The Daily Entomologist

Wildcats vs. Fear

2012-01-15T09:24:00.001-08:00

Blake Newton, Extension Entomologist

I just learned on today's John Calipari show (yes, for those of you who don't live in Kentucky, our college basketball coach has his own television show!) that sophomore guard (and fan-favorite) Jarrod Polson is afraid of spiders. As an entomologist, I sometimes forget that lots of people are really terrified of insects and spiders. But I really shouldn't forget. After all, I was terribly afraid of insects and spiders when I was a kid (I wrote about it on this blog last year). When I became an entomologist, though, I quickly lost my fear of these creatures, and I think it was because I learned all about them. Fear is based on uncertainly, and learning SLAYS uncertainty. Not to mention, fear can fuel learning: the fear of insects made the creatures more interesting to me when I was studying them.

So here is my challenge to Jarrod Polson and all of the other Wildcats and non-wildcats who might be reading this. Identify something that you are afraid of and learn more about it. You may just find a new hobby, or even a career! And at the very least, you might diffuse some of your fears.

So I guess I should participate, too. I'm not sure which fear to pick, though. I used to be afraid of having kids (how do you take care of them? what if they get hurt? what if they become a criminal?), but now that "one's on the way" for me (a little girl!), I find that I'm not afraid anymore, just excited. I'm afraid of skydiving, but overcoming that fear isn't very practical. There aren't any animals or foods that I'm afraid of. So what is a fear that I can work on? I guess I need to think about this and report back!

Amazing Photos of Beetle Larvae

2012-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:00

I just found a wonderful photo archive on Flickr: amazing, hi-res diagnostic images of a wide variety of beetle larvae! These could be very useful for identification. The notations indicate that these are mostly Russian species, but most of them probably have similar cousins in North America. The gallery is maintained by "A. Zaitsev."

Take a look:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/25258027@N02/sets/72157604361795999/

Spider Silk

2012-01-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Here at UK Entomology, we get lots of questions about spider silk. Frankly, I don't know very much about the subject. Luckily, Dr. Cheryl Hayashi from UC Riverside does! In this CNN article, she explains some spider-silk basics:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/01/opinion/hayashi-spider-silk/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

An Aquatic Entomology Post

2011-12-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

Bad news for Ephemera danica, a victim of global climate change. Serious implications for everything else too.

Also, the larvae of dragonfly Leucorrhinia intacta demonstrate that stress can be really bad for you.

Look at this amazing insect!

2011-11-23T06:36:00.000-08:00

http://io9.com/5861630/fairy-wasps-shrink-to-the-size-of-amoeba-by-sacrificing-their-neurons

Halloween Spiders

2011-10-31T11:22:00.001-07:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

I've been seeing lots of spiders in Halloween yard decorations this year. More than ever it seems like! If you live in Kentucky, you can see a bunch of them all at once along Louisville's famed Hillcrest Avenue, whose residents go all out for the holiday (you can see a YouTube video of Haunted Hillcrest Highlights from 2009 here).

The problem with some of the Halloween spiders that I see, though, is that they don't always look very scary, even when they are supposed to. I think the key to making your Halloween spider scarier is to make it a little more realistic. A simple way to do this is to apply one of the most basic facts about spider anatomy to your decoration project: a spider's legs are on its head (cephalothorax) and not its abdomen.

To illustrate this, let's compare two cartoon spiders:

Spider 1

Spider 2

As you can see, both spiders are nearly identical, except that Spider 1 has its legs incorrectly attached to it abdomen, rather than its head, as in Spider 2, which shows a more anatomically correct configuration.

Obviously, both of these spiders are very simple, but to me Spider 2 looks not only more realistic, but also creepier, all because of the position of its legs. I think that this is related to the reason why we find spiders scary in the first place: the fact that their legs are attached to their heads instead of their "bodies" makes them appear very alien and bizarre to us.

So the next time that you are buying a spider decoration, or making your own, pay attention to the position of its legs. By attaching the legs to the head instead of the abdomen, you'll be taking 8 simple steps toward a more realistic, and scarier, Halloween decoration!

Beer bottle beetles.

2011-10-06T08:10:00.000-07:00

Very funny entomology news although it should be looked at seriously as well.

http://www.earthtimes.org/nature/beetles-keeping-it-bottled-up/1440/

UK At The Half

2011-09-16T09:52:00.000-07:00

A "UK At The Half" segment--read by "Touchdown Kentucky" Carl Nathe, aka the voice of UK Football--featuring the Entomology Department's 120th Anniversary is scheduled for broadcast during Saturday's UK vs UL game! Listen for our segment, and go Cats!

After the game, we'll post the audio segment on our website.

Visit Carl Nathe's official media hub here:
http://uknow.uky.edu/users/carl-nathe

Sept 8: 120 Year Celebration

2011-09-06T10:31:00.000-07:00

Join us this Thursday (Sept 8, 2011) from 6-9pm at the University of Kentucky Singletary Center for the Arts to celebrate the Department of Entomology's 120th Anniversary! The FREE event begins with a reception (refreshments included) from 6-7pm, where you can meet your entomologists and take a guided tour of our Art of Insect Illustration exhibit that is currently on display in the adjacent UK Art Museum. Also on hand will be historical artifacts and a live insect zoo.

Then at 7pm, Dr. Gary Miller (USDA) will present "Worms, Castles, & Boiled Shirts: Insects and the Civil War." Dr. Miller will be followed by UK's Urban Entomologist (and world termite authority) Dr. Mike Potter who will give "The History of Bed Bugs - with Lessons from the Past."

Read more about our 120th Anniversary here:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/120years.asp

And here is the press release for the Sept 8th event from UKNOW:
http://uknow.uky.edu/content/uk-entomology-celebrates-120-years-sept-8

2011 Kentucky State Fair: 4-H Entomology Winners

2011-08-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

The winners of the 2011 4-H St. Fair insect collection competition have been chosen, and they are currently on display at the Kentucky St. Fair in Cloverville. We had a lot of very nice collections this year, with 27 total entries. Congratulations to all of the winners, and to everyone who participated!

Here are the Class Champions for each project:
1st Year (Class 687): Cody Hart, Metcalfe County
2nd Year (Class 688): Gabe Stephenson, Grant County
3rd Year (Class 689): Leslie Pike, Larue County
4th Year (Class 690): Sandra Brock, Harrison County

And the overall Grand Champion for Entomology was also Leslie Pike from Larue County.

Learn more about making a 4-H Entomology Collection.

New Facebook Page: Kentucky Bugs

2011-08-22T10:46:00.001-07:00

Like us! Become our friend!

We've just created a new Facebook page called Kentucky Bugs. It is maintained by extension Professor Dr. Lee Townsend, and it is regularly updated with pictures of insects and other arthropods that are seasonally active. It's an easy way to learn about Kentucky insects, and it can keep you updated on those creatures that are out-and-about during different times of the year.

Visit Kentucky Bugs here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kentucky-Bugs/262237810453730

Kentucky Pollinator Park!

2011-07-12T11:23:00.000-07:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

I love it when a plan comes together! Last year, several agencies/entities/organizations (including the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, the Kentucky Horse Park, and my group, UK Extension) got together to improve a portion of the Cane Run watershed at the Kentucky Horse Park.

The Cane Run creek runs from Lexington to Georgetown, Ky, and supplies some of Georgetown's drinking water. In recent years, the Cane Run has become impaired. Pollution (everything from erosion to heat to livestock waste) has become common in the Cane Run, which runs through a variety of rural, urban, and industrial areas in Fayette and Scott counties.

One of the ways to mitigate negative impacts to a watershed is to encourage riparian buffer zones. The riparian zone is the area next to a river or stream. In natural Kentucky landscapes, a riparian zone is typically thick with trees and other plants. In heavily managed urban and agricultural areas, though, riparian zones are often mowed right up to the banks. This can create several problems. The loss of shade heats the water, which can kill aquatic insects. Who cares about aquatic insects? You do, because fish can't live without aquatic insects to eat. Also, when streamside vegetation isn't allowed to grow, there isn't an extensive root system in the riparian zone. Without a root system, you get erosion, which destroys property and adds sediment to streams.

In Spring 2011, the Friends of Cane Run installed a riparian buffer at a section of the Cane Run Creek at the Kentucky Horse Park. The buffer consists of a variety of native plants, and it solves lots of problems at once. For one thing, the new plantings are a beautiful addition to the Horse Park landscape; the native flowers truly thrive in the Kentucky sunshine. More importantly, by installing native plants, invasive weeds (like honeysuckle and winter creeper) are discouraged. The new installation also works to truly "buffer" negative impacts: its roots soak up pollutants (like excess nitrogen) and its foliage helps to block the heat of the sun. This helps to protect the delicate aquatic insects (a.k.a. fish food!) that live in the water.

But the buffer doesn't just benefit the aquatic insects! It's also a terrific habitat for pollinators. Native plants like coneflowers and bee balm provide lots of food for bees, butterflies, and other pollinators. Pictured below are some of the plants.

So now, the horse park is kind of like a pollinator park! Read more about the project (which was a part of last year's World Equestrain Games) here, and see a video of the project on YouTube.

You Can Create a Buffer Too!

Many of us live along streams and creeks, and installing a riparian buffer zone is a great way to help improve a local watershed. And there are several ways to do it. Gardeners might enjoy taking the native-plant approach, similar to what was accomplished at the horse park. But it doesn't have to be that much work. In fact, sometimes it doesn't have to be ANY WORK AT ALL! In some areas, you can create a riparian buffer simply by leaving the stream's edge unmowed, and by allowing native trees and shrubs to establish themselves in the riparian zone. You can read more about creating a riparian buffer here.

Read more about the Cane Run Watershed, and become a friend on Facebook!

Scorplings at the Explorium

2011-06-09T17:40:00.000-07:00

A baby scorpion is called a "scorpling." I just learned this today... because our mamma scorpion just gave birth to about a dozen of them! They will ride on her back for a few weeks until they can live on their own:

The proud mamma is one of ten emperor scorpions that are on display at our new Small World exhibit at the Lexington Explorium (AKA the Lexington Children's Museum). Small World--a partnership between UK Entomology and the Lexington Explorium--is a permanent entomology exhibit featuring several live arthropods, including scoprions, tarantulas, darkling beetles, aquatic insects, and lots of other cool things. It just opened in April, and we are very proud of it. The exhibit is open Tuesday-Sunday (and Mondays in the summer) and admission is included with a ticket to the Explorium. Even more fun: every Saturday is Small World Saturday, when representatives from UK Entomology will be on-hand from 10am-1pm to answer questions about the exhibit, and about entomology in general. And come early, because feedin' time on Saturday is 10am... if you're lucky, you might get to throw a cricket into the scorpion cage!

So come visit us this Saturday, June 11, from 10am-1pm, and don't forget to offer our mamma scorpion "congratulations" (and you'll need to say it twelve times... one for each scorpling). Click here for Explorium directions and ticket information.

Read more about our new Small World exhibit: http://goo.gl/GW0q9

Beetle vs. Frog

2011-05-20T11:38:00.000-07:00

It is always amazing to see an insect (or insect relative) successfully prey upon vertebrates or other creatures that are considered to be more-advanced, or higher on the food chain.

We already know that giant water bugs (Kentucky natives!) are able to catch and eat fish and frogs. And many people have probably seen videos of giant tropical centipedes preying upon mice and snakes. There are even reports of praying mantids capturing hummingbirds.

But today I learned that beetles will attack and eat frogs!

Most of the time, beetles do not eat frogs. Instead, they are usually frog-food. American toads, in particular, seem to love eating ground beetles. But scientists have recently discovered that a type of predatory ground beetle will--in captivity, anyway--attack and kill frogs. You can read about the study here. This study was based out of Israel and was conducted with ground beetles in the Epomis genus. I don't think that these beetles are found in the United States, but we do have some species of ground beetles in Kentucky that are similar in shape and size, such as the so-called Searchers in the Calosoma genus. I wonder if our beetles will eat frogs? Sounds like it's time for a death-match! Um, I mean, an experiment.

Cicadas in Western Kentucky

2011-05-13T11:05:00.000-07:00

Periodical cicadas are currently emerging in western Kentucky. This happens to be a 13-year brood: the cicadas that we witnessed in central Kentucky a few years ago were a 17-year brood. Read more about the current emergence at Dr. Lee Townsend's Brood XIX Watch. And you can read more about the differencees between annual cicadas and periodical cicadas at our Critter File: Cicadas.

