News and Press

Insects inspire incredible career

by Latasha Ford

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Fort Valley State University alumnus Cleveland Ivey graduates from the University of Florida's Ph.D. program in entomology.

Cleveland Ivey’s first encounter with entomology came from a love for cicadas and their serenading cadence on the porch of his parents’ house in the small south Georgia town of Coolidge.

Initially afraid of anything that crawled, Ivey grew fascinated by these tiny creatures.

“It’s probably one of the earliest insects I was exposed to,” said the Fort Valley State University (FVSU) graduate.

His paternal grandmother, Delma Ivey, would come to the rescue and pick the exuviae off the pecan and pine trees for Ivey to admire in a jar.

Recalling his childhood, he chuckled and said, “One of the things my grandma used to call me growing up was motormouth. I have a tendency, unfortunately, to talk a bit loud. I also look at cicadas as loud. I love the way they look and the fact that they’re able to produce those sounds.”

Ivey’s captivation with insects grew as he joined the Wildcat pack. Already familiar with the historically Black university, he comes from a long line of family members who graduated from FVSU, including his parents, Steve and Stacey Ivey. His younger brother, James Ivey, is currently enrolled as an agricultural engineering technology major.

FVSU summer programs led by Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim and the late Jackie Whitehead sparked his interest in agriculture, but he never expected that entomology was a career option. A chance meeting with entomologist Dr. George Mbata in the hallway inspired Ivey to enroll in his biology course and join his laboratory.

“I call him my second father. It’s been a blessing. We still check in with each other,” Ivey said.

Experimenting in Mbata’s lab became a monumental experience for Ivey as his exposure to entomology expanded. Among those lessons was learning why the work in this field is important.

“I remember Dr. Mbata saying that the work we do is not for fame or status. It’s to be able to give back and help,” Ivey said.

Ivey works in the lab with his Fort Valley State University mentor, Dr. George Mbata.

Mbata acknowledged that Ivey’s undergraduate research on corn and the maize weevil was published in Biological Control, a highly rated entomology journal. He expressed that this is a great accomplishment for an undergraduate.

“Right from the first time I set my eyes on Dr. Cleveland Ivey, I knew he would become a great entomologist,” Mbata shared.

Ivey admitted he did not have any aspirations for a certain career while in high school. “I just knew I needed to get an education and a job. I fell in love with it (entomology),” he said.

While at FVSU, Ivey continued to flourish. He attended his first entomology conference in 2017 in Memphis, Tennessee, where he presented a poster on his research. This event was the bridge to furthering his education. He connected with a couple, Drs. Greg and Amanda Hodges, from the University of Florida (UF) and the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Plant Industry.

After graduating from FVSU in 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in plant science, he moved to Gainesville, Florida, to start graduate school at UF, working with Drs. Amanda Hodges, Norman Leppla and Joe Eger. He soon earned a master’s degree in entomology in 2020 and transitioned into UF’s Ph.D. program in entomology in 2021.

“Think about food security. Think about the way we view and make predictions. Insects are excellent bioindicators. They have laid claim to every facet of our lives. Give them a chance,” Ivey encouraged.

Looking back on his time at FVSU, he said he earned more than a degree — he gained a passport, coming from a small town with just one stoplight. He saw some resemblance to his FVSU community when he moved to Balm, Florida, where he began working at the UF-Gulf Coast Research and Education Center with Drs. Hugh Smith and Phil Hahn.

His research focused on Megalurothrips usitatus, commonly known as bean flower thrips. Ivey described them as minuscule insects that originated from the Asian tropics.

“They’re really fascinating. You can find them bunched up in flowers,” said the insect enthusiast.

He noted that these insects attack beans, which is a problem in Florida. The southern part of the Sunshine State accounts for the bulk of Florida’s snap bean production.

“A lot of the growers communicated that thrips were giving them issues,” Ivey said. “For my Ph.D., most of my work involved driving from Balm to Homestead at least once a month. Dr. Andy Jean-Louis, a Doctor of Plant Medicine student at the time, and I would sample different types of beans and bring them back to the lab. We let the growers know what species of thrips we were finding in the field.”

In addition, he said thrips are notorious for developing resistance to chemicals because they typically have shorter life cycles, thereby causing growers to lose money. Ivey said they tested various insecticides on different species to help farmers monitor and manage these insects.

After earning his doctorate, he became a postdoctoral research associate at UF. His experience included researching organic pesticides and continuing to work with small-scale alternative crop growers. Ivey then returned to his Georgia roots as a postdoctoral research entomologist and worked with Dr. David Shapiro-Ilan at the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Laboratory in Byron, Georgia. He first worked with Shapiro-Ilan as a student volunteer while studying at FVSU. Ivey’s time in Shapiro-Ilan’s lab increased his interest in biological control and a career with the USDA-ARS.

A huge fan of classic shows like In the Heat of the Night, Ivey values the opportunity to make a real impact by finding ways to help farmers and communities.

“I always think back to Coolidge and the folks who had such an impact on my life,” he said. His maternal grandmother, Edythe Harden, for example, periodically sends him agriculture- and insect-related newspaper clippings, which serve as encouragement.

“I also think about the folks at Fort Valley State University and in surrounding areas,” Ivey said. “They add to my motivation and drive to keep going.”

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• Categories:
• FVSU Agriculture College

• Tags:
• Alumni

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