Transcript
Jessica : Thank you.
Alexis: Well, it is a warm but windy day here in the bluegrass.
Ric Bessin: um
Alexis: And with the warmth, as I stare at my desk, there are some creepy crawlies coming out of the woodwork. I don't know if it's the actual woodwork. It's probably just, you know.
Plant People: not like coworkers, correct?
Alexis: in so it is the Asian lady beetle who has decided it's warm enough to leave my home and to go back outside. And I keep looking around and finding a new one.
Alexis: Has anybody else been experiencing this or is it just me and my bad housekeeping?
Jessica : Do they also have friends like the brown marmorated stink bug that is also joining them, like in my house?
Plant People: We've seen those. Yeah, both.
Alexis: Not, not yet. I'm sure they're here. They're probably like feeding on all my house plants right now. So.
Jessica : We have a nice mixture of the Asian lady beetles, brown marmorated stink bugs, and i assume the cluster flies and that are all together wanting to get outside.
Alexis: Oh yeah.
Plant People: We have a few of those. Yeah. few of those. think they're all friends in my basement that I currently am recording from is they've all made friends and maybe a centipede or two and a cricket occasionally.
Ric Bessin: It's
Jessica : Oh.
Alexis: The three volunteers of invasive species.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: a box elder bug.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Alexis: oh yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: And the box slaughter bug.
Jessica : ah
Plant People: We're next to Elkhorn Creek, so we get those.
Alexis: Yeah.
Plant People: They're a lot of fun. Reed likes to chase those around. and he our son, he's 11 years old, and he knows what a boxed elder bug is now, so he impresses the neighborhood kids. Well, he thinks he impresses them with that knowledge.
Plant People: He does not really impress them. I heard not.
Alexis: That's going to be Jessica's boys pretty soon. They're going to be naming insects and their friends are going to be like, wow nerd.
Jessica : ma they They already know. They already know quite a few insects, but they're you know they're learning from the best.
Plant People: I know.
Jessica : So myself and and also and also
Alexis: Obviously me.
Jessica : and also our guest who is on today, you might have already heard him mention Box Elderbug. ah Today, we have Dr. Rick Besson. And just to get that out of the way, that he is my father-in-law, but he is the UK Extension Specialist ah for entomology for the last 34 years at UK.
Jessica : um So he has had a very impressive career of getting to experience all different things in the entomology world and um extension, too, getting to do so many different outreach programs all across the state probably has been to every single county in the state, right?
Ric Bessin: I think so.
Plant People: It's kind of like Lady, Lady Beatles and Boxteller Bugs.
Alexis: Surely
Plant People: He's been everywhere.
Plant People: Well, you know, I have to know, especially in specialized field such as entomology, I'm always curious when, you know, what makes a forester a forester? What makes, you know, ah one person or another go into this field or that? So how in the world, and I think I've bothered Jessica with this before because I'm like, what makes you a bug person, Jessica? Probably in those exact terms.
Plant People: But how how does one get interested and get guided into entomology? ah fields such as entomology. I mean, like, did you just always have an affinity for creepy crawlies or what, Dr. Besson?
Ric Bessin: No, i did not. In fact, when and i was much younger in a boy scout, one of the requirements that kept me from getting my Eagle Scout is I did not do my insect collection.
Plant People: No, that is like an omission of guilt.
Jessica : I didn't.
Plant People: what
Ric Bessin: Yeah, i I think I've been serving my penance because of that. But yeah, no, I didn't do that. But what what got me interested is it was somewhat forced upon me in that when my brother went off to college, my father looked at me and he said, you're in charge of the bees now.
Ric Bessin: And so that was my beekeeping training. And I have to say that first experience was absolutely miserable. I mean, I did everything wrong, but things have gotten better since
Plant People: And how old were you when you got put in charge of the bees?
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: 12.
Ric Bessin: then. 12.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: And I've been
Plant People: So you were the beekeeper, head beekeeper. Hmm.
Ric Bessin: Yeah, and I've been keeping bees since. So, and and now I absolutely love bees. I'm infatuated with bees and I'm a real beekeeping geek.
Plant People: that is where That is really interesting. I think bees, just in general, beekeeping and honey production has gotten a lot of people into this field. And I mean, there's just so much lore and there's just such an attraction. I don't know what it is about beekeeping, but it's something super special that has had such an impact on so many people. And I've talked to so many entomologists, you know, on a national level, when you go to national meetings or or even a state level of people that have went into this field and they mentioned beekeeping. So yeah, that's super interesting.
Plant People: But Jessica, you looked a little shocked when he said he had not completed that.
Jessica : I did not know that you did not complete your insect collection, but you sure have made up it for it over the years because and I know you have like several insect collections now that um that you have there on campus and personally.
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah. you
Jessica : So, um but that, that was very surprising to me. I didn't know that.
Ric Bessin: Yeah, but what really got me into entomology is my father got me a job when they were living in Central America, and I i worked for a an entomologist one summer.
Ric Bessin: And I think during that summer, I pinned 12,000 different insects for a collection.
Plant People: Oh, wow.
Jessica : Wow.
Ric Bessin: So...
Plant People: twelve thousand 12,000. And that was for, you were collecting for a project or just because you had gotten into it?
Ric Bessin: Sholling, M.D.: was a company down there and they wanted a synoptic insect collection of all the insects in the area. Dr.
Plant People: Wow.
Jessica : I'm going to sell some really cool things, though.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: Matthew Sholling, yeah a lot of really, really cool things well it sort of set the hook in me becoming an entomologist.
Jessica : And then eventually trying to bring insects back into the country, right? Every time you go to visit, because I actually have one, one of these right here that that Rick brought me back from one of his trips to South America.
Alexis: Hell yeah.
Plant People: oh
Jessica : so Legally.
Alexis: He was bringing them in legally. Okay, let's be very specific here for our listeners.
Plant People: There's processes to these things, people.
Alexis: you He was not trafficking in ah insects and butterflies.
Jessica : Butterflies. yeah
Plant People: Just expounding the knowledge.
Alexis: Although you have been um you have been accused of releasing invasive insects in your career, have you not?
Jessica : Thank you.
Ric Bessin: I have.
Plant People: I have never told anybody that just to clear it up, Alexis. I've never told anybody that.
Ric Bessin: And it was one of the insects you started off the the program with, this Asian lady beetle that gets into homes that... When this first came into Kentucky and it was spreading across the state, we were getting an and many, many different types of complaints.
