The Third Annual GROG Arthropod Roundtable

hosted by Sue Heavenrich

 

Welcome to the Third Annual Arthropod Roundtable! This year I’ve got a whole new bunch of folks who have books featuring bugs of one sort or another: Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan, who wrote Animal Allies: 15 Amazing Women in Wildlife Research which came out about a year ago; Betty Cully, author of the novel The Natural Genius of Ants, which came out last year; Fran Hodgkins and her humorous buggy picture book, In a Patch of Grass published last month; Mary Boone who may or may not eat Bugs for Breakfast, which came out about 18 months ago; Sue Fliess, whose Cicada Symphony hits shelves next month. Even my new picture book, The Pie that Molly Grew (releasing mid-August) includes a cameo for busy buzzy pollinators.

I’ve been counting pollinators as a citizen science volunteer for the Great Sunflower Project since … wow! This will be my 15th summer! I love to follow bumble bees and other bees as they make their way from one flower to the next. And here’s the thing about pumpkins: they absolutely depend on bees to pollinate their flowers. No bees, no pie! I really love pie, so I wanted to write something that included bees as an essential part of the story.

And that got me wondering why – and how – other folks ended up writing books about bugs. So I asked ‘em.

Fran: As a kid, I used to watch ants, roly-polies, and spiders in the back yard; they never scared me like they did some people. I watched Jacques Cousteau and Marlon Perkins all the time on TV. Living in the city, insects and birds were the closest I could get to wildlife (well, there were squirrels, too) and I loved to watch them. Then I lived in Maryland for a little while, where I got to see insects that I’d never seen before, such as praying mantises and cicada killers, which are these huge wasps that prey on, you guessed it, cicadas! Fascinating stuff!

Betty: I live in rural central Maine on 85 acres of woods and fields. My middle grade and young adults novels are partly inspired by the nature right outside my front door or in my area. For instance, my first young adult verse novel, Three Things I Know Are True is set along the mighty Kennebec River, which runs through the towns near where I live. My inspiration for The Natural Genius of Ants was very close at hand! Every year in early summer, almost like clockwork, a line of ants makes its way into my house. The more I researched about ants, the more fascinated I became, which led to me keeping several ant farms and caring for a carpenter ant queen and her offspring. The ants in my book are a little more extraordinary than the ones that visit my house, but those are also still pretty amazing!

Elizabeth: I love animals and I had all kinds of pets when I was young, but now I prefer enjoying animals in their native habitats. I have an insect hotel in my garden and I really appreciate all the local pollinators. I think one of my most memorable insect encounters was when a friend asked me to babysit her monarch butterfly caterpillars!! I had to feed and clean and watch over 20 different caterpillars for her. It was truly a lot of fun.

Mary: I’m a naturally curious person so, when my daughter and I traveled to Vietnam and Cambodia a few years ago, trying roasted insects was on the list of things I wanted to do. I did it. I went home, told people about it, and didn’t really envision ever eating them again. But then I started to think about the fact that people were eating bugs in other places on a regular basis. So I started doing research: Where were they eating bugs? Why were they eating bugs? How long had people been eating bugs? Which bugs were they eating? And I quickly learned there’s a name for the practice of eating bugs or insects: entomophagy.

Sue: As a young girl, I was always interested in nature, and watched those cool nature programs on TV with my dad. I had a toy called a Bug Eye, a box with a magnifying glass built in on top so you could observe the insects you caught, before releasing them, of course.  My first experience with cicadas was in 2014 when we moved from California to Northern Virginia. I had heard of them, but never seen one in the wild. There was one in my backyard and I remember thinking it was enormous! I also thought it was dead, and when I got close to it and tried to flip it over with a leaf, I got the surprise of a lifetime. It made a loud buzz and flew right past my head! I may or may not have shrieked. These would come in small numbers every year, but when we heard that a brood was about to emerge in 2021, Brood X (a 17-year brood), I got very excited! That bug-loving girl was "emerging." After many walks with my husband observing the brood, he encouraged me to write about them. So I gave it a shot!

Me: I usually write nonfiction, so I was surprised when The Pie that Molly Grew came out of my pencil as a story about a girl and a seed. How did you find your way to your book?
 

