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<v Speaker 1>Oh hey, it's your buddy who swaps sandwiches in your

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<v Speaker 1>lunch alley. Ward, and welcome to another episode of smologies,

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<v Speaker 1>which are condensed, shortened all ages, classroom friendly episodes of

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<v Speaker 1>ologies classics. So they're little and they are safe for littles. Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>so this one bugs bugs, bugs, bugs bugs. So you

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<v Speaker 1>may not know this about me yet, but I'm nuts

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<v Speaker 1>about bugs.

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<v Speaker 2>I love them.

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<v Speaker 1>I have had a fascination since I was a kid.

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<v Speaker 1>I used to get bug books for every holiday and

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<v Speaker 1>every birthday. My walls now, as an adult, are covered

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<v Speaker 1>in bug posters and pinned insects. So this week's topic

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<v Speaker 1>is one of my favorite ologies, of course, But even

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<v Speaker 1>more importantly, this particular ologist honestly changed the course of

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<v Speaker 1>my life. She was just a friend of a friend

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<v Speaker 1>at one point years ago, and she invited me one

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<v Speaker 1>day to the La County Natural History Museum in this

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<v Speaker 1>lab that was off limits to the public, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was an insectory. Now this is a bug lover's dream.

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<v Speaker 2>So there are.

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<v Speaker 1>Terrariums of millipedes and cockroaches. There's butterfly chrysalises hanging like

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<v Speaker 1>these tiny chandeliers, dragonfly niads, and gurgling tanks. There's a

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<v Speaker 1>freezer full of tarantula molts. And at the time I

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<v Speaker 1>was going through really sad period in my life and

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<v Speaker 1>not knowing any of this. This entomologist just casually suggested

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<v Speaker 1>that I volunteer at the museum, and I did, and

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<v Speaker 1>talking to kids about bugs one morning.

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<v Speaker 2>A week lifted my spirits. It changed my life.

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<v Speaker 1>After doing it for a few months, I somehow was

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<v Speaker 1>offered a job as a science correspondent for CBS for

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<v Speaker 1>a show called Innovation Nation. It's still on every Saturday morning.

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<v Speaker 2>Eight years later. I'm still doing the show, and I'm.

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<v Speaker 1>Doing exactly what I wanted to do since I was twelve,

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<v Speaker 1>all because I took this tour at an insectory and

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<v Speaker 1>I loved this interview.

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<v Speaker 2>I love this friend. It's one of my favorites.

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<v Speaker 1>So the word entomology comes from the Greek meaning to

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<v Speaker 1>cut up into little pieces, which is not what you

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<v Speaker 1>should do when you find a bug in your face. Rather,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a reference to insects bodies being cut or segmented,

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<v Speaker 1>so having a notch at the waist. There you go,

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<v Speaker 1>and this guest is an entomologist. She's done a TED

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<v Speaker 1>talk called learning to love nature in a big city.

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<v Speaker 1>She's an author on one of my favorite books called

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<v Speaker 1>Wild La, which every Angelino should own a copy of.

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<v Speaker 1>It tells you all of the things that you see

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<v Speaker 1>out and about all the critters and the plants that

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<v Speaker 1>you see in the parks.

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<v Speaker 2>It's great. I will link those on my website.

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<v Speaker 1>She's also the manager of Community Science at the Natural

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<v Speaker 1>History Museum in Los Angeles, one of.

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<v Speaker 2>My favorite places.

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<v Speaker 1>So get ready to hear about bugs, licking cockroaches, social insects,

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<v Speaker 1>less social insects, lots of legs, how to be an

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<v Speaker 1>amateur scientist, and why bugs should be your friends. So

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<v Speaker 1>please ready your heart and your ears for Leela Higgins.

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<v Speaker 1>How she.

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<v Speaker 3>Alogy knowledges.

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<v Speaker 1>If someone at a cocktail party were like, what, what's

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<v Speaker 1>your deal? What would you sell them?

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<v Speaker 2>Hmmm?

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<v Speaker 4>Well? Usually I you know, I'm like, I'm bug geek.

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<v Speaker 4>Usually there's no children at cocktail parties, but sometimes there are,

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<v Speaker 4>and then they're like, Oh, I'm gonna go hang out

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<v Speaker 4>with the children now and talk all about bugs for

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<v Speaker 4>the next you know, a couple of hours.

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<v Speaker 1>That's actually a good question I have. I just complimented

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<v Speaker 1>my own question. This is an important question I have,

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<v Speaker 1>Why are kids owning the buns and adults are like

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<v Speaker 1>kill it with fire? What's that? What happens?

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<v Speaker 4>I think? I mean, I was really into bugs as

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<v Speaker 4>a kid. I grew up on a farm in England

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<v Speaker 4>and I dug up aunt nests trying to find the queen.

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<v Speaker 4>I like, would put glasses over bumblebees to observe them.

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<v Speaker 4>I would try to follow the butterflies down the lane

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<v Speaker 4>and see where they were going.

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<v Speaker 1>And then so that sounds idyllic, like following a butterfly

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<v Speaker 1>down a lane in England? Are you kidding?

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<v Speaker 4>To the woods? Basically, not the scary woods. There were

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<v Speaker 4>badges down there.

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<v Speaker 1>What is the most fulfilling thing about being having studied bugs?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, getting to work at the Naturalist Museum and being

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<v Speaker 4>around other bug geeks and getting to go into the

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<v Speaker 4>collection and pull out drawers and see just these spectacular

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<v Speaker 4>specimens from all over the world, whether they're you know,

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<v Speaker 4>the big showy things that the crowd pleases, or whether

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<v Speaker 4>it's the hundreds of tiny little wasps or tiny little flies.

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<v Speaker 1>What's a show stopping bug? When you say like the showstoppers,

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<v Speaker 1>what are you talking about?

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<v Speaker 4>So like goliath beetles, or hercules beetles, Like, some of

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<v Speaker 4>these beetles are almost the size of our fist. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>huge giant. And then when holding one of those large

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<v Speaker 4>beetles in your hands, you're just like, oh my god,

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<v Speaker 4>it's so much stronger than I thought it was going

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<v Speaker 4>to be a little bit scary, stronger, like Heaveny tried

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<v Speaker 4>to use their huge jaws, powerful jaws to say hello,

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<v Speaker 4>I'm pretty good about not touching that end. Okay, the

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<v Speaker 4>ones that have large mandibles, especially large slicy mandibles.

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<v Speaker 1>Slicy mandibles. I have a question. Insects are what half

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<v Speaker 1>of all species of living animals on Earth something like that.

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<v Speaker 4>I just know that there's about a million described species,

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<v Speaker 4>but they estimate that could be up to like ten million.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, so they outnumber mammals and oh fish way and

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<v Speaker 1>birds and birds yeah, etcetera, et cetera. So in nineteen

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<v Speaker 1>forty nine, John Burdon Sanderson Haldane was a British evolutionary biologist,

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<v Speaker 1>and he was credited as noting that God, if one exists,

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<v Speaker 1>has an inordinate fondness for beetles. He actually like laid

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<v Speaker 1>it out, said the creator would appear as in doubt

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<v Speaker 1>with a passion for stars on the one hand and

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<v Speaker 1>for beetles on the other. God is just in a

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<v Speaker 1>shack in the backyard, tinkering over and over, being like,

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<v Speaker 1>man cannot get enough of these beetles, can't stop making them.

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<v Speaker 1>I can't stop so much. When you're gravitating toward a

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<v Speaker 1>certain bug to study, do you go for like really

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<v Speaker 1>gossipy behaviors, like do you are you?

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<v Speaker 2>Like, oh my god, this wasp.

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<v Speaker 1>They're parasites. They infect people like zombies. They sting people.

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<v Speaker 1>They don't even make Connie like, what's the deal? Wasps?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, the wasps that I actually studied and worked on

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<v Speaker 4>right after I graduated from UC Riverside, So that's my

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<v Speaker 4>ala mata. UC Riverside Entomology program amazing place. I studied

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<v Speaker 4>biological control, and I think that I was really into

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<v Speaker 4>that because it was, Oh, we don't have to use

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<v Speaker 4>so much pesticides out in the world. We can use insects.

