Episodes

Monday Mar 31, 2025
Monday Mar 31, 2025
In this episode the hosts of Arthro-pod interview Dr. Judy Wu-Smart about the pros and cons of the European honey bees. The conversation touches on the historical context of honey bees in North America, the challenges of colony collapse disorder, the implications of neonicotinoids in agriculture, the impact of pesticides on pollinator health, and the regulatory challenges surrounding bee conservation. The discussion highlights the complex relationship between wild and managed bees, emphasizing the need for diverse pollinators in ecosystems.

Friday Mar 21, 2025
Friday Mar 21, 2025
Greetings Arthro-Pod listeners! This week, Michael continues the story of Walter Reed and the discovery that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes. Specifically, we talk about the major players on the Yellow Fever Board, the experiments they did with live human subjects, and how they determined that mosquitos, and not fomites, are how yellow fever infects each new victim.

Friday Feb 28, 2025
Friday Feb 28, 2025
Greetings Arthro-Pod listeners! This week, Michael introduces us to yellow fever. Specifically, we cover the first major outbreak of the disease in the United States in Philadelphia in 1793 and the broader history of yellow fever in the United States through the 1800s. This sets the stage for the story of Walter Reed and his discovery that yellow fever is transmitted by mosquitoes, which quickly led it it's eradication from Cuba and elsewhere in the world.
We first discussed yellow fever in episodes 89 and 91, which can be found on Archive.org.
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Monday Feb 24, 2025
Monday Feb 24, 2025
Hello bug lovers! In this exciting edition of Arthro-Pod, Jody leads Mike and Jon through an episode entirely dedicated to the multicolored Asian lady beetle. It is known by many names, the multicolored lady bug, the Halloween beetle, and the fake ladybug amongst others. You may have seen them in your home just recently or been unlucky enough to feel their bite! In this episode, you'll learn how they appeared in the US, the other ways they can pose problems, and ponder the reasons why people would call a real member of the Coccinelidae a "fake lady beetle". MALB spending the winter with Jody GreenShow NotesMike refers to Harmonia axyridis Wikipedia page to
see variations: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harmonia_axyridis Bugguide: https://bugguide.net/node/view/397 Lost lady bug project: http://www.lostladybug.org/ Convergent lady beetleJournal article about MALB and dogs after ingestion in
Toxicon by Stocks and Lindsey 2008: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0041010108003395#fig1
A Review of Ladybug Taint in Wine: Origins, Prevention, and
Remediation by Pickering and Botezau 2021 https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/26/14/4341
Journal article about MALB and seasonal allergens: Nakazawa
et al. 2007 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091674906030235?via%3Dihub Goetz 2008: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5423147_Harmonia_axyridis_ladybug_invasion_and_allergy
Information about molecule, harmonine from Max Planck
Institute for Chemical Ecology in Germany https://www.mpg.de/7246516/Asian-lady-beetles
Vacuum with pantyhose method: https://www.mypmp.net/2016/05/19/recommend-this-method-to-bed-bug-afflicted-clients/ MALB eggsMALB larvae MALB pupae Newly emerged MALB adult and pupal shellAdult MALB going to town on some aphidsQuestions? Comments? Contact the show at jonathan.larson@uky.eduFind the hosts on social media:@bugmanjon and @napoleonicento on BlueSkyGet the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!

Wednesday Feb 05, 2025
Wednesday Feb 05, 2025
Hello bug lovers! Today's episode is a special treat as the Arthro-Pod gang is joined by David Fluker of Fluker Farms and Soldier Fly Technologies to talk about tending to crickets, soldier flies, and more. David is a second generation insect farmer and self proclaimed "ento-preneur", tune in to learn about the history of Fluker Farms, the live feeder insect industry, and what the future may hold for those who use insects as tiny livestock! We for one welcome the age of the solider fly!Show NotesFluker's main website https://flukerfarms.com/ Soldier Fly Technologies website: https://www.soldierfly.com/If you would like to access Fluker's teaching aids we wanted to highlight them here: https://flukerfarms.com/reptile-u/knowledge-base/teaching-aids/ Are you interested in joining the ranks of insect farming? Check out the North American Coalition for Insect Agriculture https://nacia.org/ Check out this tour of the farm via YouTube https://flukerfarms.com/tour-of-the-farm/A vintage "I ate a Bug Club" buttonQuestions? Comments? Get the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!

