Author Archives: joeballenger2005

How do wasps find other bugs to parasitize?

Posted on June 1, 2015 by joeballenger2005

For our final #KidQuestions post, I thought it would be fun to tackle a question submitted to us by Bridget Mendel’s first grade class: How do wasps find their hosts? I got my start in entomology by going through a … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Education | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

How do you identify fire ants?

Posted on May 22, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Question submitted by Bridget Mendel’s first grade class. Fire ants are a really big problem. They’ve got a really nasty attitude towards both people and other bugs. They’re really common, and it’s too easy to step … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Education, Taxonomy | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Why are some ladybugs half yellow and half brown?

Posted on May 18, 2015 by joeballenger2005

@SciBugs @Stylopidae what is a lady bug called that is half brown and half red? pic.twitter.com/E7JrP8qnzb — Mendel’s Firsties (@bridget_mendel) April 21, 2015 @UKLadybirds How unusual are half-and-half ladybirds like this? It looks pretty unusual to me but was just … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Developmental Biology, Ecology, Education, Evolution, Physiology, Research, Taxonomy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

#KidQuestions: Why is this month’s theme so important?

Posted on May 4, 2015 by joeballenger2005

For the month of May, Nancy and I decided to focus on questions which were submitted by parents and teachers on behalf of kids. We’ve had a lot of opportunities to talk to kids, whether it’s through skype classroom visits … Continue reading →

Posted in News | Tagged | 2 Comments

Why are caterpillar hairs itchy? Why do caterpillar hairs cause abortions in horses? Can they hurt other pets?

Posted on April 30, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger The great thing about being on social media is that we run into a lot of questions and conversations that are very closely related to each other despite the fact that the participants might not realize … Continue reading →

Posted in Chemistry, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

How Would One Go About Raising Cicadas in Captivity?

Posted on April 23, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Today’s question comes from Trevor Knight, via our Facebook page. He wants to know if it’s possible to rear cicadas in captivity. It’s a good question, and one I’ve been curious about myself. Insect rearing is … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Education, Physiology, Research | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Can Arachnids Regenerate Blood Lost After an Injury?

Posted on April 16, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger @BugQuestions once the injury “seals”, pressure goes back to normal? Hemolymph somehow regenerates? Thanks for answering. — Katzider (@katzider) April 11, 2015 Just as knowing what to do in an emergency is important, understanding how invertebrate … Continue reading →

Posted in Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

When a Spider Loses a Leg, Does Its Whole Hydraulic System Lose Pressure?

Posted on April 13, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger @BugQuestions whenever a spider loses a leg, does its whole hydraulic system loses pressure as well? My ghost spider lost a leg and froze. — Katzider (@katzider) April 10, 2015 This question came to us from … Continue reading →

Posted in Education, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Everything You Wanted to Know About Colony Collapse Disorder.

Posted on April 6, 2015 by joeballenger2005

Written by Joe Ballenger Today’s post is a little bit different than our other posts, mostly because we’re doing it on a podcast instead of text. A few months ago, we got a question from Peter Bryant of the Mythwits … Continue reading →

Posted in Culture, Education, News, Physiology, Pollination, Research | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The perfect April Fool’s day post: What’s going on in this video?

Posted on April 1, 2015 by joeballenger2005

In our email on Monday, we received a message from Mike Menefee with a link to this video: I witnessed (and videoed) an interesting interaction today between a wasp and a fly.  They seemed to be working together in some … Continue reading →

Posted in Behavior, Ecology, Physiology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment