Entobarbie: Getting up close with insects and being awed by them
Are you following Entobarbie on the socials? If not, you’ll want to check her out.
At the beginning of this year, @entobarbie appeared on both Instagram and Twitter. The accounts feature Barbie (yes, the classic doll) engaging with real, living insects at the scale of Barbie herself. She uses Barbie-sized tools and diagrams to explain what is happening with the different insects she’s collected or observing. She works both in her Barbie-sized lab and out in the real-sized world of flowers and grass. And her entomological vignettes (which weave together the bigger life stories of these different insects) are presented through absolutely incredible photography.
The creator of Entobarbie, however, wishes to remain anonymous for the time being. Which means a regular phone interview to learn more about this entomological influencer and the creative process behind these accounts wasn’t going to be possible. Instead, Entobarbie and I had several chats by Instagram, email and the Zoom messenger function.
Here’s the full story and our conversation. Plus: Entobarbie took a series of photos specifically for this story. Enjoy!
Just a reminder: The podcast is now on a biweekly schedule. No episode this week, but there will be a brand new one next week. I’m working on some interesting stories for you and I’m using the additional time for producing them. Thanks!
Do you have tips, comments, questions or ideas for collaboration? Please send them to tbr@bymattkelly.com.
Conservation
Tufts University becomes first urban Bee Campus USA in Massachusetts
(Wicked Local Medford) Tufts University Medford-Somerville recently became the first urban educational institution in Massachusetts to be certified as an affiliate of the Bee Campus USA program. The university joins more than 200 other cities and campuses across the country united in improving their landscapes for pollinators. "In the same way that National Parks were a new idea in the early 1900′s, urban pollinator gardens are the next frontier for conserving insect diversity in the 21st century."
Researchers develop advanced cloning techniques to replenish threatened plants
(University of Guelph) Researchers used advanced cloning techniques to give the threatened Hill’s thistle a fighting chance at population recovery. A lack of suitable habitat due to the encroachment of trees and shrubs, as well as cottage development and quarrying activity in its natural habitat, have contributed to the decline. The Hill’s thistle grows in scarce Great Lakes areas known as open alvar grasslands. In Canada, the flowering plant is known to support the life cycles of rare bees and other pollinators.
Economics
Bee Vectoring Technologies gets strong endorsement from Georgia blueberry growers
(Yahoo Finance) "BVT continues to positively impact our blueberry operations. We had very high fruit set despite poor weather conditions at times. 2020 will definitely be the highest production year for us and we will continue to use BVT for years to come," said a co-founder of Major League Blueberries. Up next for BVT is the berry season in the Pacific Northwest.
Crops at risk as coronavirus lockdown grounds bees
(Financial Times) Lockdowns, quarantine requirements and border closures introduced in recent weeks around the world to slow the coronavirus pandemic are threatening to hit food production by limiting the movement of bees, agriculturalists have warned. A leading U.S. beekeeper with 75,000 hives said visa and travel restrictions meant the sector was having a hard time securing workers, most of whom come from Latin America. Both the U.S. and Canada, which need a large number of bees, import queen bees and other bees from Australia, New Zealand, Mexico and Chile. However, since many flights have been cancelled and airports closed, bee purchases have become impossible for some beekeepers.
Science
The colorful intricacies – and survival advantages – of pollen
(Clemson University) New research suggests that pollen color can evolve independently from flower traits, and that plant species maintain both light and dark pollen because each offers distinct survival advantages. This research could impact threatened pollinators as well.
Technology
Interactive Earth Day 2020 Google Doodle gets sweet on bees
(CNET) To mark this year's Earth Day, Google partnered with The Honeybee Conservancy, a nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting bees, to construct an interactive Doodle that features a bee going about its important business of pollinating flowers. You can use your mouse to guide the bee from flower to flower, getting pollination done and unlocking cool facts about bees and their importance to sustaining life on Earth.
Google Doodle is promoting misinformation about pollinators
(Twitter, Dr. Manu Saunders @ManuSaunders) “This year’s #EarthDay theme is climate action, but the Google doodle is promoting misinformation about #pollinators! I sat through 22 ‘facts’ & 50% of them were specific to honey bees…just 1 species out of literally 1000s of pollinating animals on Earth”