Holly Greenberg - Week 7

 It is hard to believe that 7 weeks of this internship have already passed. Summer has never moved this quickly before, and I think it's because of my love for this job! 

Photo of Psara obscuralis caterpillar.

This week began with strong storms that left CMREC without power. I teleworked on Monday morning, during which I attended our weekly connection. We discussed the documentary “Delmarva and the Ground for Change,” which follows farmers on the Eastern Shore who are practicing sustainability that increases their soil health. In addition, we heard from Holly Porter, the executive director of the Delmarva Chicken Association. I enjoyed hearing about many of the poultry statistics on the Eastern Shore. Last semester, I worked for UMES’ poultry facility, where I gained a new perspective on raising commercial chickens for research, different from my own experience with backyard flocks. It was nice to put the information from Holly into context. After the meeting, I helped Suzanne with the measurements and harvests of the Snapdragon and Matricaria flowers. Later, Dave brought in a caterpillar on Pokeweed from his backyard and asked me to identify it; I identified it as Psara obscuralis. It was great to be able to apply the skills and knowledge I have learned over the last many weeks. 

I am recording the insects on the Crape Myrtle.

On Wednesday, we went to Rockville to collect data on the Crape Myrtles and the native flower sod. My role was to look for insects on the sod. It was rainy out, which restricted much of the insect activity. In the afternoon, I watched the Master Gardeners’ monthly meeting where both Laura and Dave presented. It was interesting to see how the different specialty areas at CMREC collaborate to share information for the community.

Thursday was my favorite day this week. Each week, I look forward to the day I head to Western MD to look for the Box Tree Moth. This week, we checked our normal sites and were able to scout new locations to monitor this pest. At the original sites, the caterpillars are growing rapidly. It has been amazing to witness the life cycle of this moth as I see new life stages each week. The caterpillars have begun pupating; we found multiple pupae whose cocoons had not completely hardened yet. For us, this means a higher chance that we will find more adults in our traps soon.

Here I am looking at the boxwoods we placed to lure in Box Tree Moth

These are the caterpillars before they begin to pupate, approximately the 7th instar. 

We went to Rockville again on Friday for another data collection, and many more insects were active because of the nice weather. Laura began marking branches where the bark scale growth will be monitored over the next few months. This prevents the damage caused by using the double-sided tape. 

This summer has solidified my desire to go to graduate school and specialize in a related field. As new pests are continuously emerging, I want to be able to help farmers overcome the new challenges their crops may face. It is amazing to see the creativity and innovation that go into monitoring and controlling many insects. I am excited to see where grad school takes me and the plethora of knowledge that awaits me!