Nature Guys

Cordyceps is a fungus that can destroy ant colonies. Tune in to find out how cicadas found a way to use cordyceps to survive. Our sources for this episode include: Fungus turns 'zombie antsʼ into booby traps https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/speaking-of-science/wp/2014/08/19/fungus-turns-zombie-ants-into-booby-traps/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.549321d845b5 6 Benefits of Cordyceps, All Backed by Science https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cordyceps-benefits#section8 Cordyceps: The Most Terrifying Fungus Youʼve Ever Seen https://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/05/28/cordyceps-the-most-terrifying-fungus-youve-ever-seen/ How to Tame a Zombie Fungus - Cicadas have repeatedly turned the infamous cordyceps fungi into indispensable allies. https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/06/how-to-tame-a-zombie-fungus/562544/

Horsehair worms are easy to find. They are fascinating and harmless. Keep your eyes open when you are near water. Bill found one crawling out of a grasshopper. Our sources for this episode include: Horsehair Worms (https://entomology.ca.uky.edu/files/efpdf3/ef613.pdf) Iowa State Horsehair Worms (https://hortnews.extension.iastate.edu/horsehair-worm) Wild Fact #752 – Bad Company – Nematomorpha (http://www.wild-facts.com/2010/wild-fact-752-bad-company-nematomorpha/) Zombie Fungus Enslaves Only Its Favorite Ant Brains (https://www.livescience.com/47751-zombie-fungus-picky-about-ant-brains.html)

Water Striders are amazing insects that you can find in lakes and streams. Tune in to find out what they eat, how fast they are and much more. This episode was recorded live at Roads, Rivers and Trails (https://roadsriversandtrails.com/). Our sources for this episode include: Facts About Water Striders https://someinterestingfacts.net/facts-water-striders This Is Why Water Striders Make Terrible Lifeguards - KQED You Tube video https://www.kqed.org/science/1871155/this-is-why-water-striders-make-terriblelifeguards 7 Water Strider Facts – It Walks On Water! http://jakesnatureblog.com/2018/08/11/7-water-strider-facts-walks-water/ Richard Hammond's Invisible Worlds - Water Strider - You Tube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RphuMEUY3Og

As human beings we have a chance to contribute to organizations that help educate and protect the natural world. Bob and Bill talk about some of their favorite organizations and what they are able to accomplish with a little help from people like you. If you are donating to an organization please consider leaving a comment under this episode. Organizations that Bob and Bill support: Imago https://imagoearth.org Cincinnati Nature Center https://www.cincynature.org The Nature Conservancy https://www.nature.org/en-us/ American Bird Conservancy https://abcbirds.org

The beaver is one of the largest rodents in North America. Tune in to find out how and why beavers actually took up parachuting! Our sources for this episode include: Parachuting beavers featured in 'Fur For the Future,' 1950s-era film https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gNAjBPIyjQ Amazing Facts About the Beaver https://onekindplanet.org/animal/beaver/ Facts About Beavers https://www.livescience.com/52460-beavers.html 11 Fascinating Facts About Beavers http://mentalfloss.com/article/62316/11-fascinating-facts-about-beavers

Did you know that we have thousands of species of parasitoid wasps? Tune in to find out why these are called Zombie Wasps. Our sources for this episode include: Butterfly Eggs and Caterpillar Survival | Life In The Undergrowth | BBC https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCo2uCLXvhk That little speck there? That's a parasitoid wasp! https://u.osu.edu/pinningblock/2015/05/28/that-little-speck-there-thats-a-parasitoid-wasp/ Ichneumon Wasps More than 5,000 species in North America https://nature.mdc.mo.gov/discover-nature/field-guide/ichneumon-wasps Intimate relation between blue butterfly, ichneumon wasp and ants https://www.researchgate.net/publication/320475303_Intimate_relation_between_blue_butterfly_ichneumon_wasp_and_ant

This is Nature Guys 100th episode and to celebrate Bill and Bob did a live show for volunteers of Cincinnati Nature Center (https://www.cincynature.org/) the place they met many years ago. This episode is on Canada Geese a bird that Bill had many encounters with at Cincinnati Nature Center. Tune in to find out all about the bird many people love to hate. Related episode: Don't Grab a Snapping Turtle by the Tail (http://natureguys.org/snapping-turtle/) Our sources for this episode include: Where Did All Those Canada Geese In Town Come From? https://www.allaboutbirds.org/canada-goose-resident-vs-migratory/ The Canada Goose https://owlcation.com/stem/The-Canada-Goose-Facts-and-Information 6 Honking Facts About Canada Geese http://mentalfloss.com/article/80243/6-honking-facts-about-canada-geese Canada geese will attack. Why are the birds so aggressive? https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/25/canada-geese-attacks-population-aggressive/550135002/

Bill and Bob gathered nature stories at Imagoʼs Music in the Woods (http://www.imagoearth.org). Tune in to hear inspiring stories of nature connection. Bill mentions a book that he loves, The Overstory, by Richard Powers (http://www.richardpowers.net/the-overstory/). Related episodes: Sit Spot (http://natureguys.org/sit-spot/) and Screech Owl (http://natureguys.org/screech-owl/)

Step outside on a night in late summer and listen to the sounds of the insects. Bill and Bob have some tips on how to listen to these amazing sounds. Our sources for this episode include: Bill suggests the book "The Songs of Insects" by Lang Elliott and Wil Hershberger https://www.amazon.com/Songs-Insects-Wil-Hershberger/dp/0618663975 The Music of Nature by Lang Elliot http://www.musicofnature.com Understanding Insect Sounds: Nature's Orchestra Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEHbY-ZkzVo What are you hearing http://www.entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/i00dis.htm The Singing Insects of Summer https://www.extension.iastate.edu/news/2008/aug/060801.htm

Bill finds fall webworms in the middle of summer. These may look nasty in trees but they are native. Related episode: Tent Caterpillars Camp Out Together http://natureguys.org/tent-caterpillars/ Our sources for this episode include: Answer Man Revisited: Are there more webworms this fall? Sept 2016 https://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2016/09/30/answer-man-revisited-there-more-webworms-fall/91172160/ Fall Webworm https://texasinsects.tamu.edu/fall-webworm/ The rise and fall of the fall webworm http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/the_rise_and_fall_of_the_fall_webworm Bagworms or Fall Webworms? https://wayne.ces.ncsu.edu/2015/10/bagworms-or-fall-webworms/