I hope to get a chance to see the ones in western KY this year. I love the sight and sound of periodical cicadas, and I probably won't get to see them again in central Kentucky until 2025!

bugged by semantics

2011-05-11T20:05:00.000-07:00

Really good article about the usage of the word "bug" by entomologists

http://myrmecos.net/2011/05/11/whats-a-bug/

Really cool entomologist

2011-05-07T23:31:00.000-07:00

Harwood Lab Amblypygid

2011-04-28T05:50:00.000-07:00

A few posts ago, I mentioned the amblypygid that I spotted on an episode of Survivor. I forgot that one of our Entomology laboratories, the Harwood Lab, keeps it's very own pet amblypygid!

Kelton Welch, one of the lab members, manged to get a very good image of the creature as it fed on a cricket:

Close up:

Pretty fearsome looking, right? Actually, the creature is only about an inch long, and it is harmless to humans. It is possible to keep amblypygids as pets, but they require very specific conditions: high humidity, lots of crickets, and "vertical" hiding places (such as pieces of bark placed upright and stacked against each other). Here again is the link to the Wikipedia entry for these fascinating creatures.

Bugs-All-Day: April 16, 2011

2011-04-13T06:27:00.000-07:00

Join us at the Explorium of Lexington on Saturday, April 16th, 10am-2pm, for Bugs-All-Day. Members of the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology will be there with live bugs, games, and other fun stuff.

April 16th will also be the grand opening of Small World, a permanent exhibit that the Explorium has created in partnership with UK Entomology. Small World will feature a variety of live critters, including a Chaco Golden Knee tarantula, giant millipedes, aquatic insects, and a giant centipede.

Admission to Bugs-All-Day and Small World is included with the regular Explorium admission price. Read more about the Explorium, including directions and parking information, at their website.

Survivor: Redemption Island -- Arthropod Watch

2011-04-03T14:01:00.000-07:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I'm still a Survivor fan after all these years. On this blog, I occasionally mention some of the critters that I notice on the show. At the end of last week's episode, I saw an amblypygid crawling on a tree during one of the night-vision segments. Amblypygids, also known as tailless whip scorpions, have a very strange appearance. To me, they look like the facehuggers from Alien. And some of them can get pretty big. They are basically harmless to people, though.

Amblypygids don't live in Kentucky, but they are found in some of the sub-tropical parts of the United States, like Florida. You can read more about these fascinating critters on this Wikipedia entry.

Bugs of Spring

2011-03-21T07:27:00.000-07:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

It's official: today is the first full day of spring! In Kentucky, that means mild, humid weather. And that also means bugs. This is bad news for some people, but for entomologists, it's a time for joy. It's also a good time for educators. Kids and teachers are typically trapped inside most of the school year, but spring is a time when some classrooms have an opportunity to get outside. And one of the easiest ways for a K-12 science class to take advantage of the outdoors is to study and observe insects. Insects are present in every kind of outdoor habitat, and they start appearing on mild days in early spring.

Recently, Scott Darst, (4-H Agent, Madison County Kentucky) called us and said that he was planning to take some kids outside this spring, and he wanted to know what kinds of insects you can expect to see on the earliest spring days. Here are some of them:

Butterflies. Some butterfly species overwinter as fully-grown adults (or spend the winter as pupa) and are ready to take advantage of wildflower-nectar on the first mild spring days. Some of the ones that I see in early spring in Kentucky are Commas, Question Marks, and some of the so-called Sulphurs and Whites. Yesterday, I saw one of the Whites (probably a Cabbage Butterfly).

Bees. Like butterflies, bees are pollinators, so they are ready for spring wildflowers, too. Honey Bees and several other types of bees are commonly seen on early spring days. Yesterday, I saw a large Carpenter Bee visiting daffodils in my yard.

Flies. Several types of flies are common in early spring. House Flies and their kin become active on mild winter days and early spring days to take advantage of carrion and other decaying materials that begin to thaw as winter comes to an end. Crane flies breed in cool wet areas, so spring is a time for them to thrive.

Spiders. While spiders are probably most-commonly noticed in late summer and early fall in Kentucky, there are several types that are active as soon as mild temperatures return in the spring. Furrow Spiders are one of the few types of orb-weavers that overwinter as adults, and they can be seen making webs in spring. I have also already seen a Bold Jumping Spider this spring. These large jumping spiders are also able to live through the winter as adults.

Others. Although the critters mentioned above are among the most noticeable early-spring insects, there are many more that you might encounter, too. Ants are already moving in Kentucky, and so are some of the wasp species. I have also seen a Boxelder Bug. Also, aquatic insects (like mayfly and stonefly naiads and caddisfly larvae) thrive in cool water, so spring is a great time to find them if you are willing to get a little bit wet!

So get out there and hunt for some bugs. If it's a sunny day and the temperature is above 50°F, I guarantee that you will find some, and it's also pretty likely that--even though bugs are involved--you'll have a better time than you would sitting inside!

Go Spiders!

2011-03-13T11:15:00.000-07:00

The Richmond Spiders men's basketball team is currently playing in their conference championship game. They did well last year, too. I'll continue to cheer for them until they have to play UK!

The Spiders have a lame mascot:

But a very cool logo:

Zombie Fungi

2011-03-06T14:35:00.001-08:00

Here's a link to a cool story, including a video, of fungi that parasitize insects and turn them into "zombies."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/02/zombie-creating-fungi-cordyceps_n_830558.html

Although these fungi don't actually reanimate dead insects, they do have the ability to influence the behavior of their hosts. A fungi-infected ant, for instance, will engage in behaviors that will make it more likely to spread the fungus to other members of its colony. Imagine if--when you were sick with the flu--you had an uncontrollable urge to walk up to people and sneeze on them!

Although the specific fungi mentioned in the article are newly-discovered, this phenomenon has been known in insects for a long time. In addition to fungi, some viral diseases are also able to affect similar zombie-style behavior in their insect hosts. Luckily, none of these diseases are able to infect humans!

Mazda Spyder

2011-03-03T10:27:00.000-08:00

Mazda is having problems with spiders. As it turns out, the "evaporative canister vent line" in their Mazda 6 sedan is a perfect habitat for Yellow Sac Spiders. These spiders like to take up residence in tiny, tube-like spaces, so this isn't too surprising.

Here is the story from CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2011/03/03/autos/mazda6_spider_recall/index.htm?hpt=T2

Yellow Sac Spiders, by the way, are very common in the U.S. They are often found in homes, and are sometimes mistaken for Brown Recluse Spiders because they have a similar shape. Read more about Yellow Sac Spiders.

UPDATE: A journalist from L.A. just called us to ask some questions about this story. I told him that I'm not really an expert on Yellow Sac Spiders, but I gave him the best info that I could. Can't wait to see if my name shows up in a report!

ANOTHER UPDATE: Quoted in USA Today. Cool!
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/03/experts-say-spiders-infesting-mazda-sedans-are-very-common/1

Invasive Beetle Intercepted at KY Airport

2011-02-28T06:18:00.000-08:00

According to WLEX News, U.S. Customs and Border Protection discovered a potentially destructive exotic beetle in unclaimed baggage at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport last week.

The insect was the Khapra beetle. The beetle is believed to have originated in Asia, and it is an important pest of stored grains. The critter has actually been found in the U.S. a few times before, but it's spread has been stopped each time. It looks like they successfully stopped it this time, too.

You can read the report here:
http://www.lex18.com/news/khapra-beetle-found-in-luggage

And here is a more detailed version of the story from The Cypress Times:
http://www.thecypresstimes.com/article/News/National_News/CINCINNATI_CBP_INTERCEPTS_DESTRUCTIVE_STOWAWAY_BEETLE_IN_FOOD/41122

And you can read more about the beetle in this USDA-APHIS Response Guidelines factsheet:
http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/plants/manuals/emergency/downloads/nprg-khapra.pdf

Bed Bug Video

2011-02-16T17:34:00.000-08:00

New video on CNN showcasing bed-bug sniffing dogs:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/world/2011/02/16/durgahee.uk.bed.bugs.cnn?hpt=C2

These dogs are somewhat controversial. Apparently, they can sometimes give a "false positive." But there is no doubt that they are a useful tool against bed bugs. And there is also no doubt that they are cute!

The Myth Slayer

2011-02-15T06:26:00.000-08:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

In the news today: the guitarist for heavy-metal band Slayer (a band that became famous in the 1980s for--among other things--pioneering a style of incredibly fast double-bass drumming) has been diagnosed with a form of flesh-eating disease. In news reports (like this one from the Toronto Sun), it has been speculated that the disease was caused by a spider bite.

While it is possible that the wound was caused by a spider bite, it was probably caused by something else. Over the last twenty-years or so, spiders like the brown recluse have gotten a nasty reputation, and they are often blamed for causing necrotic (that is: flesh-eating) wounds. While some studies have shown that these spiders ARE capable of causing such wounds, other, more recent studies show that these spiders probably do not bite people very often, and that necrotic wounds are usually caused by bacterial infections.

You can read more about the myths and misconceptions about the brown recluse and other spiders at Rick Vetter's website at the University of California-Riverside:
http://spiders.ucr.edu/necrotic.html

I'm going to call Rick the Spider-Myth Slayer. He has been working with brown recluses and other spiders for many years, and he has gathered voluminous evidence (from experiments, surveys, and literature searches) which suggests that brown recluses and other spiders probably don't cause many necrotic wounds. One of the most compelling pieces of evidence: while the brown recluse lives only in the central part of the U.S., brown-recluse bites are diagnosed by physicians all over the U.S.

When I preach about this subject, people often think that I am sticking up for brown recluse spiders. I'm a spider-hugger, right? This is only partially true. Sure--as an entomologist, I like spiders, and I feel bad when they are needlessly killed. But spiders are not the primary causality of the brown-recluse myth. The truth is: within their range, brown recluses can be VERY common. There is no way that people could wipe them out, even if they wanted to. No, I worry about these myths because they can cause people to become very afraid of spiders. They become so scared that they are uncomfortable inside their own homes. I think this is very unfortunate. I'm around these spiders all day, and there are few things that I find less frightening. They are not aggressive, they don't like to be around people, and most scientific evidence indicates that they don't cause many bites, even when they live (sometimes, by the hundreds!) inside homes. I was staying in someone's home in Oklahoma recently. Oklahoma is in the heart of brown-recluse territory. The brown recluses were so common in the home that you could see them on the walls at night (see picture below, taken with my phone camera at about 10pm). It didn't bother me in the slightest. No one in the house has even been bitten by a spider, by the way.

It is important to add that, while I'm not scared of brown recluse spiders, I am cautious around them. When I feed the ones in our lab, I make sure that I never touch them, and that they cannot escape. So if you see them around, keep your distance. And if you have a bunch of them in your home (unlikely in most parts of Kentucky), you may consider contacting a pest-control professional. But what you should not do is become frightened. These spiders are very unlikely to cause a problem.

Back to Jeff Hanneman, the guitarist for Slayer. Whatever caused his illness, I hope that he has a speedy recovery. I also hope that when he recovers, he does not become fearful of brown recluses and other spiders. Fear can kill happiness, but it can't stop wounds, whether they're caused by spider bites, bacterial infections, or head-bangin'!

Read more about Brown Recluse Spiders in our online factsheet.

Bed Bug Assurance

2011-02-13T19:24:00.000-08:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

I just saw a commercial for a national hotel chain. In the commercial, a person was getting ready for bed, but she decided not to climb into the hotel bed because she was worried that the bed was dirty. So she changed into a yellow hazmat-style suit and then prepared to tuck herself in. The commercial went on to say that in Our Brand (I can't remember which brand!) of hotels, the bed linens are always freshly cleaned for each customer. The commercial did not mention bed bugs, but that was the first thing that came to my mind. I wonder if they were trying to imply that their beds were less likely to have bed bugs than other hotels? Probably not--I think I am reading too much into it.

But I wonder if hotels will ever begin to promote some kind of a bed-bug-free guarantee? I can't find anything like this on the net, and I can't predict whether this will happen in the future or not. On the one hand, it might be a good idea: if you can convince customers that YOUR hotel is bed bug free, and that other hotels are infested, you might get some customers. On the other hand, hotels probably don't want people to think about bed bugs AT ALL. We'll see.

In the meantime, you can take a look at the Bed Bug Registry. This is an online resource that purports to track bed bug infestations in hotels across the U.S. and Canada. It is based on user-submitted data. Please note: I do not know much about this site, and I cannot validate the accuracy of the info presented there. In fairness, though, the site doesn't guarantee accuracy either. Here is a statement from their FAQ:

How can you be sure these reports are true?
We can't - this is the Internet! All our bedbug reports are submitted through the site, and have not been vetted for accuracy. We do our best to flag posts that have been disputed, but we remind our readers to take things with a grain of salt.

Some reports are posted by malicious tenants. Some are posted by evil competitors. Some are posted by hypochondriacs.

So, if you use that site, be aware that just because a hotel appears on the list, that doesn't mean that it EVER had bed bugs. Also, a hotel may have treated the infestation since being flagged on the site. And, of course, just because a hotel isn't on the list, that does not mean that it is bed bug free.

Read more about Bed Bugs in our online factsheet.

Beetle For The People

2011-02-07T11:28:00.001-08:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

In last night's Volkswagen commercial from the SuperBowl, I spied:
-a dragonfly
-bess beetles
-a centipede
-mantids
-ants

Anything else? Also, does anyone have any idea what type of beetle the "main character" was supposed to be?

How to Become Afraid

2011-01-31T18:18:00.000-08:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

When I was a kid, I was frightened of insects and spiders. Especially spiders. Once, when I was about ten, I was riding in a truck with my grandfather when I noticed that a bright green spider was crawling on my arm. Freak out! I literally began to squeal. High-pitched, cyclic, little-baby squealing. My grandfather was very irritated, but to his credit (and unlike me), he kept his cool. He simply flicked it off of my arm and said "relax kid, it's just a spider." Explicative deleted.

It's no secret that lots of people are scared of spiders. Snakes, too. But where does the fear come from? Is it genetic? Perhaps our ancestors survived because they were afraid of these creatures--some of which really are dangerous--and they passed the fear on down the line. Or, maybe the fear is learned. After all, not all of us are afraid of spiders and snakes.

A new scientific study suggests that fear is learned, rather than inherited. In the study, babies spent more time paying attention to images of ANYTHING (be it snake, spider, or elephant) if a "fearful voice" was playing at the same time. This suggests that people are not born scared, but that they are quickly able to learn (from adults, for instance) which things are dangerous in their environment.

Here is a summery of the study from U.S. News: http://www.usnews.com/science/articles/2011/01/26/people-arent-born-afraid-of-spiders-and-snakes-fear-is-quickly-learned-during-infancy

So, if fear is learned... can it be unlearned?

I was once terrified of insects and spiders. But I'm not anymore. So what happened? Did I forget to be afraid? No. In fact, fear is what propelled me into this career. I didn't unlearn anything. Instead, I learned. And learned and learned. One of the things that I learned: what is dangerous in the insect/spider world, and what is not.

As it turns out, the vast majority of insects and spiders are harmless. And the ones that are potentially dangerous (at least in our part of the world), are pretty easy to recognize, even for non-entomologists: bees, wasps, hornets, black widow spiders, mosquitoes, ticks... and that's about it. Just a handful of species--out of more than 1 million species of insects and spiders in the world, and ten-thousand in Kentucky alone--are capable of sending a person to the hospital, and most of those are easily avoided.

This is not to say that insects can't be dangerous. Stinging bees/wasps and disease-carrying mosquitoes and ticks kill millions of people per year. But most people aren't scared of those. Not in that "get it away from me!" kind of way. When I was a kid, the last thing I was scared of was a tick or a mosquito. And even though I knew that bees could sting, I wasn't really scared of them. Not in the way that I was scared of that little green spider. Or, for no reason that I can explain, mayfly nymphs.

These days, I know that the little green spider was probably the Magnolia Green Jumper (Lyssomanes viridis). I know that it's harmless because all spiders in Kentucky other than the black widow and the brown recluse are harmless.

Once of the things that struck me when I was reading about that psychological study: it said that the babies paid more attention to the "fearful" things. This meant that they found the scary things interesting. I think this is why I became an entomologist. Instead of avoiding my fear, I followed it. I tracked it. With a bright flashlight. As my knowledge grew, the light got even brighter. Eventually, I chased my fear into a corner. It's still there, but it's small and weak. So I didn't lose it. And I didn't unlearn it. But the thing is, I was afraid of just two things: insects and spiders. But now there over 1 million things (and ten-thousand in Kentucky!) that I'm not afraid of.

Insects as Food

2011-01-12T10:44:00.000-08:00

It would seem the school board in New Boston, Ohio is upset about boll weevil-contaminated noodles being served as lunch to local students. But perhaps they should read this article.

Those weren't just boll weevils.

They were also an environmentally friendly protein supplement!

Herald Leader: Hemlock Woolly Adelgid

2010-12-12T14:07:00.001-08:00

There is a nice article by Andy Mead in today's (Sunday, Dec. 12, 2010) Lexington Herald Leader about current efforts by the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology, the Kentucky Division of Forestry, the U.S. Forest Service, and other entities to control the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an insect that has the potential to kill every hemlock tree in the state. In particular, the article focuses on the protection of individual hemlock trees in high-priority areas.

Read the article online here:
http://www.kentucky.com/2010/12/12/1563592_p2/ky-hemlocks-threatened-by-pest.html

And read more about the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid at our reference page:
http://pest.ca.uky.edu/EXT/HWA/welcome.html

The Society of Kentucky Lepidopterists

2010-11-23T11:51:00.001-08:00

Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Last weekend, the Society of Kentucky Lepidopterists hosted their annual meeting here on the University of Kentucky campus. Although I am not a member (and I am definitely not a lepidopterist!) I had a chance to visit a part of their meeting. It was very cool!

A lepidopterist is someone who spends time collecting, studying, or observing insects in the scientific order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. The Society of Kentucky Lepidopterists has been around since 1974 when Dr. Charles Covell (moth expert and Professor Emeritus of Biology at the University of Louisville) founded the organization to "provide communication among those interested in any aspect of lepidopterology, and to foster research on the Lepidoptera fauna of Kentucky." The group has been going strong ever since.

Last weekend, the group met at the University of Kentucky's insect museum. The museum is home to thousands of pinned insect specimens (not just butterflies). Unfortunately, though, it is currently not open to the public. There are a few reasons why it's not open. For one thing, it is currently housed in a very small space: There were about ten lepidopterists in the museum last week, and there was not enough room for all of them to sit, and they had to take turns moving up and down the main corridor because it was so small. Another reason: the insects in the museum are still being organized and sorted! A few years ago, Dr. Covell donated a big part of the University of Louisville's moth and butterfly collection to our museum. We're talking about thousands of specimens, all of which need to be resorted into our collection.

Since the museum is not open, I had never seen it before. It was amazing. The insects are stored in boxes that are about the size of a completed jigsaw puzzle. Those boxes are then kept in a special type of cabinet system called a "compactor." (You may have seen compactors before in libraries: they collapse on themselves and are used to increase storage space). I was able to take a look at several boxes of insects, many of which were from the 1800s. I hope to see more of the collection in the future.

I was also amazed by some of the boxes of insects that the individual lepidopertists brought with them. The meeting is a time when members can bring specimens to show to one another. The purpose of this is to get help with identification... and just to show off! I was certainly impressed.

I was also impressed to see that a coleopterist was in attendance at the meeting. A coleopterist is someone who specializes in beetles (order Coleoptera). For some reason, coleopterists and lepidopterists don't always get along. In this case, though, the coleopterist has found an advantage to hanging out with the lepidopterists. He explained it to me like this: when someone hunts for beetles, they almost always find butterflies and moths. And vice-versa. So the coleopterist gives the lepidoptersits all of the moths and butterflies that he catches, and in turn he gets all of the beetles that the lepidopterists don't want. It seems that the coleopterist's scheme is starting to backfire, though. Thanks to his influence, several of the lepidopterists are now becoming interested in tiger beetles, so they aren't giving the coleopterist all of their specimens anymore!

And even though founder Covell has since moved to Florida, he still participates in the society. He actually presented at last-weekend's meeting.

The society is always looking for new members. So if you are interested in butterflies and moths and if you live nearby (you don't have to live in Kentucky, though--several of the current memebers are from nearby states), take a look at their webpage and think about becoming a member.

New Squash Bug Video

2010-11-10T07:09:00.000-08:00

Agents from the Christian and Muhlenberg County Cooperative Extension offices have worked together to produce a terrific new video about squash bugs. The new video is very nice because it shows all of the squash bug life stages (egg, nymph, and adult) and it also shows examples of damage caused by the bug.

As any gardener knows, squash bugs are very common pests in the summer vegetable patch. They attack a variety of cucurbit crops, and they cause damage by removing sap and by transmitting Yellow Vine Decline.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFMDcGDQOTY

And you can read more about squash bugs and their control on our online factsheet, ENT-314: Squash vine borer and squash bug.

America's Scariest Job?

2010-10-25T11:26:00.000-07:00

Apparently Forensic Entomologists have the scariest jobs in the U.S., according to this article. Scarier than working on a bomb squad or cleaning up crime scenes? I always knew that entomologists were very brave people!

Buggin' Out at Muhlenberg South

2010-10-25T11:21:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Just a few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to help with a very cool event in Muhlenberg County. It was called Bugging Out, and it happened during the school day at Muhlenberg South Worksheet School. The goals of the event were to reinforce 4th grade science content and to introduce 4-H Entomology projects.

The event was organized by Judy McGehee. She's a part of the 4-H staff in the Muhlenberg Co. Extension Office. Her vision was to give kids an entire day of entomology. This is very rare: a typical student will see only a few minutes of entomology instruction during an entire elementary-school career!

The day started with classroom instruction, where students learned the basics of insect collecting (which is what the 4-H Entomology project is all about) and some fun stuff about the insect world. Then the students got to spend time collecting insects in the fields next to the school. Our hope is that some of these kids will go on to make 4-H Entomology collections and enter them in the County and State Fairs: one of the students from last year's Bugging Out event won the county contest and placed at the St. Fair.

Our thanks go out to the 4th-grade teachers at Muhlenberg South. They were willing to rearrange their entire schedule to accommodate our ento-activities. Also, prior to the event, the teachers used classroom time to teach their kids some of the entomology basics. They weren't just donating their time, though: one of the things that Judy was able to show the teachers is that insects can be used to teach several different KERA science concepts, including: structure and function, classification, and ecosystems.

We also had a surprise guest at the event. Ryan, one of the contributors to this blog, came to work with the students. He is a high-school senior from Muhlenberg County, and we first met him at our week-long Entomology Leadership Program last June. When he heard about the Bugging Out event, he received permission from his high-school to spend the second half of the day with us.

Jeff Franklin and Katie Pratt from UK's College of Ag Communications Service were also on-hand to cover the event. There is a written article here, and you can see a video on the College of Ag's YouTube Channel here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YOVOCYW5tA

2010-10-23T16:06:00.000-07:00

I found this video on a blog called "BugGirl". In it you will learn to make a wax worm taco.

New TV show

2010-10-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

Tuesday at 9PM "bugging out" on the science channel! About a man who cares for a plethora of insects and arachnids.

Howard Stern vs. Bed Bugs

2010-10-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Last week, it was announced that Howard Stern had become a victim of the bed bug epidemic that is sweeping through New York City. Signs of bed bug infestation were detected in his Sirius Radio studio and also in the limo that he uses to get to and from work everyday.

So, Howard Stern Has Bed Bugs! That, at least, was the headline. Actually, here are some of the real headlines: "Stern Gets Bed Bugs" (New York Post); "Bedbugs Bite Howard Stern...Watch Those Private Parts!" (E! Online); "Howard Stern's NYC Office and Limousine Infested with Bed Bugs" (TheCelebrityCafe.com).

But... is that what really happened? Did Howard Stern really get bed bugs? I'm not so sure. Let's take a quick look at all of the evidence!

The infestation was originally detected on the 37th floor of the building where Sirius is located: Sirius operates out of the 36th floor. From what I understand, Howard (who, like lots of New Yorkers, has bed bugs on the brain these days) decided to have his studio checked for bed bugs proactively, perhaps because he has heard that bed bugs can easily spread through buildings. To do this, he brought in one or more bed bug-sniffing dogs. The dog(s) registered a "positive" sniff in the studio (specifically, I believe on the couch where the guests sit). There was also a positive reading in Howard's limo. Following these readings, the studio was treated for bed bugs over the weekend of Sept. 25. The limo was supposed to be treated the following week, but the last I heard the treatment was pending.

This story has some problems. Most importantly, bed-bug sniffing dogs can deliver "false-positives." This means that it is possible for a trained dog to indicate that bed bugs are present when they are not. In fact, no one seems to be quite sure how often they give false positives. I don't want to knock bed bug dogs: they will be an essential tool in our new war against bed bugs. But it is usually a good idea to follow a dog-based inspection with an inspection by a human pest-control professional.

I don't know if Howard and Sirius relied only on bed bug dogs. Perhaps they had a follow-up inspection to confirm the presence of bed bugs. But here is something else that is known about Howard Stern: he is a self-described victim of obsessive-compulsive behavior. (some OCD evidence: the protective anti-bed bug suit that Howard was wearing last week).

And here's something that Howard's listeners know: possibly due to his self-described obsessive and phobic nature, Howard has been bringing bed bug dogs to his home(s) and he's been doing this for a while--before any of the current headlines broke. I DON'T believe that he was doing this because he really thought that he had bed bugs. Instead, I think (this is pure speculation!) that it was because he'd been hearing a lot about bed bugs in the news and he wanted to make sure that he didn't have them. I'm not sure how often he brought the dogs to his home, or when he started doing it, but he mentioned it several times on the air well before the recent headlines broke. Sounds to me like Howard's brain was just waiting for those dogs to give a false positive!

So, did Stern have his studio and his limo treated for bed bugs, even though a positive reading from a dog was his only evidence? I don't know. But I think that the statement "Howard Stern Gets Bed Bugs" may be an uncertain one. "Howard Stern Treats Studio for Bed Bugs," yes. "Howard Stern Freaks Out About Bed Bugs," probably. But that's all we know right now.

Bed bugs really are a growing threat, and they are showing up in lots of places. There is a very good chance that Stern's studio and limo really did have bed bugs. But I'm starting to wonder if the fear of bed bugs is causing almost as many problems as the creatures themselves!

2010-10-04T07:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a fun website some of the best insect photos I have seen http://insectlove.tumblr.com/page/1

Cockroach nerve tissue

2010-09-20T07:50:00.000-07:00

Cockroaches live in some of the dirtiest places on earth and are exposed to some nasty bacteria like E.coli. However, they rarely succumb to said bacteria. And as it turns out cockroach (and some locusts) have nerve cells, which while harmless to humans, kill almost 100% of E.coli and the antibiotic resistant staph. The researchers were surprised to find out the blood, muscle and fat cells don't seem to affect the bacteria, which is very puzzling. The scientists became interested in this very strange attribute when it was noticed that solders returning from the Middle East had strange infections yet the insects that inhabited the area were seemingly immune. Cockroaches and other pest insects like locusts have been pests to humans for hundreds of thousands of years but now they may be a great asset to us in our struggle with those other things that have always been with us... deadly bacteria

Source http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/63286/title/Cockroach_brains,_coming_to_a_pharmacy_near_you

Monarch Butterfly Event

2010-09-17T14:47:00.000-07:00

Sept 25, 2010 | 10am-2pm | UK Arboretum, Lexington, KY | FREE!

On Saturday, Sept 25, 2010, the University of Kentucky Department of entomology will be at the UKLFCUG Arboretum to find and tag Monarch butterflies. At this free event, kids and their parents will get a chance to meet real entomologists and learn all about Monarch butterflies. More importantly, they can help tag butterflies--this is a chance to get involved in real science. Scientists tag Monarchs (it's harmless to the butterflies, by the way) so that they can monitor their migratory patterns. Monarch butterflies fly each year from Mexico to the United States and back. Because some of their overwintering sites in Mexico are disappearing, scientists are interesting in leaning everything they can about how these insects travel and what is happening to their populations.

For directions to the arboretum, visit thier website:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/arboretum/

And read more about the national effort to study Monarch butterflies:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/

Dr. Mike Potter to Appear on NPR's Fresh Air

2010-09-08T05:39:00.000-07:00

Sept 8, 2010

Dr. Mike Potter from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology is scheduled to appear on this evening's episode of NPR's Fresh Air. Dr. Potter is recognized as one of the world experts on bed bugs and other urban pests.

UPDATE:
The Fresh Air interview is now available here as an audio clip and in transcript form:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129701363

Nine Inch Millipede

2010-09-02T07:23:00.001-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Although I was a big fan of modern rock in the 1980s and 1990s, I never fell in love with Nine Inch Nails. Whenever I listened to NIИ I usually wanted to say, "yes, yes, Trent, your suburban life sounds very tormented and stuff, but please get to a catchy distorted riff, and you might want to consult Ministry if you need some help with that." I must say, though, that I really dig "Head Like a Hole," especially the chord change in the middle of the chorus. I wish all NIИ sounded like that!

So after I bought and was disappointed by Pretty Hate Machine (I think I sold it so that I could buy a Skinny Puppy album for some properly scary industrial sludge) in 1990, I gave up on NIИ. Which means that I never got around to seeing the sleeve for their "Closer" single (1994) until just a couple of minutes ago. (By the way, if you are not familiar with "Closer," it is absolutely Rated R and NSFW, so beware before you go hunting for it!)

I'm not an expert on millipede identification, but I think that this might be Narceus americanus, sometimes called the North American Millipede. This is the largest millipede that lives in Kentucky, and as far as I know it is the largest millipede in North America. The ones that I have seen haven't been *quite* nine inches long, but I've seen them in the 4-5 inch range. There are also anecdotal/unconfirmed accounts of much larger specimens in the 12 inch range--maybe someone will find a footprint and make a plaster cast of it!

Of course, there are lots of other millipedes in the world, and the millipede that appears on "Closer" could be a foreign species (a good candidate would be one of the large African species that are often kept as pets in the U.S.) that I am not familiar with, or perhaps a close-up of a smaller species from North America. Maybe if the photographer is reading this, they could share with us where they took the picture? More likely: is there a Myriapodologist reading this who can confirm the I.D. of this critter?

Read more about the North American Millipede and its relatives in the KY Critter Files: Millipedes.

Fake Hornet Nest

2010-08-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Do you love hornets' nests, but hate the hornets? Or: do you love paper lanterns, but wish they were less-illuminated? A product has been developed just for you!

I just saw it on the Home & Garden Network this morning: it's a fake hornet nest that you can hang from a tree in your yard. It is supposed to repel hornets. The guy on the segment said that hornets are very territorial and won't build a nest within so-many meters of an existing nest. I don't know if this is true or not, but in an advertisement that I found for the product I read that "research has demonstrated that wasps are territorial and avoid other nests." Well, it certainly looks a lot like a hornet nest. It also must be made of the same kind of stuff (paper), because the guy on H&G said that you can't leave the fake nest in the rain or else it will disintegrate! On the other hand, real hornets' nests don't disintegrate in the rain (how do hornets make their paper water-proof?).

I'm not sure if there is just one brand of Fake Hornet Nest, or several, but here is an online ad that I found for one (it's sold out!).

Well, does anyone have any experience with these things? Do they work? Has anyone seen any research?

Tobacco Hornworm Locomotion

2010-07-28T18:53:00.000-07:00

There was an interesting article in the New York Times on Tobacco Hornworm Locomotion. Here is the link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/27/science/27obslither.html?_r=1&ref=science

2010 Raven Run Night Insect Walk

2010-07-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

The 2010 Raven Run Night Insect Walk is coming up this week: 8:30pm, Friday, July 30. This is a free family event, hosted by the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology and the Raven Run Nature Sanctuary. Bring a flashlight and join us for a trek into the woods. We'll see all kinds of cool insects and spiders. And before the hikes begin we'll have free activities including an insect petting zoo, temporary tattoos, cockroach races, and other fun stuff.

Here are the details:
Annual Night Insect Walk
Friday, July 30, 2010 | 8:30pm - 10:30pm
Raven Run Nature Sanctuary
5888 Jacks Creek Road, Lexington, KY

Here is a recent news article about the event:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/news/?c=n&d=641

And here is the official webpage for the event:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/news/ravenrunwalk.asp

We hope to see you there!

Icebox Cave Beetle

2010-07-21T17:40:00.000-07:00

by Devin Kreitman, High School Student and 2010 KFELP Alumnus

Today, I found a beetle native to Kentucky that the government is considering putting on the endangered species list. The beetle is called the Icebox Cave Beetle. Here is a link to where I found the information:

http://ecos.fws.gov/speciesProfile/profile/speciesProfile.action?spcode=I0JD

Fun with scorpions

2010-07-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

I purchased a scorpion after getting a Chilean Rose Hair Tarantula (Grammostola Rosa), because I realized that having only one arachnid just wasn't enough. After recieving my scorpion, I began to construct a terrarium with the scorpion's specific requirements in mind.Emperor Scorpions are rarely seen because they tend to hide under whatever they can, leaving their hiding place only to hunt. However, a few weeks ago I began to see the scorpion alot more often because it had constructed a burrow, with two of the sides of the burrow being the walls of the terrarium. This was very exciting, but couldn't compare to the excitement I felt the morning when I noticed that my Emperor was covered in what looked like white foam, which on further inspection, turned out to be none other than a little over a dozen baby scorpions (or “scorplings”).
I know a little bit about this large species of scorpions (pandinus imperator), and specifically, that the babies cling to the mother, who feeds them. From birth, they change from a ghostly white to the deep black of their parents. When they grow to adulthood I will have to break them up in to groups of two and keep them separated, or else risk cannibalism. Emperors have a 9 month gestation period (or 7 to 12 months depending upon temperature and humidity), which is a fact I find very interesting.For an aspiring entomologist such as myself, this is a great opportunity and I look forward to watching these amazing arthropods grow and flourish from tiny scorplings to adult scorpions.

New Things Discovered!

2010-07-15T18:23:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I am the kind of person who pathologically clicks on CNN.com several times a day. I'm not sure what I expect to find there; all I get is reiterations of horrible news. My CNN fix: a habit that I would like to break. Except when they post one of their semi-monthly slideshows of newly discovered critters! I love these!

Usually, no matter where on earth these discoveries occur, there are some arthropods involved. This makes sense, since there are more kinds of arthropods on earth than all other organisms combined. And this time is no exception.

The geographic area: the deep ocean below the Great Barrier Reef in Australia.

Here's the slideshow:
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/07/15/scientists-discover-bizarre-deep-sea-creatures/?hpt=C2

There are several marine arthropods on the list, including some isopods and amphipods. My favorite is a very unusual isopod that has a typical pillbug-type body, but is also equipped with long spider-like legs. Isopods, by the way, also live in Kentucky: the familiar roly-polies that live around homes are examples of isopods. We also have amphipods in Kentucky: they are sometimes called "scuds" and they live in freshwater streams and ponds.

Thanks for the good news, CNN.com!

Lepidoptera Rap

2010-07-14T10:38:00.000-07:00

by Megan Parker, Laurel County Water Pioneer

Float like a butterfly, don't sting like a bee
the lep-i-DOP-ter-A is easy to see

Butterflies, moths, caterpillars too
there's all kinds of colors, they could even be blue

Plants love caterpillars and moths galore,
make sure to listen up, and we'll rap some more

Coiled sucking mouthparts, scales on their wing,
they flyin' all around as me and Joe sing.

Thread-like antennae, knobbed at the end,
this rap is dope, we're sure to win

The Annotated Lepidoptera Rap: This rap was written by Megan for a contest that occurred during Water Pioneers. During the contest, each team was assigned one of three insect orders: Coleoptera (beetles), Hymenoptera (wasps, ants, bees), or Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths). Each of three teams was responsible for capturing three members of their order. They also had to become experts on their order and prepare and deliver a brief presentation to the other students. For their presentation, the kids could use almost any means of communication, including drawings, sculptures, skits, posters, and, of course, hip-hop. So this was another opportunity for Megan to write some lyrics for her MCs.

This rap does a good job of reminding the audience about some of the key Lepidoptera characteristics. Such as this key line: "coiled sucking mouthparts, scales on their wings." These are two of the most important features that distinguish butterflies and moths from other insects. And "they can even be blue" is a reference to a whole group butterflies commonly known as "blues" (one of them is pictured on the logo for this blog in the upper right-hand corner).

This activity is a good way to introduce students to the concept of scientific orders, by the way.

Oh, and Megan's group won the contest!

Why "Bug Brain" isn't an insult...

2010-07-13T10:59:00.000-07:00

Insects are capable of some amazing behaviors, despite their tiny, tiny brains. Some researchers even argue that these behaviors and the success of insects in general are possible because of their tiny brains. A friend of mine sent me this interesting article about Dr. Jeremy Niven, a neuroscientist at Cambridge University who uses locusts to study the connections between the brain and behavior.

Cicada Killers are Flying

2010-07-09T06:11:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

In Kentucky, annual cicadas are currently singing. For me, cicada-song is the sound of heat, humidity, and summer and I love it. Annual cicadas also mean the return of one of Kentucky's most amazing insects, the Cicada Killer Wasp. I just saw two of them this week. We are bound to see more of them as July progresses.

