I put this in the Insect Advocate column, but it's kindof fallen off the map...
I've been asked to speak for the insects at a local health food store. If any of you have been affected by my advocacy for invertebrates, please answer the following questions:
How has your attitude toward insects changed? What were the most instrumental aspects of the "Insect Advocate" and "Mommy Bugga Bugga" toward affecting that change?
I have 45 minutes to talk, I guess. And I'm feeling shy and tongue-tied and not knowing what to say.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
quote:Originally posted by Jenny Gardener: I've been asked to speak for the insects
Wow! Just like Ender!
Posted by Farmgirl (Member # 5567) on :
Jen -- I've always been a big fan of bugs, so I don't know that you've swayed me since I was already a fan. But I think it should be easy to fill 45 minutes with information about all the GOOD things that different insects do, and their place in the overall ecosystem and foodchain, and how disasteredly(?) different a place it would be if we didn't have them.
And some bugs are yummy, I've been told Posted by Derrell (Member # 6062) on :
I was generally ignorant of the role insects play in the ecosystem. Your threads have been truly educational.
I still have a strong aversion to bees, wasps, and spiders, but have come to see insects as a necessary part of life.
Thank you.
I'd suggest just being yourself and letting your passion shine through.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
quote:Insect Advocate needs Help!
From my view, insects don't need any help nor advocates. They're doing fine just on their own.
How much do they outnumber us? 1000 to 1? 10000 to one? More?
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
Yeah, that's how I got myself into this mess in the first place... *mutter mutter*
Why do I have to be the weird girl who loves bugs?
We'll work with your aversion to wee beasties who bear venom..
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
Yes, but I want to heal the great rift between humans and insects. Many people hate/fear insects irrationally, and reach for a can of poison (which is harmful to the environment and humans, as well as insects)when they see anything with more than 4 legs. Also, insects CAN become extinct. It's a general problem with the attitude of modern people toward the natural world. Insects are just some of Nature's more blatant ambassadors.
Posted by mr_porteiro_head (Member # 4644) on :
Do you know of any insect species that have become extinct?
Posted by ClaudiaTherese (Member # 923) on :
Jenny Gardener, I responded most to your matter-of-factness, humor, and your specific stories of how things look from an insect-lover's perspective.
(Do you want specific stories from us that you can then relate to your audience? Or are you looking for general feedback just to guide you in what to emphasize?)
Posted by Jenny Gardener (Member # 903) on :
Links to extinct and endangered insect information:
Stories would be great!
Posted by Noemon (Member # 1115) on :
Jenny, I've always been fascinated with insects (I was always the kid watching the ant colonies at recess, and stopping other kids from tromping on them. Well, trying to stop them, anyway), so you're pretty much preaching to the choir with me. I've thoroughly enjoyed all of your threads on the subject, though.
One discussion that we've had that I particularly enjoyed was the one about providing honey near entry points to encourage ants not to forage further into the house in search of food, and the way the ants would appear to become intoxicated and swim purposefully into the honey, killing themselves. I think that that was in the origianl Mommy Bugga Bugga thread (my favorite of the bug thread titles, by the way).
Posted by jeniwren (Member # 2002) on :
Jenny, I think you'd do well just to get people to stop killing them outright. I don't do that anymore, but admit that it doesn't matter what kind of bug it is, I'm still irrationally scared of them. It's a phobia. So I let my son, who loves bugs, deal with it. When the wolf spider that had taken up residence on my front porch needed to be evicted, he did that for me, capturing it and letting it go in the quarter of our lot that is wooded.
Sorry, but I will keep on killing slugs until they start working on my blackberry briars.
Posted by Scott R (Member # 567) on :
All right, so seriously-- I've stopped smashing spiders immediately because of some of the things JG and aka have said.
Posted by King of Men (Member # 6684) on :
Slugs aren't insects, as such. Though they are invertebrates.
Me, I wish I could keep the damn flies out of my apartment. There are dead flies all over my bathroom ceiling. Posted by aspectre (Member # 2222) on :
Need more spiders to keep those flies under control, KoM.
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Thank you.![[Frown]](frown.gif)