Insect Adventure, Part Three

Check out what is living in the Hanover, IL prairie, PLUS Jim Louderman shows us how to prepare insects for the collection. WIN-WIN.

Help the Jo Daviess Conservation Foundation restore more native prairies in Illinois:

The Brain Scoop is written and hosted by:
Emily Graslie

Special Guests and huge thanks to:
Jim Louderman and Rebekah Shuman Baquiran, Assistant Collections Managers of Insects

Created By:
Hank Green

Directed, Edited, Animated, and Scored by:
Michael Aranda .

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

You know who's cool? Katerina Idrik, Rosa McGuire, Tony Chu, Seth Bergenholtz, and Kelleen Browning for translating our subtitles. Thanks!

[MelodiesCureMaladies]

I wonder, at what level of cognition do insects like wasps and bees regard objects in their environment with? I farmed a small plot for a couple of growing seasons and, off to the side, there was a pile of old, untreated lumber. Inside the boards, a whole mess of bumblebees had bored out their bee caverns and, while not only providing certain pollination, also were a right entertainment showcase. Curious little creatures, they would wake up with the sun and greet each day with an enthusiasm which only beings so closely acquainted with nature know. For all the fascination I had for them, they matched me in returning it, often hovering in front of me, the buzz of their wings as a radio channel coming through.. transmitting a deep and profound wonder. Not content with being profound, they would frequently exhibit a delightful mischevious character, dropping from the cloudy loft in veritable dive bombs, forcing me to duck for fear of being a dart board. That was a bit frightening actually, but it kept the farm fun. Such intricate, complex behaviour in an animal so commonly regarded.

[SuperAngryPacman]

Just to clarify, different parts of the world call different things "Daddy long-legs". To my knowledge, the crane fly, which is an insect, is oft referred to as Daddy long-legs, as is a plant found in Western Australia. In America, as far as I know, the name Daddy long-legs is given to any member of the order Opiliones (harvestmen), which are arachnids but not spiders, and in Australia we call any member of the Pholcidae family, which others may know as "cellar spiders", or one specific member the "skull spider", a Daddy long-legs; these are actual spiders, but are still reasonably harmless.

I think.

[CuleChick]

When I was a kid I rescued a female wolf spider with an egg sac from my neighbors lawn mower. I kept her in a large jar and fed her with flies I caught around the dumpster until her eggs hatched. My mom freaked out because she thought the babies were all eating the mom when they hatched. A couple days after that, I realized I wasn't going to be able to feed that many spiders all at once, so I took the jar out to the alley (were there were lots of tasty flies) and left it open. My friends thought I was super weird, but I was fascinated by the egg sac and how the mom let ALL her babies ride on her at once.

[highoctanefury]

I love how Emily is always excited to learn something new. We should all be that way. I hate it when I realize I've become jaded about something and way too many people are jaded these days.

[jadea]

When I was in Kindergarten and first grade I used to love catching grasshoppers at recess. I thought it was so much more fun than playing on the swings or the slide. Then I switched schools and couldn't find as many bugs, so I played Harry Potter and made pretend potions out of different kinds of plants. It was awesome.

[jeffpeterson]

I watch because I like the content. That’s why I support this channel. It’s always refreshing to see our young people so passionate about science.
Please don’t change anything and discard any of those foolish remarks.

[kimalo]

I'd like to thank Jim Louderman, he inspired my new found love for bugs, as soon as the temperature increases, I'm going bug collecting in the fields near my house :D

[TheBlackrose]

One, this episode was All Of The Win, and two, I will never, not-ever get tired of hearing "...it still has brains on it."

[JosephCoates]

This is a great series, from collection to processing to use of the collection.  Jim is a natural teacher and we are lucky to have him teach us.  

[amiroarrr]

Hi Emily and team, I just want to say a huge thank you for making these videos! As a kid, I'm always learning stuff about animals but in school, education in my country makes us memorise things and regurgitate facts on examinations, something I am not particularly good at. Also, living in a city-country makes jobs that have anything to do with animals almost non-existent. This made me stop pursuing Science as a career. Now, much older, I'm working in film/vfx but I do enjoy channels like SciShow and this one. It's probably too late for me to step back and study Science now but I appreciate the content created for casual learners like me. Keep up the great job!

[twiginthebox]

I never knew that there was such an art and science behind pinning insects. So fascinating.

[RobertMarks]

lol all the peolpe who say they regret watching this before they eat... this show always comes up right as i sit to eat lunch and i always watch it while im eating

[DamianShaw]

This is such a cool series, I love the contrast between out in the field and the fun of it and the great information in the museum environment!

[EmberMaye]

So cool to hear more about this. Great timing, too, as a panic-tastically work to finish my own collection for my class. He makes point mounts look so easy! *goes to buy clear nail polish instead of the elmer's glue our professor suggested*

[Kniives]

i really loved his speech at the end, very inspiring

[mlw]

I wish I'd had this information thirty years ago, when we did an insect collection in school!  I'm making sure my nieces and nephews don't miss these episodes.

[TechLaboratories]

Even though I tend to hate and avoid insects as much as possible, I'm always impressed by the passion and knowledge of entomologists.

[romantheflash]

That was amazing how Jim could just identify the insects by sight, and that we can learn so much about insects, which I think is just awesome.

[motherjoon]

Emily's appearance is heavenly beautiful 

[rosesaredead]

I wish it weren't almost winter, because now I want to go outside and have my own insect adventure!