologists, entomologists and land managers who get up happily at the crack of dawn and were kind enough to let me tag along to watch them work.
I hope you've learned something new about some of your unwelcome neighbors on this website. I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions you might have.
Jeanette Kazmierczak
jeanette.science.kaz@gmail.com