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 fe…

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 fee…

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 spat…

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.…

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 agricultura…

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 Jo…

Join Michael Skvarla of Penn State Entomology for a tour around the annual Great Insect Fair. Questions? Comments? Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow Follow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36 and Bluesky @NapoleonicEnto Get the show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app! If you can sp…

Spotted lanternfly is one of the most dashing and prominent invasive species in the United States. This colorful planthopper is known for feeding on tree of heaven (another invasive species...) and grapes amongst quite a few others. Though they are likely best known for being being big and colorful and for going to bathroom all over everything. Joi…

Hello bug lovers and welcome to another episode of Arthro-Pod! Today, we're going to the world of mites, specifically, we will talking all about the pyemotes itch mite. This teeny tiny biting pest has been making a splash in the news recently, with lots of people in Chicago and other Illinois city's complaining about their painful nibbles. We'll ta…

On today's episode, Michael is flying solo when he interviews Dr. Sarah Lower of Bucknell University. Dr. Lower is an expert on the evolution of signaling in the fireflies, one of the more popular group of insects we have here on Earth. Usually when people think of this flashy group, they visualize their ability to light up. Tune in to hear Dr. Low…

Greetings from the void, bug lovers! Today's episode is a bit different in flavor... Michael and Jonathan met up this month for a dual family vacation and they are in search of the mythical Mothman! Join them as the delve into the world of cryptozoology and ask the question, why aren't there more insect cryptids? Check out the show notes to hear fr…

Today's episode is a twisted one! After meeting one of our listeners a while back, there was a request for a deep dive into the world of strepsiptera, aka the twisted wing parasites. This order of insects may not be a big one, but they do hold a lot of surprises. Mike leads Jody and Jonathan through a tour of their biology, taxonomy, and why they a…

Hello bug lovers! On today's episode of Arthro-Pod, the gang will be taking you on a journey through the first section of an insect's body, the head. This magnificent center for information gathering and processing has many wonderful adaptations of internal and external anatomy that it's truly a marvel to dissect and consider. Tune in to hear all a…

Hello bug lovers and welcome back to Arthro-Pod! On today's show, the gang sits down with Dr. Eliza Grames of Binghamton University to talk about insects in decline. Terms like "insect apocalypse" are used in the media often and people have been asking Extension professionals about the gradual disappearance of things like fireflies and monarchs, El…

Hello bug lovers and mosquito haters! On today's episode of Arthro-Pod, Michael and Jonathan delve into the long history between malaria and humanity. You won't believe the most famous folks taken down by this disease/pathogen! Plus we track the trail of malaria to the Americas and conclude the show with a discussion on the saga of malaria eradicat…

Welcome back to Arthro-Pod! On today's episode, we begin a deep dive into the long history of malaria and its interactions with humanity. World Malaria Day was last month on April 25th, which is a global day of recognition for the many efforts under way to try and eliminate one of our species' oldest foes. In this episode, you can join you can join…

Hello vault dwellers and bug lovers! On today's episode of Arthro-Pod, the gang dips their toes into the cultural zeitgeist to talk about the video game/television show "Fallout" and more specifically about the horrible mutated arthropods that exist in that universe. Tune in to hear about the biology of giant "radroaches", feel the sting of the "st…

Welcome bug lovers to our latest episode! Asa vast swath of the eastern US prepares for the "double brood" emergence of the various Magiccicada species, we here at Arthro-Pod got to meet up with engineer, entomologist, and author Alie Kratzer to talk about her new book, "The Cicadas of North America". See below for pre-ordering information. We talk…

Hello lovers of bugs, as well as bugs who are in love! In today's episode, we take a journey through the world of nuptial gifts within the arthropods and find out why sometimes it is best to wrap a gift before trying to go on a date. Tune in to learn the basics of why nuptial gifts exist and how they can help facilitate the mating process and gener…

Welcome back bug lovers! Today we venture into the world of worms, both segmented and unsegmented, to talk about jumping worms and hammerhead worms. While neither of them are arthropods, entomologists have been fielding inquiries on both over the last few years. We try to dispel some of the myths surrounding these wiggly wonders and discuss the pos…

Howdy bug lovers! Scale insects are simultaneously fascinating and sort of uninteresting. They are notoriously immobile for much of their life, making them the insect of equivalent of couch potatoes. But, with that comes intriguing questions about how they live, thrive, and survive. Today, Mike is flying solo to interview Scott Schneider all about …

Hello bug lovers and welcome to a roach filled Valentine's edition of Artho-Pod! Jody and Jonathan meet up with Dr. Andrew Sutherland of University of California Extension. Andrew is an urban entomologist and an area IPM advisor for UC who serves the San Francisco area. As for today's topic, the Turkestan cockroach is an intriguing invasive species…

Hello bug lovers and our new machine overlords and welcome to a new episode of Arthro-Pod. Today, Jody, Jon, and Mike, decide to swerve a bit out of their lane and discuss their thoughts about artificial intelligence, specifically the intersection of AI and entomology/Extension. There is a lot of clamor over what AI means for the future and what it…

Hello friends, and welcome back to Arthro-Pod! Today's episode is a look at a phenomenon many entomologists will encounter, even if they aren't ready to, known as delusory parasitosis. Also referred to as delusions of infestation and Ekbom's syndrome, this situation involves a person believing that their body and home are infested with some sort of…

Hello bug lovers! We hope you have had a wonderful 2023 and are looking forward to 2024. To wrap our season for the year, we wanted to do something fun and make a bit of a news round up focused on arthropods (and some adjacent critters) and see what people were saying about our creepy crawly friends. We'll go from worm rain all the way through mala…