From Gingy Fly to Entomology

Aah, for the love of mangos… a nice big yellow one filled with juice that drips down your chin when you bite into it! Well, you might not be the only one enjoying it. The worm inside it, some of which you may have eaten, is also living and thriving on its nutrients. This worm, or maggot, comes from the fruit fly, what Jamaicans call gingy fly. This is where Dr. Pauline O. Lawrence’s curiosity comes in, where her career in entomology began.

Dr. Pauline O. Lawrence“After I graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) I went to work at the Ministry of Agriculture. Our job was to travel around the island and look at the distribution of infected fruits, how many crops were affected… We worked to find a way of controlling the insects because pesticides could not do it. So I got interested in biological control,” explained Dr. Lawrence in a conversation with Caribbean Today.

Currently Professor Emerita in Physiology and Biochemistry in the Department of Entomology and Nematology at the University of Florida (UF), Dr. Lawrence fulfilled her dream of studying the fruit fly, making major contributions to the field.

Tomatoes and Brown Sugar

Born and raised in Jamaica, her curiosity bubbled up as a child growing up on her parents’ farm in Buff Bay, Portland.

“I used to eat the tomatoes while they were still on the tree. I would bite off the little nipple that would ripen first and eat it with brown sugar. My father would ask, ‘what’s happening to the tomatoes, something is eating them.’ And I said to him, Papa, it must be some insects. But one day he caught me nibbling at one and he said, so this is the insect eating my tomatoes. So my punishment was to get a jar and collect all of the insects I could find,” said the Professor, laughing.

With her link to agriculture, and her Girls Guide training Lawrence had no problems completing her task which only served to heighten her interest in the sciences and the natural environment. She would go on to UWI Mona where she earned a BSc (Honours) in Zoology from the Natural Sciences Department. Her natural instinct and aptitude would lead her to the University of Florida in 1969 where she began graduate work at the main campus in Gainsville before moving on to Homestead.

Asked how she was received in the racially divided southern United States at that time, Lawrence noted: “When I came I really was not too familiar with the strict racial divide. I had a wonderful mentor, Dr. Samuel Apeji, a Nigeria who was very influential in my coming to Florida. He said to me, don’t leave the campus.”

Lawrence pointed out that she did not have any real problems, but it was very clear that the only black people around her at the university were janitors and maids. She was the only black person in agriculture. She added that the white people on campus were very polite and extremely impressed with her sophisticated level of English.

But, it was her focus, confidence, and love of the natural sciences that helped carve out a career in academia.

Parasitic Wasp

Under the guidance of her major professor Dr. Baranowski at the university site in Homestead, Lawrence dug deeper into the study of fruit flies looking at ways of controlling them with biological control agents. This agent turned out to be a parasitic/viral wasp.

Lawrence explained: “It’s a tiny wasp, like an ant. There is a little antennae coming from the end of it like a tail. It’s an egg depositor, we call it an ovipositor. It lays its eggs inside the body of the worm, the fruit fly larvae. The Wasp’s speciality is to find the larvae inside the fruit. So we were watching her as she touched the fruit with her antennae and located the larvae even though she couldn't see it.”

“She would push her ovipositor through the fruit like a fine needle, put it into the body of the larvae and lay her eggs. So her babies would feed on the tissues of that maggot. Instead of a fly coming out when the fruit falls to the ground you have a little wasp coming out. And those wasps would go and find more flies. So that's how biological control works.”

In that process, Lawrence discovered this brand new virus (the wasp) and how it works to kill fruit flies. As a result that wasp is being used all over the world for the control of fruit flies.

Giving Back

She earned her doctorate from UF in 1976, started as Assistant Professor earning full professorship in 1989. As student, faculty, and donor, Lawrence has given back to the university in so many ways. And now, demonstrating its gratitude, The University of Florida in Homestead is honouring Dr. Lawrence with a new dormitory building being named after her.

“I am grateful that the Board of Governors, the university president saw merit in doing this and were exceedingly supportive… I am humbled when I think of the slaves who bled and died, adding their tears, work, and sweat in this soil.” Lawrence said tearfully.

“But I am also hopeful because at the groundbreaking I saw many young people from all over the world, especially the young women, who said my work helped to reinforce their drive.”

It is because of this and the many who helped propel her that Dr. Lawrence is giving back. She and her husband, Dr. Carlton G. Davis, have established scholarships for deserving students in the natural sciences at the University of the West Indies, Mona. They also offer endowments to students at St. Jago high school in Spanish Town.

And, this Christmas she and her husband will celebrate the season just as she and her family did in Jamaica, being thankful for the opportunities and celebrating those who will follow.

“We are going to have a Caribbean Christmas. I’m going to decorate the house, have a few friends over. I usually sit at the piano and play some old hymns and Christmas songs, which we used to do when my parents were alive.”