I am pleased to announce that I have just accepted a temporary entomology position as a Laboratory Assistant at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.  I will be sorting and identifying samples of invertebrates for an ongoing survey of forested watersheds.  The project is a joint effort of UMass, the Massachusetts EPA, and the U.S. EPA.  I will begin in late May or early June, and be there for a total of 28 weeks.

I'd be delighted to hear from anyone in that area, and overjoyed if anyone could help me secure housing for that period!  I do know a few people there already, but would enjoy making new friends.  I will be busy to be sure, but look forward to getting out in the field in my free time.

Meanwhile, I have been fumbling with my new camera, yet still managing some respectable images of insects, lizards, and birds, in that order.  Blogging is progressing, too, at "Bug Eric" and "Sense of Misplaced."

I hope to be able to check in periodically here, too, but best wishes to all of you until I sign on again.

Tags: Massachusetts University UMass May June Temporary Job

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I apologize for being out of the loop here for the last few months.  Much in my life has changed, and I haven't been able to devote as much attention as I would like to InsectGeeks.

Last Wednesday I became unemployed.  How appropriate is that (April Fool's Day!)?  I had known this was coming for several months, so I was able to "prepare" to at least some degree.  Still, suddenly not having a daily routine really throws a wrench into one's life.

I would very much like to get into a career in the media, where I can provide content about nature in general for radio, television, and online outlets.  I'd very much appreciate hearing from anyone with "connections" in that context so I can begin networking.  My current network is composed almost entirely of other entomologists!

Also, I have begun my own blogs.  Please consider visiting me at:  Bug Eric Blog and Sense of Misplaced, a commentary on nature and natural history in general.

Lastly, I have endeavored to take up digital photography, which I know absolutely nothing about.  I need to illustrate the blogs, though, and to that end have purchased a camera that will allow me to learn gradually.  Most of my good to excellent images are going up on BugGuide and BirdSite, and also my blogs, of course.

You all are still welcome to "bug me" if there is anything I can help you with.  Thank you.

Tags: Blogs Bugs Nature Unemployed

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My “day job” is as a keywording specialist for an internet company that sells images online, and one of the duties is to correct the errors of my predecessors.  Additionally, I volunteer to identify “mystery bugs” at AllExperts.com.  Both of these activities occasionally generate some hilarious typographical errors.

Our company once outsourced some keywording to workers outside the U.S.  This made for some intriguing interpretations of spelling.  Among my favorites:  the “Ladder Day Saints.”  Gee, talk about being high and mighty.  “Pungent Sound, Washington.”  I truly feel sorry for the residents.  I wouldn’t want to live with a constant odor, either.  “Neckless.”  Well, it is pretty hard to wear a necklace if you have no neck, don’t you think?!  “Glasswear.”  Be careful, dear, you don’t want to fall down in that garment…and you might want to put on some underwear.

Over on AllExperts, too many people who ask me questions disregard spelling and punctuation entirely.  A few, however, go to great lengths to explain their situation, and to describe the insect or spider that is plaguing them.  I always ask that they please include the location where the creature was found, but in one case I couldn’t find “Californai” on the map.

Far and away, my most favorite error, bless this woman’s heart, had to do with an infestation of something in her attic.  I know that she meant to write “fecal” matter as one of the clues to her pest problem, but in what has to be one of the most unfortunate typos ever, it came out “fetal” matter.  I laughed so hard I was almost in the fetal position.  Once I regained my composure I told her that she should really contact the local authorities to evict the underground abortion clinic in her attic.  Oh, my.  Keep those cards and letters coming, folks.

Tags: Typographical Errors Spelling Funny Humor Comedy

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The recent media attention focused on the octuplets concerns me, and got me thinking about our collective impact on the planet compared to other animals.  We rightly assert our reproductive freedom in the U.S., and indeed no one should be prevented from conceiving children if they so desire.  What gives me pause is that we seem to think more is always better.

Anyone who has reared insects in captivity knows how incredibly prolific insects can be, and there is a good reason why most insects bear so many offspring.  Most of their babies, be they larvae or nymphs, won’t survive to adulthood.  They will be victims of predators, parasites, disease, competition from siblings, inclement weather, accidents in the course of molting to the next stage in the life cycle, and innumerable other environmental factors.  Nature has its checks and balances that way.  Homo sapiens, on the other hand, tends to have rather limited reproductive potential, and exceptions to that rule are often celebrated.

Considering our current economic climate, it is not a stretch to say that multiple births are acclaimed as a kind of “economic stimulus package” (Look!  It’s eight new consumers!), and so the family is showered with gifts from corporations looking for publicity as do-gooders coming to the rescue of the suddenly financially-burdened parents.

Every other species would love to be able to do what we have:  eliminate our mortality factors, eradicate competing species, modify our “habitat” to serve the purposes of our species only, and, to top it all off, overcome infertility.  The problem is that we are probably already exceeding the environmental carrying capacity of the planet to sustain us much farther into the future.  The more of us there are, the more natural resources we demand, the more space we occupy.  Arguably, we are also outstripping our economic carrying capacity because more goods are demanded faster, spurring automated manufacturing that puts people out of work and unable to afford the items they demanded in the first place.

