Exploring entomology - the secret lives of insects

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Emily Davenport: 0:01

Welcome to Cultivating Curiosity, where we get down and dirty with the experts on all the ways science and agriculture touch our lives, from what we eat to how we live. I'm Emily Davenport.

Jordan Powers: 0:12

And I'm Jordan Powers. And we're from the University of Georgia's College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences.

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Jordan Powers: 0:20

We are here today with Kris Braman, department, head and professor in the Department of Entomology. Kris, thanks for joining us today.

Kris Braman: 0:27

Delighted to be here.

Jordan Powers: 0:29

Can you start by telling us a bit about your background?

Kris Braman: 0:31

Yes, I'm originally from farm and orchard country in upstate New York. And I was that girl running barefoot through fields and streams and woods and then went off to school, in forestry school, did graduate work in row crops, and then came to Georgia in 1989. And completely switched gears again, and spent 27 years working on management plans for insects that affect turf and ornamentals, and then have spent my last seven years here in Athens as department head.

Jordan Powers: 1:07

Wow.

Emily Davenport: 1:08

Quite a journey.

Jordan Powers: 1:09

Quite a journey. And quite an inspiration that you can change course at any point.

Kris Braman: 1:14

Well, and I think that is one of the things that I've really enjoyed about an academic career, because you can do that. You can reinvent yourself or identify new areas that really need some focus. For example, I switched gears about 10 years ago, and I've really focused research effort on pollinator conservation.

Emily Davenport: 1:36

What caused you to switch gears in the first place from row crops to entomology?

Kris Braman: 1:41

The opportunity for a wonderful job at the University of Georgia.

Emily Davenport: 1:45

Okay.

Jordan Powers: 1:45

And we promise that's not an ad.

Kris Braman: 1:49

And my training, you know, IPM principles apply across commodities, and I received some encouragement to apply and the rest is history.

Jordan Powers: 1:59

Okay, and IPM for our listeners who might not be aware is integrative pest management, right?

Kris Braman: 2:04

Yes, that's right.

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Emily Davenport: 2:05

We'll add a link to the IPM website where you can find important information about pests, weeds and diseases in Georgia.

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Emily Davenport: 2:13

Tell us a little bit about a typical day in the Entomology Department. And as department head.

Kris Braman: 2:18

Well, no two days are the same. And that's what I love about this job. I had the administrative side and then I have also been able to keep my research and teaching. So I really love working with people. I may be biased, but I think we have one of the most wonderful departments of entomology anywhere, but I also love working with the plants and the pollinators. And in the lab work or the research side, I do field work and lab work. So I've got the best of all worlds, everyplace.

Jordan Powers: 2:50

So we know that you have been with the Department of Entomology here at UGA for quite some time. How has it changed throughout the time you've been at UGA?

Kris Braman: 2:58

It's changed a lot. When I first came to UGA in 1989. We were actually four departments, each with its own department head, out of two colleges, Arts and Sciences and the College of Agricultural and Environmental Science, under one division chair. Over the course of my years here we have really streamlined into one unified Department of Entomology. We're still statewide, and we just have tremendous breadth and balance in what we do.

Jordan Powers: 3:31

How do you think that kind of coming together of those four separate entities or four different kind of silos has benefited the department and in turn the industry?

Kris Braman: 3:41

I think that it has made us much more, as you say unified, but cohesive and collaborative. In other words, the collaboration. Now I mentioned that we cover the gamut from the most applied to the most basic research. And what we see now is a lot of collaboration there between those two types of science, which is really transformative and moves that needle.

Emily Davenport: 4:06

So you mentioned the research runs the gamut. What about the breadth of the department as far as insects, we know it's more than just bees, which might you might be biased to but what what are people interested in studying in the Entomology Department?

Kris Braman: 4:20

Oh, absolutely everything. And, you know, we have scientists that work on insect microbial interactions, lots of times that's vector biology working with mosquitoes or kissing bugs, but then we have people that work in wetland ecology. So they're looking at aquatic insects. Household and structural entomology, all the things that can invade our homes that we don't want there. And then of course, all of the IPM, integrated pest management, and I'm gonna put in a plug for IPPM, integrated pest and pollinator management, has become kind of the focus for most of our management programs. But they work on all sorts of food and fiber from cotton and peanuts and soybeans to peaches and blueberries. So we cover a lot of ground.

Jordan Powers: 5:12

It's a lot to think about. It's a lot to wrap your head around. What types of careers and entomology are available for graduates of the programs?

Kris Braman: 5:20

A lot of exciting diversity there. So students can go into public health careers, they can go into research, they can go into education, they can go to work for museums, botanical gardens, all sorts of opportunities, as well as what we would traditionally think in agriculture and pest control.

