A Career in Entomology Inspired by Biology, Environmental Toxicology, And Many Scientific Conferences

After spending two years at North Carolina State University for his postdoctoral position in entomology working in insect and mite management in vegetable cropping systems, Tom Bilbo, Ph.D., took a professorship position at Clemson University and moved to South Carolina at the end of 2021 to start his research and extension program. Here, Tom is sampling spider mites and predatory mites in tomatoes. (Photo by Steve Schoof)

By Lorena Lopez, Ph.D.

Editor’s Note: This is the next post in the “Standout ECPs” series contributed by the Entomological Society of America’s Early Career Professionals (ECP) Committee, highlighting outstanding ECPs that are doing great work in the profession. An ECP is someone who has not yet received their terminal degree in their field. Learn more about the work ECPs are doing within ESA, and read past posts in the Standout ECPs series.

Tom Bilbo, Ph.D.

Tom Bilbo, Ph.D., is an assistant professor and research and extension specialist at Clemson University’s Coastal Research & Education Center in Charleston, South Carolina, where he studies insect pest management and insecticide resistance, as well as insect ecology in agricultural systems. Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in biology at Denison University in Ohio in 2012, his master’s degree in environmental toxicology at Texas Tech University in 2015, and his Ph.D. in entomology at Clemson in 2019.

During his Ph.D., Tom investigated the plant-insect interactions of the corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) and Bt corn in regard to development, behavior, and insecticide resistance management, as well as management strategies for fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) in corn. His career pivoted when he joined the lab of Jim Walgenbach, Ph.D., at North Carolina State University as a postdoctoral researcher in 2019, where he focused on the implementation of biological control tactics for key vegetable insect pests. Tom spent his postdoc time working closely with farmers, learning about cultural and biocontrol practices as well the management of pest mites using natural enemies including predatory mites. Tom recently started his position as an assistant professor at Clemson and moved back to South Carolina to start his program as part of the Plant & Environmental Sciences Department.

Lopez: Can you describe your current research?

Bilbo: The goal of my research and extension program is to advance sustainable and resilient food production. As an entomologist, I strive to do this through understanding insects in agroecosystems and applying insect ecology to solve problems. The tenets of my program are developing cultural and biological control strategies for key pests, but I also spend a lot of time thinking about issues of insecticide resistance.

As I get my program started at Clemson, my initial projects will focus on spider mites, thrips, and diamondback moths (Plutella xylostella) in various vegetable crops and strawberries. But, in the southeast, there are so many different crops grown and such intense pest pressure that there are seemingly endless interesting problems to work on. I look forward to working with multidisciplinary teams that use a systems approach to determine how weeds, diseases, and production practices interact to influence pest pressure and beneficials.

What’s your favorite aspect of your research?

I love being around food, farming, and insects, so I couldn’t be happier than to be studying vegetable entomology in the southeast. And, thanks to the Charleston culinary scene, which supports lots of local farms, there are all kinds of crops being grown on farms of all shapes and sizes.

I enjoy studying polyphagous pests in multi-crop farms because it creates unique challenges but also lots of opportunities for new integrated pest management (IPM) tactics. For example, both spider mites and thrips will readily move amongst fields of strawberry, tomato, pepper, cucumber, watermelon, and so on, in both space and time. While this can create additional challenges for these farmers, it also creates lots of opportunities for cultural and biological control since these pests (and their natural enemies) vary in their preference for and performance on different hosts. Right now I am continuing some of my postdoc work with the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. We had great success using this predator to manage twospotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) in tomatoes, but I am investigating how to extend its efficacy and economics in multi-crop systems.

Prior to his current role, Tom Bilbo, Ph.D. (right), joined the lab of Jim Walgenbach, Ph.D. (left), at North Carolina State University as a postdoctoral researcher in 2019, where he focused on the implementation of biological control tactics for key vegetable insect pests in crops such as tomatoes, shown here.

What’s a recent research challenge you had to overcome, and how did you do it?

My research moved strongly to biological control thanks to Jim Walgenbach as my postdoc. I’ve learned how much more difficult it can be to use small plot trials to ask questions about predator and parasitoid biocontrol because they don’t respect the neat plots we establish, and they move between plots no matter the efforts to stop them! It can be difficult to conduct these trials and interpret them. Complementing small plot trials with research on the farm is one way to mitigate this. We’ve released a lot of predatory mites on and sampled from a lot of vegetable farms over the years, and those trials helped enrich our understanding of how to successfully implement biocontrol under real conditions, with the added benefit of having farmers see the successes first-hand.

Despite the limitations and challenges of on-farm research I love the approach. Talking to farmers and learning about their lives is invaluable in developing IPM strategies that will work and that can be used as a growing practice.

How has your life changed as a result of the transition from grad school, postdoc to assistant professor?

The best thing about grad school and a postdoc position, is that you can spend most of your time researching. The worst thing is that you are constantly stressed about finding a job. As I’m sure any assistant professor can testify to, a lot of time is spent on non-research activities and this can make time management difficult. But I enjoy the freedom I have to pursue pretty much all my research interests, so it’s a worthy tradeoff.

What advice would you give your graduate-student self if you could go back in history?

It’s easier said than done to tell someone to not be afraid of failure or to ask for help. Grad students often have to write, publish, and present. It took me a while to gain confidence and the ability to fail. But, I think you have to do the hard work. There is a great quote that I think about all the time that captures this: “To know and not to do is not yet to know.”

I think this is where good mentorship comes in. I was very fortunate to have a great Ph.D. advisor in Francis Reay Jones, Ph.D., as well as a co-advisor in Jeremy Greene. They made sure that I presented at every state, national, and regional meeting. This really helped me to become a better presenter and writer, and also helped me get my work published. I would recommend to my former self and to all grad students to not be afraid of putting themselves out there and to trust that the process will take place.

@lorelopez257. Email: [email protected].

All photos courtesy Tom Bilbo, Ph.D.

Related

0 Comments

0

0

0 Shares

Share 0

Tweet

Pin 0

Share