Clinic director Karen Snover-Clift and diagnostician Sandra Jensen analyze samples.
Found an odd bug in your closet? Rhododendrons inexplicably wilting? Need a toenail analyzed? There's a lab for that. Cornell's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is home to several diagnostic centers that analyze scientific samples and those sent in by citizens. For $25, anyone can send their mystery bugs to Jason Dombroskie, director of the Insect Diagnostic Lab. Sometimes he can make an identification from a digital photo; others require a full-on dissection. Homeowners, farmers and pest control companies are common customers among Dombroskie's average of five insect identifications per week. In one case, Dombroskie's analysis of plaster beetles from a woman's closet led to identifying not only the insect, but a mold problem. In another, he's helping find the source of insects squished in plastics manufactured by a company in Norway.
TO READ THIS ARTICLE, CREATE YOUR ACCOUNT
And extend your reading, free of charge and with no commitment.