Emily Davenport: 5:41

The sky's the limit. How does entomology partner with industry?

Kris Braman: 5:45

Well, industry partnerships are really important. From my experience, partnering with industry really just allows us to have magnified impact in all three of the land-grant missions, research, teaching and extension.

Jordan Powers: 6:01

And I'm a little biased on this follow up question here because I've been doing a lot of coverage on our new Orkin Professorship for Urban Entomology, which Dan Suiter has that title. Can you talk a little bit about what the new Orkin professorship means for the entomology department?

Kris Braman: 6:15

Well, it means so much. That's a partnership that is really supporting the science and lets us move that transformational research out to a broader audience. And it also means that our urban entomology program is going to remain strong. And that's not the case everywhere in the country. So I see this as a wonderful partnership. And we're grateful for the endowment. I also see it as probably just the first step into even more,

Jordan Powers: 6:49

I love that. Grateful for what is here and excited for what is next. And we'll link a story that we wrote on the Orkin professorship in the show notes for our listeners if they'd like to learn more. You mentioned the urban entomology program. Can you talk more about that, what that means for our listeners who might not know?

Kris Braman: 6:59

Urban entomology has traditionally described household and structural entomology. So think of things like termites, or ants, or bedbugs, or everybody's favorite, the cockroaches. So it's how to manage insects that we're just fine with outdoors, but we really don't want them invading our homes.

Jordan Powers: 7:27

Our team got a chance to go see Dr. Suiter and his bedbug demo station last time we were in Griffin, and I don't think any of us will ever forget it. I've never looked at a hotel room the same way. But I know what to look for now.

Kris Braman: 7:41

Were you itching when you left?

Jordan Powers: 7:43

Maybe just a little bit. How is the work that you all are doing in the entomology department making an impact locally, nationally, and even internationally?

Kris Braman: 7:52

Our entomology faculty, staff and students really are having an impact, not just locally, but absolutely globally. If I think about some of the work coming out of labs we've already mentioned, the work that's coming out of the Strand lab can revolutionize the medical field and provide solutions for important diseases that are vectored by mosquitoes, and also lead to some important new innovative management strategies for insect pests of field crops. And this basic research is basic research with an end goal in mind and can be translated into impact that directly affects not just Georgia growers, or even regionally or nationally, but everybody worldwide.

Jordan Powers: 8:42

I think it's so easy for people to focus on what's happening in front of them and the project that they're working on, so to hear the impact that this is having across the globe is is an inspiration.

Kris Braman: 8:52

And one thing that's very important to me is that we have alumni everywhere. So those next generation scientists are one way that I think we really have a big impact.

Jordan Powers: 9:05

I love that. We talked with Simer and George in a previous episode a little bit about that. And what did they call it, the academic family tree, and being able to trace that back.

Emily Davenport: 9:13

Yeah.

Jordan Powers: 9:14

It's a cool thing to think about.

Emily Davenport: 9:16

It is really cool. Speaking of next generation scientists, how is the department educating the younger generation and the public about entomology?

Kris Braman: 9:25

That's one of the most fun things to me, is public outreach. Now our graduate students have a really important role to play in the outreach that we do as a department. And so they are our ambassadors, going lots of different places, but very often to schools, elementary schools, high schools. People can sign up to have them come out and demonstrate entomology and teach things that might just be focal areas. Sometimes they want people to come out and talk about pollinators and pollinator gardens, sometimes it's general entomology. But we also participate as a department in things like Insectival, that wonderful partnership between entomology and the botanical garden, where every year, literally a thousand people come through and learn how important insects are to everyday life.

Jordan Powers: 10:19

And that is an incredible event. We got to go to our last one this spring. And it was just, I mean, my kids were thrilled. I was thrilled, like, it was a blast across the board. And there's another kind of outreach component that I know actually just participated in the school that both of our children go to, the insect zoo. Can you talk a little bit about the insect zoo and the graduate students behind that?

Kris Braman: 10:41

Yes, I love the insect zoo.

Emily Davenport: 10:43

Me too.

Kris Braman: 10:45

I guess probably one of the more attractive things about the insect zoo is that we're able to maintain some exotic insects that are really showy, and demonstrate things like camouflage with giant walking sticks, or the leaf insects. So people just really can connect with those, let alone the things like the tarantulas or the hissing cockroaches. Not everybody is a huge fan of those, but we bring them along too.

Emily Davenport: 11:14

You'll find a fan somewhere of one of those, I'm sure, but...

Jordan Powers: 11:17

They need their moment in the spotlight.

