Early detection of invasive insects and tracking of their spread after establishment is crucial to mitigating their impact. However, trained experts cannot monitor for all invasive species in all potential establishment and spread areas. Monitoring can be improved through programs that encourage reporting sightings of invasive species by the general public, but community members cannot be expected to learn to identify every species they might encounter. Instead, training the public to report key invasive species and encouraging general biodiversity reporting could strike a balance between increasing monitoring efforts and putting an undue burden on the public. Understanding the traits of organisms that people report in these websites and apps may help outreach coordinators better allocate their resources towards encouraging the use of the platforms most likely to be effective for their organisms of focus. We tested if physical, behavioral, and natural history traits of invasive species influence if and on which platforms organisms are reported. In addition, we evaluated the types of species people were likely to report after participating in a general biodiversity outreach program. Our results may help invasive species educators tailor their reporting messaging in a way that is both engaging for the public and increases early detection of invasive insects.
