This episode Amanda and Dr Kelly Z discuss mantidflies (Mantispidae), which are neither mantids nor flies. Tangents include movies, deviled eggs, and kicking robot dogs. And Kelly eats some ant sauce??? Thanks to Andrew for nominating this bug. Bug discussion begins around 10:05

We're recording this weekend and the topic is spitting spiders! There's also been some news about social spiders Kelly's going to talk about so if you have social spider questions send those over too! Thank you, Kevin Wiener, for the great photo.

This episode Amanda and Kelly discuss long-horn beetles. Tangents include forest creatures, mimicry, and television's Survivor. #entomology #sciencepodcast #biologypodcast

Send us your stink bug questions! You might also call them shield bugs. Kelly will answer your questions during the episode. :) Image free from VistaCreate #sciencepodcast #entomology #stinkbug #shieldbug #scicomm #ecology #entomologist #ecologist

Friend of the pod Dr. Ped and I are starting a YouTube series where we explore the biology of movies. Our first video is about the new Frankenstein movie. We'e working out the issues but excited to post more. www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4hU... #scicomm #frankenstein #scienceyoutube

This episode Amanda and Dr Kelly Z discuss house centipedes. They are so fast! And so cute?! We learn a lot about these common domestic bugs, which are definitely not insects. Tangents include isopods, cats, Survivor, and piles of leaves (leave them!) Bug discussion begins around 5:15 #entomology

We recorded an episode about house centipedes yesterday and loved answering listener questions! So we'll try to keep that theme up. We're on to longhorn beetles! Please share your questions and comments here, or shoot us an e-mail. Thank you for your continued support!

Kelly and Amanda discuss the rove beetle Ocypus olens (and a similar species in New Zealand). Tangents include cats, Bobby's World, and DC Comic's Gentleman Ghost and other Victorian spookyisms. Bug discussion begins around 10:40

Coming up, an episode about house centipedes (thanks to listener Laura for the request). Send your house centipede questions here or via e-mail at [email protected]! Let us know if you'd like us to read them on the podcast or keep it anonymous. Art by FreeDesignFlie

Amanda leads an episode about the history of silkworms and how they changed the world! Topic discussion begins around 7:10 Silk moth creative commons Wikipedia. #silkmoth #entomology #sciencepodcast #scicomm #

This episode Amanda and Kelly discuss twisted-wing insects (Strepsiptera) with Dr Floria Mora-Kepfer Uy an assistant professor at the University of Rochester and a Levinson/Shapiro faculty scholar. @avispatica.bsky.social

This episode Amanda and Kelly discuss mud daubers. These wasps use mud to build their nests and fill those nests with paralyzed spiders, which is a very sexy behavior. Tangents include dinosaurs, the morals of relative television, Earthworm Jim, Amanda's crochet tips. Bug discussion begins at 5:20

This episode we are joined by Dr Scott Kight once again to talk about Belostomatidae. We initially planned to do this topic around Father's Day for reasons that will become apparent. Tangents include bears, science teachers, and that Coldplay concert. Photo attributed to Frank Vassen from Wikipedia

We are always looking for entomologists, researchers, curators, etc. to come on the podcast! Even bug-adjacent (we've covered bats and cats before) if you are passionate about you study critter send us an e-mail at [email protected] to come chat on the pod!

New episode! X-Mantis (Manitdae)! This episode contains discussion of sexual cannibalism as we discuss the classic mantis and how they are centaurs. Tangents include eagles, ninjas, and Amanda's art tips. #entomology #scicomm #sciencepodcast

Kelly & Amanda continue wet bug summer with another true bug. These hemipterans have conquered the water surface of ponds, streams, rivers, lakes, and even the open ocean. Tangents include pokemon, New Jersey, doctor parties, mantis shrimps and some of our past chars. Amanda almost eats a spider.