Emily Davenport: 11:19

They do.

Jordan Powers: 11:19

I do find it funny that I'm okay holding a Madagascar Hissing Cockroach. But if there's one in my house, I'm like, no, thank you please. I have that thought in my head that I'm like, why am I so judgy against one in my home, but, I'll hold the big hissing ones.

Emily Davenport: 11:33

Right?

Kris Braman: 11:33

Well, it's that whole urban entomology household structural thing.

Jordan Powers: 11:38

Exactly. There's a history there.

Emily Davenport: 11:40

How did the insects do come about? Whose idea was that?

Kris Braman: 11:43

I think we've had that for so long that I can't tell you what the legacy is exactly there. But that's always been a part of the Department of Entomology since I've been here. It's been here a long time.

Jordan Powers: 11:55

Long standing history, I love that.

Emily Davenport: 11:57

That's cool. You talked about IPM and IPPM. Can you tell us more about both of those and what they encompass, maybe just more about..?

Kris Braman: 12:08

Yeah, let me tell you a little more about the integrated part of the IPM. So really, that's just using all available strategies to manage what we have decided are pests. So not to focus on one single tactic, but to include several others and usually going for the biologically based control methods first. And then when you add the other P in there, integrated pest and pollinator management, that recognizes the importance of what management strategies do to pollinators, and pollinators are essential for many of the crops that we are growing now. So as we develop these integrated pest management strategies, let's make sure that what we're doing does not negatively affect the pollinators that are so essential.

Jordan Powers: 12:58

that work is being done to make sure our pollinators are protected.

Emily Davenport: 13:03

I love that what all the researchers are thinking of too I just remember going to visiting entomology last year and looking at the blueberry what is it? Wasp?

Kris Braman: 13:20

Oh, yeah.

Emily Davenport: 13:20

And the...

Kris Braman: 13:21

Spotted winged Drosophila?

Emily Davenport: 13:23

Thank you. Yes.

Kris Braman: 13:24

Yeah.

Emily Davenport: 13:24

And I just thought that was so cool. Like you think of spraying pesticides on things, but then you can have this complete biological system that doesn't involve any chemicals at all. And it's just very cool.

Kris Braman: 13:34

Well I'm very excited about the progress in that program. And hopefully, we will have a new biological control.

Emily Davenport: 13:41

Yeah, awesome. Well, we have a TikTok video about that. So we can link that in the show notes, so people can learn a little bit more about how maybe that teeny tiny wasp can control some fruit flies and blueberry crops.

Jordan Powers: 13:54

This is why Emily and I just geek out on on all the science behind what's going on.

Kris Braman: 13:58

Well, and you know, it's like entomology is in many ways, like the hidden world. And there's so much there for people to discover. Like I know this world really well, and sometimes you forget that not everybody does. So when you can show a tiny little parasitic wasp that can help you control this really important pest, then that's awesome.

Jordan Powers: 14:21

Awesome indeed. Switching gears a little bit, we know that you were the director of the Center for Urban Agriculture for about five years. Can you share more with us about the center's mission?

Kris Braman: 14:33

The center's mission is really about supporting all types of urban agriculture and supporting our own Cooperative Extension Service by providing educational materials that county extension can use.

Jordan Powers: 14:49

We'll link to some of those county extension resources in the show notes. You know, speaking of being we just talked about being in a world and then realizing other people may not be as familiar with that world. Can you talk a little bit more about urban agriculture and what types of things you're talking about when you speak on urban ag?

Kris Braman: 15:06

Well, urban agriculture has a very broad definition. And the history with the Center for Urban Agriculture had very much of a focus on the green industry. But of course, as we know, urban agriculture is much broader than that. And so, we have expanded even while I was there into urban agriculture food production, so locally grown, sometimes organic production, and even home horticulture. The Center for Urban Agriculture is housed within the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, and I think the important thing is that it's non departmental. It includes people from all departments, and not just in our college. And it supports extension and research programs in sustainable turf grass, urban environment, nursery landscape, local food, professional training and certification, household and structural pest management, urban forestry. So they cover a lot of ground.

Jordan Powers: 16:11

A lot of amazing work being done out of the Center for Urban Ag, and we will link their site in the show notes for listeners as well.

Emily Davenport: 16:18

What your day to day like in that role as the director?

Kris Braman: 16:21

It involved a lot of Extension education coordinated through the county delivery system. Building collaborations was a big part of almost every day, and just making those connections.

Jordan Powers: 16:33

So we know you gave a TED talk last week, and it is Monday, the day we're recording this, and you gave a TED talk on Friday. So first of all, thank you for joining us. We're right at the heels of that amazing TED Talk. And we'll of course link that in the show notes for our listeners. While it's fresh in your mind, tell us a bit about what that experience was like?

