Spotlight on Presenter: Dr. Theresa Dellinger

Theresa “Tree” Dellinger grew up in the Tidewater area of Virginia and has spent most of her life here except while attending the University of Tennessee for her Masters degree and during a brief sojourn in California. She has lived in the New River Valley since 1998. She is a diagnostician at the Insect Identification Lab at Virginia Tech where one of her foci is the Spotted Lanternfly (SLF). She worked briefly as the collections manager for the Virginia Tech Insect Collection but left so she could return to working as a diagnostician in the ID Lab.

As an undergrad, she had a dual major of English and biology. “I found my English major invaluable in my professional work as I have had a much easier time writing than many of my fellow scientists,” she noted. She also credits her college English professor for her skill at noting patterns. “She adored medieval literature and made us look for themes as we read Milton’s Paradise Lost. This developed some excellent skills that I use to this day,” Tree shared. 

When and how did you become interested in nature and the natural world? 
“I was the little kid who turned rocks over to watch the ants and other animals underneath them,” she remembered. “I loved to watch crawdads and minnows in a creek and see crabs and fish at low tide in the James and Poquoson Rivers.”  As a child she had many of books in the Golden Guide series and loved to read and re-read them to figure out how nature worked. “I learned about the life cycle of a frog in 3rd grade and distinctly remember telling myself that I wanted to be a scientist who studies things like that,” she recalled.  

In college Tree heard about biophilia, a term coined by Erich Fromm, a psychoanalyst, and later popularized by Edward O. Wilson, to describe his belief in humanity’s innate affinity for the natural world.   “Yes! That is exactly what I have!” she recalls thinking. “I just like being outside and observing the outdoors, even if I’m just watching the bats fly around our yard in the evening or taking a walk along the river at the city park.”  

Dr. Theresa "Tree" Dellinger at Seabrook Island, SC

Dogbane beetles (Chrysochus auratus), one of Tree’s favorite Virginia species Photo: Theresa Dellinger

​Describe what you do on your property to support a healthy ecosystem.
Tree and her family live on 3 acres in Montgomery County that were previously logged, then used as a cow pasture. They leave the remaining wooded area alone and typically mow the grass a minimum number of times during the summer. “We mostly mow to keep the tick population away from the house”, she explained. They try to minimize their use of chemicals. “I try to manage insect pests in my vegetable garden by hand-picking caterpillars and squash bugs, or timing my plantings to avoid the worst of the insect damage.” She rarely cleans up her flower garden until late spring, “when most of the overwintering invertebrates have woken up.” A pile of cut wood is home for bugs, birds, snakes and the occasional rabbit. 
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Her family has composted for years but recently got four pet Nigerian dwarf goats. “They have been getting much of my vegetable scraps as treats,” she said with a chuckle. The goats do their part by eating multiflora rose, autumn olive, and oriental bittersweet. “All of their soiled bedding now goes into the garden to enrich the soil.” Her family also has solar panels in the back yard.

Tree truly enjoys sharing experiences in nature with her 14-year old daughter. “We recently saw a pair of black snakes mating, which offered a wonderful chance to discuss what an ecosystem is and the importance of procreation by animals that are integral to the balance of nature.” 

What is the most amazing thing you have experienced in nature?
Tree had a marvelous list of amazing things she has seen in nature. Here are just a few:

• Thousands of Mexican free tail bats emerging at dusk from under the Congress Avenue bridge in Austin, Texas;
• Watching a lynx walk past her camp site in Denali National Park;
• Seeing a roadrunner choke down a long snake in Joshua Tree National Park, California; and 

• Fossilized wood and plant leaves at a coal bed exposed by very low tides on the Cook Inlet off Anchor Point, Alaska.

Spotted lanternfly, Frederick County, VA. Photo: Theresa Dellinger

Spotted lanternfly, Frederick County, VA. Photo: Theresa Dellinger

What is something you would like to share with ORMN members?
Tree shared something that is rooted in the concept of biophilia: “One thing I have learned over the years is that not everyone has the same need or desire to experience or learn about nature as deeply as others do.”  She has recognized that some folks are perfectly content to watch birds at a feeder or take a walk in a park. “My grandmother adored butterflies and flowering plants – but she only knew their common names,” Tree noted. She continued, “Some people simply appreciate the beauty of the natural world without understanding the workings of the ecosystem before them, and that’s perfectly fine.” She believes the more people who enjoy nature on any level, the greater the support there will be for protecting our natural resources.

With respect to the spotted lanternfly, “The more you know about this insect, the less fearful you will be,” Tree stated. “This isn’t like a Japanese horror film (remember Mothra?). These insects are actually fairly fragile. They do not bite, they don’t invade your home like stink bugs, they are not a major threat to landscape plants and, they are easy to recognize and control.” 

Interviewed by Charlene Uhl, March 2022