Arthro-Pod EP 94: Talking Ants in August

 

In this episode we talked about ants! 

 Just a note, the Arthro-pod team had a pre-chat and practiced gratitude before getting into the ants, so if you want to bypass our personal updates, forward to about the 10-minute mark.  

 Some of the things we talked about topics like classification of ants, ants and communism, ants as pests, ants as aphid farmers, ants as beneficial insects, keeping ants as pets, the importance of identifying ants, how baiting works, and how to manage the ants thoughtfully and creatively in your urban landscape.  

Field ant carrying an asparagus beetle larva away. Photo by Jody Green, Nebraska Extension.

 Some of the ants we mention include Eastern black carpenter ants, small carpenter ants, acrobat ants, citronella ants, pavement ants, odorous house ants, Argentine ants, fire ants, and the extinct hell ants.  

Citronella ants can be a common sight in and around the home. They really do smell like citronella! Photo by Jody Green, Nebraska Extension

Show notes

We love ants and could have gone on for many episodes, but if you want to know more about ants, check out some of the resources we enjoy.  

AntWiki: https://www.antwiki.org/wiki/Welcome_to_AntWiki  

AntWeb: https://www.antweb.org  

Ants of North America: A guide to the Genera:   

https://www.ucpress.edu/book/9780520254220/ants-of-north-america  

 Urban Ants of North America and Europe:  

https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801474736/urban-ants-of-north-america-and-europe  

  

There are many ant bait options on the market if you are looking to manage ants in and around the home. Photo by Jody Green, Nebraska Extension

Universities studying ants:  

Lucky Lab at University of Florida: https://andrealucky.com/  

Moreau Lab at Cornell University: https://www.moreaulab.entomology.cornell.edu/  

Ant Photos by Alexander Wild: https://www.alexanderwild.com/Ants  

Pavement ants engaged in a battle over territory. Who will win this particular sidewalk?! Photo by Jody Green, Nebraska Extension. 

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

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

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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 63 THEM! Giant Insects in Cinema

It's a Halloween Spectacular as the Arthro-Pod gang fires up the projector and watches the 1954 sci-fi classic "THEM!" There are giant ants galore in this movie so there's plenty to dissect in regards to ant biology. Plus, a whole host of other spooky content! 

It's THEM!

Jody found out what she would look like if she were made of giant ants at "Pest World" in San Diego

I think we all get emails like this sometimes. 

Questions? Comments? 

Follow the show on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow

Follow the hosts on Twitter @bugmanjon, @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

Episode 19: Selenium vs Ants with Deborah De La Riva

Greetings bug lovers and welcome to episode 19 of Arthro-Pod!

Today we meet up with Deborah De La Riva of the University of California Riverside to learn all about ants, pollutants, and entomology outreach in California!

Plus: What the heck is a lilac-ash borer?

Do bed bugs have a favorite color? 

Are some moths learning to avoid light? 

Tune in to find out!

Arthro-Pod Episode 4: Carpenter ants and Frightening Insect Films part 2

It looks just like a family reunion

Today we conclude our look into the world of scary insect films! We stick with social insects for our next film, The Empire of the Ants. It would be generous to call the film a real stinker, but there are still some interesting themes to talk about. We dissect what the giant ants may symbolize as well as the real world biology that helps them be so terrifying!