Yep, you heard us right. We are going to talk about bugs! If you have been following us, you know we are smitten by birds, and knowing birds love bugs, how could we not get interested in what they are about?

As my friend Clay of Swarovski Optik says, “Learning about birds gives you reason to learn more about the world that the bird lives in – types of trees they nest in, insects that they eat, habitats that they frequent. This leads you to learn the butterflies, dragonflies, plants, windflowers, etc…, that tie all these threads together. When you reach that point, you are never bored when you are walking in the woods.”
But we also want to demystify bugs, and recognize their place in the ecosystem that we share with them. Yes, bugs can be creepy, slimy, and scary – they can bite, pinch, crawl, and sometimes make you run for the hills – or for your shoe! Yet they can also predate nuisances, help produce the sweetest of honeys, and have a hand in helping delicious fruits, vegetables, and flowers thrive. Right now insects account for 80% of all known species in the animal kingdom. Right now there are more than 1 million described species, but some scientists estimate there may be more than 30 million insect species. The fact is, bugs live with us, and we need them. And the better we can become educated about them, the more we can know and appreciate the world that sustains us all.

So please join me in welcoming Eddie Dunbar, our new resident Bug Bro. As a native of Oakland California, he has devoted his life to engaging citizen scientists in the Bay Area, California and the world to find ways to contribute to the science of entomology in ways that are meaningful to them and to celebrate those victories, no matter how small. Eddie’s own failures to complete a science degree and to participate with academicians in the sciences are why he struggles to involve others to perceive the study of insects as an art – one that finds its best expression in our own life experiences with our neighbor, the Insect, and in the personal recounts by Afros and others that result in blog posts and dramatic photography seen all over the Web.
Eddie is Founder and President of the Insect Sciences Museum of California, based in Oakland, CA. Here, he has found his life calling.