Arthro-Pod Ep 184: Salt Creek Tiger Beetle with Dr. Gary Brewer

In this episode of Arthropod, we explore the complex challenges of habitat restoration and species conservation through the lens of the endangered Salt Creek Tiger Beetle. Hosts are joined by special guest Dr. Gary Brewer to discuss the beetle’s unique ecological needs and the collaborative efforts to protect it—ranging from captive rearing and reintroduction projects to public outreach, community art, and the ongoing hurdles of conservation work.

Photo credit: UNL Department of Entomology

 

Guest: Dr. Gary Brewer, Professor of Insect Management, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

• https://entomology.unl.edu/person/dr-gary-brewer/
• https://www.entsoc.org/gary-brewer

 

Photo credit: UNL Department of Entomology

Photo credit: UNL Department of Entomology

Photo credit: UNL Department of Entomology

The City of Lincoln, Nebraska

Saline Wetlands. https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/City/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Parks-Facilities/Saline-Wetlands.

Saline Wetlands Conservation Partnership.  https://www.lincoln.ne.gov/files/sharedassets/public/v/1/parks-amp-rec/saline-wetlands/conservationpartnershipbrochure.pdf.

Henry Doorly Zoo. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eFDW90z5R5A.

Lower Platte South Natural Resources District.

https://www.lpsnrd.org/endangered-salt-creek-tiger-beetle-release.

https://www.lpsnrd.org/sites/default/files/files/89/2021-7-9_saline_wetlands.pdf.

Nebraska Game and Parks. https://outdoornebraska.gov/learn/nebraska-wildlife/nebraska-animals/insects/salt-creek-tiger-beetle/.

Nebraska Public Media. The Salt Creek tiger beetle: Lincoln's special bug. https://nebraskapublicmedia.org/en/news/news-articles/the-salt-creek-tiger-beetle-lincolns-special-bug/.

Topeka Zoo & Conservation Center.

https://topekazoo.org/conservation_sustainability/salt-creek-tiger-beetle-2/.

University of Nebraska - Lincoln

Platte Basin Time Lapse Project. https://plattebasintimelapse.com/greats-of-the-plains-frank-shoemaker/.

Spomer SM, Brust ML, Backlund DC, et al. 2008. Tiger Beetles of South Dakota & Nebraska. Department of Entomology, University of Nebraska. https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/entomologyfacpub/1064.

Spomer SM, Brewer GJ, Fritz MI, et al. 2015. Determining Optimum Soil Type and Salinity for Rearing the Federally Endangered Salt Creek Tiger Beetle, Cicindela (Ellipsoptera) nevadica lincolniana Casey (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Cicindelinae). kent. 88(4):444–449. https://doi.org/10.2317/0022-8567-88.4.444

Spomer SM, Dunn SM, Fritz MI. 2021. A 30-year history of salt creek tiger beetle, Ellipsoptera nevadica lincolniana (Casey, 1916) (Coleoptera: Cicindelidae), visual

population estimates. Coleopt. Bull. 75(3):512–515. https://doi.org/10.1649/0010-065X-75.3.512.

US Fish & Wildlife Service

https://www.fws.gov/species/salt-creek-tiger-beetle-cicindela-nevadica-lincolniana

https://ecos.fws.gov/ecp/species/342

Xerces Society. Salt Creek Tiger Beetle. https://xerces.org/endangered-species/species-profiles/at-risk-beetles/salt-creek-tiger-beetle.

 

Arthro-Pod EP 161: Insect Decline with Dr. Eliza Grames

 

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, Eliza helps to unpack what we know is happening with bug populations across the world. Plus, learn how scientists dissect huge stacks of data to better understand these declines and what fewer bugs might mean for things like birds. Tune in for all of it!

Show notes

https://elizagrames.github.io/

https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2023989118

 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 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!  

Arthro-Pod EP 119: Monarch Butterflies on the Red List

 

Tune in bug lovers to learn about monarch butterflies and why they have recently been added to the IUCN Red List for endangered animals. It's sad to see such a beloved insect be added to a list that sparks concerns. There have been many problems confronting monarchs for years and now we must worry about the future for these migratory wonders. 

Tune in to learn about monarch biology, what the Red List means, and what you can do to help monarchs bounce back. 

An adult monarch sipping nectar. Photo by Jody Green. 

Show Notes

• Monarch was added to “:red list” of threatened species, endangered”, “Two steps from extinction” https://www.iucn.org/press-release/202207/migratory-monarch-butterfly-now-endangered-iucn-red-list   
• Learn more about the IUCN (International Union for Conservation for Nature) https://www.iucn.org

 Why do we like monarchs: 

•  August 22, 1987 article in the NYTimes Monarch Butterfly as Ideal National Symbol https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/22/opinion/l-monarch-butterfly-is-the-ideal-national-symbol-134687.html by Allen M. Young, insect ecologist, curator and head of invertebrate zoology section of Milwaukee Public Museum.  
• Heighten public awareness of interrelatedness of all species. Iconic insect or Umbrella species (according to Scott Hoffman Black from Xerces: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wA0tsGPR8gw) 

WHERE TO LEARN MORE 

• Monarch Watch https://www.monarchwatch.org/  

• Monarch Joint Venture https://monarchjointventure.org/  

• US Fish and Wildlife https://www.fws.gov/initiative/pollinators/monarchs   

• Xerces Society https://xerces.org/monarchs 

• World Wildlife Fund https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/monarch-butterfly#:~:text=The%20monarch%20butterfly%20is%20known,white%20spots%20along%20the%20edges.  

• National Wildlife Federation https://www.nwf.org/mayorsmonarchpledge  

The life of a monarch butterfly from egg to adult, by Jody Green. 

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

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

Get the show through Apple Podcast, Stitcher, 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!  

This episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beginning/ending theme: "There It Is" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Arthro-Pod EP 86: Conserving the American Burying Beetle with Dr. Carmen Greenwood

 Hello bug lovers! Today we're happy to welcome Dr. Carmen Greenwood of SUNY Cobleskill to the show. Dr. Greenwood recently received funding to help reintroduce the American burying beetle to New York state and this is a very exciting development in the conservation of this amazing insect. Tune in to learn about the history of the American burying beetle, its unique biology, and what steps are involved in a conservation project like this!

Show Notes

Press release on the grant: https://web.cobleskill.edu/media/2021/02/10/suny-cobleskill-receives-grant-from-u-s-fish-and-wildlife-service-to-reintroduce-american-burying-beetle-in-new-york-state/ 

American burying beetle info: https://www.dec.ny.gov/animals/7124.html

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

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

Get the show through Apple Podcasts!

Subscribe to our feed on Feedburner!  

We're also on Stitcher!

This episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beginning/ending theme: "There It Is" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Arthro-Pod EP 51 Helping the Monarch Butterfly

Howdy, howdy bug lovers! On today's episode Jody and Mike sit down with for two special interviews with monarch experts Thelma Heidel-Baker of the Xerces Society and Tori Pocius of Penn State! 

Tune in to learn all about America's favorite insect and how we can all help conserve their populations! 

Photo by Thelma Heidel-Baker

Show notes

Xerces Society
https://xerces.org/monarchs/
https://xerces.org/monarch-nectar-plants/ 

Milkweed seed finder:
https://xerces.org/milkweed/

Native Plant Guide
http://xerces.org/monarch-nectar-plant-guides/

Photo by Jody Green

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

Follow the hosts on Twitter @JLarson_UNL, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36

Get the show through iTunes!

Subscribe to our feed on Feedburner!  

We're also on Stitcher!

This episode is freely available on archive.org and is licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

Beginning/ending theme: "There It Is" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0