Can I Bug You?

One of nature's oldest wars is still being fought today after at least 50 million years: bats vs. moths. Nick Dowdy, head of zoology at the Milwaukee Public Museum, joins the podcast to explain how the moths fight.

For critters that move in the night, how DO they get where they want to go? Why are moths attracted to the proverbial flame? Listen in and learn.

If you're a child of the 80s, you might remember Glow Bugs as "your goodnight friend." These facsimiles of fireflies evoke memories of magical summer nights. Contrary to public opinion, fireflies aren't flies, and we do actually have them here in Southern California. We bust these misconceptions on this episode of Can I Bug You?

Many in the western world think insects are a compelling, much more environmentally friendly alternative to raising cows and pigs. And bugs are already a staple on the plates of millions of people in parts of Asia and Africa. So, in this episode we're serving up entomophagy, aka eating bugs.

Earlier this month, a curator for the American Museum of Natural History was arrested at Istanbul Airport with some 1,500 dead scorpions, spiders and tarantulas in his luggage. Did he commit a crime? If not, aside from the unusual sight of so many dead bugs in a suitcase, why did police suspect that he did? We're talking about that, and biopiracy, on today's episode.

Ectoparasites like lice, fleas, mites, and ticks live on the outside of their hosts, causing chaos that ranges from intense itching to additional disease. Special guest Amy Murillo, assistant professor of entomology at UCR, talks about her research into ectoparasites that infect poultry, how "fitbits for chickens" can help control them, and whether they can affect people, too.

Billions of buzzing, beady-eyed insects are emerging in many states after spending 13 or in some cases, 17 years underground. Do they pose any danger? And why might their "butts" fall off? Tune in for answers.

Part 2 of our discussion of the lesser-known and surprising things that pollinators carry around with them. Featuring special guest Quinn McFrederick, an entomologist at UCR who studies wild bees and the microbes that live alongside them.

Aah, springtime. Bees floating from flower to flower, eating nectar and taking pollen as they go. But there are other, stranger things that pollinators collect. This is part 1 of an episode featuring UCR entomologist Quinn McFrederick, where we discuss some of the little-known things that pollinators pack and take with them.

Co-hosts Jules Bernstein and Doug Yanega talk about what bugs people that study bugs: using common names for insects that create confusion.