This episode we discuss the #Reduviidae family, colloquially known as assassin bugs. There are many different kinds and all of them are cunning hunters that turn their prey into Capri Suns and some turn them into fashion. ⬇️

This week's episode is about a fairly unremarkable aquatic beetle. Tangents include AI generated images, Chris Angel, Hugh Jackman, and horror novels. Includes spoilers for The Prestige. #scicomm #sciencepodcast #entomology

Check out our very own co-host Kelly on Bradon's entomology education podcast Lil Dudes Insect Academy!

Amanda and Kelly loved this cross-pollination so much! Thanks for having them on, it was a total blast (and we all look adorable)!

Kelly has now become Dr Kelly @fillsyourniche.bsky.social . Much of the episode is about the process of earning a doctorate. The rest of the episode is devoted to discussion of fruit flies, art history, swords, and friend of the pod, Dr Ped.

This episode we are joined by another bug hero: Dr Emily Durkin! We talk about her research looking at tiny mites that ride around on fruit flies. Tangents: mosquitoes, hornworms, pets, and jumping spiders! Check out how cute her dog Pfeffer is! Follow Emily here on Blue Sky @miteymle.bsky.social

This time we are joined by Ben Knowlton and Zillah Smith of There Will Be Bugs Podcast to talk about one of their favorite bugs, the American Burying Beetle (Nicrophorus americanus). These beetles have it all: battles, mites, an endangered species listing. But most importantly they have each other.

Kelly and Producer Derek are back from the ESA conference in Pheonix and Kelly shares some stories. Not a bug, but the evolutionary arms race between scorpions and their predators has created a truly terrific terror. Tangents: butterflies,Disney, and vikings. (Image credit: Minden Pictures/Alamy)

This is an episode we banked during the summer. Kelly and Amanda discuss velvet ants, which are not actually ants at all. And the Bee-Team lore expands ever onward! Tangents include Zendaya at the Met Gala, Ultraman, and anime villains. #scicomm #sciencepodcast #entomology #entomologypodcast

Check out our podcast episode on the Bugs Need Heroes podcast all about the peppered moth and industrial melanism! HOT SCIENTIST GOSSIP included. The pod Blue Sky is @bugsneedheroes.bsky.social and you can listen everywhere you get podcasts, including YouTube. #scicomm #podcast #swifties

Kelly and Producer Derek had a great time at #EntSoc24 conference in Phoenix! We talked to a lot of folks about coming on the pod to talk about their favorite bugs! Please reach out if you'd like to be on. #entomology #scicomm #podcast

Producer Derek dressed up as a mantis for Halloween and alongside his bug-themed kitties! Zotz the butterfly and Rotunda as a bee who is totally over it. #catsofbluesky #cats #halloween

This time we are joined by our friend Dr Mike Glynn to talk about cats for our Halloween episode. Lots of stories of our dear pets both current and past. A few try to join the podcast! Pictured below is Derek's baby Rotunda, ready for Halloween! #scicomm #cats #podcast #sciencepodcast #pets

We are back from hiatus and you can really tell with this episode. Kelly and Amanda get all the wiggles out with this very wiggly bug. This episode is more explicit than usual with a very unusual critter. Images found on iNaturalist of O. viridimaculatus, photo by Carey Knox, CC0 1.0 Universal

This week we are joined once again by Kevin Wiener of All Bugs Go To Kevin. Kevin has a deep love for #brownrecluse and hopes to dispel some of the fear around this significant arachnid. Tangents include grief, voice notes, and cats. And a special life update from Kevin at the end of the episode.

Amanda recently found a patch of tansy ragwort that had been ravaged by cinnabar moth caterpillars. Its been almost completely defoliated. Impressive. Hard to believe it's been a year since we covered these little creatures! Episode page: www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/tea... #entomology #moths

Kelly's parents had a tobacco #hornworm on their tomato plant! This #chonker ate all the leaves, no remorse. We discuss these hefty heroes (or villains to Kelly's parents) in our latest episode The Model Organism. Make sure to check out Bugs Need Heroes everywhere you get your #podcasts! #scicomm

