Apr 23, 2020
Maggie Heumann is many things -- Artemis founder, podcast host, outdoor gear hocker, fisherwoman -- AND... entomologist. This week we're talking bugs in the field. From finding a treasure trove of bug artifacts at an estate sale to inadvertently having a sleeping bag full of fleas, there's a lot to know about our six-legged frenemies.
1:25 - 'Bugz with Magz' webinars
3:30 - Maggie's quarantine: Knitting, bread-baking, watching bug videos. Yep.
5:25 - Maggie's Instagram... sweet entomology finds from an estate sale.
8:30 - Big snow year = big skeeter year... womp womp. But on the flip side, drier years often mean more ticks/fleas
9:30 - Mosquitos are attracted to the output of CO2 (= breathing) and lactic acid. They're remarkable at sensing people from afar
12:00 - Skin-liquifying bug enzymes
13:00 - Colors. Mosquitoes love them!
14:30 - Black flies, horseflies, deer flies
19:00 - Anytime it's above 50 degrees, it's mosquito-hatching time
20:30 - Caterpillars... A good rule of thumb: If it has really vibrant colors or spines, probably not a good one to handle.
21:30 - Ants... geography makes a big difference. Fire ants in the Southeast are worth steering clear of.
22:30 – E.O. Wilson discovered imported red fire ants as a youngster... and he went on to be a big bug guy ever since.
23:00 - With ants, wasps, bees, hornets -- the biggest concern is allergies. Keep antihistamines and antiseptics in your first-aid kit. If you're not allergic, try not to itch! It further distributes the insect's poison on your skin.
24:50 - Dip spit may, or may not, alleviate the pain of a sting.
25:00 - Bees/wasps/hornets -- they're bugs with four wings. The two-winged bugs are the flies.
25:30 - Fleas! Fleas don't just live on your dog and cat... they love to live in your house. No wings, but those buggers can jump.
26:30 - White is a bug-neutral color for the most part... except when it comes to fleas. Don't wear white socks. Get colorful socks!
28:00 - A cautionary tale of tossing white ankle socks on a sleeping bag in flea country
31:30 - Moving on to ticks... not actually insects! As larvae they have six legs, but when they molt they become 8-legged. (Chiggers and mites: also arachnids.)
33:30 - It's worth dumping some time on YouTube to see how ticks find their hosts. Check this one out.
35:00 - The signature 'bullseye' of Lyme disease is only specific to one tick... you can still get it without experiencing that.
37:00 - Lyme disease is still concentrated in the East/Northeast. Out West though, there's Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever in the way of tick-borne illness
38:00 - Scorpions... most of the time they're harmless. Painful bite, nothing more.
39:00 - Handling tick- or flea-laden game
41:00 - Send us your pictures of bugs on game! Artemis@nwf.org
41:30 - Black widows, brown recluses, hobo spiders -- those are the big arachnids to know
43:00 - Chiggers don't actually burrow into you
45:00 - Deet... really bad for your outdoor gear, really great for keeping bugs away. But maybe not for everyone.
45:30 - Alternative bug sprays: IR3535 - a new insect repellent from Europe, Picariden, and essential oils (lemon, citrus, catnip oils), or Thermacell fan