For most iNaturalist users, uploading pictures to iNaturalist offers an easy way to identify local wildlife without flipping through dozens of zoology textbooks.

But for Amisha Shankar ’26, uploading a seemingly ordinary photo of an insect onto the network uncovered something far more revealing: the presence of an invasive species of beetle, Pyrrhocoris apterus, or better known as the European Firebug, in the continental United States.

It all began with an assignment for Colleen O’Rourke’s biology class. For this project, students take photos of flora and fauna around the Bay Area, and upload them to iNaturalist to help biologists doing research on local wildlife. 

 Shankar first discovered the beetle’s presence in her neighborhood. As she described it,  “I was just walking my dog and took a picture of the insect for the project. I didn’t really think much about it at the time.”

But after posting her discovery on iNaturalist, Shankar was messaged by multiple scientists, including one from the California Academy of Sciences. 

Shankar then asked O’Rourke for advice regarding the situation, who told her to contact the United States Department of Agriculture to report her discovery.

According to O’Rourke, “In theory it could cause damage to local crops, especially those in the growing regions of coastal San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, or create dangerous competition with local insect species.”

As Shankar later reflected, “I was shocked to find out that such a dangerous insect had made its way [to] right outside my house.”

This discovery also brings light to the importance of contributions made by amateurs in science. In regards to Shankar’s discovery, O’Rourke said, “Unfortunately, the number of paid ecologists and etymologists in the state are limited, so they cannot be trolling across every patch of land and water in the state looking for invasive species.” 

She concluded, “Amisha just happened to be on a walk with her dog in her neighborhood and just happened to notice an interesting bug, but that one little moment of wonder could result in an absolutely invaluable moment for science.”