If you pause to think about it, what was your last encounter with an insect or other arthropod? Did you walk past a bee that was pollinating a flower? Or was it a pesky ant that was scavenging on your kitchen floor, marching off with your dinner from last night? Maybe it was a house centipede that had you jumping onto the nearest chair? (I've been there).
Are you someone who likes to avoid anything that has more than 4 legs?
There is a high chance that, even if you don't like associating with these 6+ legged buddies, you benefit from them in your life. Just think about all the food that you eat that first needed pollinating! Not to mention the products that contain arthropods or were made by arthropods like honey, beeswax lip balm, silk, or red dye. (Fun fact: red dye is made from fine ground cochineal insects that feed on cacti berries, and, when crushed, they make a beautiful red/magenta color that is used in a lot of makeup products, fabric dyes, and food coloring. So, next time you put blush on your cheeks or use red lipstick for a hot date night, you can thank the mashed body of a satiated cactus bug.)
The fact is that insects and other arthropods have been in our life since the dawn of time, and not just for making us more attractive and fashionable. In fact, we have a lot to be grateful for (and a lot to be weary of).
Enter: Cornell University's insect festival, Insectapalooza!
This past September, I returned to my alma mater to enjoy this celebration and educational experience through a different lens, namely by reporting on it for my Environmental Journalism class. As always, my old entomology department did not disappoint.
Hundreds of admirers of all ages were drawn to the terrariums housing tarantulas, cockroaches, and scorpions glowing under a black light, as well as dozens of pinned insects from around the world. Attendees lined up at educational stations where they could observe ticks up close through microscopes, suck up mosquito larvae into pipettes, and watch honeybees weave through their combs. Workshops taught adults about careers in entomology, what to do about the invasive spotted lanternfly, how to build a pollinator garden, and ways to reduce ticks in their own backyards. From craft areas that encouraged children to paint pictures of their favorite bugs to the more strictly educational events, the festival offered visitors opportunities to get up close and personal with insects. In the Arthropod Zoo, children cautiously yet excitedly observed tarantulas and outstretched their hands to hold giant cockroaches.
I approached a young girl named Tabitha who had an adorable rainbow painted on her face. She was confidently watching a cockroach walk across her palm and seemingly had no desire to move anytime soon while she observed her new friend. She exclaimed excitedly, “I like holding bugs and different things! I like holding cockroaches because I like the feeling of them!”
Though this family-friendly event provided many hands-on activities for the kids, it also warned of the dangers of human influence and climate change on arthropod populations—and the potential consequences for us. Will diseases spread more rapidly into areas where they haven’t been before? Will honey be lost? What does the warming climate mean for overwintering insects that defoliate trees: are our forests at risk?
At a mosquito station where thousands of larvae swam around in tubs of water, Dr. Alexandra Amaro, a post-doctoral researcher in a disease vector lab, explained that some species of mosquitos, like Aedes albopictus, are popping up in new places. Recently introduced to the United States, this Asian tiger mosquito can transmit viruses like dengue, chikungunya, yellow fever, and Zika.
“The Asian tiger mosquitoes have been in Long Island and in the Hudson Valley every year that we surveyed, and they’re kind of creeping closer to this area," Dr. Amaro explained. "They're an adaptable species already; you give them just a little bit, and they'll keep expanding their range.” She said that in the Hudson Valley, these mosquitoes are “diapausing, no problem”—in other words, mosquitoes go into dormancy to survive harsh environments, like the winter. When the weather warms, the mosquitoes are ready to break out of their dormant state and travel to find new hosts to feed on.
Ticks are also a growing concern. When I was younger, I was rarely concerned about getting a tick bite; the only time we ever saw ticks was if our cat brought one home. The reality is that ticks are also spreading into new areas and surviving the more mild winters. Consequently, tick-borne pathogens are on the move as well: more people in new areas are developing diseases like Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria carried by the black-legged tick, Ixodes scapularis. If you want to read more, check out my previous post about ticks.
However, pathogen-carrying arthropods aren’t the only problem Insectapalooza addressed. Populations of pollinators are dwindling from climate change, habitat loss, pesticides, and parasites.
“We are changing the environment physically by destroying the resources that pollinators have,” said Corey Reese, a senior undergraduate at Cornell University who led a workshop on increasing garden pollinators. Corey explained that, although a third of all the food that we eat is due to pollinators in some form, humans are replacing their natural habitats with “businesses or lawns that don't have any benefit”. Pesticides also reduce how far bees can fly, which means they are now pollinating smaller sections of agricultural fields than they used to. Heavy insecticide usage has already killed off essential pollinators in some areas of the world, causing humans to hand pollinate flowers with paintbrushes.
Corey’s workshop emphasized how attendees can get involved in DIY solutions. Outside of Comstock Hall where the entomology department is located, Corey helped convert a generic mulched area with bushes into a native flower garden for pollinators, and he encouraged attendees to do the same.
“All you need is an area with enough sun to support a variety of native plant species,” he explained. “And preferably species that will bloom across different seasons. Arrange taller plants in the center and shorter plants on the periphery of the garden.”
Think about it: how much wasted lawn space do we have in the world that could be converted into pollinator (or even vegetable) gardens? By converting part of your lawn into a garden or meadow, you would save time and money by not mowing, and you would help insect biodiversity. When you increase the number of different insect species on your property, you are directly benefitting the ecosystem by increasing the amount of food at the bottom of the food chain, helping to support the rest of life on Earth.
“The people saying it's easy to plant native plants is super…it creates a larger impact,” Corey affirms. “It helps you feel connected, and you can create something so much larger than yourself, which is really great.”
Around 3 PM, the hundreds of visitors started trickling out as the event began to wind to a close. Once again, Insectapalooza has shown to be an excellent opportunity for the public, especially children, to learn extensively about bugs and how the lives of humans, insects, and other arthropods are deeply connected. Particularly, Insectapalooza is an excellent event to get inspired to make a difference by acknowledging the importance of insect biodiversity and finding ways to improve the health of our ecosystem, one bug at a time.
“Just talk about it," Corey encouraged. "Try and be educated about it and reach out to other people. If you want to, find a way to donate money, or just try and find a way to do something yourself.”
Comments