Ric Bessin: You know, people would complain that one dropped in their bowl of cereal in the morning. And so they had to send send us an email or what one, you know, crawled into someone's nose and we got an email.
Alexis: and
Ric Bessin: So one person sent me a handwritten note saying that they had seen my planes, helicopters and vans releasing them in Eastern Kentucky as turkey foot food.
Ric Bessin: And it was it was a threatening letter. but
Plant People: And nearly it was your fleet of planes.
Alexis: I feel like that's like men in black.
Plant People: It was your fleet of planes, personally, your fleet of planes.
Alexis: Like.
Ric Bessin: yeah
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: Yes.
Jessica : That's what you're doing in your free time, right? Just dropping.
Ric Bessin: if If I had a plane or a helicopter, I wouldn't use it to release beetles.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah. It seems like there were some what related accusations. The beetles fed the snakes and the snakes and the turkeys populated and then coyotes and wolves came in There was this whole ecosystem destruction theory behind this back in the day that one thing fed another and then it fed another and
Jessica : Wow.
Plant People: Yeah, so that that's unbelievable. That's pretty crazy. I figured during your tenure here at the university, you've ah you've seen and seen some things.
Plant People: So I know that you must be full of interesting stories, having worked ah with ah an extension service, especially a university for that long a period of time.
Jessica : Yeah.
Ric Bessin: Well, you know, what what one interesting thing working in agriculture is no two years are the same.
Alexis: Eee!
Plant People: Yeah, I believe it.
Ric Bessin: So every year brings its own set of things that are going on. I think, and that this is the the entomology geek in me talking, that we' we got a great year coming up. We have the big emergence of the 17-year cicada.
Ric Bessin: And...
Alexis: e
Plant People: and That's interesting. that's a That's a benchmark for you. A great year based on the cicada emergence. That's awesome. Yeah, I love it. um it
Ric Bessin: Yeah. and And so we have brood 14 of the 17-year cicada. Well, if you if you look back in time, um you know, two generations, that was 1991. And that was the year that I got my my position here at UK.
Ric Bessin: And I got to see see them and I got to work with them. I got to do some testing with them. And when you really think about it, I was working with the grandparents of the ones coming out this year.
Ric Bessin: I mean, it's only two generations ago.
Jessica : that
Alexis: How does that make you feel?
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: Well, it makes me feel younger. Talk to you.
Plant People: To see the kids growing up the way they have.
Alexis: you go.
Jessica : yeah yeah that's a good way to think about it
Alexis: Okay. That's positive.
Plant People: Yeah. My goodness. Yeah. and And to mark your time with cicada emergencies. ah Very interesting. done Not surprising, but interesting.
Jessica : very cool
Brett: Yeah, i was gonna most most of us are on ah a base 10 number system, but you're kind of on like a base 17 number system that
Plant People: Yeah. Yeah. It's an integer of 17.
Alexis: i
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: I think next time somebody asks me how old I am this year, I'm just going to be like, I'm two cicada merchants old. So...
Plant People: Yes, it's going to become it's going to become a thing.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: We're not going to do that We're going to skip over lady beetles and we're going to straight into ah cicadas.
Ric Bessin: shit But but but it's it's sort of cool with the cicada because when you think about it, you know, their generation time is, you know, better than half the human generation time.
Ric Bessin: I mean, therere there are kids in high school that have never experienced a cicada emergence.
Jessica : Right. Yeah.
Ric Bessin: It's really unknown.
Jessica : I'm excited for it, but that's just, you know, the bug person in me.
Ric Bessin: Yeah.
Plant People: So this is a big one, huh? ah This is the big one.
Ric Bessin: that
Brett: Well, so we asked, we asked Jonathan Larson this, are you a cicada cicada vore?
Ric Bessin: This is the...
Brett: Do you? Do you partake?
Ric Bessin: Knowingly? No.
Jessica : Yeah.
Alexis: He just goes outside and munches them.
Ric Bessin: yeah Yeah, riding my bike with my mouth open, maybe, but...
Plant People: Yeah, we got on a whole tangent with ah ah him about recipes.
Alexis: Recipes.
Plant People: Yes. And I did not know that was a thing, but it became fascinating. I couldn't let it go.
Jessica : And if you're allergic to shellfish, please do not eat them.
Plant People: um
Alexis: Or cockroaches.
Ric Bessin: Yes.
Alexis: For those of you who indulge in the cockroach.
Plant People: Or you have taste buds. Don't eat them. Don't eat them.
Ric Bessin: But I've had people tell me, you know, a little bit of butter and some garlic and sok sauteing them.
Plant People: Oh, that's not fair.
Ric Bessin: ah No, I
Plant People: You could deep fry or do that process you just mentioned to anything and eat it. That is not fair. Yes. But, uh,
Ric Bessin: put a little bit of salt and yeah you have to season them properly.
Alexis: I like a good crunchy thing. I mean, I'm not a post.
Plant People: well then, on a future episode, folks, you heard Alexis just commit to that episode where she eats cicadas live on camera. Yeah.
Alexis: I mean, if they're buttered, salted and sauteed, lit. It's fine. I'm cool. I'm good.
Ric Bessin: yeah You know, mid-May, we can work that out.
Plant People: I like this. I like where this is going a lot.
Alexis: Sounds like we need to put it on the calendar.
Ric Bessin: But...
Plant People: have a special...
Alexis: Celebrating my second cicada. Actually, I was ah not quite in the universe in May of 1991. um
Plant People: So are you one of those that you have not, like Dr.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: Besson was talking about, youre you have not experienced this amazingness?
Alexis: ah Apparently not. Yeah, i missed them by a couple months.
Plant People: oh So what can we expect?
Alexis: So here we go.
Plant People: I know this is...
Brett: Wait, Alexis, you're 16 years old.
Alexis: it's
Plant People: Yeah. From the last emergence, from the pre-emergence.
Alexis: no
Ric Bessin: the There was another one in 2008.
Alexis: That's true. Okay.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: So instead of three, so i I should be three cicada ah years old.
Brett: Yeah. This
Alexis: Three cicada emergence years old.
Plant People: We have to get used to this new universal system of cicada.
Alexis: Almost. so
Brett: is your third one. Yeah.
Jessica : Yeah, figuring out how old we are by cicadas.
Alexis: Yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: Yeah, because there was another emergence last year, correct?
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: That was the 14-year cicada? Okay.
Ric Bessin: no that that that That was a 17-year and a 13-year, and it made a lot of media coverage nationwide because we had two different broods emerging at the same time in the same place.