With a body length of about 1.5", the cicada killer is one of the largest wasps that live in Kentucky. They are easily confused with one of our other large wasps, the European Hornet. Cicada Killers do not live in colonies, though, like hornets do. Cicada Killers are solitary and they are much less likely to sting humans than a hornet. Generally, colony-dwelling bees and wasps (like honey bees, bumble bees, paper wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets) are much more likely to sting humans than solitary wasps and bees. So if you see these huge cicada killer wasps flying around in your yard, don't worry about them: they will only sting if provoked.

Cicada killer wasps don't actually kill cicadas: their larvae do. A female cicada killer will catch and sting an adult cicada (paralyzing it, but typically not killing it) and return it to her underground burrow. Their, she will lay an egg on the paralyzed cicada. The larva hatches from the egg and then devours the cicada.

I suppose it is ironic, but cicada killer wasps tend to miss-out on the mass periodical cicada emergences that occur in the United States. Periodical cicadas emerge every few years, and they tend to emerge in huge numbers. But they emerge early in the summer, before cicada killer wasps are flying. Because of this, at least in Kentucky, cicada killers specialize on annual cicadas--these are the slightly larger cicada species that emerge every year, typically later in the summer.

Read more about cicada killers and their relatives in our Critter Files section, Narrow-Waisted Solitary Wasps. And: Cicadas.

Architecture of Insect Wings

2010-07-01T07:54:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

As I mentioned in a previous blog post (Arts & Sciences), I love it when entomology and the plastic arts collide!

Beverly Pearce let us know about a project that she is working on which takes a close (and artistic) look at the amazing intricacy of insect wings. In particular, she is interested in dragonfly wings. Dragonflies have incredibly complicated wing-venation, so there is a LOT to look at. Vein patterns in insect wings are also important for insect identification, as you can see in our Critter Files entry about Green-Eyed Skimmers (which are a type of dragonfly).

You can take a look at Beverly's project here:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1821350237/architecture-of-wings

2010-06-24T09:14:00.000-07:00

This is a video of a crab moulting if you have ever eaten a "soft shell crab" its just one that is post moult.

Dissolved Oxygen Rap

2010-06-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

by Megan Parker, Laurel County Water Pioneer

Dissolved oxygen's what we're talkin' about
we're testin' the water before it comes out the spout

Tap the cap to make sure there's no bubbles
'cause if there is you could be in big troubles!

Next add the drops of Manganous sulfate
but you better be careful, 'cause you only need eight

Add in the drops of Alkaline Potassium
it's gotta be clean before you can get some

Add in sulfuric acid and take a look,
you won't see this in a science book

You better watch out if the water is cloudy,
you might get sick--not feelin' so rowdy!

The Annotated Dissolved Oxygen Rap:
Megan wrote these lyrics to describe the process of testing a stream for its dissolved oxygen content. It's a demanding test, and the rap contains some helpful hints! The 2nd stanza (tap the cap to make sure there's no bubbles, 'cause if there is you could be in big troubles), for instance, contains one of the most important reminders: when you take the water sample, the bottle must be totally free of air bubbles, or else the test will be compromised.

By the way, there is a very important relationship between dissolved oxygen and entomology. Aquatic insects (like immature mayflies, stoneflies, and dragonflies) require lots of dissolved oxygen to breathe. The dissolved oxygen content frequently drops to lethal levels in wild streams, especially when trees are removed from streamside areas: trees provide shade which reduce water temperatures, and dissolved oxygen leaves the water at higher temps.

Kudos, again, to Megan, the queen of water-investigation hip-hop!

Wetland Rap

2010-06-18T06:33:00.000-07:00

by Megan Parker, Laurel County Water Pioneer

We all smell bad, we're covered in ticks
in case you couldn't guess, we're straight-up hicks

It's a hundred degrees, with the sun beatin' down,
You may have a heat stroke and fall to the ground

We testin' the water and playin' in dirt
you better be careful or you might get hurt

Identifying trees, we're good--that's no joke,
Pine, dogwood, even red and white oak

We lookin' for beetles, salamanders, and bugs,
we wearin' our waders, we rollin' like thugs

You get stuck in the mud, so you might get wet,
but with this scholarship our futures are set

This rap was written by Megan Parker from Laurel County, one of the Robinson Scholars that I am working with this week at the Water Pioneers program. The scholars are learning about water quality, insects, forestry, and other fun stuff. At this very moment (9:38am at the Kentucky Leadership Center in Jabez, KY), they are getting ready to present their community action plans!!

Watch for MORE water-quality raps written by Megan.

State butterfly

2010-06-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

the Viceroy Butterfly (Limenitis archippus) – it’s Kentucky’s state butterfly. But what do you really know about it? I could not find out any particular reason it is the state butterfly other than it is rather common here. However, this isn’t the extent of its range; it can be found all the way from Canada to Mexico. I think that Viceroys are best known not for being Kentucky’s state butterfly but rather for being “not Monarchs”. These butterflies are very hard to tell apart from the Monarch. They are distinguished from the Monarch by their smaller size and by the black stripe on their bottom wings that the Monarch lacks. They mimic Monarchs because of the fact that Monarchs are poisonous (due to their consumption of Milkweed). It is interesting to note that they mimic other butterflies as well, such as the Queen and the Soldier, depending on the location. The deception doesn’t stop there. As soon as these insects hatch they deceive predators, not by mimicking a beautiful but toxic butterfly, but rather a revolting drop of bird poop which is obviously unappetizing to potential predators. The larva feed on Willow trees as well as other related trees. In conclusion, whether you are an insect collector or just an observer, next time you see a Viceroy butterfly (which you may learn to distinguish from the Monarch) don’t just think of it as a “not Monarch” but as a fascinating and elegant yet stealthy and deceptive unique species of its own.

Fireflies

2010-06-16T18:51:00.000-07:00

Tonight, as my wife was coming home from doing laundry at about 9:00, she saw all the fireflies out and got excited. They don't get the big summertime swarms of fireflies in Utah (where she grew up), so it's still new to her. I grew up with them, and I'd spent many summer evenings in my childhood chasing them around the yard: I still have a hard time imagining growing up without fireflies.

We decided to get our two-year-old up to see them (he hadn't yet fallen asleep, anyway). I got out my net and a jar, and Lyn got out the camera. Lyn showed him all the fireflies, and I put some in a jar to let him see them up close.

Then, he said he wanted to go back inside and go to bed. My two-year-old would rather go to bed than see the fireflies.

(Sigh)

Caterpillar Article from the New York Times

2010-06-15T04:21:00.000-07:00

by Devin Kreitman, High School Student and 2010 KFELP Alumnus

Here is an interesting article from today's New York Times on Caterpillars disguising themselves as predators to scare away potential predators.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/15/science/15crea.html?scp=1&sq=Insects%20that%20cant%20beat%20them&st=cse

Millipedes deserve better

2010-06-13T15:57:00.001-07:00

Millipedes! They’re a very cool and often neglected class of arthropod. People often think of them in the same way they do about their fast-moving aggressive cousin the centipede who, although interesting, does not hold the same place in the heart of this writer. I have found that for some reason people are quick to say they are “creeped-out” or disgusted by these creatures without really getting to know one. Millipedes are slow moving decomposers or herbivores, not like the fast carnivorous centipede. Millipedes don’t bite. Their only defense is to curl up in a ball and excrete a foul liquid. But that is not to say they can’t be handled if you are gentle. Millipedes make wonderful pets because they are fun to watch and easy to keep healthy. Another interesting fact about our friendly diplopods is that they are very old. In fact, the oldest fossil of an animal with organs specifically for breathing on land is a millipede. In conclusion, next time you find yourself confronted with a millipede reserve your judgment for after you become properly acquainted with it.

immortal jellyfish

2010-06-10T16:25:00.000-07:00

by Ryan Finegan, High School Student and 2010 KFELP Alumnus

You may find it odd that my first post on this blog dedicated primarily to insects is about something that is most decidedly NOT an insect. However, I think anyone reading about biology will find the immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis nutricula) extremely interesting. Their common name is no hyperbole – they are the only example that this writer knows of true biological immortality. The jellyfish starts life as a “polyp” kind of a larva that lives on the ocean floor and develops. It then transforms into an adult jellyfish. This is completely normal in many species of jellyfish but after this one reproduces, it goes back to it’s polyp stage via “transdifferation”. This is when a non-stem cell turns into a different type of cell. This process could go on indefinitely if not for predation and other factors. One could speculate as to why exactly these animals perform this amazing biological feat. I don’t know that answer this one can only ponder it.

here is some more info http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turritopsis_nutricula

Infestation of Grasshoppers in Wyoming

2010-06-10T10:50:00.000-07:00

by Devin Kreitman, High School Student and 2010 KFELP Alumnus

Here is an article from today's New York Times on grasshopper infestation. Here is the link: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/10/us/10grasshopper.html?ref=us

Research Paper on the Northern Mole Cricket

2010-06-08T18:04:00.000-07:00

by Devin Kreitman, High School Student and 2010 KFELP Alumnus

The Neocurtilla hexadactyla, also known as the Mole Cricket in English, is an insect that is a nocturnal herbivore, native to the Eastern part of North America. This insect is a member of the order Orthoptera. The Northern Mole Cricket is also my favorite insect because of their ability to cross most terrains. They have a life expectancy of two years except in central Florida where they live for only one year.

You may ask, how do I know what a Northern Mole Cricket looks like, so I can observe it in natural habitat? Well, they have short wings and their average size is 19 to 33mm. Their front legs are enlarged, shovel-like, and modified for digging. They are capable of flying for up to five miles during mating season, and can run quickly, yet they are poor jumpers. They can also swim if they land in a body of water. The nymphs resemble the adults but are smaller and do not have fully developed wings. The Northern Mole Cricket is completely harmless to humans.

Their habitat is usually wet, sandy, or muddy soil near streams, ponds, or agricultural fields. To mate, the male calls from its burrow. Then after mating, the female lays eggs in a chamber at the end of the burrow. The female guards the nymphs until the nymph’s forth-molting stage. The nymphs acquire food by feeding on the nutritious roots of plants. In Iowa, they are considered beneficial for the soil, since their tunnels loosen the soil to improve the drainage and aeration of the soil. Their predators include birds, assassin bugs, ground beetles, tiger beetles, and wolf spiders.

The Neocurtilla hexadactyla, or Northern Mole Cricket is a very mobile creature because it can swim, jump, run, fly, or dig across any terrain. They also have an interesting call that is like a cicada’s but weaker and less loud. In my opinion, the Neocurtilla hexadactyla, or Northern Mole Cricket is a wonderful insect.

Sources: bugguide.net/node/view/8789/bgimage, www.orkin.com/other/crickets/mole-cricket, www.ent.iastate.edu › Insect Diagnostic Laboratory, www.museum.state.il.us/muslink/prairie/htmls/popups/ins...

Back from KFELP

2010-06-05T10:43:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I have now returned from the Kentucky Forestry and Entomology Leadership Program (KFELP). It was an intense week, and we got a lot accomplished. All of the entomologists completed their insect collections with specimens to spare. I was also happy to see that one of the program attendees learned about the program via this blog. I am planning to add him as an author for this blog as soon as I get his email address. I think one of the other campers is interested as well. Hey Ryan and Devin: send your email address to me at blaken@uky.edu and I will add you to the list.

We have a similar week-long camp coming up in one week. Maybe I will meet some more potential bloggers there!

Entomology Leadership Program

2010-05-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I'm leaving today for a a week in Jabez, Kentucky. There, I work with Doug McLaren from UK's Forestry Department to present the Kentucky Forest and Entomology Leadership Program (KFELP). This is an intense, week-long, overnight, residential program that immerses students in the world of natural-resource management. We will be working with about 30 high-school kids, and about 1/4 of them have signed up to be "entomology specialists" for the week. The entomologists will learn how to observe, study, collect, and preserve insects that are important in the forest ecosystem. They will also see how entomologists and foresters depend upon one another to solve problems. This is one of the best weeks of the year for me, because it is one of the few times that I get to work with students for an extended period of time. Also, we spend almost the whole week outdoors in the woods!

Learn more about the entomology component of KFELP.

Ornithopter what? Artificial butterfly flight!