Kris Braman: 16:53

Well, it was a wonderful experience and a fabulous opportunity to have that platform to be able to advocate for pollinator protection and bee conservation. So it was truly marvelous.

Emily Davenport: 17:05

Tell us a little bit more about your talk, what did-- you talked about the secrets of city bees? I think that's what it was called?

Kris Braman: 17:12

Yes. And I will go straight to the punch line that I learned many new things today. But I think the focus is is so the secret of city bees is trees. So we looked at mainly the effect of landscape context, meaning number of trees nearby, intensity of development, or even proximity to farms, to bee abundance and diversity on residential landscapes. And we were just overwhelmingly surprised at the bee diversity that we found. Coming down to the bottom line, we found that the amount of remnant forest in the city really impacted bee abundance and diversity. So we really need to keep forest cover at the forefront when we are looking at conservation planning for mixed use landscapes. And you know, it makes total sense, because historically, the eastern United States was much on the pollination of flowers and crops that I feel forested, and now we were deforested here for cotton production, and then we reforested, and then we lost those trees again, when we started building residential communities. And those remnant forests, the trees are really important. Nearly a third of the wild bees in the eastern United States are forest bees. like if you polled 100 people, forest is not the first thing that comes to mind.

Emily Davenport: 18:43

Yeah. And why is it the forest? What's the trees doing for the bees?

Kris Braman: 18:47

So many questions.

Emily Davenport: 18:48

So many questions.

Kris Braman: 18:49

Yeah, yes. And these are questions that I have. And then what trees are the best for bees? You know, we can put together and we have put together some guides to help people pick out trees that we know are good for bees. But for example, oaks are wind pollinated, and they don't necessarily need the bees. But do bees use oaks? That's one of the things that we want to find out. And there's some exciting work going on all around the country. And what percentage of hardwoods would we need? How many trees do you need for the bees? And that's not to say that the flowering herbaceous plants are not important. They are important. But I think there has been little emphasis on the trees and I think they're really having an impact.

Emily Davenport: 19:35

I have so many more questions.

Jordan Powers: 19:36

I feel like there's so much to unpack.

Emily Davenport: 19:38

We need a whole other episode.

Jordan Powers: 19:39

We both have the spinning computer wheel in our brains right now, just processing.

Emily Davenport: 19:43

I know that leaf litter is important for bees overwintering, is that the reason why they're important for city bees or is it it beyond that?

Kris Braman: 19:52

It can be but it can also be that trees produce pollen, you know they flower and produce pollen, and bees can use those trees. But also nesting habitat, right? So I think it's not just a single thing. I think it's a more complicated picture.

Jordan Powers: 20:08

Fascinating, complicated picture. So outside of the importance of trees, tell us a bit how you are helping pollinators in your life personally.

Kris Braman: 20:19

Well, I am trying to do exactly what I'm asking other people to do.

Emily Davenport: 20:25

Lead by example.

Kris Braman: 20:27

Yeah. So let me just tell you a few things that I am doing and that I'm asking other people to do. And the number one thing is that we need to tolerate a little messiness in our yards and gardens. And I can definitely already check that box. So consider leaving some bare ground in your yard because the vast majority of wild bees are ground nesting, so what you're doing is leaving space for them to set up homekeeping. And then I also find that that is such a good excuse for the lawn police that object to those bare spots in your yard. You can tell them the spots are intentional.

Jordan Powers: 21:11

We're inviting our bee friends over.

Emily Davenport: 21:13

That's right, it's the bee house.

Kris Braman: 21:15

But when you are cleaning up flower gardens at the end of the season, leave some stems for nesting bees to have a home, cavity dwelling bees. Instead of formal gardens go for cottage gardens that have a riot of color all season long. Be sure that your bees have access to water and plant more trees for the bees.

Jordan Powers: 21:38

The access to water was one that I never fully thought about until we started bringing out my kids' water table and kiddie pool in the summer. So it's not chlorinated, it's just the garden hose. And the number of bees that will come up and even just sit on the pavement and get a drink of water. I was like, oh, you all are thirsty. I'm like, at least we can you know knock out two things. We got the kids happy because they're playing in the water and we've got the pollinators getting a little bit of a drink in the meantime.

Kris Braman: 22:04

Yeah.

Emily Davenport: 22:04

I need to put a little bee drinking fountain in

Jordan Powers: 22:07

I know, I'm like, I need to be more intentional my house. about this, because it only happens when there's a water play day.

Emily Davenport: 22:11

I know, right?