Alexis: Okay.
Plant People: Yes.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: And you think about it mathematically, a 13-year brood and a 17-year brood synchronizing, and the math is daunting.
Alexis: Well.
Plant People: Are we going to see more cicadas this time around based on this emergence than then probably?
Ric Bessin: Wow.
Ric Bessin: Yeah, it's it's the central and eastern part of the state.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: Hmm.
Plant People: Oh, gotcha, gotcha.
Ric Bessin: If you draw a line between Henderson and Hopkinsville, ah west of that, you probably will not see them. East of that, there's a good chance that at least somewhere in your county, there's going to be a big emergence.
Ric Bessin: They're not countywide, but they' they're pockets within counties.
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: Have you ever talked to anyone that was totally unprepared and called you?
Jessica : Cool.
Plant People: Like, I mean, not in a panic. i don't want to say. Yeah. Have you ever been like ah contacted by anyone just really in a state over these, not expecting them? Or have you ever received any phone calls like that?
Ric Bessin: with With the periodical cicada, no, but there are been other insects that have shown up that, you know, people are freaked out about.
Plant People: Mm hmm.
Ric Bessin: ah
Plant People: This, this seems like good stuff.
Ric Bessin: You know, for example,
Plant People: Yeah. Like what? Yeah.
Ric Bessin: well, du just, you know, a couple of years ago, well, I think it was three years ago when we had the big fall armyworm outbreak.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Jessica : And they just...
Ric Bessin: And
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: in In fact, i I went out on a ah home visit ah with Alexis, and or there were other pictures where people would have an outdoor swimming pool, and there would be thousands of egg masses on this swimming pool.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Alexis: Mm-hmm. but
Ric Bessin: And, you know, people's porch lights being, you know, inundated with moths at night and in things like that. So...
Jessica : That was a wild time because some people were getting like very upset how my yard is completely destroyed, but my neighbor's yard is fine.
Plant People: Mm-hmm.
Jessica : Why are they eating my yard, right?
Alexis: she
Jessica : And not my neighbor's.
Alexis: I don't know, man.
Jessica : Well, they reached their full, you know, they filled their bellies and they were done.
Alexis: Yeah.
Jessica : Time they got to your neighbor's, right?
Alexis: Sorry. You left your porch light on and there they were.
Jessica : You drew them in.
Alexis: You drew them right in.
Brett: they saw the They saw the Navy and Marine Corps flag out front and said, this is not a front, you know, little rivalry, the army worms.
Plant People: Nope. Don't want to go in.
Alexis: Don't tread on my lawn.
Jessica : Yep. yep
Alexis: Yeah.
Brett: So ah you've mentioned this kind of going out for home visits and and stuff like that. And we have some people who listen who aren't necessarily familiar, super familiar with the way extension works or they they only ever talk to their agent. And we don't have to spend a really long time on this, but I think it might be helpful or, you know, I'd be interested to just hear kind of how you think about participating in this extension thing.
Brett: And like if that's changed over time, but also like, What is a typical process for how does it that you end up out looking at somebody's farm or somebody's house? What does that look like?
Jessica : Thank you.
Ric Bessin: Yeah. and And so extension has changed over time. Extension will change in the future. ah You know, technology has really affected extension. You know, yeah we need to use technology to become more efficient. to ah to help people to to greater extent.
Ric Bessin: Now, in terms of my philosophy on extension, I've always thought of extension as a two-way street, that you know not only do we send information out,
Alexis: Mm-hmm.
Ric Bessin: But you know, when there interesting things that are going on out there and we hear about things that we want to see, we go out and make visits, not only to to help people, but also ah to learn. And so ah years ago when I went out with Alexis, that was right at the start of that fall army worm infestation and and going out to make sure ah what it was, what we were saying and making sure our messages were on target. so I learn when I when i go out to on these visits, and I also give people information for this. And so, yeah, it I think it needs to be a two-way street.
Alexis: Hmm.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: And I'd say cameras and things, you mentioned technology. ah but I'm sure processes, I mean, you probably came in, it I came in at a time extension almost 30 years ago. Like email was just becoming a thing. And now it's a little bit easier, isn't it, for people to snap a very high quality picture and and get to you. So you've probably seen some process changes in the way we do things, even though we're we're very hands-on.
Plant People: um Things change over time. That's a great point.
Ric Bessin: Yeah, I remember when I first started in extension, yes, we had email, but our computers had dial-up modems. You know, get you get the sound of the 14.4 kbaud modem connecting and hoping that it would connect.
Plant People: The original, yeah.
Ric Bessin: And so, you know, things have gotten a lot more efficient.
Plant People: Yeah.
Jessica : Everyone used to have to...
Brett: Yeah, I think I was just going to say the thing that the thing that I think is really cool just about the way that this works is that
Jessica : go ahead, Brett.
Brett: in least At least in Kentucky, it still works this way that you in your county, you have this person you can go and ask a question to. And if they in many times, they're going to know the answer. So if you have some insect issue and they've seen it a million times, they're going to tell you. But they might say, let me talk to some people and get back with you. And that's an opportunity for them to talk with you. It's just this really neat way of sharing information and sharing science with the public.
Brett: And I just think that that campus county connection, sometimes it's not people don't necessarily understand that like, yeah, I'm going to go talk to this professor on campus who has a really, really strong knowledge about this thing and then bring it back to you.
Jessica : Thank you.
Alexis: Mm-hmm.
Brett: And I just think that that's really cool. And obviously we lean pretty heavily into the technology and the ability to do that. But it could very well be that if you've gone to your extension office and asked for an issue with some sort of insect, that maybe your extension agent actually went and and talked with Rick and and got some information.
Brett: I just think that that connection of how we all fit together is something that I want people to, to see and understand because we you know, we don't keep these things around unless we appreciate them and value them. So
Plant People: And even as an on the inside of the service, as a county extension agent, I'm county-based now.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: That was my first question. I remember distinctly coming into extension. And my first question was because I was like, oh, gosh, that I didn't have a connected computer at the time. I said, who am I going to lean on?
Ric Bessin: Thank you.
Plant People: when I don't know the answer because I quickly realized in extension that I'm not going to know the answer to everything. Big shocker. But it was ah because of people like Dr. Bess and Dr. Townsend, all the animal science specialists and all the other fields.
Jessica : going to
Plant People: That's what kind of kept me in extension that first six months was their availability.
Jessica : go ahead and started.
