Entomologist Oregon Department of Agriculture Salem, Oregon
How do we get the public competent in identifying pests? Is that our goal? Years of interactions with the general public have led me to conclude that most people aren’t very good at recognizing insects even when good visual aids are available. For years, I have allowed this to trouble me, but I have come to the realization that I have been looking at it all wrong. Our programs screen thousands of trap samples in order to detect invasive species. Most of the time we don’t detect the target of concern, yet I consider these useful exercises. Why do I see public submissions differently? To be useful in invasive species detection, I just need members of the public to submit something for me to work with: a picture or specimen. I don’t need them to be able to identify it, but I do want them to be aware of invasive species issues!
