The Beetle and the Virus: Scientific Discovery During a Trip to the Loo

Abstract

Ceratoma trifurcata (photo by Marlin E. Rice) on a soybean leaf: the primary vector of Bean pod mottle virus throughout the midwestern U.S. Leaves of Desmodium illinoense with (top) and without (bottom) Ceratoma trifurcata injury. My deep appreciation for observations of nature was inspired by Marlin Perkins’ Wild Kingdom television documentaries of the natural world. The thrill of studied preparation and careful observation were characteristics of the natural sciences that strongly appealed to me in my introverted youth. I would later understand scientific observation as a fundamental first step in the scientific method that can offer a path to discovery. The endorphin rush of discovery—to be the first person to shed light on a new attribute of nature—is a scientific addiction. With that in mind, I certainly did not anticipate such serendipity while on a search for the loo at a rest area on Interstate 35 in Iowa. In June of 2006, I was one year from graduating with a dual doctoral degree in entomology and plant pathology from Iowa State University. Due to a heavier co-major course load, virtual reams of spreadsheets, and a crashed computer hard drive, my degree program was taking longer than planned and inspiration had become alien. I had been in this headspace before, and I often found comfort and motivation escaping to the natural world. However, on this day, personal physiology compelled me to stop at a rest area, and a small designated prairie area nearby grabbed my attention. There, I found a short trail through a mixed stand of old hardwood trees and brush that guided me toward a soybean field. On this short hike, I happened to look down, and what I saw led me down a most fruitful rabbit hole of discovery.