Alexis: Thank you.
Jessica : I'm going
Plant People: But it it took it literally took an entire organization to raise me and keep me from floundering around terribly
Jessica : ahead and get started.
Plant People: But they were always just a phone call away. But if it wasn't for people like yourself, ah Dr. Besson, I would not have made it a month because that was my number one concern. What if somebody asked me about this weird spider?
Plant People: And I don't know what it is. I'm going to need some help with that. But I was assured from day one from the dean. and the director of extension at the time that we had plenty of on-campus support.
Plant People: And that has always been incredibly important to me, not only them, but it continues to be very, very important to me, you know, having that relationship ah that when I don't know what's going on or the the situations beyond me having help, you know, from on campus.
Plant People: And that Brett, that's like you said, that's part of the beauty of our system.
Jessica : you
Ric Bessin: Yeah, and and none of us knows everything. You know, i don't know everything about insects. and
Plant People: See you, Alexis.
Ric Bessin: and it
Plant People: It's true.
Alexis: What? i just offered to eat cicadas.
Brett: Alexis thought she was the first one.
Alexis: Why are you picking on me?
Brett: Alexis thought she was the first one who knew everything, but Rick's saying no.
Ric Bessin: but
Plant People: It's just day.
Ric Bessin: but but but But part of extension is being able to give people timely answers, responding quickly to them. And, you know, one of the great things to teach new agents is to say,
Ric Bessin: no i don't know that answer but i i can get that answer for you and you know let them know you're responding to them and you're working on it i was just going to show you one thing just to show you how technology has changed and we were talking about cicadas earlier back in 1991 this was my map of where the hot spots were with the brood 14 of the cicada so you can see that that that's hand colored hey that was high
Plant People: Yeah.
Plant People: Is that hand colored?
Jessica : I love that.
Brett: Yeah. so that's so
Jessica : I love that you still have that.
Ric Bessin: That was my tip.
Jessica : That's great.
Brett: for people who are who are listening listening and not seeing, it's this a printed out picture of of blank you know counties of Kentucky colored in with like markers and there's browns and reds and oranges.
Plant People: that That's amazing.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Yeah. The OG.
Ric Bessin: and And those were county agents at the time that responded to my request where where this cicada was showing up but in that year.
Brett: Physical media.
Alexis: i I have a question.
Plant People: And, and yeah, that's, that is super cool.
Jessica : Very cool.
Alexis: Are you going to plan a party where we get to all go out and scream with the cicadas? Because I feel like a lot of us need that right now.
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: So I'm just saying, like, maybe a program you want offer this year.
Jessica : Yeah.
Alexis: Mm-hmm.
Ric Bessin: Well, you know, I'm in Fayette County, and i have to say I did not see a lot of cicadas in Fayette County the last two times this emerged. And they tend to show up in the exact same places, tend to be the the very south end of the county.
Jessica : oh
Ric Bessin: And, you know, if I just showed up in someone's doorstep and started screaming, I'm not sure what the outcome would be.
Alexis: ah park
Ric Bessin: but
Alexis: I mean, to an extension office somewhere.
Jessica : yeah There has to be a location we can do this at.
Alexis: I'm just
Plant People: It would only be weird if you grabbed onto the side of a tree and shed your skin. That would be strange, but everything else is fine.
Ric Bessin: I'm not sure
Plant People: Everything else is fine.
Ric Bessin: i
Jessica : He has no comment, Ray.
Ric Bessin: um but for how to respond to that. hundred everybody yeah
Plant People: Yeah. I mean, I would, yeah, we definitely took a turn there.
Alexis: saying. I very and felt very men in black there for a second, so...
Plant People: i like that. Yes.
Jessica : Yes. Yeah.
Plant People: It's got that vibe to mean, the entomology really is, i have a big appreciation for that and people that are involved with that once again over the years, because I mean, it's ah pretty, pretty incredible. um And I'm almost afraid to ask someone with your experience and your scope of work, I'm almost afraid to ask what is your most interesting phone calls or your, an interesting like memory, like ah over the years, because I'm sure you have some good ones that you could put down on paper.
Ric Bessin: Okay. I have one and it's not directly insect related.
Plant People: Okay.
Alexis: so Okay.
Ric Bessin: So I w I was going down to South central Kentucky to this, uh, plainclothes community, you know, what a community where they don't have power and cars and things like that.
Ric Bessin: And then it was to work with sugar cane aphid on sweet sorghum. It was just devastating him down there.
Plant People: Mm-hmm.
Ric Bessin: And, you know, I went down there a number of times. We did some research trials and all that. That's, that's work related stuff, but At one point, a group of kids were showing me they were releasing these pigeons and the pigeons were flying over their barns.
Ric Bessin: And then they would just sort of seize up and tumble down the air and then fly again after about ah you know dropping 100 feet. And I said, yeah what are those? And they said, oh, these are tumbling pigeons. And I said, they're really cool. And we talked about it for a little while.
Ric Bessin: Then I said, oh, well, we don't have any tumbling pigeons in our neighborhood, but my neighbor has homing pigeons. And they thought that was really cool. They said, well, we've been looking to try and get homing pigeons because we want to communicate with, you know, family members across the river and across the valley and stuff.
Alexis: Thank
Ric Bessin: And it would be great if we had homing pigeons to do that. And so I said, let me ask my neighbor. And ah he he gave me eight homing pigeons. I went down there on a Saturday with my personal vehicle and I dropped off.
Jessica : There
Ric Bessin: eight homing pigeons to this community and they they really like it. They're breeding them up and they're they're they're still using them. And the interesting thing is we have to write success stories with extension. And so with with my twisted sense of humor, I wrote it up as ah ah providing i communication technology for an underserved audience.
Ric Bessin: and know
Jessica : you go.
Alexis: Community and economic development.
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: Hey, listen, he just wordsmithed that up way before AI. I just want to point that out. He had no help with that.
Jessica : and this wasn't that long ago, right?
Plant People: He came up with that himself. Oh, wow.
Jessica : Like,
Ric Bessin: this sit Six, seven years ago, something like that.
Plant People: Oh, so yeah, more recently.
Jessica : Yeah, so still like very recent, I would say.
Plant People: Wow.
Jessica : you know, that's awesome.
Alexis: Now I want to know how to train homing pigeons.
Plant People: mean, I know we're going to have so much interest.
Alexis: This is a new deep dive for me and...
Jessica : week
Jessica : Alexis, we could send them across the lake to each other.
Plant People: Not only home pigeons, but
Alexis: Oh, Jessica, who needs cell phones when we have homing pigeons?
Jessica : Communicate. Yeah.
Plant People: Tumbling pigeons.
Brett: What's their range? What's their what's their range, I wonder?
Ric Bessin: I know they have races with homing pigeons that go 100 or more. or more
Brett: Oh, my.
Jessica : Oh, we could totally communicate with humming pigeons then.
Alexis: Listen, this is changing in the game.
Brett: Well, I was curious. I don't know what this is about my personality, but I was more curious about the tumbling pigeons than the homing pigeons. And I just...
Plant People: ah
Jessica : if you
Plant People: you're talking about like the drop velocity. What's the velocity of a tumbling pigeon?
Brett: Yeah, yeah.
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: Well, so I looked, i just briefly looked at it because I was curious, was it what is it like the, like the myotonic goats, you know, the fainting goats that it's not like that.
Plant People: It's the Monty Python in you, Brett. I know it is.
Jessica : Yes.
Alexis: yeah
Brett: It's like part of their flying strategy is that they, they drop.
Alexis: they don't get
Brett: It's not like they're passing out per se, you know?
Alexis: eight
Jessica : To avoid predators, right?
Plant People: I
Alexis: yeah
Brett: Yeah, I guess so.
Jessica : Hawks.
Brett: Descendant from like a rock dove or something like that. Anyway. So yeah, i was more more interested in the thing just dropping from the sky than communicating with other people.
Plant People: yeah i mean, you,
Alexis: things you learned from an entomologist
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: i just I was like, how do they survive the fall when they hit the ground? So, okay. I was way off base on that, but my goodness, that was an interesting kind of related story. Yeah. that ad That you kind of went out and then sometimes these site visits, they take a turn, don't they?
Plant People: You go and look at one thing and end up discussing or doing another. Yeah. That's not unheard of in extension.
Ric Bessin: what Life is interesting.
Jessica : I am.
Plant People: Yes.
Alexis: you
Plant People: Always.
Jessica : You mentioned your success story and I actually ran into somebody in my county the day at at the Walmart who you helped last summer and should be a success story through um kind of as you were talking, i have a large pumpkin grower in my community and they had some pumpkins that started dying and they ended up being squash vine borer.
Alexis: see
Jessica : But what you were able to do as another part of like your job with, cause you have graduate students often, right? You have, I don't even know how many graduate students you've had over the years, so but they were able to come out and do trapping.
Jessica : So then you could tell that grower exactly when the squash vine borers were active and spray. And he had like, he didn't lose any pumpkins this last year.
Jessica : And so he actually brought that up to me this morning as we were both getting dog food um about the success of that program and wondering about more traps and how impressed he was with it. So, you know, something so simple as just monitoring pests or then having your graduate students involved to like make such a huge impact on our growers.
Ric Bessin: Well, I have another, what I think is a funny anecdote. You all may have to edit this out of the the podcast.
Alexis: but never
Plant People: Oh, this is the good content. Yeah.
Jessica : Thank you.
Ric Bessin: But I had to have a a procedure done in the hospital. And they they will meet wheel me into the room. You know, I'm in my gown and all that.
Ric Bessin: And I meet the doctor for the first time and she's wearing this mask. And I can tell she just has the biggest smile underneath the mask. I can tell in her eyes, she's really smiling. like And she goes, i know you.
Alexis: yeah
Plant People: Oh.
Ric Bessin: She says it again. She goes, I know you. you're You're Dr. Besson. And I said, yeah. And i'
Alexis: and you look at my chart i hope you looked at my chart
Plant People: yeah Okay.
Jessica : and
Ric Bessin: I'm in that uneasy area. but but What's going on? And she goes, I met you at the fruit and vegetable conference last year, and i asked a question during your session.
Ric Bessin: And my my my only response was, did I give you a good answer?
Jessica : you
Plant People: And she, were and the the doctor remembered that.
Ric Bessin: to
Plant People: i mean, yeah.
Ric Bessin: and Yeah. And she said, yes.
Plant People: yeah
Ric Bessin: It was like, okay, i'm I'm comfortable to proceed then.
Plant People: Oh, yeah.
Alexis: before you cut me open i need to know if you're mad at me
Plant People: Let's.
Plant People: Yeah, we need to know if ah you had a great outcome because I want a great outcome.
Alexis: ah feels like a meme like every time you meet see your doctor you just be like are you mad at me
Plant People: Yes.
Plant People: Yeah, the the one of the issues with extension is just that we never know, like in the in the county that we're in, it's sometimes hard to know who you've reached and what kind of impact.
Jessica : so
Brett: Yeah, i know I know you is a very scary opening. Can be a very scary. I know you.
Plant People: Good.
Jessica : Yes.
Plant People: Yes. Like I know you, but I can't even imagine on a state level, you know.
Ric Bessin: but
Brett: Oh, favorably or?
Ric Bessin: especially when you're in a vulnerable position.
Plant People: Yes.
Brett: Yeah, definitely.
Jessica : Right. Right.
Plant People: um Yeah.
Brett: Well, so I have a question.
Alexis: he's like my gown was open in the backs though
Plant People: Yes. It's like I felt a breeze. I'm sorry for those I may have offended. and
Brett: if you If you could, after after these years of spending time interacting with people, if there was a piece of information, basic information that you feel that you think you could snap your fingers and put in everyone's head that they would now know this as factual, that maybe would prevent confusion, it would prevent you know worry, it would prevent phone calls, it would prevent everything else.
Brett: what do you What would that be?
Ric Bessin: you we're We're talking about to clientele. Yeah, so
Brett: Yeah. And specifically about insects, not does that but be about like a philosophical question about life. ah
Ric Bessin: with insects and and yeah so so with with insects and This is one of the things I really try and impress on people, impress with agents and other people in that, you know, always the first step to resolving a problem with insects and the same with diseases or fertility or anything else.
Ric Bessin: i'm I'm talking about, you know, like soil fertility would be identifying what the problem is.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Ric Bessin: And, you know, people want to know, okay, i they they tell me what the the problem they think they have and, you know, give me the insecticides that's going to fix it. It's like, no, we need to get this properly identified because until we do that, we're just sort of guessing and ah what what we're going to do. And sometimes, you know, particularly when we use insecticides and things like that,
Ric Bessin: there can be some underlying costs with that. And so we want to make sure we get it right. And so the first step is always proper identification of the problem.
Plant People: Always, always
Jessica : Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
Brett: Yeah, I've heard a ah quote that's attributed bunch of different people, um probably Winston Churchill among them, that a problem well stated is half solved.
Brett: And I think that that it fits here too. And it fits to what Jessica was saying about the the real boon to that pumpkin grower was literally monitoring and defining and finding the parameters of the problem, when and how, and then acting based on that.
Brett: So that's really, yeah, that's cool.
Plant People: Well, that's the public facing side of sort of the question. I'll take one step further into that question a little bit, lean into that. ah What question would you or what advice would you give your former self the first week or two on the job as you come to the university?
Plant People: If you could go back in time, meet with yourself for five, 10 minutes and have a cup of coffee and eat a cicada whatever entomologists do.
Jessica : Thank you.
Plant People: What advice would you give yourself, Dr. Besson? I mean, if you could go back.
Plant People: It's a tough one. I know.
Ric Bessin: No, it is a tough one.
Plant People: Yeah,
Ric Bessin: It takes a lot of self-reflection. You know, sometimes it's some of mea culpa type thing.
Plant People: yeah, yeah.
Alexis: you
Plant People: yeah
Ric Bessin: But, um you know, and and I've run into this a few times where ah so someone will suggest something and in the back of my mind, I'm telling myself, that's never going to work
Alexis: she
Ric Bessin: And most of the time that's probably correct, but every once a while, no it is not correct and it does work.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: h Yeah.
Ric Bessin: And so, you know, i think it's very important to, you know, ah force yourself to keep an open mind. And sometimes you think you know the answer and you know the solutions, but until, you know, you have evidence
Plant People: Oh, that's a good one.
Ric Bessin: you know, it's just a guess until that the the the data or the evidence is out there to support that.
Jessica : no
Plant People: You sort of touched on that earlier. That's perfect because you when you made the comment about you love the connection, like going out into the field and you learn from them, they learn from you, that sort of comes full circle with the statement that you you just now made. And that's true.
Plant People: You don't want to just jump straight ahead, give someone an answer and roll out. Sometimes it's not that easy and sometimes you're the one learning. Yeah, that's that's ah that's a great insight. That's a great insight.
Jessica : And you should share a little about your background. That's very interesting. i think most people find interesting is that data is really important to you because you have your master's in statistics, right?
Ric Bessin: yeah yeah but but Yeah, I mean, i like numbers.
Jessica : Before going and into entomology. But, you know, it's like you said, insects were always a part of your life because you were taking care of them in different countries as well. And, um but you really have that influence of data. You like the data.
Jessica : Yes.
Ric Bessin: And ah part of that was i had a learning disability, ah dyslexic. i'm I'm very dyslexic. And so reading did not come easily to me, but playing with numbers did.
Ric Bessin: and And so I do like that that number aspect of things. But, you know, you you mentioned working with insects overseas. You know, I got to be a ah ah beekeeper for a while in North Africa, and that was really cool.
Ric Bessin: And I worked for a couple of years in the Peace Corps as a beekeeper working with ah ah communities, improving their beekeeping methods. I also got to be a private beekeeper there. And what was really cool is I took over after a former beekeeper who had died about a dozen years before.
Ric Bessin: But that former beekeeper was an exiled cavalry captain. from the white russian army that was a beekeeper so i got to take over his apiary.
Alexis: i
Plant People: You've seen some things and you've done some things.
Alexis: no where to go with that information
Jessica : ah
Plant People: Yeah.
Jessica : so many so many interesting stories right
Alexis: like what did you find there were there weird things on the hives like what
Ric Bessin: what What was really cool is he had a different style of beehive. He had these 22 frame bee boxes that were, you know, over a ah meter wide.
Ric Bessin: And, you know, these big square frames, I'm starting to see more of these these days. But at the time, i was just wondering, and I heard he was like a a cavalry captain with, with ah you know, in the army.
Ric Bessin: And I just mentioned this giant Russian beekeeper that could pick up the these giant, giant hives.
Plant People: Yeah, lifting these huge weights, yeah.
Ric Bessin: And that now I've learned that these are not really mobile hives, but.
Plant People: got I was going to say, boy, that person must be a giant. There's no problem
Alexis: that what do they call that style of beeh
Jessica : Is that like a top bar hive kind
Alexis: as you say is that it's like a top bar
Ric Bessin: No, it's not a top bar hive. It it had parallel sides on it.
Plant People: them.
Ric Bessin: And I'm not...
Plant People: Yeah.
Brett: It's like ah like a giant more like a giant version of what we are familiar with.
Ric Bessin: in
Plant People: Of the Langstroth, yeah.
Jessica : Okay.
Brett: More more like that, right?
Ric Bessin: yeah but But almost like four times the volume of a landstraw hive.
Brett: Yeah.
Plant People: wow yeah um fascinating i mean i did not see that one coming that's very interesting and you said uh what africanized bees or african bees over there or
Jessica : Wow.
Ric Bessin: Those were a subspecies that was in North Africa. They're not they're not what we call Africanized.
Plant People: oh gotcha gotcha yeah yeah yeah so not that but a different style of beekeeping altogether it sounds like um
Ric Bessin: this This was just on the Mediterranean.
Alexis: weird
Plant People: I was thinking it sounds more like Dr. Jones and Dr. Besson, but yeah, the life of an, the life and times of an entomologist is, is, uh, even more interesting than I would have thought.
Plant People: So yeah.
Alexis: you've gotten some fun artwork over the years haven't you
Plant People: ah
Ric Bessin: Artwork. that you
Alexis: artwork yeah you have you some in letters
Plant People: Yeah. Oh, you're talking about letters.
Ric Bessin: Oh.
Jessica : ah so
Plant People: and speaking of accusations, uh, of things.
Jessica : Some fans fans you've acquired over the years?
Alexis: yeah if you fans
Ric Bessin: but Yeah, I think you have to put fans into quotation marks.
Alexis: quote
Plant People: Okay.
Ric Bessin: hundred that This, you know, early on when, when BT corn was first coming out, you know, we were talking to people about GMOs and things like that.
Ric Bessin: And I did some educational things with, with GMOs and, and BT corn. And this is one of the responses I received talking about, uh,
Plant People: Oh, and we are looking at, you know, as Brett said, as ah some some folks may be listening only today instead of on the video component, but a very ah creative representation of a Frankenstein.
Plant People: ah You have to see this.
Alexis: frank and co
Plant People: Yes, it's Frankencorn.
Jessica : Yep.
