Suzanne Nelson, Native Seeds/SEARCH

Suzanne Nelson is director of conservation and seed bank curator at Native Seeds/SEARCH in Tucson, Ariz.

As I open my desk drawer to grab a pen, something drops out onto the floor. It's slightly oval shaped and black. Suddenly legs appear and the black oval begins a methodical but slow-motion tango toward my chair. Plant person that I am, my feet immediately seek the bottom rung of my chair. I recognize the long-snouted beast as one of those "agave weevils" I used to see all the time as a horticulturist at the Desert Botanical Garden. They can take an agave down in almost no time at all. I wonder if this guy is responsible for the melting death of that big agave outside my window? In a moment of clarity, I know what I must do.

In early June, Jesús García began an 11-week internship with NS/S as part of a program through the University of Arizona. The Research Experiences for Undergraduates in Conservation Biology program, sponsored by the National Science Foundation, pairs interested students with local conservation organizations to provide them with real-life work experience in the field of conservation biology. Jesús's internship involves surveying insect diversity and abundance at the NS/S Conservation Farm.

Jesús's project is part of a larger effort to increase awareness about the benefits of native and migratory wildlife on crop production. Our hope is that this binational research, education, and conservation management initiative will serve as a model for establishing and managing riparian restoration projects that emphasize improving habitat for wildlife that provide pollination and other ecological services on or adjacent to farmlands in the Upper Santa Cruz Watershed. As a first step, we need to know what pollinators -- beetles, flies, wasps, bees, birds, bats, moths, butterflies, ants -- exist out there. For the past five weeks, Jesús has been setting up a series of traps in each of three "microhabitats" at the farm -- a cultivated field, an abandoned field, and native riparian habitat. He collects whatever insects may have fallen or otherwise come to be in the traps after 24 hours and then he spends a lot of time drying, identifying, and pinning them. He's also been seen "dancing" in the fields with his insect net as he attempts to chase down a new or interesting insect. And what a great "bug" collection! It's almost as mesmerizing to look at as the rows of seed jars sitting on shelves in the seed house. Isn't diversity a wonderful thing?

To keep his netting techniques in prime condition, Jesús has been using the Sylvester House gardens as practice. Thus, we have a "city bug" collection as well as a "country bug" collection (though they aren't statistically comparable). Yesterday he even dug a squash vine borer grub out of a wilting Cucurbita argyrosperma plant and fried it. (Guess we won't be using that pan to cook in!) In this particular instance, the fate of the aromatic fritter included a straight pin through the gut (any self-respecting entomologist is likely to be horrified at my use of inappropriate vocabulary, but hey, I'm a plant person!) and a permanent resting place on a slab of styrofoam. At a recent staff meeting, Jesús prepared a traditional Tohono O'odham hors d'oeuvre -- white-lined sphynx moth caterpillars -- for the staff to taste. Two staff members partook of the delicacy (perhaps it was better that I missed that particular meeting!).

Jesús's work is providing us with baseline information on what insects are currently present at the farm. By inventorying insects on a yearly basis (throughout the year, if possible), changes in abundance or composition of insect populations can be detected early and protocols can be implemented to alleviate potential problems. The development of strategies for environmentally sound pest and pollinator management on the farm, including providing benefits for native pollinators and/or deterrents for non-natives, depends on good baseline data.

And so, with the greater good in mind, I rummage through the different-sized bug collecting jars on Jesús's desk, searching for an appropriate "agave weevil" container. Hopefully Jesús will have already eaten breakfast!