Young scientists have put pen to paper, ideas to screen and given voices to their science stories in SAASTA’s Young Science Communicators Competition. The videos, articles, audio clips, graphics and poetry showed that there is no shortage of creativity and passion in these young scientists. The judges had an enjoyable but tough task in choosing the top entries.

The Young Science Communicators Competition specifically challenges young scientists and researchers between the ages of 18 and 35 to communicate their world to a larger audience beyond their scientific community. “We believe this competition aids in encouraging scientists to engage with and excite their communities about their science,” says Joanne Riley of SAASTA’s Science Communication Division. An important aspect of the competition is the feedback and encouragement given to the participants to assist them in developing skills and confidence in communicating their work.

The top entries were awarded as follows:

Article category: writing a popular article for a newspaper or magazine

First place: Ms Ingrid Minnaar with “The harlequin ladybird: The bad side of a cute beetle”
Second place: Ms Marike Louw with “Listen Up! Eavesdropping on Cape Peninsula Endemics”

Commended:
Ms Chinenye Jane Ani with “The fall of mathematics: A blessing or a curse?”
Ms Angela Kirykowicz with “Understanding Molecular Machines to fight TB”
Ms Carla Dodd with “Honey, please bee smart”

Audio category: creating audio clips for radio or online platforms

First place: Dr Victoria Joy Madden with “Pain by association”
Second place: Ms Kerryn Warren with “Long in the tooth”
Commended:
Ms Kerryn Warren with “The Robust Australopiths”
Special Mention for her isiXhosa Submission: Ms Zikhona Dlaza with “Inzululwazi ngobume bomtsalane kubudlelwane babantu abathanda nayo”

Video Category: creating videos for online platforms

First Place: Dr Sabeehah Vawda with “Why must ARVs be taken everyday”
Second place: Mr Zander Venter with “Our footprint from space”
Commended:
Ms Keelyn Van Breda with “Ben”

Open Category: incorporating all other effective forms of communication include drama, song, poetry, cartoons and more

First place: Ms Anisha Dayaram with “A statistical analysis of a scientist haplessly in love”
Second place: Mr Tlou Masehela with “As tiny as I am” Commended: Mr Darryl Arthur Herron with “Food Security”

Top entries are available to view on SAASTA’s website at http://www.saasta.ac.za/competitions/young-science-communicators-winners-2017/

Ingrid Minnaar, University of Stellenbosch PhD candidate at the Centre for Invasion Biology, won the article category of SAASTA’s Young Science Communicators Competition. Her submission The Harlequin Ladybird: the Bad Side of a Cute Beetle tells us a different and surprising story of the ladybird than that which usually springs to mind.


The Harlequin Ladybird: The Bad Side of a Cute Beetle

There are many hundreds of ladybirds in South Africa (some only a millimetre in size), but the ladybird you are most likely to come across in your garden is the harlequin ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, a globally invasive beetle native to Asia.

This ladybird was introduced to multiple locations across the world either intentionally as a biocontrol agent against pest aphids, or unintentionally by way of imported goods. This globetrotter has now spread into natural habitats on all continents except Australia and Antarctica with, as yet, no effective methods to curtail its colonisation. We do not yet know the exact pathway of introduction of this beetle into South Africa (although it was most likely from unintentional introductions), museum records show that it was present in the Cape Town area in 2001. It has since rapidly spread across most of the country, currently occurring in all nine provinces.

Many species that are introduced to new regions fail to establish and spread. So, what makes this ladybird such a ferocious invader? To start with, they are large and aggressive, giving them the edge during conflicts with other ladybirds, often eating their opponents in the process. They lay thousands of eggs over their lifetime, so they can quickly increase their population numbers. Their broad diet of fruit, pollen, nectar and other insects means they are hardly ever without sustenance, yet they are also able to go without food for long periods of time. They are good fliers, allowing them to quickly spread and cover large distances. They also have a strong immune system; they may even be carriers of a biological weapon of sorts: they seem to be unaffected by a parasite they carry that kills native ladybirds. Most importantly perhaps, they can adjust their traits in a very short time period depending on their environment. For example, they are able to increase the temperature they can tolerate if they are exposed to a warm environment for a short period of time.

Why should an insect no bigger than a Jellytot concern you? Well, whereas the damage a single harlequin ladybird can cause is quite substantial, they can wreak havoc when they form large groups. By cannibalising native ladybird eggs, larvae and pupae, the harlequin ladybird has become the leading cause of native ladybird decline in the UK. In North America and the UK, it damages soft fruit in orchards, and causes the loss of millions of dollars of wine in the US by releasing a bitter substance when agitated during harvest, tainting the wine in the process. During winter they form large aggregations, secreting the same bitter substance which stains buildings, furniture and clothes yellow. They have also been known to bite people and cause allergic reactions such as asthma.

We do not yet know what impact the harlequin ladybird is having in South Africa, but if North America and the UK are anything to go by, we should be keeping a close eye on it.

A citizen science initiative with the aim to educate the public about this species, gather distribution records and collect specimens across the country has been started by the CL.I.M.E lab at the Centre for Invasion Biology at Stellenbosch University (http://invasives.org.za/component/k2/item/1239-harlequin-ladybird-citizen-science-project-launched). These data will be used to determine pathways of introduction, dispersal rates between geographic regions, and test hypotheses of invasion history using molecular techniques, thereby greatly informing management policies. You can also upload your photos of this species, along with the date and location of your snapshot, to iSpot.