And the topic is…spiders!
Except it’s sorta not. I’ve roped one of my students into joining me on screen, and we’re going to talk about biodiversity, with spiders as an example. She’s been looking at a lot of other creatures, too!
Pharyngula
Evolution, development, and random biological ejaculations from a godless liberal
Bats! Beetles!
Don’t forget the giant space spider!
Interesting podcast! It is always fun to learn new things.
Pesticides:
A comment: to deal with infestations of mosquitos – för instance on a stretch of Dala river both of Stockholm- without resorting to pesticides, a biological agent called VectoBac g containing a specific bacteria is used to hit mosquito larvae on a specific part of their life cycle.
It has apparently been effective without unwanted side effects.
Should be north of Stockholm. Spell Check is having Tourettes again.
In regard to nematodes as biopesticudes, that is a work in progress. I have to check internet for the current state of affairs.
One thing this podcast made me think about was native plants and their effect on the environment. In my area people have started to put in native and rain gardens which is great. Surprisingly, however, these are often “well manicured” with the leaves, fallen sticks, and any native weeds removed. In other words, they are gardens planted with native species and bark mulch, but not really wild areas that would attract the critter diversity like a more undisturbed area.