My Pandemic Work Term

 This summer hasn’t gone how anyone expected, which meant that our team had to get creative with work. Despite most of my work term remaining indoors rather than in fields, I  learned a lot.
A number of tasks and duties were assigned to the student members of the IPM team during our summer work term. I learned how to be a better scientist by refining my analysis and presentation skills through weekly scientific paper discussions. On a weekly basis, two people from our IPM team would choose a scientific paper to present. All the team members read each paper with a critical eye to dissect how the authors described their research and what and how they communicated their findings. I learned about multiple areas of insect pest management in agriculture and how to conduct experiments. Most importantly, I learned what works when communicating experiments and results to others.

One of the most valuable things I have taken from this term is how to photograph insects for identification purposes. For proper identification, it is important that pictures are clear, sufficiently zoomed in, and contain the entire insect. Diagnostic photos must include a complete dorsal or lateral view, along with a size reference when possible. If sending pictures to experts to obtain insect identifications, it is vital to note the date, location, and crop the insect was found on along with the photo.  Additionally, special cameras are not required to take good photos. The images below include photos taken using my cell phone camera in my back yard (Fig. 1). It took a lot of practice to get a steady hand and figure out how to get the zoom and focus just right.

Figure 1. Cell phone photos taken in the back yard early in August 2020 on sedum flower; a Pennsylvania leather wing beetle (Chauliognathus pensylvanicus) approximately 1.5 cm in length (A) and an ambush bug (Phymata spp.) approximately 1 cm in length hunting for prey (B). 

Insect photography helped me learn about the biodiversity in Grande Prairie, as well as in my hometown where I returned to in July due to the pandemic. Both insects featured in Figure 1 are beneficial insects, which refers to the phenomenon that insects benefit the host plant either through pollination, parasitism or predation. The beetle and ambush bug featured in Figure 1 are both predators of other insects and ultimately will help reduce insect populations in my garden. My knowledge about pest insects and beneficial insects in crops attained working at the Beaverlodge Research Farm will better equip me to care for garden and greenhouse plants. While developing my insect photography skills, I also learned the importance of labelling both future pictures as well as pinned insect specimens.

Not only did I learn a lot about insects, I learned more about how food is grown in Canada. Whether or not I return to the agriculture sector, what I learned during my work term will have an impact on how I think about the food I eat for the rest of my life.

- Isaac Hudson Foy

Thanks to Tia Malloff, Shelby Dufton and J. Otani for reviewing this Post.


Read more about the Students working in the IPM Program from May-August 2020.