Jordan Powers: 22:11

I need to be more intentional about my bee hydration,

Emily Davenport: 22:13

That's right, hydrate your bees.

Jordan Powers: 22:15

There's a new campaign.

Emily Davenport: 22:17

we're doing on the podcast where people have been submitting their questions to ask. So the first question has to do with leaf footed bugs. And how do we work with other beneficials to prevent this little fella. And tell us more about leaf footed bugs if you know because I don't know what that is.

Kris Braman: 22:44

Yes, leaf footed bugs can show up almost every year in the garden. And they're called leaf footed bugs because they have an enlarged part on their hind legs. So they look like leaves, their legs look like leaves literally. And they can be problems on tomatoes for sure, but also on some other garden plants. Sometimes they can reach really high numbers. Now they do have some natural enemies, predators like assassin bugs, general predators. There are some parasitic flies that can attack leaf footed bugs. But one thing that you can do is just to be real vigilant with the scouting and lots of times insects reach large numbers, and it seems like it's overnight but it's really not. So just to be on site and and see egg masses or when they first hatch out. And lots of times just hand removal can take care of that. One thing, if we have a really large garden and you know that this is a problem time and time again, you might consider some type of trap crop. Now trap crop means you have something that is more attractive to the pest that you want to manage. You plant that earlier than your other plants, so they're up and growing before, say, your tomatoes come in. And one of the best things for leaf footed bugs is sunflowers. So there you get sunflowers, the keys there are to make sure you get those planted well ahead of time. And then also you just want to keep watch on the trap crop and you may want to manage the leaf footed bugs there or you may be okay with just sacrificing those plants.

Jordan Powers: 24:43

I was gonna say, once you have the trap crop, then what? You just answered that for me you either sacrifice or you you do your pest management on those.

Emily Davenport: 24:51

It's a little IPM in your garden.

Kris Braman: 24:53

Yeah.

Emily Davenport: 24:54

I love it.

Jordan Powers: 24:55

Hopefully we won't have to deal with them this year but--

Emily Davenport: 24:58

I do have sunflowers in my garden though this year. So maybe I won't have to deal with these bugs that I knew nothing about until five minutes ago.

Jordan Powers: 25:07

So our next question is from a first time gardener, and they would like to know how to stay ahead of the pest game without hurting the good bugs in the garden?

Kris Braman: 25:18

That's a great question. And I think I'm just gonna go back to what we were saying about leaf footed bugs, scout, scout scout, be out there and looking. So for whatever you're going to plant in the garden, do a little research, find out what are going to be the major pests there, and be out and looking for them, so that you can maybe just do some hand removal early and not have to deal with quite so many pests.

Jordan Powers: 25:47

And one thing I personally learned on that front with my first couple of gardens, and I feel like I reteach myself every year, the importance of turning the leaves over.

Emily Davenport: 25:56

Yes.

Jordan Powers: 25:57

Because it's so easy. And I'm sure there's a scientific reason that so many pests are on the underside of the leaves. Maybe it's a built in protection, but I'd go out and look at I'm like, oh, everything's fine. And then the next day, I'm like, everything is clearly not fine anymore. And you flip a leaf over and all of a sudden you're like, there you all are just munching away.

Kris Braman: 26:16

That's a great point. Because close inspection of the plants really does mean, yep, turn those leaves over.

Jordan Powers: 26:24

And check the stems, and...

Emily Davenport: 26:26

Yep.

Jordan Powers: 26:27

It's a labor of love.

Kris Braman: 26:29

Another thing you might consider or people might consider doing is, you know, weave some flowers into your vegetable garden. You attract all of the beneficial insects and the pollinators. Plus you get some cut flowers.

Jordan Powers: 26:42

Can't lose there.

Emily Davenport: 26:43

Yeah.

Jordan Powers: 26:43

We have covered a lot of ground today. Is there anything that we've missed that you want our listeners to know about the Department of Entomology, about the work coming out of the department?

Kris Braman: 26:55

I just think that we have such a tremendous impact. And insects are so important and such a part of everybody's lives, even though they may not know it. So entomology is a great place to build a career. I'm biased, but... And our undergraduate programs are, yes, in entomology, but also in applied biotechnology. And those two areas mesh together really well to make a student extremely competitive on the job market. So thank you for the opportunity to share a little bit about our department.

Jordan Powers: 27:39

Absolutely. Thank you again for joining us. It has been a wonderful time learning more.

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Emily Davenport: 27:45

Thanks for listening to Cultivating Curiosity, a podcast produced by the UGA College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences. A special thanks to Mason McClintock for our music and sound effects. Find more episodes wherever you get your podcasts.