On the Prairie
Chat transcript, Dave Rider
Read from bottom to top.
Moderator: Wow-thanks so much for all of your questions. Thank you Paul. Join us again on Thursday, October 7th when we chat with Brian Winter, the Director of Science and Stewardship for the Northern Tallgrass Prairie.
Paul Tinerella: Hi Chris, Probably the most colorful is the Day-flying moth from Madagascar- closer to home- on the prairie it would have to be the Dogbane Beetle- It is bright, metallic green and in the right light you can see many colors.
Paul Tinerella: Hi Clark, one of the smallest insects is the Fairy Wasp- they lay their eggs on wasps just a bit larger than themselves. They are about 0.3 mm in size- and that's the adult!
Moderator: Last Question Chris asks "What is the insect that has the most colors that you've seen."
Paul Tinerella: Hi Tyler, I'm in Fargo, North Dakota right now, In my office...
Moderator: Clark asks "What is the smallest insects?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Erica, That is a really tough call, but if I had to guess, I might say something like the house fly or domestic roach.
Moderator: Tyler from Gifford School asks "Where are you?"
Moderator: Erica from Gifford School "What insect is the most common in the world?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Brittani, The wierdest insect I've seen is the 13 inch spiny walking stick from Australia.
Paul Tinerella: Hi Spencer, I'm not sure that insects "sleep"- at least like we do, but they do become very inactive at certain parts of the day, and also when their body temperature is too cold.
Moderator: Brittani from Gifford Grade School asks "What is the weirdest insect you've ever seen?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Bill, Insects either leave the burning area by flying or running. Other insects burrow down in the soil, and some stay in the vegetation until the fire passes.
Moderator: Spencer asks "How do insects sleep?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Tyler, The biggest insect I've ever seen is a Hercules Moth from Northern Australia.
Moderator: Bill from Hopkins, MN asks "What happens to the insects when they burn the prairie?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Emily, The coolest insect that I've found is a very rare waterboatmen from Australia.
Paul Tinerella: Hi Carrie, The most interesting would be a a ground beetle that parasitizes aquatic beetle larvae.
Moderator: Tyler asks "What is the biggest insect you have ever seen?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Ashley, Insects have a varied number of strategies for the winter. The first is what you or I may want to do about mid-winter, and that is migrate south! They migrate before winter though. Others that stay, take up residence deep in the soil, below the frost line, others overwinter- bore their way- into plants. Still yet, others remain on a warm host such as a mammal or bird and wait the winter out that way.
Moderator: Carrie asks "What was the most interesting insect you've ever studied?"
Moderator: Emily asks "What is the coolest insect you've found?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Mandy, It doesn't really take that much training, a few field guides to insects, some resources to an Insect reference collection, and a keen interest in insects. These items above and a lot of field observation will put you well on your way as an Entomologist. Further training at a university will enhance your knowledge of insects, and is necessary to work at museums and universities.
Moderator: Ashley from Duluth, MN asks "What do insects do in the winter?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Bill, That's a tough one- Insects do some amazing and exciting things... But, I'd have to say finding a Ground Beetle Called the "Snail Killer" on the prairie was really exciting. This beetle is a medium sized- about one and a half inches long, bright purple, and its mandibles are modified to feed in the snail's shell.
Moderator : Mandy from Worthington, MN asks "How much schooling do you need to become an entomologist?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Kristen, Insects are tied to the prairie in many ways- they have direct ties with the prairie vegetation, they keep populations of other Insects and Arthropods in balance-predation, They benefit the prairie food web by being a source of food for other animals, and they pollinate prairie plants. In quite a few cases, an insect's relationship with prairie plants is a mutualistic one- that is, both the plant and insect benefit from the relationship. Without insects on the prairie, the maintenance of the prairie would greatly suffer.
Moderator: Bill asks "What is the most exciting insect you have ever found?"
Moderator: Kristen from LeSueur, MN asks "Why are insects important to prairies?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Brad, Well, with the weather as cool as it is now, we'll see a little less than what we'd normally see during the summer. There will still be plenty of beetle activity, the last of the really tough butterflies might be out, and things like flies and wasps may be flying around as well. Also, there should still be plenty of activity down in the cover of the prairie vegetation- plant feeders and soil insects.
Moderator: Brad from Eagan, MN asks "What insects are we going to see on October 13th during the live broadcast?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Susan, If I had to pick one- It's tough when you haven't seen all the different kinds- but mine would probably be the Guitar Beetle- Mormolyces phyllodes- It is a large, guitar shaped beetle that is flat and lives under the bark of trees in the tropics.
Moderator: Susan from Minneapolis, MN asks "What is your favorite insect?"
Paul Tinerella: Hi Mandy, I study ground beetles and Water Boatmen- little aquatic true bugs that feed on algae...
Moderator: Mandy from Worthington, MN asks "What kind of insects do you study?"
Paul Tinerella: This is Paul- I'm logged in now.... Anybody out there?
Moderator: Hello everyone. In fifteen minutes, we will be starting another chat session with Paul Tinerella, our Bell LIVE!
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