EO Wilson famously called insects the "little things that run the world." Dr. Ken Johnson, Illinois Extension horticulture educator, joins us this week to solve our insect challenges. Insects perform numerous services within our ecosystems, but how do we respond when insects start to "bug" us? Mosquitos on your patio, wasps by your door, and ticks in your yard - all these topics are discussed around the table this week on Everyday Environment.

Resources

• Managing mosquitoes at home
• Voice of the Wild - Yellow billed cuckoo
• WILSON, E.O. (1987), The Little Things That Run the world* (The Importance and Conservation of Invertebrates). Conservation Biology, 1: 344-346. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1523-1739.1987.tb00055.x
• Fabian, S.T., Sondhi, Y., Allen, P.E. et al. Why flying insects gather at artificial light. Nat Commun 15, 689 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-44785-3.
• Check out Ken on the Good Growing podcast and blog!

Share your own Everyday Observation

Was there something about this topic we didn’t cover? See something cool in nature? Let us know! Send us your question or share your everyday nature observation with us at go.illinois.edu/EEconnect, and we may share it in a future blog or podcast.

Questions? We'd love to hear from you!
Abigail Garofalo aeg9@illinois.edu, Erin Garrett emedvecz@illinois.edu, Amy Lefringhouse heberlei@illinois.edu

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