Writing Portfolio

Jump to: Science | WIRED | Washington Post | Entomology Today | Nature

The Guardian

A Huge Stick Insect Has Been Discovered in Australia. Here’s Why That’s Important. August 10, 2025.

Highlights Magazine

August 2026. Spotlight: Swing Painting. 81(8): pp. 20-21.
October 2025. Spotlight: The Dew is Glue. 80(10) pp. 20-21.
September 2025. Spotlight: Sea Angels. 80(9) pp. 20-21.
February 2025. Spotlight: Crystal Cave. 80(2) pp. 20-21.
May 2024. 5 Questions for a Bug Scientist. 79(5) p. 28.
April 2023. Spotlight: Camo Caterpillars. 78(4): pp. 20-21.
October 2022. Spotlight: Glowworm. 77(10): pp. 20-21.
March 2022. Spotlight: Weaver Ants. 77(3): pp. 20-21.

Science

February 16, 2017. Want to repel mosquitoes? Don’t use citronella candles
Dec. 14, 2016. Glowworms harness a surprising ingredient to keep their threads sticky

Washington Post

July 22, 2016. Tick season is here, and it’s time to learn how to stop the suckers
November 23, 2015. New technique unlocks the mystery meats used to make ‘uterine vellum’ for ancient books
October 29, 2015. Cases of these horrifying, 31-inch parasites are dropping sharply

WIRED.com

January 19, 2016. Just Give Up. It’s Impossible to Bug-Proof Your Home
December 19, 2015. Reindeer Bot Flies Are Not Particularly Festive
December 8, 2015. This Bug Has Heard All Your Jokes About Its Head Already
December 3, 2015. Remain Calm: Kissing Bugs Are Not Invading the US.
November 3, 2015. Hey Guess What Killing Bugs With Fire Is Still a Bad Idea.
October 21, 2015. These Lovely Birds Do More Than Sing—They Sleep Around
October 12, 2015. These Adorable Owls Will Not Kill You With Plague
September 24, 2015. Bee Tongues and Flowers Reveal Evolution in Overdrive
September 17, 2015. What Does the Giraffe Say? Scientists Find the Answer
September 10, 2015. You Know What Makes Great Food Coloring? Bugs
September 2, 2015. Royal Jelly Isn’t What Makes a Queen Bee a Queen Bee
August 25, 2015. Millipede Genitals, Now in Glorious 3-D!
August 21, 2015. Here’s How Burners Can Prepare for the Bugpocalypse
July 17, 2015. Let’s Nerd Out About Ants Before You See Ant-Man
June 24, 2015. Silent and Deadly: Fatal Farts Immobilize Prey
June 17, 2015. Bugging Out: The Must-Read Insect Books of the Summer
June 8, 2015. The Ants That Smell Like Blue Cheese—Or Is That Pine-Sol?
May 27, 2015. 6 Extra Pairs of Genitals Is Just Too Much of a Good Thing
May 20, 2015. These Insects Decorate Their Butts With Waxy Sculptures
May 15, 2015. 130-MPH Spring-Loaded Jaws Help These Ants Escape Predators

May 4, 2015. Bees Are Great at Pollinating Flowers—But So Are Vibrators
April 29, 2015. You’re Worrying About the Wrong Bees
March 30, 2015. Glowing Tampons Help Detect Sewage Leaks
March 26, 2015. Dragonflies: Masters of Air and Water
March 18, 2015. Pesticides and Bees: It’s Complex
March 12, 2015. Road Salt is Polluting our Rivers
March 2, 2015. Plague, Fleas, and the Rats of New York City
February 16, 2015. GMO Spider Venom May Be the Next Viagra
February 9, 2015. 50 Shades of WRONG: Disturbing Insect Sex
January 22, 2015. How Flies Fly
January 21, 2015. Caterpillars from China’s Rain Forest
January 13, 2015. DIY Bot Fly
January 7, 2015. 33 Million Things: The Secret World of Museums
December 29, 2014. Building a Better Bed Bug Trap
December 22, 2014. How Butterflies Get Their Shine
December 9, 2014. Nature Nerd Holiday Gift Guide
December 2, 2014. Giant Stick Insects from Vietnam
November 18, 2014. Bed Bugs Won’t Give You Chagas Disease (probably)
November 14, 2014. Glowing Predatory Insect Graboids
November 6, 2014. When Did Insects Evolve?
November 4, 2014. Horny Deer Make November Driving Risky
October 31, 2014. 4-Acre Spider Web Engulfs Building
October 30, 2014. Happy Arachtober: Spider Cthulhu
October 21, 2014. A Velvet Worm Named for Totoro
October 13, 2014. Essential Oils Fail at Killing Bed Bugs
October 9, 2014. Do a Big Sit For Birds
October 6, 2014. Nature Zen: Audio Library of Nature
October 1, 2014. Caffeinated Underpants Won’t Make Your Butt Smaller
September 29, 2014. Pubic Lice: Still NOT Going Extinct
September 16, 2014. It’s Ask a Curator Day

September 12, 2014. International Rock Flipping Day
September 11, 2014. Never Touch Anything That Looks Like Donald Trump’s Hair
September 9, 2014. How to Get Away With Murder (in theory)
September 4, 2014. Have the Vikings built a Thunderdome for Migratory Birds?
August 28, 2014. You’ve got Face Mites
August 25, 2014. Nature Zen: Blue Bees
August 12, 2014. The Secret Bataclysm: White Nose Syndrome
August 4, 2014. Don’t Drink the Water … In Lake Erie
July 30, 2014. Dark Data, Amber, and Attenborough
July 24, 2014. A Beetle With a Raspberry Beret

