Well it seems the summer has finally arrived, and with it the warm temperatures! I always associate fireflies with summer, with their flickering lights during hot nights. I’m going to attribute my procrastination lately to the heat, and call in lame, providing you a simple song with simple lyrics! Perhaps, take a moment and think back to summer’s past and the memories you’ve had with fireflies!
I’ll try to stop being lame this week and finish up all those posts I promised for last week! Until then, keep cool and enjoy the summer’s eve!
There are few insects which enjoy the adoration, fame and geographical range that the domestic honey bee (Apis mellifera) does, so it’s surprising that there are relatively few songs singing their praises. Of course, that doesn’t stop artists of all eras from using the sweet “nectar” produced by these entomological factory farms as a cutesy term of endearment for a loved one! Makes you wonder whether Blake Shelton is known as “honey bee” to his wife…
I first head this song on Twitter via Dr. May Berenbaum (@MayBerenbaum) which makes a slick segue into my next post; a review of the new documentary Queen of the Sun, which features Dr. Berenbaum’s expert opinions on the plight of the honey bee in America! Pretty good eh? Make sure you check it out soon, but until then, Fleacrest, out!
It was a great long weekend for us Canadians, with more than decent weather in my area, cold beer, and BBQ! I also came to the conclusion that I’m going to start referring to the holiday as Linneaus Day rather than Victoria Day; Linneaus contributed more to global society, considered himself royalty, and holds taxonomic priority – he was born in 1707 while Queen Victoria wasn’t born until 1819! But I digress…
Along with the great weather and beer, I’ve put the final touches on my first peer-reviewed journal article, which should be coming online sometime around lunch today! I’ll be blogging about it later on, but for now, here’s a song somewhat on topic by Nada Surf; Fruit Fly.
I’m pretty sure this song is referring to a family which are frequently called “fruit flies” but which I call “vinegar flies” – Drosophilidae. These diverse nuisances aren’t the same family as I’m publishing on, but the title “Fruit Fly” does fit my group, the Tephritidae. The closest I could come to finding a tephritid-relevant musical selection was the Seattle-area punk band Apple Maggot Quarantine Area, but they didn’t have any useful videos to share…
Anyways, keep an eye out later today for the full story!
Ryan Fleacrest sometimes hangs with Michael Bubonic
Normally I have a bit of fun with Tuesday Tunes, whether mocking sugary pop music or giving props for mad entomological rhymes. Today however, I want to share a few trends which are both topical and disheartening (don’t worry, I still have a great song for you at the end of the post).
Last week, a report came out of Vancouver in which doctors reported bed bugs harbouring antibiotic resistant bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus [MRSA] and Enterococcus faecium [VRE]). While it’s a scary proposition, it’s unknown whether the bed bugs are capable of transferring the bacteria at this point. As Jonathan Eisen points out, it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise that MRSA was found; bed bugs are ectoparasites and MRSA is primarily a skin/wound-related infection. In fact, bed bugs have never been shown to transmit diseases (bacterial or viral) despite plenty of research attention, and as far as I can tell, have never been implicated in a human death. More people have died from improper handling and use of pesticides intended to kill bed bugs than from the bed bugs themselves!
In honour of the Latin American celebration of Cinco de Mayo, I bring you an iconic entomological song that most people will instantly recognize! While the original lyrics were about a disabled cockroach, this song became popular during the Mexican Revolution, with people creating their own lyrics to mirror their political ties. The original lyrics however are pretty fun:
I’ve seen many insects which are lacking legs and still mobile, so it’s a little odd that these are the lyrics which started it all. As many urbanites may attest, killing a cockroach is not the simplest task and urban legends maintain that cockroaches will inherit the world following a nuclear holocaust. Perhaps we’ve just been taking the wrong approach this whole time, and removing the back legs is all that’s needed to stop these household pests!
Certainly a catchy tune, and one I’m sure will be infesting my head for the remainder of the day!
One of my favourite entomological newsletters was published today, and to celebrate I’m going back to a fly-themed song. I’d highly recommend checking out “Fly Times”, the biannual newsletter of the North American Dipterists Society (affectionately known as NADS), where you can find all manner of interesting news from the Dipterological community, buzzing with stories from the field, research news, and all manner of articles involving flies and the people who study them.
In other Dipteran news, I’ve completed all the requirements for my MSc and am officially the proud owner of a shiny new graduate degree in Diptera systematics! This means that my blogging schedule will pick up again, with multiple posts each week and some big ideas for the near future. Thanks for sticking with Biodiversity in Focus during this busy period!
The internet and the Midwest are all a tizzy over the pending emergence of this year’s 13-year cicada brood (brood XIX if you’re interested). These periodical cicadas go more than a decade living underground feeding on the sap of tree roots, only to emerge en mass to partake in a massive jam session/rave/orgy. Different years feature different broods emerging in different areas and composed of at least 1 of the 4 different 13-year cicada species (leading to some interesting questions regarding what’s a brood and what’s a species when there is hypothetically little gene transfer between broods). On top of the 13-year cicadas, there are 3 species of 17-year cicada, of which brood I is expected to emerge next year.
These insects with prime emergences serve as the undivisible subjects of a song which some might consider a little odd.
This song was actually the inspiration for the Tuesday Tunes feature and was the first song I added to my playlist. Someday I hope to witness and photograph a magicicada emergence first hand, but for now I’ll have to count on those near the epicentres to share this emergence!
It’s been brought to my attention that I’ve missed a Canadian musical icon: the sweet dulcet tones of Stompin’ Tom Connors! Most may know him for his Hockey Song, but when he’s not singing about sports or condiments, he’s paying an homage to those pesky bugs.
Stompin’ Tom really is one of the great lyricists, with some truly fantastic songs. The Bug Song is right up there, and bound to buzz around your head for another day or two at least, despite the rather negative tone towards our six-legged friends!
Alright, it’s time for another fluffy pop song in the Tuesday Tunes line up. I’ve managed to hold back the swarm of honeydew producing artists since Valentine’s Day, but there are a lot of entomological songs coming out of the pop industry, so they’re going to creep in once in awhile!
Butterfly was the second single off of Mariah Carey’s 1997 album of the same name. This album also featured the hit track Honey, which disappointingly doesn’t feature bees or anything else entomological.
I hear Mariah Carey is currently gravid; I wonder what host plant this butterfly is looking to deposit on? Fleacrest, out!
It’s that time of the week again, and I’m keeping it short and sweet as I work on a couple of other posts (I promise, they’ll be out soon… seriously this time). Today’s piece has seen some love in pop culture, being featured on the TV shows such as Gossip Girl and Big Love, and on the big screen during Life As We Know It. Of course they’ve hit the real big time with a feature here on Tuesday Tunes!
Alright, they also win points for one of the most random videos featured, and that’s saying quite a bit… How come I never find tomatoes or carrots suspended from trees while I’m collecting in the summer? Wrong neck of the woods I suppose. Well, that’s it for this week, but join me next week as we continue to explore the musical landscape in search of sweet insect songs! Fleacrest, out!
Well it seems the summer has finally arrived, and with it the warm temperatures! I always associate fireflies with summer, with their flickering lights during hot nights. I’m going to attribute my procrastination lately to the heat, and call in lame, providing you a simple song with simple lyrics! Perhaps, take a moment and think back to summer’s past and the memories you’ve had with fireflies!