Beetles and Moths Podcast: Extras

Here you will find intriguing extras: segments our producers weren't able to fit into a five-minute podcast as well as images, interesting facts and ways to get involved or in touch with biodiversity wherever you live.

Audio

Learn how beetles brought entomologists Jim Labonte and Diana Kimberling together.

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Have you ever seen an elm or a chestnut tree? Chances are you haven’t. Jim Labonte explains how bark beetles teamed up with tree-killing pathogens to transform the forests of the America’s eastern forests. 

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Video

Beetle and Moth Podcast Audio Slide Show


Facts

Male Asian longhorned beetles are very territorial. Disputes often escalate into physical contests during which one beetle may clip the other’s antennae. Learn more

Gypsy moth infestations are kept down by a variety of predators, from ants and cuckoos to red-toothed shrews in the genus Sorex and deer mice. They are also preyed upon by a native ground beetle, Calosoma frigidum.

The European gazelle beetle belongs to the Carabidae, or ground beetles, a diverse group that includes bombadier beetles and tiger beetles. Most ground beetles are predators and not fussy about what they eat. Learn more.

Citizen science

Want to learn what native species (and possible exotics) are in your own backyard? Hang up a bedsheet and shine a blacklight. Complete instructions on “bug lighting” for insects can be found here.

Spotted an Asian Longhorned Beetle? Wondering how to report it? A complete list of organizations can be found on the United States Department of Agriculture’s Beetle Busters website. 

Viburnum leaf beetle: learn what species of tree and bush are susceptible to this exotic pest and submit your own sightings here.

 

Facts:
Male Asian longhorned beetles are very territorial. Disputes often escalate into physical contests during which one beetle may clip the other’s antennae. 
http://www.eol.org/pages/978155?text_id=8200925
Gypsy moth infestations are kept down by a variety of predators, from ants and cuckoos to red-toothed shrews in the genus Sorex (http://www.eol.org/pages/10807) and deer mice (http://www.eol.org/pages/311573 ). They are also preyed upon by a native ground beetle, Calosoma frigidum (http://www.eol.org/pages/1036428).
The European gazelle beetle belongs to the Carabidae, or ground beetles, a diverse group that includes bombadier beetles and tiger beetles. Most ground beetles are predators and not fussy about what they eat.
http://www.eol.org/pages/7467
Audio Extras: Learn how beetles brought entomologists Jim Labonte and Diana Kimberling together, and what they keep in their fridge for married bliss.
Have you ever seen an elm or a chestnut tree? Chances are you haven’t. Jim Labonte explains how bark beetles teamed up with tree-killing pathogens to transform the forests of the America’s eastern forests. 
Share your stories: Do you have a story of an exotic species that invaded your own community, or how it was successfully thwarted? Share it here.
Citizen science:
Spotted an Asian Longhorned Beetle? Wondering how to report it? A complete list of organizations can be found on the USDA’s Beetle Busters website. http://beetlebusters.info/
Viburnum leaf beetle: learn what species of tree and bush are susceptible to this exotic pest and submit your own sightings.
http://www.hort.cornell.edu/VLB/
Want to learn what native species (and possible exotics) are in your own backyard? Hang up a bedsheet and shine a blacklight. Complete instructions on “bug lighting” for insects can be found here.
http://www.desertusa.com/mag98/aug/stories/bug.html

 

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