Our six-legged celebration continues! In this second part, the guys wrap up their behind-the-scenes tour of the Cornell University Insect Collection with Jason Dombroskie, collection manager and director of the insect diagnostic lab, and THEN, Jason provides the guys with some eye protection and takes them out into the woods for some nighttime mothing!
This month, Bill and Steve geek out over insects! And it’s because they were lucky enough to have an even bigger insect geek invite them on a field trip. Jason Dombroskie is the collection manager and director of the insect diagnostic lab at Cornell University. His invite to take the guys mothing in July of 2022 turned into a marvelous, day-long adventure:
In part one, you’ll hear the guys meet up with Jason for a tour of his property and an interview delving into Jason’s background and what it’s like to be a professional entomologist (it involves studying lots of insect genitalia, among other things). We follow that up with a behind-the-scenes tour of the Cornell University Insect Collection - an assemblage spanning over 7 million insect specimens representing about 200,000 species, or roughly 20% of the world’s described insect fauna.
So, strap in and prepare yourself for…Insectapalooza!
This month, the guys set out to discover if daddy longlegs really are the most poisonous spider in the world, but, along the way, they uncover a fascinating array of arachnids and adaptations in the group known collectively as harvestmen. Join them for some mythbusting and a deep dive into the little-known order of arachnids called Opiliones.
Spring is here! So, what better time to talk about winter-active insects? Steve recorded this one in February with entomologist and all-around-great-guy Dr. Wayne Gall, and there was no way we could wait until next winter to share it! Join Steve and Wayne as they head into the winter woods, peeling back the snowy curtain that conceals the ecology of these fascinating invertebrates.
…And we’re back! After a lengthy hiatus, Bill and Steve return with an episode focused on the fall. Specifically, they look into why fall is the neglected season when it comes to climate change research. Is it a conspiracy? Is it a plot by the ‘deep state’ to play favorites with the seasons? Probably not, but the guys have some fun uncovering the possible reasons why the natural events that occur in the fall are more difficult for researchers to pin down and quantify.
Have you ever heard of myrmecochory? It may not pop up much in casual conversation, but this strange word is your doorway to a tiny, fascinating world of ant-plant interactions. Myrmecochory is seed dispersal by ants (don’t worry, we cover how to pronounce it in the episode), and while it may seem simple on the surface, it’s a beautifully complex spectrum of behaviors and benefits, , including some questionable ones.
Myrmecochory has long been considered a classic example of mutualism, in which two species benefit from a shared interaction, but recent research has called this idea into question. Are the ants really benefiting? Is it possible that plants are parasitizing the ants? Are the ants inadvertently ‘cleaning’ the seeds, inoculating them against harmful soil microbes? There is so much more to myrmecochory than Bill and Steve ever imagined! Join the guys as they hit the trail, exploring the seldom-seen world of ants and plants.
What's better than a regular episode about ticks? That's right, a bonus episode featuring someone who actually spent their career as an entomologist specifically studying ticks. Enter entomologist, Dr. Wayne Gall.
The first half of this episode follows Steve and Wayne sampling for ticks at Stiglmeier Park in Cheektowaga, NY. The second half takes place at the Julia Boyer Reinstein Library where Wayne dives into more detail about his work in Western New York.
This episode was recorded in spring 2017, but we're releasing it during mid-October. Believe it or not, Autumn is still an important time to think about ticks and Wayne would often hold off sampling for ticks until early to mid October. We hope you enjoy this special bonus episode!
To view a complete list of episodes, visit us on iTunes.