Plant People: Yes.
Brett: Frankencorn.
Ric Bessin: Yeah.
Plant People: Hand-drawn.
Brett: Frankenstein as an ear of corn or an ear of corn as Frankenstein with the face.
Jessica : And yeah, yes.
Plant People: Yes. Yes.
Brett: Were there bolts on the neck?
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Brett: I couldn't tell if it was just bolts or more of the...
Ric Bessin: Yes.
Brett: Yeah, okay.
Jessica : Oh, yes.
Plant People: Oh, so lots of details.
Brett: Yeah, the...
Ric Bessin: Yeah, there were both on there. But yeah, I mean, says so some sometimes people express their opinions to us.
Brett: Shucks covered the bolts. Bolts.
Ric Bessin: Right.
Alexis: sometimes
Plant People: Passionately.
Brett: Yeah, and that i mean that's part of what makes makes this type of work cool and fun, is that it is communicative and back and forth.
Plant People: Passionately and creatively.
Brett: and you know
Jessica : Yeah.
Brett: you know you When it veers over into threatening, like we were talking about earlier, it's not so fun. But there's sometimes where it's... you know I love this one of the really... engaging parts of public service.
Brett: And just like in agriculture, no two years are the same. Sometimes no two correspondences back and forth with with the public are the same, which is another way that things stay interesting.
Jessica : yeah Or classes.
Plant People: Yeah.
Jessica : You've taught so many different ah groups and children over the years that I know have had some.
Plant People: was going to say, I going to say,
Alexis: he
Jessica : Hey, I know you're laughing.
Alexis: full-s size candy candy bars
Ric Bessin: change ours ah
Alexis: okay to
Jessica : oh yeah, i forgot about that.
Alexis: programs
Jessica : ah
Alexis: and and tosses them out to the children ah
Jessica : You got to watch out.
Alexis: seven o'clock at night
Jessica : You'll get hit in the head with a full size Hershey bar.
Ric Bessin: Actually, that that that is one moment that I remember clearly and I i really liked that moment. we We were doing a beekeeping class for introductory beekeepers.
Ric Bessin: And I had some slides in there where I asked questions in the middle my talk and just see who can answer the the question if they get a right. You know, I throw them a full-size candy bar.
Ric Bessin: And some of the questions I ask are trick questions. So they'm I'm not expecting anyone yeah not expecting anyone to get it right.
Alexis: deserve the full size
Ric Bessin: So I have this meeting for adults. And there's this one nine-year-old girl in the audience.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: And my last question was a really tough question. And ah she raised her hand. So I called on her and she just answered it beautifully and was right on the money, had had a great, and I had to walk over that that candy bar to her because I was very impressed and I was very happy to give it to the that young girl in the audience.
Jessica : who
Alexis: little little beekeeper in training
Ric Bessin: Yeah.
Plant People: That was not your candy bar personally that you gave away and you had a little bit of remorse, was there? But you had to give away your your candy bar to a nine-year-old. I mean, the of all the people in the crowd, and a nine-year-old just nailed the question.
Alexis: deserved it
Jessica : Yeah.
Plant People: That's awesome.
Jessica : She was on top of it.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: She did, she did.
Brett: Well, I have a have a final question.
Plant People: I just want to know where that person is now. Yeah.
Brett: So this this podcast called Hort Culture, um as far as moving away from the insects and just asking you, do you have a favorite plant?
Brett: And if so, what do you like most about it?
Jessica : He's a plant person, so that'd be hard.
Alexis: you can just give us one of your top ten
Ric Bessin: i
Ric Bessin: I would i would say It's not a local plant. I'm sorry, but i'm i've I've lived other places overseas.
Alexis: no shame
Ric Bessin: And when my family lived in Honduras, I had a USDA APHIS permit to import orchid plants.
Plant People: Oh, wow
Ric Bessin: And so I used to climb trees in the jungle and and things like that, collecting orchids. And so I've always had an eye to look for them when I you know, up in trees and things like that. I still think they're really cool.
Ric Bessin: ah And so, yeah, orchids.
Brett: Do you have a ah particular favorite genus or species?
Ric Bessin: Oh, it was, no, I don't. ah But it it was all those really small, unique orchids that you'd find in in the rainforest.
Brett: Okay.
Brett: Hmm.
Plant People: Just so fascinating that you find those, as you put it, growing in trees.
Brett: Hmm.
Ric Bessin: They're really cool.
Plant People: And then we go to great lengths to keep them alive when we bring them out of that environment. But in their environment, they just simply, terrestrials, just kind of grow in.
Alexis: exist
Jessica : Yep.
Plant People: Yes. and Or you go to Florida and they exist in a ditch or on a side of a building or wherever. And then we bring them back. And very interesting. Very interesting.
Alexis: the best success i've ever had with orchids are the ones i've been ignoring for a year and they bloomed
Jessica : yes
Alexis: twice now like blooming and time and i'm like you are still in the same mothball i got you in from some random person not but the ones that i actually potted up in orchid bark ah most of them have died so
Jessica : Same.
Alexis: ignore your ortchids so rule here
Ric Bessin: the rule is...
Jessica : Right. I have one that's in a pot and the pot literally just like broke, but it's bloomed twice in that pot.
Ric Bessin: so
Jessica : And I have, I'm afraid to re repot it because it seems happy.
Alexis: and
Alexis: driving on abuse
Jessica : Yep.
Plant People: I know you had one final question, Brett, but i just have to ask one more. It's one of those introspective ones. You know, we've talked about the advice you would give to communities, advice you would give to yourself.
Plant People: How about advice to someone that's coming in, maybe in the future, coming into a role like yours into a university or specifically u k you know, your University of Kentucky, but any particular advice you would give to someone that's going to step into to shoes that are similar to yours now?
Ric Bessin: Yeah, I would think, you know, someone starting off in extension, this could be a specialist, it could be an agent, but um one thing that I think, one skill that I think would be, is extremely valuable to people is listening.
Ric Bessin: You know, the listen to what people have to say, ask lots of questions, ah always treat people with respect, I think.
Ric Bessin: Respect is one of those, if you want people to treat you with respect, you better treat them with respect.
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Ric Bessin: And listening and and, you know, being, like we said earlier, responsive to people. um People do like it when when you get back to them quickly with with things.
Plant People: Sure.
Ric Bessin: And I think if you do those things, you're listening, you're respectful, and you get get back to them. ah to people quickly, that really helps because, you know, so sometimes particularly my role as an extension entomologist, sometimes that, you know, we just trying to improve management practices, you know, improve the efficiency, make make it more economical, something like that.
