Author Archives: joeballenger2005

Do insects feel pain?

Posted on August 29, 2016 by joeballenger2005

The last two questions we tackled revolved around the cognitive abilities (communication, and personality) of arthropods, specifically insects and spiders. These are really tough questions to tackle because a lot of people, even (especially?) those who genuinely like insects and … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Cockroach milk is not the next superfood. It could be a lot more important than that.

Posted on July 31, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger A number of articles circulating everywhere online are claiming that a new ‘superfood’ has been found in cockroaches, and although I’m happy popular culture is focusing on the fact cockroaches are good moms…they’re missing a far … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Culture, Developmental Biology, News, Physiology | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Do insects have personalities?

Posted on July 25, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger After our spider post, I thought it would be nice to tackle this question because these questions open one of the biggest rabbit holes in the field of insect science: Since you are the experts, my … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

How similar is Entomology to Pokemon? Do scientists ever make bugs fight?

Posted on July 12, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger The release of Pokemon Go has been great for us entomologists, because we have been able to get people to realize why we love our jobs so much. The creator of Pokemon, Satoshi Tajiri, actually got … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Culture, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Insect Rearing, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Can Spiders Learn From Each Other?

Posted on July 2, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Your Name: Mark Your Bug Question: I have spiders in and around my house.  I eventually get around to removing their webs from hard to reach places like living room chandelier.  It takes so long that … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Pest Management | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

What are carpet beetles doing on my cilantro?

Posted on June 25, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Dear Entomologist, Could you please help with a bug question. I found many small bugs on my cilantro flowers which look like carpet beetles. Should I be worried about them in my vegetable garden and or … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Pest Management, Physiology, Pollination | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

If I am allergic to honeybees, am I also allergic to other bees?

Posted on June 17, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Post written by Joe Ballenger     Does the allergy to honeybee stings carry over to other bees like the bumblebees and carpenter bees? Allergies are very complicated, but they also effect a lot of people. So this is a topic … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Family Planning in The Age of Zika: How do I Avoid Mosquitoes?

Posted on June 6, 2016 by joeballenger2005

I’ve seen you writing a lot about Zika virus, and I’m planning on starting a family soon. I was wondering, how worried do I need to be about this and how can I avoid the virus? A lot of what … Continue reading →

Posted in Pest Management | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Microcephaly, Zika, correlation, and causation: the science behind CDC’s confirmation of Zika and microcephaly

Posted on May 5, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger I’m still following the Zika/Microcephaly literature. I’m not writing about every paper which comes out, but I am writing about the ones I feel are pretty important. The most recent ‘big paper’ came out in the … Continue reading →

Posted in News, Pest Management, Physiology, Research | Leave a comment

How long have cicadas been around?

Posted on April 14, 2016 by joeballenger2005

Your Name: Thomas Your Bug Question: How long have cicadas been around (on earth).  Do we (you) know? Cicadas have been around somewhere between 40 million and 200 million years. The earliest Cicadas are found in fossil beds from the … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments