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

Questions? Comments? 

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Arthro-Pod EP 164: Mothman versus Arthro-Pod

 

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 from John Acorn, entomology luminary, on this exact topic. Then, listen as they recount the tale of Mothman, who or what was he? Why were people in Point Pleasant, WV seeing him and what does he mean to a couple of entomologists with podcast gear? All this and more in this paranormal Arthro-Pod!

*One word of warning! At the end of our discussion on Mothman, there is a strange issue with the audio that warps our voices. This was not intentional on our part. Perhaps we had disgruntled him and he took it out on our podcast gear!*

The first indication we were in Mothman territory.

Walking to the Mothman Museum, we encountered a Man in Black.

"Welcome to the museum"

View inside the main room of the Mothman Museum.

The museum has an impressive number of newspaper clippings about the Mothman sightings. I'm honestly surprised about how much coverage it got at the time.

Paraphernalia from the Mothman Prophesies movie.

Your intrepid hosts.

Sticker graffiti we saw outside of the Mothman Museum. Goatman is a fair distance away from his home range in Prince George County, Maryland.

This mayfly we saw on a window outside of the Mothman Museum was the only insect involved in this episode.

Show notes

John Acorn on entomology and cryptozoology

The fandom wiki focused on "cryptids"

Darwin's hawkmoth

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 158: The Bugs of Fallout

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 "stingwing", and maybe befriend your own mothman. It's a lot of fun to look at the entomological basis and designs of these critters and hash out which of them are the best from our buggy perspective. 

Show notes-

These notes will be most helpful since we are talking about some visual material in this episode! Look below for some pics of each monster we discuss. 

Radroaches

Radroach from Fallout 4. Via Fallout Wiki.

Radroaches as seen in Fallout: New Vegas. Via Fallout Wiki.

Radroaches as seen in the Fallout television series (Season 1, episode 5: The Past). Via the Fallout Wiki.

Bloatfly

Bloatfly as seen in Fallout 3. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Bloatfly as seen in Fallout 4. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Bloatfly as seen in Fallout 76. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Ants

Giant ant as seen in Fallout 2. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Giant ant workers as seen in Fallout 3. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Giant ant queen as seen in Fallout 3. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Giant fire ants in action, as seen in the Fallout 3 quest "Those!". Via the Fallout Wiki.

Giant ants as seen in Fallout 76. Notice how the design has changed between games. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Radscorpion

Radscorption as seen in Fallout (1). Via the Fallout Wiki.

Radscorpion and albino radscorpion as seen in Fallout 3. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Radscorpions as seen in Fallout 4. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Various radscorpions as seen in Fallout 76. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Bloodbug

Examples of bloodbugs as seen in Fallout 4. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Bloodbug as seen in Fallout 76. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Stingwing

Stingwings as seen in Fallout 4. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Details of a stingwing tail. Note how it is a stinger instead of clasping organs as in normal scorpionflies. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Stingwing nests, with a yellow honey-like substance. This is not based on real scorpionflies whatsoever. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Stingwings in Fallout 76. The design seems to have suffered quite a bit. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Mirelurk

A mirelurk, as seen in Fallout 3. This design is kind of a bipedal crab thing. Via the Fallout Wiki.

A mirelurk king, as seen in Fallout 3. This design is more fishman than bipedal crab. Via the Fallout Wiki.

A mirelurk as seen in Fallout 4. This design is more crab centaur. Via the Fallout Wiki.

A mirelurk hunter as seen in Fallout 4. Obviously based on a mantis shrimp, this is somehow the same species as the more crab-like mirelurks. Via the Fallout Wiki.

A mirelurk king as seen in Fallout 4. Another fishman design for the king. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Giant hermit crab

A giant hermit crab, as seen in Fallout 4: Far Harbor.  One of the most realistic designs we've encountered. Via the Fallout Wiki.

 

Honeybeast

A honey beast, as seen in Fallout 76. This is a pretty disappointing design considering the other arthropod-based creatures across the series. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Cave cricket

A cave cricket, as seen in in Fallout 76. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Mothman

Classic mothman in Fallout 76. Spot on design. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Mothman Museum in Point Pleasant, West Virginia, as envisioned in Fallout 76. Via the Fallout Wiki.

Various mothman designs. The wing patterns appear to be inspired by real moth species. Via the Fallout Wiki.

"I am the night". Via the Fallout Wiki.

 

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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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!

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