Ep. 434 - Moths are Important Pollinators

In Defense of Plants Podcast

In Defense of Plants

Botany, Natural Sciences, Ecology, Nature, Plants, Science

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 13 August 2023

⏱️ 48 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This episode celebrates moths as pollinators. We ignore or even malign moths at our own peril. Dr. Stephen Robertson joins us to talk about how even crop pests can act as important pollinators. From their bewildering numbers to the ways they interact with daytime pollinators, Dr. Robertson will open your mind to the amazing and understudied world of moth pollination. This episode was produced in part by Sea, Shannon, Thomas, Will, Jamie, Waverly, Brent, Tanner, Rick, Kazys, Dorothy, Katherine, Emily, Theo, Nichole, Paul, Karen, Randi, Caelan, Tom, Don, Susan, Corbin, Keena, Robin, Peter, Whitney, Kenned, Margaret, Daniel, Karen, David, Earl, Jocelyn, Gary, Krysta, Elizabeth, Southern California Carnivorous Plant Enthusiasts, Pattypollinators, Peter, Judson, Ella, Alex, Dan, Pamela, Peter, Andrea, Nathan, Karyn, Michelle, Jillian, Chellie, Linda, Laura, Miz Holly, Christie, Carlos, Paleo Fern, Levi, Sylvia, Lanny, Ben, Lily, Craig, Sarah, Lor, Monika, Brandon, Jeremy, Suzanne, Kristina, Christine, Silas, Michael, Aristia, Felicidad, Lauren, Danielle, Allie, Jeffrey, Amanda, Tommy, Marcel, C Leigh, Karma, Shelby, Christopher, Alvin, Arek, Chellie, Dani, Paul, Dani, Tara, Elly, Colleen, Natalie, Nathan, Ario, Laura, Cari, Margaret, Mary, Connor, Nathan, Jan, Jerome, Brian, Azomonas, Ellie, University Greens, Joseph, Melody, Patricia, Matthew, Garrett, John, Ashley, Cathrine, Melvin, OrangeJulian, Porter, Jules, Griff, Joan, Megan, Marabeth, Les, Ali, Southside Plants, Keiko, Robert, Bryce, Wilma, Amanda, Helen, Mikey, Michelle, German, Joerg, Cathy, Tate, Steve, Kae, Carole, Mr. Keith Santner, Lynn, Aaron, Sara, Kenned, Brett, Jocelyn, Ethan, Sheryl, Runaway Goldfish, Ryan, Chris, Alana, Rachel, Joanna, Lori, Paul, Griff, Matthew, Bobby, Vaibhav, Steven, Joseph, Brandon, Liam, Hall, Jared, Brandon, Christina, Carly, Kazys, Stephen, Katherine, Mohsin Kazmi Takes Pictures, Manny, doeg, Daniel, Tim, Philip, Tim, Lisa, Brodie, Bendix, Irene, holly, Sara, and Margie.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello everyone and welcome to the Indefensive Plants podcast, the official podcast of
0:04.0	Indefensiveplants.com. What's up? This is your host, Matt. Welcome to the show. How is everyone
0:08.1	doing this week? I have a special treat for you today, and it involves moths and moth
0:13.6	pollination. My guest today is Dr. Stephen Robertson, who has spent a lot of hours observing moths,
0:19.0	and what he has uncovered and the topics that he
0:21.7	discusses are going to blow your mind and really make you appreciate this unsung group of
0:26.4	really important insects, especially when it comes to pollination. And in many instances,
0:31.2	pollination of things we as humans enjoy. I don't want to steal any of his thunder because
0:35.6	he is a great proponent for all of this work.
0:38.3	But before we get to that, I just want to say this show cannot happen without support, and there are many great ways to do that. But one of the best is to pick up some of our customizable merch. They're all really cool vintage prints, and as I mentioned, they're customizable, so you can find the style that works for you. Just head on over to Inefensiveplants.com and click on apparel at the top of the screen or head over to the show notes at indefensiveplants.com slash podcast, where I post all of the relevant links for supporting the show, and then some in the show notes. But this is entirely enough out of me. I don't want to keep you from this conversation any longer, so let's go explore moths as pollinators with Dr. Stephen Robertson. I hope you enjoy.
1:27.2	All right, Stephen Robertson, welcome to the podcast. I am stoked to talk with you, but let's start
1:31.9	off with an introduction. Tell everyone a little bit about who you are and what it is you do.
1:36.4	My name is Dr. Stephen Robertson. I graduated with my doctorate in 2021 from the University of Arkansas
1:43.8	in Fayetteville, Arkansas.
1:46.6	Shortly afterwards, I went and worked for a nonprofit, which pulled me away from any research
1:52.2	that I thought was important at the time and put me on so many different tasks.
1:57.9	After a short stint there and following some disagreements, was left without a job.
2:03.5	I've been sitting around at home for the past six months trying to find some new endeavor.
2:08.9	And during the course of everything, I'm currently in South Dakota, eastern South Dakota.
2:14.1	And in the course of everything, I met my future wife.
2:17.7	Nice.
2:18.0	Her and I are planning to be married in October.
	...

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