Talk about Beetles!

Two weeks ago I went to the ROM to see a lecture about beetles with Dr. Art Evans. Dr. Evans is an entomologist from the United States. An entomologist is someone who studies bugs. He is also an author. He has a radio show about beetles and a blog too. Its called ''Whats bugging you?"

His talk was awesome! I really liked the pictures of beetles on the giant screen. Dr. Evans told us about the places he went to study beetles. I really liked the part where he talked about Blister beetles. I've seen Blister beetles in the park near my house!

Before the lecture I asked Dr. Evans if I could send him some questions for my blog. He said yes!
Here are his answers to my questions:

What were the first bugs you studied? How old were you?'
I was five years old when I saw a movie on television that included an ant farm. From that point on I became fascinated with ants and wanted to learn as much about them as possible.

What is the biggest beetle you have ever seen?
When I was a grad student in South Africa, I saw a goliath beetle, Goliathus albosignatus, flying through the trees. When I worked at the Insect Zoo at the Natural History Museum in Los Angeles, we had a male Hercules beetle, Dynastes hercules, on display. It was found in a post office where it had clawed its way out of a package that had been posted illegally from Costa Rica.

A male Hercules beetle! Cool!

Have you been bit or hurt by the beetles you study?
Twice I have been blistered by blister beetles. I also had a large ground beetle squirt acetic acid in my eye.

Raccoons dig up our lawn for grubs. What are grubs and what do they grow up to be?
I would have to see the grubs to be sure. My guess is that they are the larvae of May beetles in the genus Phyllophaga, which is a type of scarab beetle.

Is it true cockroaches can live without their head?
I have heard that they can live for a while without their head, but I do not know this for a fact.

If you could be a beetle, what beetle would you like to be?
Great question! I am not sure. My wife Paula thinks the Hercules beetle would be a good choice for me!

You write books on insects. What is a good book for kids who like bugs?
Another great question! I always liked books with lots of pictures and natural history information about insects, so field guides were always my favorite books growing up. My field guide to Insects and Spiders of North America might be a good book with which to start.

Find out all about Dr. Evans' books and radio show on his Facebook page
https://www.facebook.com/Dr.Art.Evans.entomologist