It's national Moth Week and our latest podcast episode is all about hornworms and hawk moths (Sphingidae)! Amanda found one in her yard, a tobacco hornworm, and Producer Derek has a few pupae from feeder hornworms he bought at the store. Listen anywhere you get pods for more info! #scicomm #mothweek

NATIONAL MOTH WEEK! We are celebrating by discussing a really hefty bug. A real chonker. There are over 1400 species of Sphingidae moths, and they start as juicy, mouthwatering caterpillars. It is a bug that Amanda has met and you may find in your garden on your tomatoes! #mothweek #entomology

Amanda tries (and fails) to resist singing the hit single from 2009 by Owl City as we talk about the Lampyridae family of beetles. They have many names, all of them deceptive. They are not flies, they do not produce heat or lightning, and they are not worms, they are very buggy. #scicomm #entomology

New #podcast episode out! It's a rambunctious episode as Just the Zoo of Us Podcast host Ellen Weatherford joins us to settle a debate: are shrimps bugs? Are mantis shrimps shrimps? #scicomm #sciencebluesky #marinebiology #podcastbluesky #sciencepodcast

New episode out, everywhere you get your podcasts! All about oil beetles and blister beetles! Content Warning for the episode: discussion of adult topics, including sexual assault and BDSM. #scicomm #sciencepodcast #entomology #podcasting #beetles

Check out our latest episode for all the hot peppered moth gossip! #taylorswift #entomology #scicomm #swifties #moths #moth

Happy MOTH-er's Day to all the Mom's out there! Our latest episode is up and here is our visual component. Learn all about how pollution drove the peppered moth to change colors! Also in this episode a ton of juicy scientist infighting and trash talk! #scicomm www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5pg...

Producer Derek visited Salt Lake City, Utah and came across this awesome bug street art! How cool! Tag us in any bug related street art you see! We'd love to check it out. #saltlakecity #streetart #bugsneedheroes #beeart #bees #entomology #utah #mural #murals

Happy Star Wars Day! Kelly and friend of the pod Ped gave a talk about the Biology of Star Wars at Rose City Comic Con. Check out the recording on YouTube! #starwarsday #starwars #maythe4thbewithyou #maythefourthbewithyou #scicomm youtu.be/n7Fm4aWWCd4?...

Rotunda is in her special podcasting chair! She hangs out with Derek during our recordings and sometimes while he is editing. #catsofbluesky #cat #cats #sleepingcats #podcaster #podcasting

Our latest episode is out! Another cute bug this week! Mole crickets live in the soil and build musical instruments to augment their melodies. Tangents include Disney movies, exploding whales, marching band energy. And Kelly still hasn't seen A Bug's Life. #entomology #scicomm #nature #podcast

On this week's episode, we talk about the spring-time sensation: carpet beetles! We also discuss how their cousins in the Dermestidae family are used in taxidermy and forensic entomology. #entomology #science #podcast #ecology #sciencebluesky #carpetbeetle #beetles #scicomm

This week Amanda and Kelly are joined by Roger McMullan to talk about periodical Cicadas and his graphic novel about them. Roger's graphic novel: mcmullanhouse.org/portfolio/ci... Cicada ID app: www.cicadasafari.org

New episode drop! Dr. M Grampus (VINEGAROONS aka WHIP SCORPIONS)! This episode we discuss an adventurous arachnid with a powerful presence and a tender heart. Tangents include cookies, the films of George Lucas, and the parietal eye of some almost-lizards.

Producer Desi is at it again! Derek's cats are always excited to help edit our episodes, whether Derek has agreed to it or not.

This episode Amanda learns about a bug didn't know that she kinda knew when we discuss Robber Flies (family Asilidae). We talk about their protective beards, mobile pupae, impressive disguises. Tangents include Michael Fassbender, Percy Jackson, and other bugs that we love.

Producer Derek and Kelly have been enjoying Baldur's Gate 3 lately (like everyone else!). Kelly made Good Katy, the Druid based off of our latest hero the katydid - first image. Producer Derek made his kitty Rotunda. Have you been enjoying BG3? Have you made any bug heroes? Let us know!