Bug Banter with the Xerces Society

We are all familiar with beetles. Look around your home or neighborhood and you’ll find them, but how familiar are we? What makes a beetle a beetle? How many different species are there? What role do they play in our world?
To help us explore the world of beetles is Jennifer Hopwood, who works for the Xerces Society as a Senior Pollinator Conservation Specialist – a job title that doesn’t really encompass all that she does. Yes, Jennifer provides advice and training for restoring and managing pollinator habitat in a variety of landscapes, but she also focuses on conserving other beneficial insects, including beetles. Jennifer has authored many articles and publications, and is a co-author of several books, including Farming with Native Beneficial Insects.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Light pollution. Go outside at night and you’ll notice them — lights on buildings, in gardens, along streets, glowing on the horizon. It might not seem like much, but this is changing the world for animals that rely on darkness. Imagine evolving for millions of years with only the stars and moon and now being faced with a landscape full of additional light.
What happens to insects when the night is full of light? Can fireflies coexist in urban areas? Are there things we can do to reduce our impact?
Joining us today to talk about these and questions is Dr. Avalon Owens from the Rowland Institute at Harvard. Avalon received her Ph.D. in Biology from Tufts University in spring 2022, where she studied the impact of artificial light on bioluminescent fireflies. She also holds a B.A. in Integrative Biology from Harvard University and an M.S. in Entomology from National Taiwan University.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

No bee is as popular as the honey bee. When we think of a bee, many of us think of this charismatic social bee that lives in large colonies, does the wiggle dance, produces the honey we love, and pollinates many of our crops. Although honey bees can be found all over North America, they only arrived in the 17th century by way of European settlers. Aside from honey bees, in North America, thousands of native bees can be found on the landscape.
We’ve all heard that bees are in decline. As a non-native species, are honey bees the answer to helping us “save the bees”? How do honey bees interact with our native bees on the landscape?
Joining us to help answer these questions is Rich Hatfield. Rich is Xerces Senior Endangered Species Conservation Biologist and Bumble Bee Conservation Lead, and manages all aspects of the Xerces Society’s work on bumble bees. This includes community science projects, as well as understanding the threats to bumble bees and actions we can take to protect them. Rich has studied the factors that impact bumble bees, including the presence of honey bees in our landscapes.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Prairies are an ecosystem that historically spanned the center of this continent from the Rocky Mountains to east of the Mississippi and from Texas north to Saskatchewan. Although less than 5% of that prairie remains today, it is critical habitat for a number of invertebrates. Prairies are incredibly diverse and hold many exciting stories.

To help us explore prairies and their critters is prairie ecologist Chris Helzer. Chris works for the Nature Conservancy as the Director of Science and Stewardship in Nebraska, where, among other things, he supervises TNC’s work on the Platte River Prairies and the Niobrara Valley Preserve. Chris also works to raise awareness about the value of prairies and prairie conservation through his photography, writing, and presentations. Chris is the author of The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States and Hidden Prairie: Photographing Life in One Square Meter.

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Photo: Justin Meissen/Flickr-CC

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.

Tired of mowing your law? We have good news - you don’t have to, and the bees (and fritillary butterflies) will thank you for it! Mowing your lawn less frequently can provide habitat for pollinators, especially in early spring. But, is that enough? What can we do to turn No Mow May into meaningful conservation of pollinators and other wildlife?
Joining us to talk about the trendy No Mow May Campaign is Bug Banter co-host Matthew Shepherd. Matthew has been with the Xerces Society for a quarter century, working on pollinator conservation in towns and cities. We are also joined by special guest co-host Emily May, Xerces Society Pollinator Conservation Specialist.

Thank you for listening! For more information go to xerces.org/bugbanter.