Bugs Need Heroes

Bug Heroes: Maria Sibylla Merian

Amanda tells us about the life and work of Dutch entomologist and painter Maria Sibylla Merian. 
 
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Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

Cats Need Heroes

This time we are joined by our friend Dr Mike Glynn to talk about cats for our Halloween episode. Lots of stories of our dear pets both current and past. A few try to join the podcast!
You can watch the recording from our panel at Rose City Comic Con in 2024 here: https://youtu.be/Zkl70GcOkYU
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

My Neighbor Velvet Worm

We are back from hiatus and you can really tell with this episode. Kelly and Amanda get all the wiggles out with this very wiggly bug. This episode is more explicit than usual with a very unusual critter.
 
Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/my-neighbor-velvet-worm
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

Summer Diapause

We'll be back in the fall!

Gregarious Kevin (BROWN RECLUSE)

This week we are joined once again by Kevin Wiener of All Bugs Go To Kevin. Kevin has a deep love for brown recluses and hopes to dispel some of the fear around this significant arachnid. Tangents include grief, voice notes, and cats. And a special life update from Kevin at the end of the episode.
Kevin's spider heartbeat video: https://youtu.be/BomIw3TjCRA
JAMA paper about the NOT RECLUSE mnemonic: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamadermatology/article-abstract/2603498NPR article about it: https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2017/02/16/515576450/is-that-a-brown-recluse-spider-bite-or-skin-cancer
 
The millipede lab at Virginia Tech mentioned at the end of the episode where Kevin forgot Dr Paul Marek's name: https://millipedes.ento.vt.edu/
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
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Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

The Model Organism (HORNWORMS aka HAWKMOTHS)

It's NATIONAL MOTH WEEK! We are celebrating by discussing a really hefty bug. A real chonker. There are over 1400 species of Sphingidae moths, and they start as juicy, mouthwatering caterpillars. It is a bug that Amanda has met and you may find in your garden on your tomatoes! We discuss some of their impressive adaptations as we create a character inspired by them. Tangents include ugly babies, summer fun, and Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool. 
 
Learn how to attract moths and count them for science! https://nationalmothweek.org/mothing-101/
 
Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-model-organism
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

Flonase Technicolor (FIREFLIES)

Amanda tries (and fails) to resist singing the hit single from 2009 by Owl City as we talk about the Lampyridae family of beetles. They have many names, all of them deceptive. They are not flies, they do not produce heat or lightning, and they are not worms, but they are very buggy. Tangents include the book/film adaptation Where'd You Go Bernadette, the Fey, and several other things that Producer Derek has forgotten because he had to cut so much (future bonus episode?)
 
Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/flonase-technicolor
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.
Special thanks to Kevin Weiner for sharing his photography.

Painbow (MANTIS SHRIMP w/ Just The Zoo of Us)

It's a rambunctious episode as Just the Zoo of Us Podcast host Ellen Weatherford joins us to settle a debate: are shrimps bugs? Are mantis shrimps shrimps? We discuss how they may or may not be turning into crabs and what they might think of sunsets. Tangents include Godzilla, weddings, pet store stories, internet memes, Sailor Moon and anime translations.
 
Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-painbow
 
Also Mentioned in This Episode:
Ellen Weatherford's podcast Just the Zoo of Us
Episode 101 (Mantis Shrimp with Alice Chou) of Just the Zoo of Us 
Episode 19 (Quokka and Peacock Mantis Shrimp) of Just the Zoo of Us
Episode 226 (Cicadas with Nick VanAcker) of Just the Zoo of Us
Episode 91 (Periodical Cicadas and Portuguese Man of War) of Just the Zoo of Us
RadioLab "Colors" episode
The Oatmeal: "Why the Mantis Shrimp is My New Favorite Animal"
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

BONUS: Don't freak out about Joro Spiders

Remain calm.
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

The Dash (TIGER BEETLES)

This week Kelly and Amanda talk about an extremely buggy bug. Is this best bug? Maybe! Tangents include why chess sucks, scrub jays, and spoilers for The Menu.
 
Kelly's Field Notes for this episode: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-dash
 
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com
Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/
Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes
Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes
Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden
Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.
Character artwork by Amanda Niday.
Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.