Students Kinsley Adams (Biology, Senior), Erika Rivera (Environmental Science, Junior), and Hunter Ivey (Biology, Sophomore) traveled to Vancouver, Canada, to present their independent research at the Joint Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, Entomological Society of Canada, and Entomological Society of British Columbia in November 2022. This was the first time any of the students had presented their work at a major conference, let alone an international conference.



Kinsley’s oral presentation, entitled “How to Safely Remove Honeydew Insects using Histo-Clear Prior to DNA Amplifications,” was well received. Erika’s presentation earned 1st place in the Biodiversity Poster Competition for her project entitled “How do invasive ants interact and impact ant communities within the longleaf pine savannas of North Carolina?,” while Hunter’s poster “Understanding Connections Between Diets of Honeydew Insects and Fire Ants in Longleaf Pine Savannas of North Carolina” earned 2nd place. The students gained valuable experience, networked, learned about diverse topics in the field of entomology, and received feedback on their research. Their research mentors are Drs. Kaitlin Campbell and Lisa Kelly (Biology). 



Research was supported by the College of Arts and Sciences, Office of Sponsored Research and Programs, the RISE Program (NIH Grant #5R25GM 077634), and the COMPASS II Program. Travel was supported by RISE, COMPASS II, College of Arts and Sciences, and Pembroke Research and Creativity Center (PURC), and a Humphrey Conference Travel Award (to Hunter Ivey).  Special thanks go to Alesia Cummings for helping coordinate travel.

Article Submitted by Kaitlin Campbell