July 22, 2014. They’re Here: Massive Mayfly Emergence in Wisconsin
July 17, 2014. Sharks Aren’t in the Great Lakes, but Testicle-Nipping Fish Are
July 14, 2014. Moth Week Is Coming
July 10, 2014. Art, Science, and an Insect Renaissance
July 3, 2014. Celebrate the 4th of July Because…Horse Flies
July 2, 2014. The Spider-Eating Bone-House Wasp
June 29, 2014. Bug, Live and In-Person
June 23, 2014. Nature Zen: Orchid Bees are SHINY
June 18, 2014. Tequila, Booze, and Bats
June 17, 2014. National Zoo Suddenly Closes Invertebrate Exhibit

June 12, 2014. What is Pollination, anyway?
June 9, 2014. Nature Zen: A Wee planthopper
June 6, 2014. What Can You Do About Bed Bugs in Your Laptop?
June 5, 2014. How to Search Your Hotel Room for Bed Bugs
June 4, 2014. Tainted Love: FDA Recalls your Ant Mojo
June 2, 2014. Nature Zen: Fireflies
May 30, 2014. Bats Have Sparkly Poop
May 26, 2014. Nature Zen: Something Weevil This Way Comes
May 23, 2014. They’re Here: Lake Flies Have Emerged
May 20, 2014. Will We Still Have Fruit if Bees Die Off?

May 19, 2014. Monday Nature Zen: Monkey Hoppers
May 16, 2014. Repellent Clothing Protects You From Ticks
May 12, 2014. Monday NatureZen: Moths Cosplaying as Wasps
May 10, 2014. Native Bees Increase Blueberry Crop Yields
May 7, 2014. Return of the Dancing Peacock Spiders (Hold me closer, tiny dancer)
May 5, 2014. Monday Nature Zen: The Not-Actually-A-Wasp Moth.
April 23, 2014. Spider Vision Made Clear
April 18, 2014. Adorable Bees That Live Inside Snail Shells
April 15, 2014. Maggots Bring the Heat
April 11, 2014. Smoking Bed Bugs Will Not Get You High
April 10, 2014. Giant Predatory Ants
March 22, 2014. Gardening for the Bees
March 14, 2014. Saint Urho, Grasshoppers, and Wine
March 12, 2014. Parasitic Junk in Your Trunk
March 7, 2014. What Do You Do With Crystallized Honey?
March 5, 2014. Women Work to Save Native Bees of Mexico
February 26, 2014. Split Ends, Conditioners, and Head Lice
February 21, 2014. This Might Be the Weirdest Mite You’ve Ever Seen
February 17, 2014. Free eBook about Ants
February 11, 2014. I Promise: Spiders are Not Trying to Kill You
February 4, 2014. Sticky: New Animated Film Will Break Your Heart
January 31, 2014. Paleofantasy, Silent Crickets, and Marlene Zuk
January 29, 2014. CDC Warning on Misuse of Pest Strips
January 28, 2014. CDC Report: Injuries related to Bed Bug Treatments
January 23, 2014. Alien Moths Are Coming for Your Nuts
January 14, 2014. Snow Fleas
January 9, 2014. The Infested Mind
January 8, 2014. New Species of Peacock Spider Dances for You (And Sex)
January 3, 2014. Doctor Who and Spider Phobia
December 31, 2013. The Mad Hatterpillar

December 26, 2013. This Wasp-Eating Falcon Laughs at Your Puny Stings
December 17, 2013. Inflatable Moth Butt Featherdusters
December 10, 2013. Here Be Dragons
December 9, 2013. Google Honors Grace Hopper…and a “bug”
December 5, 2013. Noah’s Extremely Bad Animal Husbandry Advice
November 29, 2013. Black Fly Day
November 26, 2013. Ag Extension, NIFA, the Farm Bill, and You
November 20, 2013. Luminous Beauty: The Secret World of Fluorescent Arthropods
November 18, 2013. New EPA Graphic Proposed for Insect Repellents
November 16, 2013. Hummingbird Banding Is Like Holding Magic

October 31, 2013. Why “Kill It With Fire” Is a Terrible, Terrible Idea
October 28, 2013. Lou Reed Lives on…in a spider
October 23, 2013. You Are Within 6 Feet of a Spider Right Now
October 20, 2013. Arachtober Surprise: “Big Ass Spider!”
October 18, 2013. Happy Arachtober! There Are Spiders in Your Car
October 9, 2013. Alien Invasion: Stink Bugs Are Coming
October 7, 2013. When Crime Scene Evidence Crawls Away
October 2, 2013. Federal Shutdown for Conservation and Ag Science?

Entomology Today

March 17, 2020. Learning at Home With Bugs
November 13, 2018. How to Make Your Bug Info Invasive on Social Media
November 4, 2017. How to talk to a reporter about Entomology
February 18, 2014. Free Books about Ants
September 15, 2014. A Tour of Portland with the Bug Chicks
November 16, 2014. Educator Workshop in Entomology
November 25, 2014. 5 Ways to Improve Your Science Writing
November 18, 2013. Interview with Shelah Morita on Science Policy and Entomology
November 12, 2013. Art, Science, and Insects
November 11, 2013. Breakfast, Women in Entomology, and a Revolution
November 10, 2013. 1,300 People Attend the 2013 Austin Insect Rodeo

Nature

December 19, 2012: Planet of the Apps: Social media, Outreach, and Your Research.

Let’s work together.