Arthro-Pod EP 171: Glittering, Golden, Insect Jewelry with Jennifer Gordon

 

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 jewelry

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Arthro-Pod EP 170: Tour of the State Insects

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 Notes

Wikipedia list of state insects

Thought Co Article on choices and history

Questions? Comments? 

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Arthro-Pod EP 169: Arthro-Pod Watches "Arachnophobia"

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. 

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Arthro-Pod EP 168 The Great Insect Fair at Penn State

 

Join Michael Skvarla of Penn State Entomology for a tour around the annual Great Insect Fair. 

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Follow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36 and Bluesky @NapoleonicEnto

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Arthro-Pod EP 167: What's New with Spotted Lanternfly with Dr. Julie Urban

 

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. Join the Arthro-Pod gang as they sit down with Dr. Julie Urban of Penn State to talk all about what has happened with SLF since she last joined us in 2021!

Show Notes

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly 

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-frequently-asked-questions

https://cals.cornell.edu/new-york-state-integrated-pest-management/outreach-education/whats-bugging-you/spotted-lanternfly/spotted-lanternfly-reported-distribution-map

https://extension.psu.edu/spotted-lanternfly-management-guide

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

Follow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36 and Bluesky @NapoleonicEnto

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Arthro-Pod EP 166: Scratching the Oak Itch Mite itch

 

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 talk all about the seemingly mysterious origins of the oak leaf itch mite, how entomologists in the US were first introduced to it, and why it's making headlines in 2024. Tune in, we don't bit even if the mites do!

Itch mites in action, photo by Steve Jacobs, Penn State. 

Show Notes

Mike talked about elm zig zag sawfly in our Catching up part of the podcast. If you want to learn more about the pest there is an upcoming webinar presented by Penn State University.

FREE Webinar on Sept 9: Frontiers in Forest Health: Elm Zigzag Sawfly

Link to Register: https://extension.psu.edu/frontiers-in-forest-health-elm-zigzag-sawfly       

If you want to read more about the non-native forest pest and see some good images, check out the article by Dr. David Coyle from Entomology Today in 2023

https://entomologytoday.org/2023/07/20/here-we-go-again-meet-the-elm-zigzag-sawfly-another-non-native-forest-pest/

Oak itch mites in the news

https://www.8newsnow.com/news/national-news/mystery-bug-bites-in-chicago-area-may-be-connected-to-cicadas/ 

Oak Itch Mites References

• Cloyd, R. A. 2019. Oak leaf itch mite. K-State Research and Extension. MF2806. https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/download/oak-leaf-itch-mite_MF2806
• Broce, A. B., Zurek, L., Kalisch, J. A., Brown, R., Keith, D. L., Gordon, D., Goedeke, J. Welbourn, C., Moser, J., Ochoa, R., Azziz-Baumgartner, E., Yip, F., and Weber, J. 2006. Pyemotes herfsi (Acari: Pyemotidae), a mite new to North America as the cause of bite outbreaks. 43(3): 610-3. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16739423/        
• Glosner, S. E., and Kang, E. 2008. Pyemotes, the mysterious itch mite. U.S. Pharmacist. 33(5): 59-64. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/pyemotes-the-mysterious-itch-mite             
• Grob, M., Dorn, K., and Lautenschlager, S. 1998. Getreidekrätze Eine kleine Epidemie durch Pyemotes spezies Eine kleine Epidemie durch Pyemotes spezies. Hautarzt. 49(11):838-43. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s001050050835          
• Jacobs, S. 2015. Oak leaf itch mite. PennState Extension. https://extension.psu.edu/oak-leaf-itch-mite
• Keith, D. L., Kalish, J. A., and Broce, A. R. 2005. Pyemotes itch Mites. UNL Extension NF05-653. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/extensionhist/1737/      
• Krantz, G. W. and Walter, D. E. (editors). 2009. A Manual of Acarology (3rd ed.) Texas Tech University Press. Pp. 78, 79, 314, 315.
• Kritsky, G. 2021. One for the books: The 2021 emergence of the periodical cicada Brood X. American Entomologist, 67(4):40-46. https://doi.org/10.1093/ae/tmab059
• Talley, J. 2015. Finally found: Oak leaf itch mite. Oklahoma State University Extension Pest e-alerts. https://shareok.org/bitstream/handle/11244/332675/oksa_pestealerts_v14n44.pdf?sequence=1
• Zaborski, E. R. 2007. Outbreak of human pruritic dermatitis in Chicago, Illinois caused by an itch mite, Pyemotes herfsi (Oudemans, 1946) (Acarina: Heterostigmata: Pyemotidae). https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/items/18258 

The life and times of an itch mite, credit to Broce et al. 2006

Arthro-Pod EP 165 Pheromones and Fireflies with Dr. Sarah Lower

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. Lower talk about how not all fireflies are illuminated and her work with a pheromone for Lampyridae. 

If you want to learn more about Dr. Lower's work, check out her lab website.

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

Follow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36 and Bluesky @NapoleonicEnto

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