Sue: I write picture books, so I knew Cicada Symphony would be a picture book. And the cicada lifecycle is mysterious and fascinating, so I knew I wanted it to be nonfiction. We literally walk above these creatures for years until they emerge. There was something strange and creepy about that, at least to me! I did a ton of research, and when the first line came to me, it set the tone for a rhyming book: Bugs are lurking down below.

Fran: I began In a Patch of Grass while I was at a Highlights retreat a long time ago. In its original version it was a very quiet book – 180 degrees from what the finished book is. It was lovely, but … boring. I had it in my files for a long time before I dug it out and shared it with Tilbury House. I decided to rewrite it and pulled out all the stops and just had fun.  Being a journalist demanded that I write in a very particular way, to be impartial and serious. So embracing my goofy self in the rewrite of Patch was very freeing!

Elizabeth: I love writing for middle grade because it is the same age of reader that I was when I started writing my own stories. Some of my favorite books from that time in my life were biographies, and especially biographies of incredible women. I used to imagine myself not flying around the world or discovering a new element, but instead creating a book about a person like that – a book readers would read it over and over and over again. Writing Animal Allies was like making a childhood dream come true! And I really liked being able to write about so many different scientists.

Mary: Bugs for Breakfast is middle-grade nonfiction. As I was doing research, I kept coming across facts that blew my mind. Facts about how the U.S. government regulates how many insect parts can be in foods we’re already eating and how much water it takes to produce a pound of beef (1,800 gallons) versus a pound of crickets (1 gallon). As a kid, I loved learning stuff like that – I still do – so I knew I wanted to share as much as I could in an accessible but factual way. But I also want to make sure no one is eating bugs from their own yards or garages. You need to know how a bug lived and how it died before you eat it.

Betty: I've always loved reading middle grade books, even as an adult, maybe because they contain truths about what it means to be human. Growing up, those 'middle-grade' years felt like a time when anything was possible and the world was filled with mystery and magic. It was also a time I felt very much connected to the natural world around me.                               

Me: Insects and their arthropod kin are facing tremendous environmental pressures from habitat destruction to climate change. What can we – and the kids we write for – do this Earth Day and every day to help make our backyards and neighborhoods a better place for bugs?

Mary: In my own yard, I avoid using pesticides and harsh chemicals. If I have an aphid problem, for example, I bring in some ladybugs who will help control them. To keep bugs away from our deck, I plant borders of marigolds; they’re pretty and they have a distinctive smell that repels mosquitoes and other pests.

Fran: Even though my book is called In a Patch of Grass, I’m not actually a big fan of lawns. They’re not suited for the climate we have in North America, and as a result they require a lot of resources – water, nutrients,  and so on – while they crowd out native species. I love our yard, with its wild plants, including lots of milkweed. Seeing the caterpillars of all sorts makes me so happy every year.

Betty agrees with avoiding pesticides and herbicides. She adds: Kids can encourage their parents to avoid those chemicals. Also, planting perennials that benefit pollinators is always a fun and rewarding thing to do. If you live in the city, you could get involved in protecting and taking care of green spaces, and be part of a community garden.

Elizabeth: I try very hard to create a welcoming place for my insect neighbors. We don’t use pesticides, and I try to talk to my human neighbors about not using pesticides. As I mentioned, I have an insect hotel in my garden and I try to plant native plants that support insects. I think everyone can do a better job protecting habitats for insects and we can start in our own yards.

Sue: Be careful where you are digging, even if you are planting something. In the case of cicadas, you could dig up larvae and not even know it, so do a bit of research on what insects are native to your area so that you are aware. And of course, we all know pesticides are dangerous not only for the plants and pets, but honey bees and butterflies too. So let’s go organic whenever possible!

Me: I know I could talk about arthropods all day long! But my coffee cup is empty and it’s a perfect day for bug-watching and flower-planting. Please drop by our websites and blogs, and remember to go outside and make friends with members of the jointed-appendage phylum.

Find out more about Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan at https://elizabethpagelhogan.com
Betty Cully wrangles ants and words at www.bettyculley.com
Check what’s rustling in the tall grass with Fran Hodgkins at www.franhodgkins.net
You’ll find more than bugs on the menu at Mary Boone’s site www.boonewrites.com
Buzz on over to Sue Fliess at www.suefliess.com
I hang my bug net at www.sueheavenrich.com