Bug Note Episode 18: Fact or Fiction

About Episode 18

In a world of viral videos and unverified claims, it's sometimes hard to distinguish between fact and fiction. Do people really swallow spiders in their sleep? Can a ladybug’s spots tell you their age? On this episode of Bug Note, host Daniel Potter is joined by one of NHMU’s Youth Teaching Youth interns, Lupe Hansen, to discover the truth about some common bug claims. 

Join Dr. Jason Cryan, NHMU’s Sarah B. George Executive Director and trained entomologist, for “Bug Note: Fact or Fiction,” where you can put your insect knowledge to the test. Listen to the podcast here or scroll down to watch the video version.

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Fact or Fiction? Jason Cryan Responds to Common Bug Claims 

Humans can’t survive without bees. 

Technically, humans could survive without bees. However, it would not be a great life because really bees are so fundamental to everything that humans do with regard to agriculture, food production, these kinds of things. So, if bees were to disappear tomorrow, then very soon after that, we would see a decline in global food production. 

Spiders crawl into our mouths when we sleep. 

Total fiction. Your mouth is a dark place. It's wet. It's moist. You're emitting carbon dioxide. These are all conditions that spiders don't want to be in, so they won't crawl into your mouth. 

Some wasps and spiders are so venomous they could kill 20 people. 

The toxicity of venom varies across species. Some of them are more venomous or toxic, but in general, I would say that they are not that toxic. For the most part, most insect and arthropod envenomations are more like a small irritation. 

Mosquitoes are only active at night. 

That's not true. So, different species of mosquitoes are active throughout the day and night. Most species, if you had to generalize, are active during — and this is a cool science word — crepuscular time, which is dawn and dusk (the transition time between day and night on both sides). There are some species that are active just during the day, and there are some species that are active all night. Most are active during those early morning and late evening hours. 

You're never more than six feet from a spider. 

That's probably a stretch. There are a lot more spiders outside. And there are spiders inside buildings, of course, but not so many that you're only always within a couple feet of them. I'd say outside, if you're out in a park or in a field or something like that, you probably are actually pretty close to spiders. 

Centipedes don't really have 100 legs. 

That's true. Centipedes and millipedes are non-insect arthropods, where each body segment is essentially a duplication of the next one. Centipedes are characterized by having a single pair of legs on every body segment. Millipedes have two pairs of legs on every body segment. That's how they're differentiated, but they don't actually have 100, or in cases of millipedes, 1000. It's just that they look like they have a lot of legs. 

A ladybug’s spots tell you how old it is. 

That's not true. Ladybug spots really are dependent on the species. They're “born with,” once they become adults, the same number of spots that they're always going to have throughout their life. 

Daddy long legs are venomous but can't bite. 

This is also fiction. It's not true. Daddy long legs are not venomous, but they're really cool. So, harvestmen, these things that people sometimes call spiders or “daddy long legs,” are interesting. They have one little globular kind of body with long legs, whereas true spiders have two big body segments. Daddy long legs don't have fangs. They don't produce venom. 

Female praying mantises eat males after breeding. 

That's true. So, it's not always true, but it can be true. The males, if they lose their head, the rest of their body can actually go on mating for quite a long time. So, the females have evolved this syndrome of sometimes eating the heads of the mate. And it does a couple of things. It provisions them with protein and energy that they can use to help develop the eggs, but then it also prolongs mating because the male is essentially dead but still mating and doesn't try to go away. 

Bug Note on YouTube  

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About Bug Note

Bug Note is hosted by Daniel Potter, a science writer who's also worked in the world of public radio for many years, and who loves fresh air and storytime. He's joined by Dr. Jason Cryan, NHMU’s Sarah B. George Executive Director and trained entomologist, and Christy Bills, NHMU's Invertebrate Collections Manager, as well as other bug-loving guests. Video production by Blank Space. The podcast is created in collaboration with the Natural History Museum of Utah, with the expertise and support of its scientific, philanthropic, marketing, and education teams. Special thanks to NHMU friend and insect enthusiast Ted Fridirici.

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