Cassidy Dalton, an undergraduate student at the University of Florida studying environmental management, natural resources and agriculture, has spent her summer as an intern at the Hayslip Biological Control Research and Containment Laboratory, which is located at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center (IRREC).
Working under the supervision of Assistant Professor Nicole Quinn, Dalton had the opportunity to work with pasture mealybugs, a new invasive species that arrived in Florida earlier this year, and to help develop sticky traps and pheromone lures. The lures simulate the type of scent produced by the female insect to seduce or lure their male counterparts using insect hormones.
The pasture mealybug was first identified in St. Lucie County, Florida in May and can severely affect pastures, hayfields, turfgrass and sugarcane.
She said she’s really enjoyed working with pasture mealybugs because they are new to the region, and addressing the invasive species requires a great deal of brainstorming.
“I’ve learned a lot more about how everything interacts, especially with invasive species, and how you’re supposed to tackle invasive species when an outbreak like that occurs,” she said.
During her summer at IRREC, she found that working with others and gaining experience inside a scientific and laboratory setting were valuable skills opportunities, especially as a fully online student.
“This gave me a lot of experience. It’s more in the lab and then also surveying out in the field with a variety of people,” she continued.
She enjoyed the experience of working with professionals in a lab setting. She liked learning from Quinn and others about their experiences throughout their careers and being able to ask questions.
Dalton sees herself working in research after graduating next semester and said the internship influenced that decision.
“At first, I thought I was going to get into consulting with environmental management,” she said. “I kind of want to pivot and do more research first before I go into anything else.”
Quinn said Dalton’s attention to detail, curiosity, and positive attitude made her an excellent addition to her lab.
“We hope the data collected from her leaf-footed bug trapping study will provide important insights into the management of leaf-footed bugs in Florida,” she added.
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