Bug_girl

Bug_girl has a PhD in Entomology, and is a pointy-headed former academic living in Ohio. She is obsessed with insects, but otherwise perfectly normal. Really! If you want a daily stream of cool info about bugs, follow her Facebook page or find her on Twitter.
  • Afternoon InquisitionCan't be unseen

    Sunday AI: The Unexpected Googles

    One of the more entertaining ways in which our modern life has changed since I was a kid (when we had no internets, and walked uphill, BOTH WAYS, in the snow to school!!) is Googleing. Don’t know something? Whip out that smart phone and look it up!  This is also, however, how people have discovered things that cannot be unseen.…

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  • Science

    The horrible truth about Spiderman

    I was on a panel a few weeks ago discussing mutations, and what they can and cannot do.  Spider-man was one of the topics, because the sad truth is that the Comics industry has conspired in a G-rated cover-up to hide his terrible, terrible affliction. Spider-man’s spider webbing talent isn’t what you think it is.  Sure, male spiders do have special appendages…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    Sunday AI: When has your curiosity gotten the better of you?

    I was looking up a reference book on Amazon, and it happened again. Amazon recommended a book for me that was so strange, I couldn’t resist the temptation to download it. Today, it was a book about were-spiders.  I had to buy it. Because….WERESPIDERS.   I can’t wait to find out what kind of webs they spin. A couple of…

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  • Sciencedung beetles

    Excuse me, is this stool taken?

    Entomology has a unique advantage over other sciences.   Physicists like to boast about their giant Hadron, but they needed the help of large federal programs to get it up. Entomologists know that it’s not all about size.  We are skilled at building our own equipment, cobbling together spare parts for unique uses, innovating with common household objects, and sometimes—we even produce…

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  • Afternoon Inquisition

    Sunday AI: The Power of Habit

    It’s been too hot here to do anything, including going to the library, so I found myself finally getting around to reading deeper in the pile of “books that look awesome and I am going to read any minute now. Really. ANY MINUTE NOW” that were sitting next to my bed. On top of that pile was The Power of…

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  • Reviews

    Book Review: Spider Silk

    Spider Silk: Evolution and 400 Million Years of Spinning, Waiting, Snagging, and Mating.  Leslie Brunetta and Catherine L. Craig.  2011. Yale University Press. Spiders evoke a lot of complex feelings from humans.  In a survey of teenagers asked about their top fears, spiders ranked #2–right after terrorist attacks.  A quick comparison of “kill spiders” to kill insects” on Google trends shows…

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  • Scienceinsect threesome

    Can Stick Insects really mate for 1400 hours?

    I saw this tweet a while back, and it made me awfully curious: Is that true? Because that seems like not a very smart thing to do, if you are a large and tasty insect. Or, in this case, two large leaf-eating insects belonging to a group that specializes in being invisible to predators by looking like a stick. Two…

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  • Anti-ScienceBomby the beetle

    Epic Creationist FAIL: Bombardier Beetle Book

    Oh My. For years I’ve heard about the kid’s book “Bomby the Bombardier Beetle“, published by the Institute for Creation Research.  You might remember them as the  folks that suggested teachers of evolution should be hanged or drowned, rather than let them expose children to evolution. My sister the librarian happened upon a withdrawn copy of this book in a library sale,…

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