Ric Bessin: But other times, you know, people are truly suffering with with issues and and, you know, showing that that that empathy and things because they are suffering and um and we are trying to help them as well.
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: So. Maybe that was too long of an answer.
Plant People: No, not at all.
Alexis: perfect
Plant People: It sounds like ah that's not knowledge, that's wisdom.
Jessica : That's good.
Plant People: so
Alexis: that's ah how many cicada emergences worth of wisdom here people so what we're going with so so things i've learned today from the entomologist um the expert ph d entomologist is um ignore your orchids listen and be respectful ah if you're interested in homing pigeons do it there's also a thing called tumbling pigeons which fascinating and ah what was my other one oh um
Alexis: umve just blanked i was so excited about talking about pigeons but none of those have been insect related and this is why we love you dr bessen because of
Ric Bessin: So this is like, right, they come in with
Jessica : Mm-hmm.
Plant People: yeah
Plant People: A broad range.
Alexis: all you grounded knowledge
Plant People: Yes. Wealth of experiences over the years. Appreciate you sharing all of those. It's pretty amazing. I love the stories. Love the stories.
Alexis: tunisian bees coming to another episode
Plant People: And Calvary and just all the related stories, orchids, climbing trees and getting orchids.
Alexis: later
Ric Bessin: yeah
Plant People: It's going to be real hard to top that. And I'm glad I'm not the next guest or the next person talking because how do you top like, yeah,
Alexis: or your grandkids like the coolest stories you get to tell them are when i was your age i was climbing trees
Jessica : Right.
Alexis: getting orchids selling up to the u s their yda like
Plant People: yeah shipping nationally or yeah just amazing
Alexis: fine
Ric Bessin: but I got one final story. ah Is there time just for...
Alexis: bring it oh
Plant People: absolutely yeah
Jessica : Yeah, go for it.
Alexis: lee
Ric Bessin: Yeah. Well, you know, I had that permit to import seeds and orchids. And so, i'd you know, I'd have to get them identified as species. I'd have to have someone locally declare that they're not endangered or threatened all that. And I could bring them in with all this labeling on the box and properly packaged and without any soil or anything like that.
Ric Bessin: And so I went through all that and I had all this stuff in there. But I also had a box of pinned dens insects in my luggage.
Jessica : Thank you.
Ric Bessin: And so when I get get to Customs and Border Control, they open up my suitcase. They find this pinned box of insects, which is not was not regulated at all.
Ric Bessin: And they call everyone over. They're looking at the different bugs in the box. And I said, well, I also have this box over here you need to clear. that that And it's like, oh, that's fine.
Plant People: Oh yeah.
Ric Bessin: they they wait They went back to the box of pinned insects.
Plant People: They were just fascinated with your insect collection.
Alexis: that reminds me of jessica's experience when she went through the airport with her orchids from hawaii
Jessica : Uh-huh. Yeah.
Alexis: eska you want to you want to tell him
Jessica : And I just kept, I knew I had to declare them. And so like every like point of TSA, I was like, I have plants. I have orchids. And they were like, we don't care. Go to the next person.
Jessica : And we get to the next point. And like Sean, my husband be like, come on. And like, wait, I have orchids. I am bringing plants back to the mainland. And they were like, we don't care. And so then it was finally like, right before we got on the airplane, there was like the tiniest little like checkpoint with USDA.
Jessica : And they were just like, Oh yeah, those are pre-packaged for airplanes. You're good. Like it was like, no big deal.
Alexis: you were like i
Jessica : Yeah.
Alexis: and
Ric Bessin: exciting
Jessica : But I was like claiming it as I walked through the airport because I was like, I don't want, I want to take these back with me.
Ric Bessin: as i walking
Plant People: you were pro You were proclaiming them, yeah.
Alexis: yeah
Jessica : I don't want any funny business.
Plant People: Yeah.
Jessica : And i was trying to be good, ah good steward, not smuggling things.
Ric Bessin: that's
Ric Bessin: with Well, you go through all the regulations and all the rules that you have to follow and you and you and you're worried that you're doing everything just right. then find it's like, yeah, looks good.
Ric Bessin: Go on. Yeah.
Alexis: move along let me look at these cool insects
Jessica : Bringing back to my cool insect that Rick brought me back from... Where were you at when you brought this one back? This cool morpho, Peru.
Ric Bessin: Peru. peru
Jessica : It took a long time to get back. And I should just say with Rick and his sense of humor, yeah he kept telling me he got me something, but it was held up in customs for some reason. and So then he just started telling me for months that he got me a hair hairless Chilean dog, right?
Plant People: Perfect.
Jessica : Or something like it like that And like he was just like...
Alexis: you're like no thank you
Jessica : Your hairless dog is still hung up in customs. Maybe one day you'll get it.
Plant People: This poor dog. And indeed, folks, it is this beautiful iridescent blue butterfly.
Jessica : Bright blue butterfly.
Plant People: What was it again? It's beautiful, whatever it is. It's gorgeous. That's what we're looking at now is this beautiful blue butterfly.
Ric Bessin: It's a morpho butterfly. And so was brought in properly and and Customs and Border Patrol held onto it for three months.
Plant People: Yeah, more folks.
Jessica : Right. um for people
Ric Bessin: But...
Plant People: Yeah.
Ric Bessin: e
Plant People: What you didn't see was a disappointment that it wasn't a hairless dog, the disappointment on her face.
Jessica : Right.
Plant People: Yeah. What a great discussion.
Alexis: i
Plant People: Yeah.
Alexis: yeah i i don't know about jessica with a hairless dog but anyway good stuff folks we're trying to get some of these pictures that we've talked about ah up on our instagram so you can find it ah at hort culture podcast
Plant People: Yes.
Alexis: ah you can also shoot us an email or if you just want to tells a cool story about you going through customs with something totally legal of course ah feel free to shoot us an email you can find that down there in the show not and dr bessson is located on the university of kentucky entomology website if you have an actual entomology question or maybe a homing pigeon question you know you can at least reach out all he can do is
Jessica : Thank you.
Alexis: send you to somewhere else someone else right but he'll get you he'll get you respectfully ah
Plant People: Responsibly handled, yes.
Alexis: fixed up he's respectfully handled so we really appreciate you being on dr bessson and we'll have to have you on again for more of your good stories but that's all for today folks thanks for being here with us
