What happens when we stop sorting insects into beautiful, useful, annoying, disgusting, or terrifying—and actually look at them?

Biologist, artist, and author Barrett Klein joins me to explore what can happen when we start paying closer attention to the tiny lives around us.

We get into sleeping bees, monarch mysteries, mud-dauber architecture, childhood encounters with dead butterflies, insect-made art, milkweed beetles, the strange ways insects are woven into human culture, and whether understanding something can actually change the way we feel about it.

We also assemble a three-creature team for an insect bank heist. For science.

ABOUT BARRETT

Barrett Klein is a biologist, entomologist, artist, professor at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse, and author of The Insect Epiphany: How Our Six-Legged Allies Shape Human Culture. His work explores insect behavior, sleep biology, cultural entomology, and the intersection of science and art.

Barrett Klein + The Pupating Lab:

https://www.pupating.org/

Find The Insect Epiphany:

https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/barrett-klein/the-insect-epiphany/9781643261362/

GO DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE

Companion Guide — Insects, Milkweed & Tiny Dramas:

https://thewildquietco.substack.com/

A deeper dive into some of the insects and ideas from this conversation, plus books, research, insect art, milkweed drama, and a few more things worth getting curious about.

The Pupating Lab:

https://www.pupating.org/people/

Learn more about Barrett’s research into insect behavior, sleep biology, cultural entomology, and the intersection of science and art—including current research into monarch butterfly sleep.

LISTENER ASSIGNMENT

The next time you notice an insect, don’t worry about identifying it right away.

Just watch it for a minute.

What is it actually doing? Where is it going? Is it eating something? Building something? Hiding? Hunting? Resting? What is it interacting with?

And maybe pay attention to your own reaction, too. Did you immediately decide it was beautiful? Gross? Scary? Annoying?

What changes when you give it another minute?

Then, if you want to know its name, go down the rabbit hole.

The Wild Quiet is a podcast about nature—and our place within it.

https://thewildquietco.substack.com/

Instagram and Facebook: @thewildquietco