2010-05-20T11:02:00.001-07:00

by Andy Boring, UK Entomology Graduate Student

This is a pretty neat news article that came my way and I thought I would share it. A quick summary is that a group of researchers have made a robotic swallowtail butterfly that flies. The link has a video of the "Ornithopter" in flight and a brief description of what this is all about.

http://www.iop.org/News/news_41310.html

Enjoy!

First HD Video: Native Kentucky Scorpion

2010-05-06T07:17:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I recently figured out that I can upload high definition videos to YouTube, so I just added our first one. It's a short clip of Kentucky's only native scorpion, Vejovis (a.k.a. Vaejovis) carolinianus . The nice thing about HD is that it fills the YouTube viewing frame better than standard-def.

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/UKEntomology#p/a/u/0/VOC4jF61TDo

These are cool little scorpions. They are found in wooded areas in southern Kentucky, and they sometimes wander into cabins. They have a very mild sting, so they are not considered dangerous. You can read more about them in our Kentucky Critter Files: Kentucky Scorpions.

Edible Invasives

2010-04-29T06:05:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

If you read this blog, you know that we in the Entomology Department at U.K. are concerned about exotic and invasive organisms. Lots of other people are, too. Michael Russell, Scotland's Environmental Minister, believes that "the invasion of non-native species now constitutes the biggest threat to our native biodiversity after climate change." At a recent seminar here in our department Dr. David Wagner (University of Connecticut) showed that invasive species are the second biggest threat to insect diversity after development.

So, we know that invasives are a problem. But what can we do? There are lots of government programs and volunteer efforts that are working to eradicate these organisms, but most take a military approach: they try to spray, cut, infect, and generally shock-and-awe these organisms to death. But what about a more subtle approach? How about... a culinary approach?

I've been reading more and more about efforts to put invasive species on the menu. It's a perfect solution: if invasive species are eating our stuff, let's eat them instead. It doesn't work in all cases (don't try to eat an invasive thistle!), but here are some examples that I've seen recently:

-kudzu. Kudzu is a nasty invasive weed that has been taking over the southern U.S. You can make jelly from it.
-garlic mustard can be used in pesto
-Japanese knotweed is another pest in our area. It has a number of uses.
-an invasive Ray species in the Northeast has shown up on sushi menus. I saw this on a CNN video a few weeks ago, but I can't find it again. Can anyone send me this link? UPDATE: Here is the CNN video. This is a related story in text form. "Eat a Ray and Save the Bay."

And here are some invasive edibles that we've been consuming for years:

-honey bees. Okay, we don't eat the bees, but we eat their secretions (honey). Many people don't realize that honey bees are not native to the U.S. And although they provide a lot of benefits, they also cause problems: they out-compete native bees and their stings send lots of people to the hospital
-pork. Domestic pigs probably originated in Asia. These days, they are delicious right here in the U.S. They cause lots of problems when they become feral, though, so they "count" as an invasive species.

Of course, turning invasives into edible products has a risk: if a demand is created, it's possible that the invasive species will become raised/farmed for profit, and spread even more. So the key is to eat an invasive species until it's gone, and then find a new one to whet our appetites!

Can anyone think of any other "edible invasives?"

UPDATE: I just found a new article from the Louisville Courier-Jounral about an attempt to turn consumers and fishermen onto Asian carp, an invasive fish that is found in Kentucky (and lots of other places). Hey, serve it up. I'll eat it.

Also, another important edible invasive that I forgot: dandelions. They've been in salad mixes and regional/traditional cuisine for years.

Bugs-All-Day 2010: Tom Myers

2010-04-26T19:21:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

We've added another video to our YouTube channel. This one is a clip from our recent (4/24/2010) Bugs-All-Day event at the Explorium of Lexington, and shows Tom Myers from All-Rite Pest Control. Tom Myers is an experienced collector of insects, and he always brings his amazing collection of preserved insects to the annual Bugs-All-Day event. Tom is also a professional nature photographer!

See the video here:
http://www.youtube.com/user/UKEntomology#p/a/u/0/IM7hV8UIRqE

Earth Day = Insect Day

2010-04-22T05:45:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, Extension Entomologist

It's Earth Day! That means it's Insect Day!!

There are approximately 1 million named species of insects. That's more than ALL OTHER ORGANISMS COMBINED. There are merely 5,000 species of mammals. 300,000 species of plants--a pittance. One species of human. Feh. Insects are the most diverse, the most important, and the best and the coolest organisms on earth (hey, it's Insect Day, so I get to say that).

New insect species are discovered every year (a few thousand). Others go extinct every year.

Kentucky has approximately 15,000 species of insects. Each has a crucial role in its ecosystem. Many plants could not survive without insects to pollinate their flowers and spread their seeds. Of the thousands of species in KY, only a few dozen (mostly wasps and mosquitoes) are dangerous to people.

Many of the fruits that humans eat are pollinated by insects. Many types of apples, pears, peaches, and other fruits would not exist without insect pollination.

Insects are found on every continent and in every ocean (check out Halobates, a genus of water strider that lives on the surface of the open ocean and preys on plankton and other small critters).

Here are some things that you can do to help Kentucky insects:
-install native flowers, trees, and other plants in your yard or garden
-remove exotic plants from your property
-protect our water! Insects need clean water (and the fish eat the insects!)
-support sustainable agriculture
-support legislation that protects our climate
-support legislation that protects diverse habitats from development
Most Important: learn which insects can harm you and your possessions. If an insect is trying to harm you or your stuff, kill it. With extreme prejudice. Protect the other ones.

New Video: Praying Mantis

2010-04-21T05:41:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

We have added our second video to our YouTube Channel. It is a short clip showing a praying mantis feeding on an adult mealworm. It is a little gruesome: the beetle is still alive. But it is a great way to see the mantid's mouthparts in action.

See the video here: http://www.youtube.com/user/UKEntomology?feature=mhw5

The Learn-On at Red Lobster

2010-04-14T05:32:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I don't have much patience for chain restaurants, but Red Lobster is cool. For one thing, you can buy a live lobster there. In Lexington, Ky, this is absolutely the freshest seafood that you can get. Red Lobster: committed to fresh ingredients. My wife and I ate there the other night, and I realized that Red Lobster is committed to education as well. Using my wife's camera phone, I snapped this picture:

This is a photo of the fabric that lined the booth where we sat. As you can see, even the upholstery at Red Lobster is anatomically correct: the lobster has 4 antennae (2 pair) and 10 legs (5 pair). By the way, these are 2 of the characteristics which distinguish insects from crustaceans: insects always have 1 pair of antennae and 3 pairs of legs.

So the next time you are eating a live lobster, take a moment to study its anatomy while you're eating it. Get your learn on while you're taking its shell off. (There's meat at the base of the larger pair of antennae, by the way, especially on Florida Lobsters).

Entomophagy

2010-04-12T12:39:00.001-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Entomophagy = the eatin' of insects.

You've probably heard of this phenomenon before, especially if you've watched shows like Fear Factor or Survivor, where cockroaches or tarantulas are often served during the "crazy foods" challenge (they usually show up in a semi-final round somewhere between hundred-year-eggs and sheep's rectum). Here's a video highlight from Fear Factor showing Teller (from Penn & Teller) eating a roach. Or is he?

Yes, insects can be eaten under some circumstances. It's tricky, though, because even if you can get past the ick factor, you also have to consider the danger factor: if you misidentify an insect and eat the wrong species (or prepare it incorrectly), you might have an unpleasant experience. For instance: some caterpillars are edible, while others have stinging hairs and nauseating defensive juices. Also, a tarantula can be eaten, but only if all of the creature's urticating (=sharp) hairs are removed or destroyed. If not, eating a tarantula would be very similar to eating a wad of fiber glass. And here's a cute story: a long time ago, I was watching one of those exotic-foods challenges on Fear Factor (I think...), and the two competitors were trying to see who could eat a live hissing cockroach the fastest. Well, some blond guy won, but he ate the roach so fast that he sliced his tongue open. Cockroaches have really sharp exoskeletons, it turns out. Eating one would be kind of like eating a television remote control, especially if you didn't chew it properly.

As a potential food source, though, insects have a lot to offer. They breed/grow quickly. And as long as they don't have dangerous spines, stingers, or chemicals, they can be nutritious. In fact, edible insects have the potential to be a food-source in hunger-stricken regions of the world. Unfortunately, there has not been much scientific research on the subject of entomophagy.

Currently, a group of international scientists are working together to learn more about entomophagy and its possible role in the fight against world hunger. This month, there is a conference on the subject in Lineville, Alabama. In addition to several talks, there will be a bugfood tasting! Read more about the conference in this PDF. And at the upcoming 2010 ESA (Entomological Society of America) National Meeting, a symposia on entomophagy is being organized. If you are a scientist who is currently working in this area, let us know here on the blog and we will get you in touch with the organizers of the ESA symposia.

And you can read more about edible insects on our website here:
http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/bugfood1.asp

Hermit Crabs on Survivor

2010-04-10T10:25:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

After all these years, I'm still a big fan of Survivor. One of my favorite things about the show is the nature footage used to segway between scenes: I often get to see interesting arthropods from exotic locations. This season (Heroes vs Villains) is being filmed on Samoa, and on the most recent episode I saw a couple of cool things, including a very large orb-weaver spider that may have been the Golden Silk Orb Weaver (or a close relative), a spider that is common in the southern U.S. But this episode was all about the hermit crabs! I learned that hermit crabs will hunt for and kill live insects: the one on this episode captured a confused cicada. Also: a hermit crab can apparently be eaten. The villains were cooking one in their firepit. I didn't see them actually eating it, though.

Well, I've written another post about crustaceans. That's three in about a month. Maybe this blog should be called the Daily Carcinologist?

Fisher Price My First Video

2010-04-07T09:50:00.001-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Well, I have shot, edited, and posted to Youtube my very first video. I really enjoyed learning how to use the camera; a Kodak Zi8. Editing was also fun and pretty easy (with the simple Arcsoft video maker that came with the camera), but very time consuming. The video shows highlights from the recent mosquito-education event that UK Entomology co-hosted with AMCA (American Mosquito Control Association) at the Lexington Explorium. You can see the video at our new UK Department of Entomology Youtube channel here.

Now that I know how to make simple videos, I would like to make a series of shorts that show how to assemble a 4-H insect collection from beginning to end. Now, all I need is a few hundred hours of extra time, and 1 full-time employee to help me!

UPDATE: Because Youtube wouldn't allow me to change our channel profile name from "blaken" (abbreviation of my name) to "UK Entomology," I deleted our channel and started over. The channel, and the AMCA video, are now located at: http://www.youtube.com/user/UKEntomology?feature=mhw5. I thought that it was better to make this change now while the channel is still in its infancy.

Amazing Marine Isopod

2010-04-03T08:41:00.000-07:00

Marine isopods show up in the news from time to time. These are basically giant, sea-going cousins of the roly-polies and pillbugs that hang around homes here in Kentucky. Fox news issued a report about one recently: this one was over 2 feet long. The ones I have read about before are only about 1 foot long. Neat critters. They supposedly scavenge whale and squid carcasses on the ocean floor. By the way: isopods are not insects, they are crustaceans. This means that they are more closely related to lobsters and crabs than beetles and butterflies. And I am convinced that a giant isopod would taste great with drawn butter and a little salt.

Here is a wikipedia entry with lots of info about giant isopods.

Bug Day at the Lexington Explorium: March 30, 2010

2010-03-29T05:48:00.000-07:00

A reminder: be sure to join the University of Kentucky's Department of Entomology and the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) TOMORROW (Tuesday, March 30, 2010, 10:00am-3:00pm), for the AMCA Youth Education Day at the Lexington Explorium (formerly the Lexington Children's Museum; 440 W. Short Street, Lexington, KY 40507). Be there for: live insects, mosquito-control tips, insect temporary tattoos, games, and more. This event is a free addition to the Explorium's regular admission fee of $6 (that means you'll get to see all of the other cool stuff at the Explorium, too!).

Read more about this event at the Explorium's webpage:
http://explorium.com/mosquito

For parking info and other questions, call the Explorium at (859) 258-3253 or visit the Explorium's homepage at:
http://explorium.com/visit

Big Cuz's Spider Tattoo, We Hardly Knew Ye

2010-03-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

Well, the Kentucky Wildcats lost last night in the Regional Final of the 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship. This means that Demarcus Cousins (Big Cuz, our extraordinary center), will likely be moving on to the NBA. That's bad news for UK basketball fans, and for this blog: our post about Demarcus and his spider-web tattoo was by far the most popular entry since the blog's debut, with 848 total pageviews since December '09. So, as the association between Cousins and the University of Kentucky fades from the nation's collective memory, I imagine that the blog entry will entertain fewer and fewer visitors. We hate to see you go, Demarcus, and not just because you were good for our blog metrics. :(

Amphibious Insects?!

