InsectView: Recent Episodes
Dante and Mia Centuori
The sibling pair of aspiring entomologists Dante and Mia Centuori take a closer look at the sometimes annoying, often entertaining, and always interesting creatures known as insects. Insect View will cover a host of insect related topics, from specific species to fascinating stories. Sit back, relax, and enjoy learning about insects from the comforts of your own home, where there are significantly less mosquitoes.
Ah the venerable Honeybee. Humanities history with this insect stretches back beyond the written word, even beyond podcasts. This incomprehensible timeframe has left people with a lot of time to figure out many different ways to keep, collect, and utilize honeybees. This is the focus of our first episode on honeybees, where we cover topics like early honey collection methods, the development of beekeeping, and the competing theories around the honeybees evolutionary origins.
Hear about the bedbug infestation terrifying the city of Paris, an interesting new way of detecting heavy metal contamination (hint, if you were planning on eating plant galls in industrial areas, don't), and why there's a journal of apiculture in the Wright Brothers exhibit at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museums.
Pierre Andre Latreille, a French entomologist who lived from 1762-1833, is probably best known for having his life saved by a beetle. However there's a lot more to his story, and he went on to make a number of sigificant contributions to the field of entomology ( all thanks to the beetle ). Learn all about this lesser known but important entomologist on this new episode of Insectview.
https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/pdf/10.1146/annurev.en.19.010174.000245
https://www.amusingplanet.com/2020/09/pierre-andre-latreille-entomologist-who.html
Get the scoop on why insects fly to light, the bugs at the American Musuem of Natural History's new wing, and what happened to the LAPD officer who was attacked by bees in this new news episode!
Sources
https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2023.04.11.536486v1
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/design/jessica-ware-insects-american-museum-natural-history.html?searchResultPosition=5
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/25/arts/design/gilder-center-natural-history-museum.htmlhttps://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/1-sent-to-hospital-after-hundreds-of-bees-swarm-encino-neighborhood/https://ktla.com/news/local-news/swarm-of-bees-closes-streets-in-encino-injuries-reported/https://ktla.com/news/local-news/lapd-volunteer-recovering-after-being-swarmed-by-bees-in-encino/https://www.foxla.com/news/lapd-volunteer-suffers-fractured-eye-socket-after-horrific-bee-attack-in-encinohttps://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-05-18/los-angeles-expenses-lapd-volunteer-stung-bees-attack-viral-videohttps://twitter.com/LAPDPIO/status/1659000653832933376 https://www.gofundme.com/f/volunteer-lapd-officer-attacked-by-bees
Meet Antarctica's largest native terrestrial animal, the Antarctic Midge, Belgica antarctica. Learn all about it's discovery during the voyage it was named after, it's interesting biology, and tiny genome in this new episode of Insectview!
New year same Insectview! Tune in to hear our recap of 2022, as well as some plans for the future.
If you life in north America, you're almost certainly familiar with the little orange and brown caterpillar called the wooly bear. If you're in the Eastern US you may have even gone to a wooly bear festival! However, the rest of its life cycle is less familiar to most people, a fact we hope to remedy! Tune in to hear about the wooly bear, its mythos, and the celebrations that have sprung up in it's honor!
Citations:
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/68/4/557/2645369
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/214/14/2416/918/How-do-tiger-moths-jam-bat-sonar
https://journals.biologists.com/jeb/article/214/7/1205/33560/The-sub-lethal-effects-of-repeated-freezing-in-the
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12770036/
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/banded-woollybear
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26281804/
http://www.minnesotaseasons.com/Insects/Isabella_tiger_moth.html
https://academic.oup.com/biolinnean/article/68/4/557/2645369
In this episode of insect news hear about a rediscovered rare army ant fossil, a newly discovered milk like substance ants consume, and a selection of insect news stories from the early 20th century.
Amber army ant:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221122221254.htm
Ant milk: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/11/221130114454.htm
In this episode of Insect News we look back on the story of bumble bees playing that was all over the news a few weeks ago. We also take a look at why you might be attracting more mosquito bites then other people, and how some researchers used a CT scanner... on a swarm of bees?
It may have been a slow couple weeks on the Insect News front, but there's always something going on in the world of insects! Hear about the entomological origins of daylight savings time, a fake spotted lanternfly, and a woman charged for assault by using... bees?
The Ignobel awards were handed out recently, and the biology prize was given to research on scorpions ( not an insect, but close enough for us)! We also take a look at the recent resurgence of plastic eating waxworms in the news, get the whole story on this episode of Insect News!
The first episode of a new experiment we're doing where the topic is insect news! This hopefully bi-weekly series will be a quick look at whatever has been happening in the world of insects. For this episode we cover monarch butterflies status on the red list, the ongoing advance of the spotted lanternfly, turning ants from pets to garden helpers, and mosquitos unstoppable smelling abilities.
