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Introduction to Plant Protection Entomology

An Interview with Lincoln Moore

Introduction to Plant Protection Entomology

Society suffers enormous losses from the destruction of plants by insects. Agricultural crops, turf, ornamental plants,and trees are all attacked and injured by insects, and many entomologists are engaged in activities to minimize this destruction. Plant protection entomology includes the following:

• the identification of insect pests;
• the study of pest biology and behavior;
• the development, selection, and assessment of suitable pest management strategies; and
• the transfer of this information to those who can benefit from it.

The majority of plant protection entomologists work within the field of agriculture. Agricultural entomology pertains to the study of insects as they affect food, feed, and fiber crops.Insect pests affect crops by feeding on fruit, foliage, or roots. Some may also transmit diseases from plant to plant.Employers of agricultural entomologists are varied: the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA) employs entomologists to research insects of economic importance and prevent the introduction of exotic insects which may become harmful to American agriculture; universities and private industry employ entomologists to perform research or extension work, which is the dissemination of information to the public.

Forest entomologists came of age when Congress passed the Forest Pest Control Act in 1947. Pests of forest trees have a great economic impact on society. A country's forests are one of its greatest assets, and their protection is necessary to sustain the quality of life. Forest entomologists can be found in academia, government agencies such as USDA and the U.S.Department of Interior, nature centers, conservation agencies,and private industries involved in pulp and paper.

Plant protection entomology also is valuable to the general public: homeowners have turned to horticultural entomologists to assist in their battle to protect lawns and ornamental shrubs and trees. Horticultural entomologists work as consultants to lawn care operators and sod producers; they also can be found in private industry, especially in companies that produce and/or apply pesticides.

The future of plant protection entomology:

• Current legislative trends point to a more intense focus on integrated pest management (IPM). IPM involves coordinating pest and environmental information with available pest management methods to prevent unacceptable levels of pest damage by the most economical means and with the least possible hazard to people and the environment.
• Better pest management practices will necessitate a reexamination of the biology, behavior, and ecology of pest species for more effective IPM.
• Biotechnology likely will exert great influence on plant protection.
• Genetic engineering will provide possibilities for producing plants resistant to pathogens and insects.
• New, less environmentally disruptive control of insects will be of primary interest.

An Interview with Lincoln Moore, Entomologist

Lincoln Moore holds a B.S. from Alabama A&M University, an M.S. from the University of Michigan, and a Ph.D. from Michigan State University. His professional career began as a survey entomologist for the U.S. Forest Service. His responsibilities included planning, organizing, and conducting surveys to determine forest insect infestations and evaluation of those infestations.

He currently performs two professional roles -- a research entomologist with USDA and an educator at Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA. As a research entomologist, Moore serves as a technical resource for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service, National Plant Data Center, on forestry and forest entomology.

When did you first become interested in entomology?

I was first exposed to entomology as a young boy in Alabama, the son of a cotton farmer. I would listen and observe when my dad worked closely with the county extension agents putting together pesticide treatments. As I got older, I became more involved, conducting surveys out in the fields to determine the type and amount of insect pests present. This information was then translated into appropriate treatments. Money was always a consideration, and, although the phrase "economic injury level" had not evolved, it was essentially what we practiced -- weighing the loss caused by pests with the value of available control measures.

What made you want to become an entomologist?

Once I realized I could not become a professional basketball player or surgeon, I turned to my love for the outdoors and chose entomology. I wanted to understand where insects stood in the total scheme of the ecosystem and what would happen if one developed methods to control their outbreaks without harming people. Employment opportunities were also a reason for choosing entomology as a profession. I saw my interest in becoming a "bug man," the term used by most of my family and friends, as an opportunity to combine my love and respect for nature with my professional goals.

Can you describe a typical day? Is there such a thing?

I have not had a typical day in the last 15 or so years.One reason for this is the continuous evolution of my career. I began as a survey entomologist, inspecting pest problems in Louisiana and California. Next, I moved into research, designing strategies for insect control. I eventually shifted into administration, developing regional pest management programs and fostering minority involvement within USDA. I also served as an adjunct professor at A&T University, teaching forestry and plant sciences for the forestry service.

My current responsibilities include serving as the forest entomologist for Southern University in Louisiana and as an advisor for students, both undergraduate and graduate,interested in natural resource careers. I team-teach integrated pest management (IPM) and will start a new course in general entomology this fall at the university. These assignments are in addition to my duties with the Natural Resource Conservation Service, National Plant Data Center (NPDC), where I develop technical guides of plants in North America for entry into the NPDC home page.

What is the best part of your job?

The satisfaction I receive from my work with students. I also receive joy from the development of materials that can be used by individuals interested in learning about plants important to our economic well-being. Through my work, I believe I am making a positive difference in someone's life.

What is the most difficult part of your job?

The most difficult part of my job is realizing that I do not have enough time to do all the things I want to do to assist clients.

What was the most challenging thing in becoming an entomologist?

The most challenging thing for me in becoming an entomologist was studying systematics because I did not see the connection between that course and my career goals. I disliked sitting in one spot for hours and counting insect hairs orlearning Latin terms. However, I eventually discovered that this information was important. Not only is identification the firs tstep in developing solutions, but systematics serves as an information-retrieval system and provides a means of predicting characteristics among organisms.

Is being an entomologist as you imagined it would be?

Becoming an entomologist and the career path that it has opened for me is not at all what I envisioned. I thought I would spend my entire career in the field or laboratory. However, as my career matured, I found myself working in other areas.

My training has afforded me an opportunity to work with professionals in several countries with different levels of training in areas from entomology to ecotourism. I have used the skills I learned in IPM to assist communities in developing long-term goals by evaluating their environment and the factors that impact the well-being of their communities, such as cost/benefit and input/output.

Are you glad you became an entomologist?

Yes, it has afforded me opportunities to meet intelligent,dynamic, and interesting individuals throughout the world.

What do you think students need to know about being an entomologist? In other words, how do you think their perception differs from reality?

Many of the students I talk with that express an interest in forest entomology think they will work outdoors their entire career. They tend to think like most of us did at the time we chose to enter the profession -- I will never get involved in management, paper work, or work in a laboratory; I will make some discovery that will allow people and their environment to be pest-free, etc. They have an image that they will work alone and not be part of a team of individuals working on a systems approach to solving problems that might go far beyond the pest that is being studied.

We tend to be short-sighted when choosing a career.Careers evolve and what you are doing as a entry-level professional is not necessarily what you will be doing ten or twenty years down the road.

What advice would you give someone who wants to become an entomologist?

Don't turn to entomology to get rich. While salaries in the biological sciences will provide you with a decent standard of living, traditionally, entomologists choose the career for the passion, not to end up millionaires.

If you are you not currently enrolled in science and math courses in high school or college, enroll in these courses.Entomology requires an understanding of math and science. You must have the ability to access a problem by evaluating all of the parts and the whole simultaneously before arriving at a conclusion. I would also tell them entomology is one of the most rewarding careers in the natural science areas.