Megan Gaulke, an MSU lab technician in the Southeastern Regional Screening Center, displays a sample of the nearly 18,000 yearly invasive species of insects she and other lab employees have gathered across 13 U.S. states. The SRSC, housed in MSU’s Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, and Plant Pathology, serves as the first line of defense against the rising threat these insects pose on the economic and agricultural systems of Mississippi. Funded by the USDA, SRSC partners include the USDA’s APHIS-PPQ program and universities in the 13 states.