You may not have heard of it, but you've definitely encountered this insect before. The Cochineal insect is used to make a striking red dye that can still be encountered in foods and makeup at your local grocery store. Learn all about it's biology and history on this episode of Insectview!
As far as moths go, this one is up there with the prettiest! Learn all about the luna moth's taste in plants as well as it's interesting defense mechanisms!
An insect everyone knows! The House Fly has been mildly irritating humanity since the dawn of time. Learn all about their life cycle, relation to public health, and why they're still afraid of Canadian children to this day.
Hear ye Hear ye! The tale of the trial of the century is about to be told, the wine growers of St. Julian vs... weevils? Wait what?
We're trying out a different format this episode by going over a piece of insect history! Tune in to learn about how medieval courts brought insects to trial!
Source
The Criminal Prosecution of Insects : Harry B. Weiss
Bombs away! Learn all about this adorable flies curious egg laying habitats as we finally discuss an actual fly!
Sources
- The evolutionary pattern of host use in the Bombyliidae (Diptera): a diverse family of parasitoid flies (Yeates et al.)
- https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/pollinator-of-the-month/bee_flies.shtml
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bombyliidae
Lets take a look back at the past year of Insectview, our plans for the future, and the candidates for the Bug of the Year!
Welcome to your one stop shop for learning all about the enigmatic aquatic predators known as Dobsonflies!
Citations
- Oviposition of the Dobsonfly (Corydalus cornutus, Megaloptera) on a Large River (Brian P. Mangan)
- Bionomics and Ecological Services of Megaloptera Larvae (Dobsonflies, Fishflies, Alderflies) (Sara Lariza Rivera-Gasperin et al.)
- Behavioral Observations on the Dobsonfly, Corydalus cornutus (Megaloptera: Corydalidae) with Photographic Evidence of the Use of the Elongate Mandibles in the Male. ( Thomas J. Simosen et al.)
-https://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/misc/eastern_dobsonfly.htm
Just like our episodes subject, Insectview has emerged once again! Hear all about this summer's sensation, Periodical Cicadas!
Sources
- https://www.cicadamania.com
- http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/highlights/periodicalCicada.html
- The Periodical Cicada ( C. L Marlatt )
You might need a microscope for this episode, as were taking a close look at the tiny insects known as FairyFlys!
Sources:
- (Poinar G, Huber JT) "A new genus of fossil Mymaridae (Hymenoptera) from Cretaceous amber and key to Cretaceous mymarid genera." - https://web.archive.org/web/20100618034755/http://www.biology.lsu.edu/webfac/jcronin/biograph/publications/Anagbio.PDF
- (Polilov, Alexey A) "Small is beautiful: features of the smallest insects and limits to miniaturization."
- (Sane, S.P. ) "Neurobiology and biomechanics of flight in miniature insects."
Ever wondered how Water Striders walked on water? All that and more will be answered on this episode of InsectView!
Sources
- The Gerridae or Water Striders of Oregon and Washington, Gary M. Stonedahl and John D. Lattin - Vibratory Signals Enhance Mate-Guarding in a Water Strider (Hemiptera: Gerridae), R. Stimson Wilcox, Joia Di Stefano
- The Sexual Intimidation Tactics of the Male Water Strider, David Doochin
Prepare to be amazed as we discuss the magic of Earwigs!
Sources-The European earwig, http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/creatures/veg/european_earwig.htm
- Earwig in the ear, Jerry R. Fischer
- Where do earwigs get their names?, https://www.creaturecontrol.net/blog/where-do-earwigs-get-their-name/
- Lend me your earwigs, May Berenbaum
- The European Earwig, S. E. Crumb
- Impact of processed earwigs and their faeces on the aroma and taste of 'Chasselas' and 'Pinot Noir' wines, Kehrli et al.
- Multifunctional weaponry: The chemical defenses of earwigs, Gasch et al.
- Defence mechanisms of arthropods. II. The chemical and mechanical weapons of an earwig, T. Eisner
Bumble into a new episode of InsectView that's all about, you guessed it, Bumble Bees!
Sources
- Bumble Bee Economics, by Bernd Heinrich
- Detection and Learning of Floral Electric Fields by Bumblebees, by D. Clarke, H. Whitney, G. Sutton, and D. Robert
- A Unique Method of Defense of Bremus (Bombus) fervidus Fabricus, by O. E. Plath
- Müllerian mimicry in bumble bees is a transient continuum, by B. Ezray, D. Wham, C. Hill, and H. Hines
Mia gets fired. Mia gets rehired. Dante fires himself. Oh, and we also talk about Katydids.
Warning! If you're a cicada, this episode is not for you, because we'll be discussing the eastern cicada killer!
Join us as we talk butterfly fights, Greek mythology, and black swallowtails on episode 3 of InsectView.
Hold on to your head and check your horoscope, because in this episode of Insectview we'll be discussing Mantises!
What's round, shaped like a bean, and ends up in public pools? No, it's not rabbit poop, it's June Beetles, the topic for today's episode.