Bugs Need Heroes

We'll be back in the fall!

This week we are joined once again by Kevin Wiener of All Bugs Go To Kevin. Kevin has a deep love for brown recluses and hopes to dispel some of the fear around this significant arachnid. Tangents include grief, voice notes, and cats. And a special life update from Kevin at the end of the episode.

Kevin's spider heartbeat video: https://youtu.be/BomIw3TjCRA

JAMA paper about the NOT RECLUSE mnemonic: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2603498

The millipede lab at Virginia Tech mentioned at the end of the episode where Kevin forgot Dr Paul Marek's name: https://millipedes.ento.vt.edu/

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

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Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

It's NATIONAL MOTH WEEK! We are celebrating by discussing a really hefty bug. A real chonker. There are over 1400 species of Sphingidae moths, and they start as juicy, mouthwatering caterpillars. It is a bug that Amanda has met and you may find in your garden on your tomatoes! We discuss some of their impressive adaptations as we create a character inspired by them. Tangents include ugly babies, summer fun, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. 

Learn how to attract moths and count them for science! https://nationalmothweek.org/mothing-101/

Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-model-organism

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

Amanda tries (and fails) to resist singing the hit single from 2009 by Owl City as we talk about the Lampyridae family of beetles. They have many names, all of them deceptive. They are not flies, they do not produce heat or lightning, and they are not worms, but they are very buggy. Tangents include the book/film adaptation Where'd You Go Bernadette, the Fey, and several other things that Producer Derek has forgotten because he had to cut so much (future bonus episode?)

Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/flonase-technicolor

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

It's a rambunctious episode as Just the Zoo of Us Podcast host Ellen Weatherford joins us to settle a debate: are shrimps bugs? Are mantis shrimps shrimps? We discuss how they may or may not be turning into crabs and what they might think of sunsets. Tangents include Godzilla, weddings, pet store stories, internet memes, Sailor Moon and anime translations.

Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-painbow

Also Mentioned in This Episode:

Ellen Weatherford's podcast Just the Zoo of Us

Episode 101 (Mantis Shrimp with Alice Chou) of Just the Zoo of Us 

Episode 19 (Quokka and Peacock Mantis Shrimp) of Just the Zoo of Us

Episode 226 (Cicadas with Nick VanAcker) of Just the Zoo of Us

Episode 91 (Periodical Cicadas and Portuguese Man of War) of Just the Zoo of Us

RadioLab "Colors" episode

The Oatmeal: "Why the Mantis Shrimp is My New Favorite Animal"

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Remain calm.

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

This week Kelly and Amanda talk about an extremely buggy bug. Is this best bug? Maybe! Tangents include why chess sucks, scrub jays, and spoilers for The Menu.

Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-dash

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Content Warning for the episode: discussion of adult topics, including sexual assault and BDSM.

This week Amanda and Kelly discuss a weird group of beetles and its unusual life history and its role in history as a supposed aphrodisiac. Although we mostly focus on the Oil Beetles (Meloe genus), we also talk about some other blister beetles including spanish fly (Lytta vesicatoria). Tangents include juicy spiders, the aristocracy, Strong Bad, and historical dress.

Kelly's Field Notes: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/marquis-de-beetle

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

While this moth itself isn't very impressive, it has had an interesting story coinciding with the industrial revolution and the theory of evolution. Kelly discusses genetics and industrial melanism. Amanda discusses dinosaurs and dancing. 

We recorded video for this episode and a portion of it is on youtube if you want to see pictures of the moths: https://youtu.be/c5pgfBdBCBk

Kelly's Field Notes: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/pepper-and-the-pollution-solution

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.