2010-03-26T08:19:00.000-07:00

Not a lot of time to wax on about this National Geographic article but I wanted to share it. I wonder about the ties between this genus of caterpillar and caddisflies. Really cool stuff!

Butterflies ♥ Turtles

2010-03-24T06:59:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

More insects at Cute Overload!

This image from Cute Overload shows a bunch of butterflies pestering a turtle. The reason: butterflies often flock around sources of salt and other minerals (this is why you often see butteflies hanging around mud puddles, a phenomenon known as "puddling"). The mineral/salt source here is... turtle tears!

Youth Entomology, Around the Midwest

2010-03-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Outreach and youth education are important aspects of many of the entomology departments around the United States. Certainly, this is true of our department here at U.K. Kids love to learn about insects, and we are always trying to figure out new and better ways to reach an audience and to make a positive, lasting impact. This week at the North Central Branch meeting of the Entomological Society of America (ESA), we conducted a half-day symposium on outreach and youth entomology. Speakers came from the entomology departments at the University of Illinois, Michigan State University, and Purdue. I heard a lot of great ideas!

Here's what some of my fellow entomologists are up to:

Michigan State University, Department of Entomology: MSU has a very nice facility on campus called the Bug House. The Bug House has been around for about ten years, and it is a museum/zoo/classroom filled with mounted insects, live insects, games, and lots of other cool stuff. Schools bring their students to the Bug House as a field trip, and pay a small fee (the fee covers operation costs for the facility). The public is also able to visit the Bug House during certain hours. The kids stay for about an hour and experience a ton of entomology. I've always wanted something like this on UK's campus, but I'm not sure about the logistics. For one thing, parking is a major problem on our campus, so there really isn't a good place to install a facility that could accommodate bus parking and public parking. Staffing the Bug House would also be a problem: finding money for workers would be tough, although MSU seems to generate funds from the small fee that they charge.

Michigan State also runs a bug camp for kids. We have an entomology camp here at U.K. also (the Entomology Leadership Program), but our program is for high-school students. MSU runs their camp for elementary and middle-school kids, and it has been very successful. We get a lot of requests here at UK for a camp for younger kids, so maybe this is something that we should look into.

Purdue Entomology: The Department of Entomology at Purdue University also runs a very successful outreach program. In fact, they may interact with more kids each year than any other entomology program in the U.S. Each year, they have an event on Purdue's campus called Bug Bowl. 30,000 people attend this event every year! One of the reasons that this event is so successful is because it is a part of a larger program called "Spring Fest Weekend," an annual Purdue tradition. Maybe that's something that we should find here in Lexington: a large, pre-existing annual event that would accept us as a featured attraction. Some things come to mind: the Woodland Art Fair, 2nd Sunday, the Midsummer Night's Run. Lexingtonians who are reading this: any other suggestions??

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign: The University of Illinois has come up with a very interesting and high-tech outreach program called BeeSpotter, a collaboration between the Department of Entomology at U of I and another program at the university called the Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education. This presentation was one of the highlights of the symposium because BeeSpotter is a great piece of technology and because the presentation was interactive. BeeSpotter is a web-interface that allows citizens (kids, gardeners, hikers, or anybody with a digital camera) to upload pictures of bees into a database. The database is then used to track the occurrences of rare and threatened bee species, especially bumble bees and honey bees in Illinois. The presenters from U of I brought about a dozen notebook computers and passed them out to the audience. With the laptops, we were able to quickly create an account and upload a mock image into the database. It was easy to do! Currently, the database is only being used for bees photographed in Illinois, but UK is planning to work with the BeeSpotter program to extend its applicability into Kentucky.

So we have a lot to do, including building an insect zoo and creating an annual insect event that draws 30,000 people. In the meantime, I am going to learn more about the rare and threatened bumble bees of Kentucky!

Joy Division: Locusts?

2010-03-06T10:28:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I was just listening to Joy Division's "The Eternal." This is one of the bleakest, creepiest songs of all time. It opens with a sustained sound that might be from some kind of a shaker, like a cabassa. Or I guess it could be a synthesized or sampled sound, too. I wonder if this sound is supposed to represent a locust swarm? Here's a lyric from the song: "Watching them pass like clouds in the sky." So, maybe. A locust swarm would certainly fit right in with the apocalyptic mood of the song. *Shiver*

You can hear the sound a little bit on Amazon's mp3 preview page here.

More Invasives

2010-03-04T06:55:00.000-08:00

by Josh Adkins, UK Graduate Research Assistant

A recent write-up of forest pests from the Charleston Gazette can be found here.

I'm always glad to see some press coverage of invasive species. Of course, I wish it wasn't an issue that needed to be covered! Unfortunately, Kentucky will soon be/already is plagued by many of these same organisms. Hemlock woolly adelgid has been found in 12 Kentucky counties, and is likely more abundant and widespread in eastern Kentucky than we realize. Emerald ash borer has been found in 11 counties in the Commonwealth. Our dogwoods, which add so much color and beauty to the Spring landscape in Kentucky, are threatened by dogwood anthracnose just like those in WV.

Come on, Lexington Herald-Leader, there's a story in the forests of eastern Kentucky that needs some coverage!

Atrazine vs. Frogs

2010-03-02T06:10:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

From a news article at CNN: A new study shows that Atrazine can change male frogs to females.

Atrazine is an active ingredient in many commonly-used herbicides. Tens-of-millions of pounds of Atrazine are used in the United States each year, mostly on field crops (like corn). According to the study, it takes only 2.5 parts of Atrazine per billion parts of water to turn male frogs into female frogs. Although this is a new study, it has actually been know for quite a while that Atrazine causes problems for frogs.

But who cares about frogs? Frogs don't help people, right? They don't make any energy for us. They can't operate machinery or edit a document. Not very many people even eat frog-legs anymore. Anyway, you can eat a frog leg whether it's from a male OR a female.

Of course, we care about frogs because they are a part of our ecosystem. Their tadpoles are eaten by aquatic insects, which are then eaten by game-fish and birds. Tadpoles graze on algae, which can take over farm pounds. Frogs also eat lots of insects--and nobody likes those guys! :)

Also, we don't always like to admit it, but people are related to frogs. Not very closely related. But humans are mammals, and mammals evolved from reptiles which evolved from primitive tetrapods--early tetrapods were basically the same thing as amphibians. So people and frogs have a lot in common physiologically. Because of this, scientists are concerned that Atrazine could potentially cause problems to humans, and the EPA has a launched a new investigation to study Atrazine and its effects on human health.

So let's ban Atrazine! Problem solved.

But it's not that easy. Atrazine is a very important herbicide, especially for corn production. It controls weeds very well, and it is relatively inexpensive (and relatively safe to use, and least in the short-term) compared to some of the non-Atrazine options. If Atrazine were banned tomorrow, the economy of corn production would be disrupted, at least temporarily.

Sounds to me like it's a complicated issue with no clear solutions. How come I can't solve any of these problems on this blog???

Visit this PDF from the Minnesota Deparment of Agriculture for a list of many of the brand-name herbicides that contain Atrazine.

Crabs in the Great Garbage Patch

2010-02-28T06:40:00.000-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

People are starting to hear more and more about the so-called Great Garbage Patch of the North Pacific Gyre. This is a massive, swirling cesspool of garbage located in the Pacific ocean north of Hawaii. It is said to be as large as the state of Texas! Whoa. Here is a link to the Wikipedia entry for the garbage patch.

The size-estimate may end up being an exaggeration, but the garbage patch is certainly big, and it looks like this phenomenon could be one of the greatest environmental disasters of all time. Much of the garbage consists of non-biodegradable post-consumer plastics, and there is concern that this stuff is turning this part of the ocean into a dead zone. It's interesting to see, though, that some life is still able to thrive in this environment, including crabs--close relatives of insects. I saw one of these crabs while watching this video about the garbage patch on CNN. You can also see a picture of some crabs crawling around on the garbage at this blog entry from Seaplex, an ocean expedition that is studying the garbage patch.

I suspect that as we learn more about the garbage patch, we will find several organisms that are able to live there.

UPDATE: Miriam Goldstein sent us an interesting message about this post in the comments-section below, but I thought I'd highlight the message here:

"There are several organisms that can make a living right on the plastic. They're part of what in the ocean is termed the "fouling community" - the macro-organisms that grow on artificial surfaces like ships and docks and little bits of plastic. By having all that debris floating around, these species (like pigeons and rats) grow much more abundant than they would have been without plastic debris to live on.

"It's not necessarily a good thing to have a huge fouling community - it's thought that many might be invasive species, or that they might alter the natural planktonic food web. Those crabs are part of the fouling community - they are what's known as epipelagic crabs, crabs adapted to living on floating wood or pumice in the open ocean, and now plastic. There are a LOT of them in the gyre, and we don't know what impact adding all those crabs has on the ecosystem."

Coach Cal and UK Entomology... So Close!

2010-02-24T11:31:00.000-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

UK men's basketball head coach John Calipari always says that UK's fans are crazy. He's right! And the entomology department is no exception. We were thrilled to see that our department was mentioned in two recent newspaper articles just INCHES from pictures of Coach Cal.

From the Winchester Sun (9/29/09):

And from the Kentucky Kernel (2/19/10):

We know that UK's Entomology Department is successful (the 2nd article mentions our Top 10 Ranking), but to be mentioned on the same piece of copy as Coach Cal?!? Unbelievable.

Go Spiders!

2010-02-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

We mentioned the Richmond Spiders men's college basketball team here on our blog (on this post) a few weeks ago. At the time, they had just beaten the Florida Gators. Well, more congrats to the Spiders: they are now in the top 25 for the first time in many years. Way to go, Spiders! (Florida is not in the top 25, by the way.)

Invasive beetle intercepted at Louisville airport

2010-02-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

by Julie Peterson, UK Entomology Graduate Student

Here's an article from the Louisville Courier Journal about customs agents intercepting a larval Khapra beetle from oats on a UPS shipment:

"Harmful Beetle Found in UPS Package"

Just another way that invasive pests can travel worldwide! The Khapra beetle is a serious pest of stored grains, so its introduction in the US could be very harmful. Here's a link to more information on this beetle:

Khapra Beetle

We should say thanks to all the customs, USDA, and other regulatory agents who search imported products to catch tiny little invasives like this guy!

Beekeeping Research Seminar: Feb 24

2010-02-18T06:18:00.001-08:00

Next Wednesday, Feb 24, 2010, there will be a special seminar at the University of Kentucky campus, "Conversations on Conservation." This will occur in in Room 230 of the University of Kentucky Student Center and is a part of the new author-lecture seminar series sponsored by the Gaines Center for the Humanities. The presentation is free and open to the public.

Featuring:

Dr. Tammy Horn,
author of Bees in America:
How the Honey Bee Shaped a Nation
& member of EKU’s
Environmental Research Institute.
with Thomas Webster, apiculturalist, Kentucky State University

Feb. 24, 2010, 7:30 p.m.
UK Student Center Room 230
Free and open to the public
Reception with refreshments to follow

Presented by: The Gaines Humanities Fellowship Program, the
UK Department of Entomology, the UK Honors Program,
& the University Press of Kentucky
For more information contact the Gaines Center at (859) 257-1537

Cute Overload: Dog and Ladybug

2010-02-11T07:32:00.001-08:00

I love it when insects appear at Cute Overload, the all-cute, all-the-time website! This entry shows a dog (of some kind) playing with a ladybug (it's an Asian Multi-colored Ladybug, by the way: you can tell from the upside-down "W" shape on the white part of the thorax). Oh, and there are TWO invasive species in the picture. Can you find both of them?

http://cuteoverload.com/2010/02/10/meet-my-new-lady/

Arts & Sciences

2010-02-11T07:19:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

A few months ago, New York-based artist Janine Antoni asked us for some help. She was working on a multi-media project, and she needed a live spider for the piece. She was looking specifically for a spider that would build a web inside a three-dimensional installation... an installation that would include the artist herself. The final product would be a photograph of the installation (live animals... the artist... photography... now that's multi-media!). She had a lot of questions for us. Would a spider build a web next to a living person? What kind of spider would be be most likely to cooperate? Where does one find such a spider? How would one keep the spider alive and happy? This was an interesting challenge, but we were ready to help.

