I have an aspirator ...

I have an aspirator ...
Originally uploaded by Juliepede.

... and I'm not afraid to use it!

The Bug House is pleased to add photos to its bag o' bug tricks, and this one is the obvious first choice. I've sent it to a few friends already, but it was kind of a big file that wasn't compatible with everyone's e-mail host, so it's time to give it a second chance.

Photo courtesy of Rick Stahlhut; meme courtesy of my fellow members of the 70 Families Project, an informal organization of Wolbachia researchers dedicated to collecting lots of bug 'nads and their associated DNA sequences. (As far as I can tell, this effort requires sipping adult beverages while telling entomological whoppers around a blacklight. Or, as one of the PIs asked during last week's kickoff collecting trip, "How can you love bugs and not want to kill them?")