Butterflies: Caterpillars with Wings!

Today we dive in to celebrate the international treasure that is Dolly Parton. Why is she nearly universally loved? Listen in to find out.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

The US has an unusual number of outbreaks of food-borne illness going on in the summer of 2026, and the star of the show is cyclospora. How does this parasite make people sick, where does it come from? You may not want to know.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 

It’s rare that the downfall of an empire can be chalked up to the decisions of just one person. It’s even rarer, when the empire falls over the course of a year. That’s pretty much what happened with the Soviet Union when Mikhail Gorbachev dissolved it.See omnystudio.com/listener ... Show More

Butter-butter-butter-butter-butterfly...What would it be like to go through metamorphosis and become a butterfly? Our imaginations take flight In this episode inspired by the Super Simple Songs Butterfly, Ladybug, Bumblebee. The process of metamorphosis can take a while so we'll ... Show More

Caterpillars go through a striking transformation from a crawly, tube-like creature into a soaring, beautifully-winged butterfly. This process is called metamorphosis and it’s no wonder our listeners have lots of questions about it. We’ll find out exactly how a caterpillar transf ... Show More

Butterflies flit through life as the pride and joy of the insect world. But when we saw photos of butterflies swarming the eyes of turtles, we wondered if there was a dark side lurking behind all those flashy colors. Assistant Professor of Biology Chandreyee Mitra lets us in on t ... Show More

Blowflies may be some of the most reviled insects on the planet, but as Erica McAlister discovers, they are central to the surprisingly long tradition of forensic entomology and how there's more than meets the eye in the distinctive structural colour of the morpho butterfly wing, ... Show More

Picture this: you’re outside with a friend, and you both see a little insect flying around. It’s got a small dark body, some tiny antennae, and big colorful wings. You say, “What a beautiful butterfly!” But your friend says, “No, that’s a moth!” How can you tell the difference? W ... Show More

By embracing the spiritual significance of the butterfly's journey, we can draw inspiration to embark on a path of self-discovery (from the state of self-imposed limitations to one of freedom, beauty, and expanded consciousness). The cocoon marks a period of introspection to shed ... Show More

Today's story is about a very special caterpillar who is always getting teased by a particularly mean ant. Follow along to find out what happens to Bart.  Check out Stories RPG our new show where we play games like Starsworn with all your Max Goodname friends, and Gigacity Guardi ... Show More

<p>Metamorphic caterpillars! Fungus farming ants! Digital bees? Oh my! -- how can these all be bugs? In this episode, Avery talks about bugs in computer code and how she built a pollination video game with a Raspberry Pi. Izaiah updates us about the worms in the compost pile on h ... Show More