The "Manti", named for nobody's uncle, will be awarded in three categories.
This past weekend the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the Oscar winners at the 90th Annual Academy Awards Ceremony. In keeping with that tradition, Bug of the Week takes a respite from its tropical adventures to recognize the accomplishments of the great cast of bugs we visited in the past year. It has been another fantastic year for insects and their relatives. By virtue of the fact that you are reading this message, you are a member of the Bug of the Week Academy. This is your chance to vote for some of your favorite characters and episodes. Three categories of accomplishment will be recognized this year. They are: “Glad they aren’t our size” award for scariest predator, “You ought to be in pictures” award for most beautiful insect, and “More than I needed to know” award for bugs behaving badly.
To cast your ballot: either click on the url provided; or click on the hotlink to the Bug of the Week episode mentioned and then click on the YouTube link in the lower right corner of the video box. Unlike the Oscars where voting is limiting to a single ballot, you may vote for as many nominees as many times as you like. Let’s get real - have you ever seen a caterpillar take just one bite of a leaf? Go on, live a little!
“Glad they aren’t our size”
The nominees are:
In this sequel to the Magnificent Seven, three ruthless predators with bloodlust and sucking mouthparts rid ornamental plants of bands of pests while innocent bystanders become collateral damage in “Bugs in orange and black: Three assassins - milkweed assassin bug, Zelus longipes; orange assassin bug, Pselliopus barberi; and wheel bug, Arilus cristatus” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GrlxxRWVzg
Danger lurks in summer’s blossoms and unsuspecting pollinators will pay with their lives in “Bumble Bees and other Pollinators Beware of Ambush Bugs, Phymata spp.” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NF5sqJULtrc
Every fly’s worst nightmare becomes reality when a large venomous spider sets up shop on the front porch of a suburban home in “Big spider webs, Part 1: Spotted orbweaver, Neoscona crucifera" To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=58&v=rCQlH-L_d24
“You ought to be in pictures”
The nominees are:
Spectacular Urania moths discovery the salt of the earth along Amazonian rivers in “Destination Tambopata River, Peru: The search for salt by birds and birdwing moths, Urania sp.” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MxASDHxqkOs
Learn what pumping is all about when sassy Costa Rican daggerwings cool off on a sizzling tropical beach in “Butterflies pumping on the beach: Daggerwings, Marpesia sp.” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=23&v=hj5AQD2w5bE
A colorful child star comes of age as a gorgeous butterfly, after eating prehistoric plants south of Miami in “Destination Coral Gables, Florida: A visit with Coontie and the Atala butterfly, Eumaeus atala” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0maBdvYLfIA
“More than I needed to know”
The nominees are:
New Yorkers in ritzy apartments on the Upper East Side are tormented by bloodthirsty mosquitoes breeding in their basements in “Bloodsuckers in the basement: Subterranean mosquito, Culex pipiens form molestus” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Rmn7faMMAA
School officials in the nation’s capital have more to worry about than bipartisan schisms when DC schools are invaded by hungry bed bugs in “Ectoparasites go to school: Bed Bugs in DC, Cimex lectularius” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=Q0F3o-TsUoc
A hangry foodie’s edamame delight turns into a dining disaster when a maggot appears on his dinner plate in “Edamame surprise: Soldier flies, Stratiomyidae” To vote click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XUlfnUyGJI
We would like to thank our distinguished members for their participation. Winners of the Bug of the Week Academy Awards will be announced next week.