Well bug fans this is my first post in quite some time. Warm weather is here and inverts are out in force. This video has no sound but is just some super macro videography I shot with my Iphone 4s and a microscope attachment that I made for it. Just some things you find under the garden boards.
Spring is here!
PS don’t forget to greet my newest coworker Angie Biasi!
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| From KICKSTARTER |
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Well it has been a busy week in both the invertebrate and vertebrate adventures here at the Creepy Crawly Zoo. Some of you may remember that back in June I had come across a female snapping turtle laying eggs on the side of the road in what could be considered a very bad spot. Well the first of those eggs hatched this week and I was lucky enough to catch it all with my new Sony VG10. 
Gamera actually hatched in my hand. Something I’ve never had the privileged of experiencing before and I have to say it was pretty cool. But Tony, aren’t you all about bugs? you ask. Well the Creepy Crawly Zoo was originally intended to be about all the odd and unusual creatures that share the planet. I have an affinity for a number of different kinds of animals and in the last year or so I have even developed an affection for…. birds. If you click on the first picture it will take you to the album with the rest of the pictures including the mother laying the eggs.
BLACK PHASE TIGER SWALLOWTAIL
REGULAR TIGER SWALLOWTAIL
This week on the job I was also very excited to see a Black Phase Tiger Swallowtail and catch it on film. The first time I ever saw one of these was when I was still in school. I remember being very excited to show one of my professors because I had actually thought I discovered something new. Apparently, it was only new to me and a not uncommon genetic variation. However, I can honestly say that I had never seen one before that day or since until this week. (won’t say how long that’s actually been) This week I’ve seen two. If you ever think you are seeing a rather large black swallowtail take a closer look if you can. Chances are it may be one of these beauties.
Some of my facebook fans are also aware that I was on several morning shows this week promoting events. One of those events was Bug Fest at the Red Oak Nature Center in the Fox Valley Parks District. This was my second year there and it was just spectacular. There was a 1/2 mile of trails with different events 
all along the way for kids. I didn’t meet a single person that wasn’t having a great time. I was personally flattered by the number of people that turned out to see my show including a couple of future entomologists that had returned to see me from last year. Lots of tiny patrons had their own butterfly nets, jars and geeky hats. It was awesome! Since I knew I would be getting a few return entomologists from last year there were some new animals this time around including the BIN OF 1000 MEAL WORMS. To all of you at the Fox Valley Parks District let me repeat what an awesome job you did. For anyone interested in seeing the rest of the photos from this day just click on the Bug Whisperer sign and it will take you to the album from that day. Most of the pictures tell a story in themselves.
Geek out for now,
Tony
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Well as an award winning film producer, educator and entertainer being an entomologist I have a day job. My family started a green landscaping company GREEN MAN TREE AND LANDSCAPE that I work for most of the time. Landscaping and tree service pretty much go hand in hand with entomology and at this time in the summer I come across a lot of incredible things on the job and some great photographic opportunities. Not all are pleasant but a few become new members of the Creepy Crawly Zoo and some make it into future film projects. Its kinda difficult to carry my good camera with me on the job but as they say, “the best camera to have is the one that’s on you.” I have a Sprint Evo which I made some modifications to for macro and micro photography so much of what you see here was taken with “Yes”- my cell phone.
This week in particular was full of bug encounters. Bugs were on everything. We had even removed some new born squirrels and on the squirrels were yes – fleas. This in particular I wasn’t very happy about since I was the one who had to move them. (No, squirrels were harmed and the mother ALWAYS comes back for them.)
Early in the week we had to remove some dying elm trees for the city of Wauwatosa and on tree in particular had a number of these guys. This large scary looking wasp is called a Horntail. Despite its fearsome appearance, coloration and extraordinarily large ovipositor neither the males or females sting.
Instead of giving you the long life history of what these creatures do here is a link for further reading . (you may also want to visit Wikipedia).
This has also been a spectacular summer for the 17 year locust. (aka the cicada) Not all cicadas come out every 17 years since there are many species. There are cicadas around all the time but every 17 year emergence is a site to remember. Cicadas have a reproductive strategy of numbers. When they first emerge birds, cats, lizards, frogs etc just gorge themselves on cicadas but after a few days of gorging everyone is pretty sick of cicadas and the cicadas just keep on coming. Trees will get covered with the discarded exoskeletons of the emerging larvae and the sound of hot summer days becomes deafening with millions of screaming cicadas.
Like I said my job affords me some great photographic opportunities and here are some pics of an emerging cicada I came across at a fortunate moment.
You can see the rest of the photos @ this link.
And not to be out done by the outdoors the Creepy Crawly Zoo has some announcements also. Last Tuesday Charlotte the black widow had an egg case hatch. About 100 new born widows introduced themselves to the world. Of course they will start life by simply eating their own siblings and 3 of the finalists will make it to exhibit one day. Juvenille black widows look very different from the adults and the hourglass is white until they reach a much more mature age. They are also brown and white with a marble pattern and if you didn’t know what to look for they would probably pass for an ordinary house spider.
Queen Taueret’s new colony is doing rather well. She is up to 5 workers and a mass of eggs piling up. They have not started digging tunnels yet but they tending to their queen’s every need.
Stay tuned for this coming week and see what’s new in the Creepy Crawly Zoo!
Antonio Gustin (The Bug Whisperer)
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Hello Cyber World!! This is the official blog site of the Bug Whisperer tm. In this blog I will be posting about the Creepy Crawly Zoo (The world’s greatest live insect assembly show), All the animals in the zoo, Who Wants to be an Entomologist? – the award winning video pilot of the series “Tales from the Bug Whisperer” 
and just various invertebrate news and interesting things I come across from Midwest to Southwest. Subscribe to this site and be the first to see video clips from upcoming DVD episodes, find out where the Creepy Crawly Zoo will be next and how to start your own creepy crawly zoo.
Thanks for visiting
Antonio Gustin… The Bug Whisperer
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