Friday Jan 10, 2025
Friday Jan 10, 2025
On this episode of Arthro-Pod, join Mike and Jon as they catch up with Jeff Holland of Bugs, Maps, and Math. Jeff was previously a professor at Purdue, where Mike worked in his lab for several semesters. While they catch up on good times, we also learn all about Jeff's insect consulting company, modeling of insect dispersal, and the sorcery of spatial ecology. Tune in!Jeff Holland, formerly a professor at Purdue University and now the owner of Bugs, Maps, and Math consulting services.Jeff and two of his graduate students, Hossam and Kapil, preparing for summer field collecting.A longhorn beetle in a rearing cage.Questions? Comments? Get the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!

Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Hello bug lovers! On today's episode of Arthro-Pod, the gang meets up with top tier guest Dr. Jennifer Gordon to learn about insects and their use in jewelry. Jennifer is an entomological consultant, her business is called Bug Lessons, but she also has a wonderful hobby of seeking out insect themed jewelry, particularly that of a Victorian vintage. Tune in and learn all about this fascinating cultural entomology topic as we learn about how pieces of insects may end up in jewelry, what insects symbolize when crafted this way, and how you too could hunt some down on your own! Stick pin with
Chrysomelid beetle carapace Long broach of fly
etched in wit cut glass Moth with skull necklace in bronze/brass Mother-in-law
sterling handmade fly, received for Christmas Jennifer-made
lanternfly fancy Fulgorid necklace pendant Jennifer-made Weta Jennifer-made
mosquito pendant Jennifer-made termite, grasshopper, and ant pendant Jennifer-made
earwig earring Jennifer-made
mantis earrings Jennifer-made made
chunky ring with ant Tie pin with small insect Stick pin with fly Bee from Sears in
Kokomo Indiana Cute little gold
bee with Hosenthal Midcentury bee
jewelryQuestions? Comments? Get the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!

Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
Wednesday Dec 18, 2024
The individual states that make up the United States of America often choose state symbols that represent different facets of their agriculture, their traditions, their cuisine, and their people. In fact, most states have even dipped into the entomological world to choose insect symbols such as state insects, state butterflies, or state agricultural insects. In this episode, the Arthro-Pod gang parses through the mix of chosen insects and points out which ones are amazing and which ones could stand to be improved. Suffice to say, we try to get rid of all the honey bee picks. Tune in to find out if your home state (if you're American) is lauded or booed and hear some proposals for the two holdout states of Iowa and Michigan. Show NotesWikipedia list of state insectsThought Co Article on choices and historyQuestions? Comments? Get the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!

Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Tuesday Nov 19, 2024
Welcome back bug lovers! We apologize for the delay in new content but some technical difficulties have been felt. Everything is back on track now and we'll be posting frequently to end 2024! Tune in to this belated Halloween celebration where we dive into the 1990 film, "Arachnophobia". Prep yourself for some bizarre spider behavior, as well as John Goodman hamming it up as a fascinating practitioner of the pest control arts. Questions? Comments? Follow Mike on Bluesky @NapoleonicEntoGet the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!Subscribe to our feed on Feedburner!

Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Join Michael Skvarla of Penn State Entomology for a tour around the annual Great Insect Fair. Questions? Comments? Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_PodshowFollow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36 and Bluesky @NapoleonicEntoGet the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!If you can spare a moment, we appreciate when you subscribe to the show on those apps or when you take time to leave a review!Subscribe to our feed on Feedburner!