How to Pin an Insect

Your dead insects and their details are valuable to science. Start your own collection today!
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Producer, Writer, Creator, Host:
Emily Graslie

Producer, Editor, Camera:
Tom McNamara

Theme music:
Michael Aranda

Created By:
Hank Green

Production Assistant:
Katie Kirby

Major thanks to Gracen Brilmyer for all of her help in creating this episode, and Alexandra Westrich for pinning some insects for us!

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Filmed on Location and Supported by:
The Field Museum in Chicago, IL

Thanks to Caitrin McCullough for letting us -bug- her to create captions for this episode! And Tony Chu, Barbara Velázquez, Seth Bergenholtz, and Katerina Idrik really -pinned- down those translations!

[smartman]

How to get a girl *cicada style*
Step 1: hide in your basement for the first decade and a half of your life
Step 2: exit
Step 3: scream
Step 4: plan the wedding

[joe]

It might be a bit niche, but I'd love to see more insects being pinned - the process for pinning a butterfly or moth is a bit more involved, so a nice instructional video would be really cool.

[JoaoPessoa]

"That's the way to get ladies' attention" What, burst out at age 17 making incredible amounts of unbelievably annoying noise? ....wait...

[saberepee]

Emily: The only person I know of who could confuse "Cicadas stored in ethanol" with "Pancakes and Syrup".

Thank you.

[worldbrand_]

Wing venation can be pretty key to differentiating species within a genus. That's why sometimes you'd want to avoid damaging the wings, and why it would be worthwhile to spread them apart.

[papersplease]

I do this to live insects and then interrogate them for the location of their Queen.

[OlleLindestad]

I've had the same experience of being nibbled on the head by a horse while trying to do biology in a field in Sweden! I never realized it was a regional problem.

[star_god]

To preface, this video is terrific and helped me a lot, these are not complaints, just silly little semantic things I thought were funny, mostly to do with the "chapter" names.
"how to collect insects:" tells you where they collected the insects from. No mention of capture tools/techniques, storing, or transporting strategies. "Drying Insects:" tells you how to re-hydrate a bug if you find one that's dried out lol XD

[Chaosdude]

I love how many people at the Field Museum have tattoos. 

[LaughingGenius]

I'm an entomologist, and I learned something new in this video, thanks! I've only ever heard of pretty gross chemicals being used for relaxing, so I avoid it whenever possible. Knowing that steam will work just fine is super cool!

[nunyabizness]

The structure and format of this episode, its title cards and accompanying music, and other such details - polished, professional, and completely charming. Well done, Brain Scoop. Loved this particular topic.

PS. Emily, your hair is lovely in that braid. It's a beautiful look for you.

[fasfan]

I love how quirky Emily is. Smart and personable, but not too serious.  A great role model for young women wanting to get into the science field.  Or just a great role model for anyone.
Lot of good stuff in this video: the lame joke laugh at 1:20, Pancakes @ 4:05, Bench press @ 4:24, Story @ 6:18, and of course that great smile @ 6:55.

[chicklovesmusic]

I really love seeing ladies having fun doing science. I always enjoyed biology in high school but didn't keep up with the sciences because of my less than stellar math grades, so I really enjoy the educational aspects of the brain scoop, as well as how much fun you and the other people on the show seem to be having. It's science without being "this is super serious" so it's approachable. I think it's really great for younger women and girls out there to see the variety in the kinds of jobs and the kinds of women who go into scientific fields, especially one as hands on as the brain scoop shows.

[nohaijiachii]

Oh no this episode ended too fast! I really wanted to see more pinning with different body types :< can we have more? *puppy eyes*

[ChrisLeeW]

Don't freak out, but there a bee on your ear, Emily.

[cbellhms]

I may die in peace now that I know how to pin insects

[mrguffaw]

I always have to listen to the end and make sure "...It still has brains on it." hasn't been editorially removed.

[emilymontague]

Emily Graslie: queen of braiding. And also dead things. Great combo

[DefinitelyNotJay]

I had to do a project in high school which was collecting and correctly pinning & labeling 50+ bugs of at least 15 different orders. I don't remember everything I learned from that, but I do remember enjoying the things I learned from it.

[metacrisis]

The right hand side of the Lorax
...

This episode was awesome! I love it when they have special guests, it's like having two amazing teachers at the same time!