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<v Speaker 4>I mean, there are other creatures you can use for biocontrol,

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<v Speaker 4>but I was obviously focusing on insects as biocontrol aid.

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<v Speaker 1>And biocontrol is when you release an insect to kill

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<v Speaker 1>another insect instead of spraying everything with like agent orange

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<v Speaker 1>or something.

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<v Speaker 4>Basically, Okay, that's a great way lay definition for sure.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, are you guys ready for some serious insect gossip?

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<v Speaker 1>I hope so. So she was working on this project

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<v Speaker 1>with the glassy winged sharpshooter. They are not native to

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<v Speaker 1>southern California. They come from the southeaster United States. But

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<v Speaker 1>they love to hang out on citrus and grapes, which

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<v Speaker 1>is annoying because they poop everywhere. But also they spread

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<v Speaker 1>this bacterium, and this bacterium is bad news. It causes

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<v Speaker 1>diseases such as you ready for this sweet gum die back,

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<v Speaker 1>cherry plum leaf scorch, and phony peach disease. These are

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<v Speaker 1>awesome names. So it spreads all these diseases.

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<v Speaker 2>So what do they do? Well?

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<v Speaker 1>Leela was working on this project where she was helping

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<v Speaker 1>introduce a wasp that would eat the eggs of the

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<v Speaker 1>glassy winged sharpshooter so that the glassy beings sharpshooter wouldn't

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<v Speaker 1>spread the bacterium. Pretty cool. Also, these wasps have the

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<v Speaker 1>cutest name ever. They're like little tiny superheroes.

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<v Speaker 4>And they're called fairy wasps. Oh and they're tiny. They're

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<v Speaker 4>like like one to two millimeters long. The babies there,

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<v Speaker 4>and they're some of them are kind of golden. So

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<v Speaker 4>it's like these little literally like with these really beautiful

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<v Speaker 4>gosmel wings. They sound really beautiful and amazing, right, And

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<v Speaker 4>the only problem was I was literally collecting these wasps

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<v Speaker 4>on a daily basis, and they're tiny, and you use

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<v Speaker 4>a little thing called an aspirsa, So you got like

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<v Speaker 4>a little like tube that goes into your mouth and

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<v Speaker 4>then you suck on and then and then the little

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<v Speaker 4>wasps go into into the vial and there's a little

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<v Speaker 4>screen so it doesn't then you don't suck them into

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<v Speaker 4>your own mouth.

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<v Speaker 1>So it's like a proboscis for humans, because now a

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<v Speaker 1>proboscis is a tubular mouthpart, like if a crazy straw

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<v Speaker 1>grew out of your face, like a yeah, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>prosthetic proboscis. What is the deal with with like bees,

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<v Speaker 1>ants being social insects and the rest of them being

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<v Speaker 1>like this apple core is mine?

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<v Speaker 4>Well, okay, so there's some uh wasps, bees, ants and

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<v Speaker 4>wasps right, the hymenoptra there are many of them that

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<v Speaker 4>are social insects, but there are wasps and bees who

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<v Speaker 4>are not so like carpenter bees are more like solitary bees.

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<v Speaker 4>And you see the black ones flying around, which are

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<v Speaker 4>the females, and the like kind of tan colored ones

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<v Speaker 4>and the males. We call them teddy bear bees.

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<v Speaker 1>But they're huge. They're so pretty. I I once didn't

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<v Speaker 1>know what it was and I tried to kill one,

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<v Speaker 1>which I shouldn't have and I and but the joke

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<v Speaker 1>is on me because I used to rolled up magazine

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<v Speaker 1>and I and I blew out a window and then

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<v Speaker 1>I had to pay for the window and college.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, so they're solitary. So a lot of people expect

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<v Speaker 4>that most bees and wasps are social, but there are

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<v Speaker 4>that are solitary and don't do the whole social thing.

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<v Speaker 1>So different types of bees might be wallflowers preferring to

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<v Speaker 1>hang out alone, and others might be social butterflies except

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<v Speaker 1>their bees.

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<v Speaker 4>But there are obviously benefits to having that kind of

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<v Speaker 4>social life because they protect their sisters.

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<v Speaker 1>But they're usually ladies though, like when you see a

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<v Speaker 1>huge colony, they're usually sterile ladies. Right.

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<v Speaker 4>So, if we're talking about the beehives, like the the

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<v Speaker 4>European honey bees, which are the bees that we see

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<v Speaker 4>like all around here. Again, not a species that is

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<v Speaker 4>from North America. They're from Europe. It's mostly females. But

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<v Speaker 4>then there are the drones. But you know they're not

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<v Speaker 4>doing as much work as the women are, right.

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<v Speaker 1>But they don't. Drones don't sting. Males don't sting.

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<v Speaker 4>No, they because it's a modified ovipositor. That is what

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<v Speaker 4>the stinger is for a bee.

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<v Speaker 1>So an ovipositor is kind of like this pointy tube

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<v Speaker 1>structure at the end of a lady insect butt and

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<v Speaker 1>she uses it to lay eggs. It's kind of like

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<v Speaker 1>a T shirt gun, but for your babies. So drones do,

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<v Speaker 1>in fact have larger eyes, and they don't gather nectar

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<v Speaker 1>or pollen or do really any work. Their primary goal

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<v Speaker 1>is to mate and die. I have some questions that

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<v Speaker 1>people wrote in that they can I rapid fire question you,

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<v Speaker 1>Oh my gosh, yes, But before your questions, we donate

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<v Speaker 1>to a cause of the ologists choosing And this week

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County,

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<v Speaker 1>where I met Leela Higgins and also where she works

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<v Speaker 1>in community science, which are programs that get local people

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<v Speaker 1>engaged to help collect data for scientists, and you can

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<v Speaker 1>learn more about those programs at NAHEM dot org or

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<v Speaker 1>at the link in the show notes. And if you're

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<v Speaker 1>not in LA, if you want to find community or

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<v Speaker 1>civic sometimes called citizen science programs all over the country,

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<v Speaker 1>Leela says, you can check out sistarter dot com, which

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<v Speaker 1>will also be linked on my website. So thank you

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<v Speaker 1>to sponsors for making our donation possible. Okay, let's hear

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<v Speaker 1>your questions. Okay, Dave Long wants to know what's with

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<v Speaker 1>all the legs.

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<v Speaker 4>The six legs to three pairs of legs. Well, they're

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<v Speaker 4>in the arthropod groups, which is jointed legged creatures, and

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<v Speaker 4>insects have six versus like their racknets that have eight versus.

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<v Speaker 4>Some of the other creatures like crustaceans that have seven

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<v Speaker 4>pairs and whatnot. Why do they have six versus? I

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<v Speaker 4>don't know the answer to that, but obviously those legs

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<v Speaker 4>help them to get around. And some insects don't have wings,

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<v Speaker 4>they've de evolved wings, like Madagascan hiss and cockroaches per se.

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<v Speaker 4>But those legs are this method of locomotion on on

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<v Speaker 4>land that works really well for them, so.

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<v Speaker 1>It gets them around crawling crawling wise.

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<v Speaker 4>Some of them what they have? Some of them have

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<v Speaker 4>stultorial legs which are for jumping. Good for jumping. Some

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<v Speaker 4>of them have fasorial legs, which are good for digging.

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<v Speaker 4>What are some of the other modified legs going back

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<v Speaker 4>to all my undergraduate classes.

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<v Speaker 1>Are petopalps in the front, but there that's.

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<v Speaker 4>More of the arachnids have, like the scorpions have petipalps.

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<v Speaker 1>Is it true that and that exoskeleton rigidity is why

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<v Speaker 1>insects could not maintain their massive prehistoric sizing? Brandy Demora

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<v Speaker 1>wants to know this.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, So the largest the largest insects we have right

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<v Speaker 4>now in our current climate, with our current like pressure

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<v Speaker 4>on the planet is about the size of a fist.

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<v Speaker 4>Which are the those giant amazing beetles. But back in

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<v Speaker 4>the day, when there were different climate conditions and pressure

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<v Speaker 4>conditions on the planet, there were some giant, oh my gosh,

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<v Speaker 4>I wish I could go back in time, giant dragonflies

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<v Speaker 4>that had like a foot long wingspan.

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<v Speaker 1>What fossils? How loud were they? Do you think?

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<v Speaker 4>I can only imagine? You know what dragonfly? Sorry, a

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<v Speaker 4>hummingbird comes like right behind your head if you're imagine

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<v Speaker 4>that multiplied by ten. So I don't know. I mean,

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<v Speaker 4>that's an extrapolation. Who knows.

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<v Speaker 1>Eric Martin wants to know what the white goo is

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<v Speaker 1>that comes out of a bug when you squish them.

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<v Speaker 4>White goo or yellow goo because when you okay, so

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<v Speaker 4>you know when you have a uh driving down the

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<v Speaker 4>road in your windshield and a bug splats on it. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>if it's a lot of yellow, that's usually the fat

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<v Speaker 4>body of a female insect that maybe was like got

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<v Speaker 4>all this stuff ready for her eggs. I don't know

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<v Speaker 4>about the white stuff though, but.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe they mean the yellow like you know when you

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<v Speaker 1>smash a thing and it's like and it looks like

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<v Speaker 1>Twinkie filling comes out, you know what I mean, I know.

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<v Speaker 4>About the whole white thing like I've definitely I haven't

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<v Speaker 4>squished that many bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>Surprisingly, I think he must be talking about fat. Okay, sorry, storytime,

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<v Speaker 1>quick diversion from the rapid fire. This one time I

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<v Speaker 1>was in when I was taking an animal bioclass. I

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<v Speaker 1>had to a dissected cockroach and we had dissected all

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<v Speaker 1>kinds of stuff. We had dissected pigeons and fetal pigs

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<v Speaker 1>that were like the size of a puppy and incredibly heartbreaking.

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<v Speaker 1>But who it was time to kill a cockroach. You

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<v Speaker 1>had to go to this tank full of custus who

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<v Speaker 1>cared about Nobody cares about it, But I remember slicing

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<v Speaker 1>it open and a lot of like these feathery fat

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<v Speaker 1>deposits came out.

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<v Speaker 2>Well.

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<v Speaker 4>Because this is so the spiracles inside of an insect,

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<v Speaker 4>so they insects do not breathe the same way as

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<v Speaker 4>humans do.

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<v Speaker 1>We don't.

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<v Speaker 4>They don't breathe through their mouth and then the oxygen

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<v Speaker 4>goes through the lungs into the circulatory system. Instead, insects

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<v Speaker 4>have these things called spiracles along the side of their

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<v Speaker 4>body which will tiny holes, and then oxygen is brought

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<v Speaker 4>in through those holes through these like very white When

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<v Speaker 4>I've dissected some insects, they like those tubes kind of

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<v Speaker 4>like white nopalescents kind of pop out.

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<v Speaker 1>I have a do you have any bugs that you're

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<v Speaker 1>afraid of? Like? Are there like for me? I love bugs.

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<v Speaker 1>I'm wearing a shirt this is bugs on it that

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<v Speaker 1>was made for me. But like a cockroach is no

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<v Speaker 1>friend of mine and I and I can't really explain it,

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<v Speaker 1>Like if I see a cockroach in my house or

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<v Speaker 1>especially inside, I get terrified. But I can hold up

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<v Speaker 1>like a spider on my face and not care.

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<v Speaker 4>Like what you wouldn't hold a cockroach.

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<v Speaker 1>I could hold a cockroach.

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<v Speaker 4>Sorry, I'm just laughing because I've licked a cockroach in

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<v Speaker 4>front of children before to show them that it's not dirty.

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<v Speaker 2>She's a hero.

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<v Speaker 4>I was like, you know how people think cockroaches are dirty? Kids.

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<v Speaker 4>This was literally in a museum program many a number

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<v Speaker 4>of years ago. Cockroaches on dirty. This cockroach lives in

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<v Speaker 4>the jungle and from Madagascar, and I was like, they're

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<v Speaker 4>not dirty, and I literally licked it in front of children.

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<v Speaker 1>Had that go over.

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<v Speaker 4>They thought it was amazing. They thought it was the

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<v Speaker 4>coolest person that ever existed until they went home.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, I don't know.

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<v Speaker 1>I know that they're really fastidious, right, They're really like

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<v Speaker 1>they're in depth groomers.

