Bugs Need Heroes

Latest Episodes:

Kelly’s Spidersona (WOLF SPIDERS) Nov 19, 2023

Show notes

Kelly finally saw Across The Spider-verse! There are some mild spoilers in her review and the discussion that follows. In this episode, we discuss Kelly's favorite spider family: Lycosidae. Amanda designs a costume for if Kelly was bitten by a radioactive wolf spider. Tangents include yelling cats, fearful husbands, and the cursed knowledge of bird songs.

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

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Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

Bug Type Need Heroes (POKEMON with Just The Zoo of Us) Nov 05, 2023

Show notes

We invited Ellen Weatherford of Just The Zoo of Us podcast on to talk about Pokémon. As of generation 9, there are at least 92 different bug-type Pokémon. We discuss the hits, the misses, and the weird biology of these little guys and how they compare to the real world insect inspirations. Don't worry if you aren't familiar with the games, Kelly wasn't either.

Visual Aid for the parody of Fact or Fiction.

Check out /u/FallinDevast's fakemon on reddit.

Ellen's links!

Her podcast: Just The Zoo of Us

Her Instagram: ElksNeedle

Her TikTok: @ellen.weatherford

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

ENCORE: Bats Need Heroes (DC’s BATMAN Special) Oct 30, 2023

Show notes

This is a special encore for Halloween. This episode was originally released in October 2022. A few new bat species have been recognized since then according to Bat Conservation International and the Bat Species of the World: A taxonomic and geographic database.

In this episode, Kelly and Amanda invite Producer Derek on to talk about his heroes: the bats! What if Bruce Wayne had been bitten by a radioactive bat? Is Robin really the perfect partner for the caped crusader? Do bats really love a dark night? And most importantly, what is the cutest bat?

Some references on the episode page: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/bats-need-heroes

Send us questions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music is Ladybug Castle by Rolemusic.

The Harbinger (MOTHMAN) Oct 22, 2023

Show notes

For a spooky treat/trick, this episode we give a recap of Kelly's visit to Portland and discuss some of our favorite cryptids with special focus on the mysterious appearance of the Homer Simpson of Cryptids in Point Pleasant, West Virginia. Tangents include swooping, Richard Gere, and legitimate chili strategies.

Also Mentioned in the Episode:

View the artwork and Kelly's Field Notes on our website: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-harbingerhttps://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-brown-beetle

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with some assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

Lightfast! (SHELLAC, CARMINE, BEESWAX, TYRIAN PURPLE, IRON GALL INK) Oct 08, 2023

Show notes

We're back! Since Kelly is still working on becoming Doctor Kelly, Amanda hosts this episode all about bug and bug adjacent derivatives. Tangents include art history (OBVIOUSLY), air travel, and children being scared in grocery stores.
Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BugsNeedHeroes

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

September Diapause Sep 10, 2023

Show notes

We will be back in October.

If you are attending Rose City Comic Con on September 23, please say hello. We will presenting the panel "Wolverines Don't Howl: Actual Animal Super Powers," an earlier version of which eventually lead to this podcast. (Producer Derek will *attempt* to record it for our youtube page)

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BugsNeedHeroes

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

The Trash-Man with Arthro-Pod (COCKROACHES) Aug 27, 2023

Show notes

This week we are joined by the entomologists at Arthro-Pod to talk about cockroaches! This is our biggest episode yet and conversation covers a wide range of tangents including our The Blue Beetle (the movie is good!), sexy Pokémon, how to best poison each other, "murder hornets", Danny Devito, the Elon Musk/Zuckerberg fight, and loose bugs. This is also the first episode where the topic of the show makes an appearance. So anyways, I started blatting...

And Kelly still hasn't seen Across the Spider-verse.

Follow our guests on Twitter @Arthro_Podshow, @bugmanjon, @JodyBugsmeUNL, and @MSkvarla36. Get their show through Apple Podcast, Spotify, or your favorite podcatching app!

You can see the cockroach field notes at https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-trash-man-and-tergal-lad

You can see all our guest episodes at https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/bug-heroes

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BugsNeedHeroes

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

The Brown Beetle (DUNG BEETLES) Aug 13, 2023

Show notes

We talk about poop in this episode. A lot. You know this bug from the nature documentaries, but with seven thousand species, there's a lot you don't know about this romantic beetle.

Tangents include whether Kelly has seen Across the Spider-verse yet (no), Julie of the Wolves, DC's Blue Beetle (no spoilers), Watchmen by Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons, and Kelly learns about a guy on a buffalo (a series of music videos by Jomo & The Possum Posse recut from a 1978 film). And we all learn about Amanda.

View the artwork and Kelly's Field Notes on our website: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/the-brown-beetle

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with some assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

Throw Dirt at Bees with Dr Mathias Nordvig (NORDIC MYTHOLOGY) Jul 30, 2023

Show notes

This episode we interview Dr. Mathias Nordvig, Professor or Pre-Christian mythologies and Scandinavian folklore at the University of Colorado, Boulder. We chat about the differences between Norse and Nordic, bees in Nordic mythology, and why there is a general paucity of insect lore in Nordic mythology as a whole. Tangents include Loki, Amanda steps on a nail, Snorri Sturluson, Marvel's Thor and other animal lore. Dr. Nordvig has several books out about Nordic mythology (including a kid's book!) and has recently released his own translation of Völuspá: The Vision of the Witch, which Kelly read and loved. You can find it on https://www.hyldyr.com/.

Follow Mathias on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mathiasnordvig/

Check out his website: https://mathiasnordvig.com/

Listen to his podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/the-sacred-flame/id1671438723

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with some assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.

Team Jacobaea (CINNABAR MOTH) Jul 16, 2023

Show notes

It's just about time for National Moth Week!

In this episode we talk about Producer Derek's favorite moth: the cinnabar moth (Tyria jacobaeae). Finally, a rival for Isabella Tigermoth. And this moth isn't alone in her fight against the noxious Stinking Willie; her fellow biocontrol agents include the tansy ragwort flea beetle (Longitarsus jacobaeae) and the ragwort seed head fly (Botanophila seneciella). This moth and her team are basically Superman, but for cows. Tangents include Animorphs, Spider-verse, being a goth kid, and John Wick.

Check out NationalMothWeek.org to learn more about how you can participate in this citizen science initiative.

Field notes and artwork on our website: https://www.bugsneedheroes.com/episodes/team-jacobaea

Send us questions and suggestions! BugsNeedHeroes@gmail.com

Join us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bugsneedheroes/

Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/bugsneedheroes

Join us on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/BugsNeedHeroes

Hosted by Amanda Niday and Kelly Zimmerman with editing by Derek Conrad with some assistance from Chelsey Bawden.

Created by Derek Conrad and Kelly Zimmerman.

Character artwork by Amanda Niday.

Music by Rolemusic.