Can I Bug You?

Think discovering a new species is rare? Think again. UCR entomologist and show co-host Doug Yanega reveals why naming a new insect might be easier than spotting a squirrel — and how deserts, microhabitats, and UV lights make all the difference. Come for the science. Stay for the midnight bug trapping in the mountains.

What can a fly tell us about a crime scene? In this episode, UC Riverside entomologist Alec Gerry explains how insects can help investigators reconstruct what really happened when a person or an animal has died under suspicious circumstances. Learn how forensic entomology turns life cycles into timelines — and maggots into expert witnesses.

Not all villains wear capes—some have wings and a taste for cows. We talk to a fly expert who's taking the bite out of barnyard pests.

Only two kinds of insects are known to invade living human bodies: the mites that cause scabies, and lice. Despite this, there are people convinced their skin is infested with all manner of small insects. And the impacts of their imagined infestations are very real. Discussing this condition on today's episode is University of Georgia entomology professor Nancy Hinkle.

The massive California fruit fly infestation of 2023 has been effectively shut down. UCR entomologist Bodil Cass joins the podcast to tell us how they did it, why it was such a problem in the first place, and how each of us can help prevent it from coming back.

Subterranean Formosan termites do over $1 billion in damage every year, just in the U.S. alone. UCR entomology professor Chow-Yang Lee, an expert on termites, joins us this episode to educate us about what makes Formosan termites unique and how we can get rid of them if they show up.

With Valentine's this month, naturally, we're focused on kissing bugs. These insects feed on your blood, poop on you, and then potentially, infect you with a pathogen that will make you really sick. Christiane Weirauch, UCR entomology professor, and kissing bug expert, is our guest.

Five years ago, news breathlessly reported the arrival of gigantic, invasive murder hornets in the USA. This month, the same news triumphantly declared them eradicated. How much of a threat were they in the first place? What did the media get right, and what did they miss in this story? Tune in and find out.

After you've taken the stockings down and put away your roast beast feast, who's still celebrating? Roaches, that's who. Jun-Yin Lum, a UCR doctoral candidate in urban entomology, joins us to talk kitchen pests and how to beat them.

Peruvian authorities recently stopped a man with 300 tarantulas and other bugs strapped to his body. What are the ethics of starting your own bug collection? What are the laws? Tune in and find out.

There are *at least* 60,000 known species of them, and depending on how you slice it, you could say that one out of every 15 species ON EARTH is a weevil. Why then are so many people so in the dark about what they are, and what they're after? This episode of the podcast is here to remedy that lack of info, with special gues Dr. Bob Anderson of the Canadian Museum of Nature.

Some insects - we're looking at you, butterflies - are beloved but aren't as helpful as we'd like to think. Others are the stuff of pure nightmares, but actually protect you in ways you don't realize. The truth about whether something is friend or foe is often nuanced.

University of Kansas Professor Chip Taylor joins us on the podcast to talk monarchs. Not like Charles, but the butterflies migrating through California right now. People think they're endangered, but perhaps... they're not. People think they only live in the U.S. but perhaps... they don't. People plant exotic milkweeds in their yards to help them, but is that really necessary? Tune in and find out!

Why are some bugs considered so cute that children want to keep them, while others are the literal stuff of nightmares? Dr. Doug Yanega shares his three rules for differentiating between the cuddly and the creepy.

Did you know most honeybees you find in the wild in California are actually the famous, so-called "killer bees"? Oh, but you protest, they didn't kill you. Quite right. These bees, while defensive, probably don't deserve the name. Find out more about where these bees came from and how they might help farmers solve the crisis of honeybee colony collapse.

You've seen humans push themselves to their limits this summer in Paris. But what about the records for insects? Who holds the title for fastest flyer or runner? Highest jumper? Listen in to find out who - or what, rather - gets these awards!

One of nature's oldest wars is still being fought today after at least 50 million years: bats vs. moths. Nick Dowdy, head of zoology at the Milwaukee Public Museum, joins the podcast to explain how the moths fight.

For critters that move in the night, how DO they get where they want to go? Why are moths attracted to the proverbial flame? Listen in and learn.

If you're a child of the 80s, you might remember Glow Bugs as "your goodnight friend." These facsimiles of fireflies evoke memories of magical summer nights. Contrary to public opinion, fireflies aren't flies, and we do actually have them here in Southern California. We bust these misconceptions on this episode of Can I Bug You? --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Many in the western world think insects are a compelling, much more environmentally friendly alternative to raising cows and pigs. And bugs are already a staple on the plates of millions of people in parts of Asia and Africa. So, in this episode we're serving up entomophagy, aka eating bugs. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Earlier this month, a curator for the American Museum of Natural History was arrested at Istanbul Airport with some 1,500 dead scorpions, spiders and tarantulas in his luggage. Did he commit a crime? If not, aside from the unusual sight of so many dead bugs in a suitcase, why did police suspect that he did? We're talking about that, and biopiracy, on today's episode. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Ectoparasites like lice, fleas, mites, and ticks live on the outside of their hosts, causing chaos that ranges from intense itching to additional disease. Special guest Amy Murillo, assistant professor of entomology at UCR, talks about her research into ectoparasites that infect poultry, how "fitbits for chickens" can help control them, and whether they can affect people, too. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Billions of buzzing, beady-eyed insects are emerging in many states after spending 13 or in some cases, 17 years underground. Do they pose any danger? And why might their "butts" fall off? Tune in for answers. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Part 2 of our discussion of the lesser-known and surprising things that pollinators carry around with them. Featuring special guest Quinn McFrederick, an entomologist at UCR who studies wild bees and the microbes that live alongside them. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Aah, springtime. Bees floating from flower to flower, eating nectar and taking pollen as they go. But there are other, stranger things that pollinators collect. This is part 1 of an episode featuring UCR entomologist Quinn McFrederick, where we discuss some of the little-known things that pollinators pack and take with them. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Co-hosts Jules Bernstein and Doug Yanega talk about what bugs people that study bugs: using common names for insects that create confusion. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Venerable UC Riverside arachnologist Rick Vetter joins the podcast to discuss the two most toxic spiders in North America: the black widow and the brown recluse. Have a back scratcher nearby - this discussion is going to get itchy! --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

For Valentine's Day we bring you a special episode of the podcast, a deep dive into the strange sex lives of bed bugs. Turns out the scourge of hotels everywhere are both stranger and less dangerous than you may have believed. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message

Palm weevils have quietly been destroying all the palm trees in the San Diego area. How long until they've taken the rest of the trees in Southern California? What's at stake if we don't control them now? UCR biological control expert Mark Hoddle joins us to shed light on the answers. --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/can-i-bug-you/message