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah, they having particles on their body isn't necessarily something

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<v Speaker 4>that's going to feel great to them. So yeah, yeah,

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<v Speaker 4>I've see cockroach our cor coroaches like really going to

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<v Speaker 4>town clean rooming, right, Yeah, And I mean they live

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<v Speaker 4>so the madagas and cock coroaches we have at the museum,

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<v Speaker 4>they live in these amazing little habitats that we create

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<v Speaker 4>for them, and we feed them all these little vegetables

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<v Speaker 4>and sweet potato and a little bits of mushroom and

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<v Speaker 4>corn and all of this other stuff.

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<v Speaker 1>They live better lives than I do. So do you

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<v Speaker 1>have any closing advice, like if someone wants to become

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<v Speaker 1>an entomologist, if someone's interested in the field, Like what

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<v Speaker 1>advice would you give to a future entomologist, Like find

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<v Speaker 1>your niche, like study the study the unglamorous flies no

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<v Speaker 1>one cares about.

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<v Speaker 2>Uh.

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<v Speaker 4>Well, first of all, there's just not that many entomologists

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<v Speaker 4>in the world. There's just not that many out there

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<v Speaker 4>who have the entomology focused in background. And I've literally

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<v Speaker 4>worked at so many different places and I'm the only

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<v Speaker 4>entomology expert there, And at the Museum there's a bunch

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<v Speaker 4>of other entomology experts, which is awesome because I get

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<v Speaker 4>to hang out with all these bug geeks. But yes,

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<v Speaker 4>if you are going to be an entomologist and be

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<v Speaker 4>a research scientist, focus in on something that is a

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<v Speaker 4>little bit less studied.

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<v Speaker 1>I hope one day there's some kind of insect named

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<v Speaker 1>after you, Leila, because I feel like you deserve it. Jeez,

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<v Speaker 1>So what did we learn? Pick weird bugs to study,

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<v Speaker 1>don't inhale them, and never ever ever feel alone because

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<v Speaker 1>there are bugs everywhere and they can be your friends. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>volunteer somewhere you love if you're bummed out, and google

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<v Speaker 1>Leela Higgins and follow her on social media. She just

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<v Speaker 1>did it to head x talk. She killed it, So

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<v Speaker 1>if you have eighteen minutes, look that up. Learning to

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<v Speaker 1>Love Nature in a Big City So good. Ologies is

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<v Speaker 1>on Instagram and Twitter at just Ologies, and I'm on

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00:18:55.279 --> 00:18:58.400
<v Speaker 1>both at ali Ward with one l and ologies. Merch

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00:18:58.519 --> 00:19:01.200
<v Speaker 1>is available at Ologi's merch Talk, and of course we

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<v Speaker 1>have more somologies episodes, including a whole one about bees,

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<v Speaker 1>one about eating bugs, plus one on snails and wolves

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<v Speaker 1>and veterinary science and the moon and dinosaurs. So download

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<v Speaker 1>more at aliward dot com slash smologies. And in the

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<v Speaker 1>interest of keeping these short, we're going to list in

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<v Speaker 1>the show notes all the people who worked on the show.

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<v Speaker 1>But extra big thanks to Mercedes Maitland and Seek, Fredriguez

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<v Speaker 1>Thomas and Jared Sleeper of mind Gem Media for the

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<v Speaker 1>edits on this episode. And if you stick around until

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<v Speaker 1>the end, I give you a piece of advice, and

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<v Speaker 1>this week it's that when you're at a restaurant and

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<v Speaker 1>people start singing happy birthday to someone, even if you

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<v Speaker 1>don't know them, join in, because, first off, singing is fun,

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<v Speaker 1>and also wouldn't it be nice if a stranger wish

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<v Speaker 1>you happy birthday and saying to you too? I actually

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<v Speaker 1>like to keep a birthday candle in my wallet just

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<v Speaker 1>in case I find out it's someone's birthday and they

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<v Speaker 1>haven't made a wish yet. Ten out of ten, always glad,

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<v Speaker 1>I have one. Okay, have a great day. Smologites, byebye, somag.

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<v Speaker 3>Stagy Saudies.

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<v Speaker 2>Tesco.

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