Arthro-Pod EP 122: The Spongy Moth after Trouvelot

Howdy bug lovers! Today the Arthro-Pod gang is going back in history to discuss the spongy moth after its introduction by Trouvelot. We will start our journey at the nascent site of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1891 when specimens of the spongy moth were delivered to some entomologists working there. After that, it is off to the races with political intrigue, bureaucratic  frustrations, a variety of economic entomology pioneers, and unfortunately no eradication of this important invasive species. Tune in to find out more about what happened and what failed as well as for discussion on if the early eradication campaigns were worth it. 

Show notes

https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b60f63199fa14805a8b9f7c82447a25b#ref-n-esdBTD

https://portal.ct.gov/DEEP/Forestry/Forest-Protection/The-Spongy-Moth-A-Brief-History

https://www.fs.usda.gov/treesearch/pubs/19541

Much of the research for today's episode comes from a book by Robert Spear, "The Great Gypsy Moth War"

Questions? Comments? 

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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 110: The Spongy Moth and Trouvelot's Bad Idea

 

Last episode, we dove into the reasons why the ESA chose to select a new common name for Lymantria dispar and why we'll be using spongy moth going forward. Today's episode looks further into this species by covering the introduction of spongy moth to North America. This historic event was the result of an idea by entomologist Etienne Leopold Trouvelot. In an attempt to establish an American silk industry, Trouvelot imported this invasive species and sadly lost control of them, ultimately imposing a mighty pest on North America. Join us to hear about what he was thinking, what exactly happened in Medford, MA, and what fate befell Trouvelot and the situation he created. 

Here we can see Trouvelot on the left, in the only known photo of him. Next to him, the spongy moth caterpillar which he unfortunately helped bring to North America. 

Show Notes:

Much of the research for today's episode comes from a book by Robert Spear, "The Great Gypsy Moth War"

Trouvelot may have had a bad idea for his entomology research, but he did garner some renown in the world of astronomy in the second half of his academic life. As we detail in the episode, he was able to command a premium price for his services and artwork and his celestial art still captures attention today. Here's just a few examples: 

Trouvelot's lunar craters

Trouvelot's Jupiter

The Jupiter drawing as it appears in an episode of Star Trek

Trouvelot's Saturn

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 109: The Spongy Moth and The Better Common Names Project

Howdy bug lovers! On today's episode of Arthro-Pod, the gang is joined by Ahn Tran and Josh Lancette, who graciously agreed to talk about the Entomological Society of America's Better Common Names group, of which they are both members. 

The Better Common Names Taskforce is working to make sure that the common names we use to communicate about insects don't enforce negative stereotypes or use racist language. They are best known for helping to change the common name of Lymantria dispar to "the spongy moth". 

Tune in to hear about how this important committee came to be, why this work is needed for entomology, and the process by which the group came to pick spongy moth. 

Show Notes:

Learn moreabout the Better Common Names Project

https://entsoc.org/publications/common-names/better-common-names-project

Pre-order Biotic Borders by Jeannie N. Shinozuka

https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/B/bo131341992.html

To read more about the name spongy moth, check this link!

https://entsoc.org/publications/common-names/spongy-moth

War and Nature, which our guest Josh Lancette quotes from

https://www.google.com/books/edition/War_and_Nature/pDW4YNkmvZYC?hl=en

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!

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