Scientific journalists, in fact journalists of all stripes, are being remiss in ignoring the motives of advertisers and companies that benefit from our determination to become super fertile; and while the benefits of reproductive technology might not deserve the stigma and condemnation that human cloning has generated, they should be treated with a lot more caution than they are now.  After all, reproductive freedom, like any freedom, comes with responsibility.

Tags: Octuplets Fertility Carrying Capacity Super Economics

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The next time someone asks you whether you believe in evolution, you might ask them that question in reply.  I know now that the phrase ”ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny”, which I learned in college biology, has been largely discredited.  Still, what is metamorphosis if not evolution accelerated?

What alchemy is this that wrought frog from fish, and butterfly from worm?  What kind of miracle results in such a drastic transformation over an easily observable span of time?  Even the most basic understanding of metamorphosis does not lessen its magic.  I am regretting now that I did not take an insect physiology course while I was in college, but we no doubt know collectively more now, than we did in the early 1980s.

At an informal gathering of local entomologists a few years ago, a graduate student made a presentation on metamorphosis that revealed to me some startling facts.  Chief among them was the (obvious, in retrospect) idea that a butterfly starts to take shape well before the pupal stage.  Inside the caterpillar, adult body parts begin their genesis as nodes called “imaginal discs.”  How awesome and appropriate is that term?  Imaginal discs.  The caterpillar cannot possibly imagine itself as a butterfly in the cognitive sense, but the idea that at a cellular level it most certainly does is truly fascinating.  That the timing of each stage of development is regulated by “juvenile hormones” and other biochemicals is no less astonishing.  The power of molecular-level chemistry is mind-boggling.

Given the complex, yet rapid process of metamorphosis, is it really a stretch to think that speciation through evolution cannot take place over an even longer period of time?  It certainly seems plausible to me.  The bottom line, however, is that we can no longer afford to waste time debating the merits of evolution versus creation theory.  Extinction is most definitely not a theory, and unless we direct our collective scientific and theological efforts toward species salvation, it won’t matter how they came to be in the first place.

Tags: Metamorphosis Evolution Insects Extinction

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An ancient bi-plane

Awakens dew-drenched

For another day

To join damselfly comrades

Flying like pennants

Perched on cattails

Eric R. Eaton

circa 1983

Tags: Poem Poetry Insects Damselflies

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When I returned from buying the Sunday paper at the corner store yesterday, I was amused to see what I thought was the neighbor’s Chihuahua digging in the lawn of our apartment courtyard. I didn’t have my contact lenses in, though, and clearly my glasses need a new prescription. Upon ascending the stairs to my own apartment, it became apparent the little “dog” was actually an adult male Cooper’s hawk plucking feathers from a pigeon it had just killed.

Here in Tucson, Arizona, anyway, Cooper’s hawks have not only become tolerant of urban sprawl, they have exploited it to the fullest. They are not at all shy, and frequently perch on the ground, low branches, fences, and other places where they can easily ambush less-vigilant birds. It can be truly startling to flush one of them from under foot.

What was disappointing in this particular instance was not the death of a common pigeon, but the fact that no one else in the complex of apartments seemed to even take notice of the drama unfolding right there before them. This was not early in the morning, either. The hawk was on the kill, or nearby, from eleven AM until at least 12:30 PM. During that time, at least one gentleman, on his cell phone, ventured out of his downstairs apartment, and another person, opposite of the action, was outside in front of their own apartment. Neither took note of the bird and its prey as far as I could tell.

What a pity that more people don’t appreciate the wild animals in their midst. Instead, we complain about the coyotes prowling around in the pre-dawn hours when some folks walk their dogs, the bugs in the swimming pool, the javelinas rooting through the garden. Ok, so we did have a rabid bobcat a couple blocks away a few years ago, but that was truly an aberration.

I noticed that the hawk was banded, as looking through my binoculars I could see the shiny “bracelet” on its leg. I’ll have to find out the history of this individual so I can properly introduce myself the next time he appears.

Tags: Cooper's Hawk Pigeon Predator Prey Tucson Arizona USA

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Imagine my shock to learn that I am now only two degrees removed from President-elect Barack Obama. It turns out he has appointed my college ecology professor, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). All personal bias aside, he could not have made a better choice.

Dr. Lubchenco had previously received a “genius grant,” one of the MacArthur Fellowship awards for the year 1993, just one of many recognitions for her work in marine biology, climate change, and teaching. It is truly a gifted person who can be both a scholar and a public figure able to articulate complex scientific concepts to a general audience.

After congratulating Dr. Lubchenco via e-mail, I suggested that the incoming administration consider moving the United States Forest Service from its current location in the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to the Department of the Interior, where all other public lands are administered. I dare say it would help the Forest Service to adhere to a “multiple use” mandate, instead of treating our forests mostly as tree farms, which has largely been the case under previous Presidents. Dr. Lubchenco has yet to reply to that e-mail, but I’m sure she is just very busy. Good luck, Dr. L!

Tags: Obama President Cabinet

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I probably have no business promoting a television program I have no part in, but this week the Animal Planet channel will be airing a special on spiders. Well, apparently it is a profile of arachnologist Rick West. He will be looking in the Amazon jungle for various mygalomorphs. The title of the program is either “Spidermania” or “Real Spiderman,” and it airs this Thursday night, January 22, 2009 in the U.S. Please check local listings, as they say, for broadcast times in your area.

Tags: Spiders Television TV Rick West

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