Bugs Need Heroes

By BugsNeedHeroes

On each episode of Bugs Need Heroes, an ecologist and an illustrator team-up to create a new insect-inspired super hero. The finished characters are posted to our social media pages and at BugsNeedHe... more

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FAQs about Bugs Need Heroes:

How many episodes does Bugs Need Heroes have?

The podcast currently has 70 episodes available.

Bugs Need Heroes episodes:

January 08, 2025 Bug Hero: Christy Bills (MUSEUM COLLECTIONS)
We talk to Christy Bills of the Natural History Museum of Utah about invertebrate collections, fireflies, and legacies.

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bugsneedheroes.bsky.social
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with some assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
...more
1h 19min
December 24, 2024 Crypt Keeper and the Embalmer (BURYING BEETLES with THERE WILL BE BUGS)
This time we are joined by Ben Knowlton and Zillah Smith of There Will Be Bugs Podcast to talk about one of their favorite bugs, the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). These beetles have it all: battles, mites, and an endangered species listing. But most importantly they have each other. Tangents include tattoos, cats (always!), scale insects, coyotes, and what it's like not being an entomologist.

Check out Zillah's artwork on their instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zillahsmith/
Check out There Will Be Bugs on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/there_will_be_bugs/
Check out Zillah's website: https://www.zillahsmith.com/

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bugsneedheroes.bsky.social
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.
...more
1h 14min
December 09, 2024 Mousy the Hunter (GRASSHOPPER MOUSE)
Kelly and Producer Derek are back from the ESA conference in Pheonix and Kelly shares some stories. Technically this isn't a bug, but the evolutionary arms race between scorpions and their predators has created a truly terrific terror. Tangents include butterflies, the difference between venom and poison, Disney, and vikings.

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

Send us questions and suggestions! [email protected]
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/bugsneedheroes.bsky.social
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.
...more
59min
November 25, 2024 The Moo-derer (COW KILLER)
This is an episode we banked during the summer. Kelly and Amanda discuss velvet ants, which are not actually ants at all. And the Bee-Team lore expands ever onward! Tangents include Zendaya at the Met Gala, Ultraman, and anime villains.

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

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.
...more
1h 8min
November 11, 2024 Bug Heroes: Maria Sibylla Merian
Amanda tells us about the life and work of Dutch entomologist and painter Maria Sibylla Merian.

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.
...more
1h 25min
October 28, 2024 Cats Need Heroes
This time we are joined by our friend Dr Mike Glynn to talk about cats for our Halloween episode. Lots of stories of our dear pets both current and past. A few try to join the podcast!

You can watch the recording from our panel at Rose City Comic Con in 2024 here: https://youtu.be/Zkl70GcOkYU

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.
...more
1h 18min
October 14, 2024 My Neighbor Velvet Worm
We are back from hiatus and you can really tell with this episode. Kelly and Amanda get all the wiggles out with this very wiggly bug. This episode is more explicit than usual with a very unusual critter.

Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/my-neighbor-velvet-worm

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.
...more
1h 13min
August 19, 2024 Summer Diapause
We'll be back in the fall!
...more
1min
August 05, 2024 Gregarious Kevin (BROWN RECLUSE)
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
NPR article about it: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/16/515576450/is-that-a-brown-recluse-spider-bite-or-skin-cancer

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/
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.
...more
1h 31min
July 22, 2024 The Model Organism (HORNWORMS aka HAWKMOTHS)
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.
...more
1h 7min

FAQs about Bugs Need Heroes:

How many episodes does Bugs Need Heroes have?

The podcast currently has 70 episodes available.

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