The first step was to determine the type of spider. Janine was looking for a circular, symmetrical spider web--not a messy cobweb. In other words, she wanted a "classic" spider web. This narrowed our search down quite a bit: the only commonly occurring spiders in the U.S. that build these types of webs are orb weavers. There are many species of orb weavers in the U.S., and none of them are dangerous. Great! So... how does one acquire an orb-weaver spider? While it is possible to buy tarantulas and other types of spiders from pet stores and online suppliers, this is usually not the case for orb-weaver spiders: most orb weavers live for only a few months, so it is impractical to raise and sell them as pets. We suggested that she find one locally, and that's what she did. She found an orb weaver in her backyard last summer (it had made a web between the ropes on a swing-set).

So Janine and her crew moved the spider into the artwork, where it proceeded to build a web. This is a piece called Lattice (2009):

The spider was also a part of this larger piece called Inhabit (2009):

A quote from Janine in a 2009 article from Art in America:
"As I started to research the process of actualizing this image, things became complicated. Would a spider actually cooperate? How would I remain still in order to facilitate its weaving? After speaking with several entomologists, and learning about the extreme sensitivity of spiders to motion, I looked into getting a harness that would immobilize me. That led me to the world of harnesses, where I found a particular design that enabled me to be attached to a structure from many points on my torso. I realized that my body could be suspended in a way similar to a spider in its web. But I would need to build a cage around my legs in order to keep the spider in that particular area of my body. And it also became apparent that the spider would be too sensitive to build directly on my body due to body heat."

I think that art and science do not overlap often enough, so it was great to work with Janine and to have a small impact on contemporary art!

How much would you pay to name a species?

2010-02-06T14:11:00.000-08:00

by Kelton Welch, UK Entomology Graduate Student

I just read this archived article on ScienceDaily.com. Some researchers in Mexico auctioned off the rights to name a new species of butterfly. An anonymous donor paid $40,000 on behalf of a family from Ohio to name it after that family’s deceased grandmother.

Now, having a species named after you is a great honor; but $40,000 is a lot of money, even though, in this case, it was for a good cause (funding butterfly research in Mexico). Remember that this is a butterfly: an ant or tiger beetle would be considerably cheaper. You could probably get a blow fly or stink bug for two digits.

How much would you pay for the right to name a favorite type of insect or other arthropod?

I would rather become a taxonomist: they actually make money to name things.

Time Magazine: Top 10 Invasive Species

2010-02-03T11:36:00.000-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

This is a follow-up to a post on this blog from Julie Peterson a few days ago, where she mentioned an article about invasive species on the Yahoo! news page. This topic is also receiving some attention from Time magazine. They have just compiled a list of the Top Ten Invasive Species.

While I am glad to see this topic getting more attention, I was a little disappointed that only one insect (killer bees) made the list. On the other hand, it's hard to argue with the creatures that did make the list, including cane toads, gray squirrels, and starlings. But where's the emerald ash borer, a beetle that has killed tens-of-millions of ash trees? And what about the Asian Tiger Mosquito, a vector of many human and animal diseases, including West Nile Encephelitis and canine heartworm? Plus, there are lots of nasty non-insect invasive species that didn't make the list. Feral house-cats, who eat native songbirds and steal habitat from native predators. Bush honeysuckle, which out-competes native trees.

Maybe this list needs to go to 11...

Letterman on Exotic Pets

2010-02-03T10:49:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

A few posts ago, I mentioned the hazards of pet tarantulas. In general, I believe that most wild animals, including spiders and insects, don't make very good pets, and that they are best observed in the wild or in educational exhibits. This is just an opinion: I don't think it should be illegal for people to keep these pets, I just think, personally, that many of these animals are, at worst, dangerous, and at best, a little boring. Live spiders, snakes, and birds make great educational displays and they can be fun projects for people who are REALLY interested in them, but the rest of us should stick with dogs and cats.

David Letterman learned this lesson first-hand. A few days ago on his show, he talked about his toad-ownership experience. It seems that his young son Harry really loves toads and frogs. So, a person from the Natural History Museum installed a toad terrarium ($$$), complete with two toads, in Dave's home. Dave and Harry soon discovered that "having a toad and not having a toad... there's really very little difference." These toads, named Hoppy and Zoogie, like to burrow, see, so they buried themselves as soon as they were placed in their new home. Recently, Dave and Harry son decided to "inventory" the toads, so they dug them out of the soil. Luckily, both toads were still alive. But Harry dropped one of them and it fell on its back. So they stuck it back in the terrarium. As Dave said, "and as far as we know... everything's fine."

I can attest that Dave's description is generally applicable to tarantula ownership, as well. And you should NEVER drop a tarantula on it's back.

Dave and his son also own two African Clawed Frogs. He said that they are quite ugly. Dave and Harry are now watching the male slowly die because the female steals all of the food. I suppose I shouldn't find this funny...

Look out for the six-legged terrorists!

2010-01-28T12:51:00.000-08:00

By: Logan Minter, UK Public Health Entomology

They’re coming. They search for you in the night. Whether you are relaxing by the pool or you are innocently sleeping, they will find you. They are cruel assassins armed with sharp weapons they plan to use for one purpose and one purpose alone.

They are thirsty…..thirsty for blood. Your blood.

Who are these terrorists? Although they go by several aliases, such as Culex pipiens, Aedes albopictus, and Anopheles quadrimaculatus, they are collectively known to us as the mosquitoes. That’s right, the wicked thieves who steal so many summer evenings to their persistent vexation of anyone who dares to venture outdoors.

While mosquito season might seem as far away as the dog-days of summer, the beginning is just around the corner, and the time to make preparations is now!

But how?

During the final week of March, the American Mosquito Control Association (AMCA) will be meeting in Lexington, KY for their annual conference where scientists and vector control officials from all over North and South America will share insight and ideas on managing these adversaries of humans and animals. As part of the conference, volunteers from the AMCA and the University of Kentucky’s Department of Entomology will provide an opportunity to learn more about these and other insects to the people of Lexington.

The event will take place at the Lexington Explorium, located on Short Street in downtown Lexington, from 10 am – 3 pm on Tuesday, March 30th. This is during the spring break for Fayette County and several other local schools and will provided a great opportunity for kids to learn some fun and cool facts about mosquitoes and other insects. Students who attend will also learn about life cycles, food chains, and other aspects of ecology which are components of the State of Kentucky’s Life Science learning outcomes for many grade levels. Admission to the Explorium is only $6.00 Parking is available nearby and your ticket can be validated with the Explorium.

Kentucky is home to nearly 60 different types of mosquitoes which have a variety of lifestyles and habitats. However, all mosquitoes must have water to develop as young.
In the spring, snow-melt or rain waters refill the area where the eggs were laid, which coupled with warmer temperatures and longer day lengths, triggers the mosquito eggs to hatch.
Homeowners can also help to do their part by eliminating breeding areas on their property, such as neglected containers, dented or damaged gutters, rain barrels, untreated swimming pools, and ruts in soil.

Insect Conservation vs. Private Property

2010-01-27T07:43:00.000-08:00

by Julie Peterson, UK Entomology Graduate Student

A battle that's been going on for a long time is ecological conservation vs. the interests of private property owners. Usually, insects are one of the last groups to be considered in this fight, however. The large, charismatic animal species (think cuddly koalas, majestic eagles, etc.) are the ones that tug at the heartstrings of the public, while entomologists think that the dung beetles, spiders, and flies are the charismatic ones! Luckily, arthropods are often protected by the "umbrella effect" of conservation: saving the habitat of larger vertebrates often helps the smaller invertebrates as well. So I was sort of surprised to find this article titled "Cliff residents might lose homes to save endangered beetles" in the Washington Post. In my opinion, the title should be changed to "Cliff residents might lose homes because they built their homes on cliffs!" I personally would not want to battle with tiger beetles, they're beautiful, very fast runners, and have powerful jaws. This article really bothered me: it seems like beetles are getting all the blame, when a lack of foresight by neighborhood planners (and the inevitable power of erosion...) are the true culprits.

I'm interested in hearing other people's opinions on this topic, so feel free to reply!

Spider-Web Tattoos

2010-01-25T06:37:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

A few posts ago I mentioned that I was trying to determine the meaning of a tattoo that adorns the left arm of Demarcus Cousins (UK men's basketball player... #15... Big Cuz... who will need dental work after our most recent game...). The tattoo is big and it features a spider web with a star in the middle. I think I can also see a large spider below the web, and the words "stuck in" on top. Here's the best picture I could find on Google Image Search (AP Photo/Ed Reinke):

Since I posted this topic on the blog, I haven't made much progress in solving the mystery. A couple of people told me that they saw the blog post, but that they don't know anything about the tat. I also asked Demarcus about the tattoo on his Facebook fanpage, but of course, crazed fans like me rarely get responses on those kinds of pages (especially when there are over 10,000 fans on the page!).

So I did a little research about spider-web tattoos in general. Interesting stuff. It turns out that a spider or web tattoo can carry a variety of meanings, or none at all.

I remember that a long time ago I was told that spider-web tattoos, especially those that appear on elbows, are racist in nature, and are meant to symbolize acts-of-violence that the wearer has committed. I always thought that this was a myth. Predictably, an internet search did not help me to determine whether or not this was true. I'll mark this one as "apocryphal."

I found some of the best info about spider-web tattoos at www.tattoosymbol.com, where the motto is Think About the Ink. There, I learned that spider webs are sometimes used as a part of dreamcatcher tattoos. According to the site, the original dreamcatchers of legend may have been created by Spider Woman, a figure from Anishinabe mythology. The site mentions other mythological connections as well: the spider is an important symbol in Japan, Africa, the Bible, and Buddhism.

I read on several other sites that the spider-web tattoo traditionally symbolizes time spent in jail: if you are incarcerated, you are stuck in the system. Hmmm... if I am seeing it correctly, Cousins' tattoo features the phrase "stuck in." I don't think he's been in prison. Does he feel like he's trapped in something? Life? The Game? The Dribble-Drive System™?!?

It seems, though, that many times (maybe, most of the time) spider and web tattoos do not carry any meaning, or else they carry a meaning that is non-traditional, and unique to the wearer. Heck, people sometimes get spider tattoos because--believe it or not--they like spiders, as shown in our previous blogpost by Andy Boring, Tattoo Taboo: Insect body art.

Regarding spider tattoos, SGOSMB (Some Guy On Some Message Board) may have said it best:

Well, the spider web tattoo can mean any thing:
1. You've killed, hate, or hit a minority
2. Drug or substance abuse addiction
3. Jail Time (prison tat)
But, the best I think, is:
4. It means what you want it to mean...

By the way, most of the spider-web tattoos that I have seen depict the webs of orb-weaver spiders. Most of the world's spiders do not build organized, circular webs. Instead, most spiders build dense, messy webs, or no webs at all. Only the orb weavers and a few other types of spiders build flat, circular webs.

Read more about orb weavers and their webs at the Critter Files: Orb-Weavers.

Website De-Bugging

2010-01-21T12:04:00.001-08:00

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

Yes, yes... debugging... pun intended... whatever. A few posts ago I mentioned that we recently updated our website, and that we were in glitch-finding mode. So far, a couple of major glitches were reported.

When our site was opened in Internet Explorer 6, there were two major problems:

1. Our butterfly logo in the upper-right hand corner was supposed to be transparent, but it was not in IE6. It turns out that this is a common IE6 problem. Luckily, there was a simple workaround for this. We simply added a small javascript file to our directory. Solved!

2. The left-hand navigation bar was moving around the page in IE6. Very freaky. Here's what it looked like:

There was a fix for this also, but it wasn't as easy.

It would also help if I showed you what the site is supposed to look like!

Here's what our front page SHOULD look like:

Some possible problems with the front page that you might see:
-no large central image
-the left or right navigation bars are moving around or they are not visible

Here's what a typical "interior" page should look like (this is http://www.ca.uky.edu/entomology/entfacts/ef110.asp):

Some possible problems with interior pages:
-pictures do not load
-the left navigation bar is moving around the screen

So, please let us know (by commenting on this blog post) if you find glitches on our website.

Super-Organisms!

2010-01-21T09:53:00.000-08:00

by Josh Adkins, UK Entomology Graduate Student

Study suggests theory for insect colonies as 'superorganisms'

A team of researchers including scientists from the University of Florida has shown insect colonies follow some of the same biological "rules" as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single "superorganism" in terms of their physiology and life cycle.

I know very little about the structure of social insect "societies". It's fascinating to think of insect colonies in terms of individuals, with all the insects comprising them effectively acting as cells, or organs, for the good of the collective whole. It makes me want to read E.O. Wilson's book The Super-Organism!