INSECTS ARE A NECESSARY PART OF LAKES ECOSYSTEM, expert said.
By POST-TRIBUNE
PUBLISHED: January 30, 2024 at 12:52 p.m. | UPDATED: January 31, 2024 at 12:25 p.m.
Spiders? Not insects. Ticks? Not insects. These are some of the misconceptions brought up as Valparaiso University Professor Kristi Bugajski introduced herself to the audience of over 80 people who had gathered for her public lecture on insects in lakes.
Bugajski, who joked that her husband’s last name was destined to be hers, said that bugs have always been her passion, and she teaches biology, entomology, and forensic science classes at VU.
She was asked by the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group to speak about why we need insects and why they need us. The free presentation was held at the Porter County Administration Building followed by casual pizza night with questions and answers with Bugajski at Greek’s Pizzeria.
“For every human being, there are 200 million insects,” said Walt Breitinger, president of Valparaiso Chain of Lake Watershed Group and a local environmental activist. “So if you do the math, there’s a lot of bugs out there and although some are obviously pests and create problems, we are going to take a look tonight at some insects, especially aquatic insects.”
She was asked by the Valparaiso Chain of Lakes Watershed Group to speak about why we need insects and why they need us. The free presentation was held at the Porter County Administration Building followed by casual pizza night with questions and answers with Bugajski at Greek’s Pizzeria.
“If you want to go out and fish for bass or trout, you can thank a stone fly for feeding it,” said Bugajski. “Nobody usually brags on the internet about the tiny fish they caught, you want the big fish so it looks really big and impressive on your profile picture. You can thank stone flies for giving you that big fish.”
“One nice thing about sampling insects from water is that it is pretty cheap and easy,” said Bugasjski. “And when we are monitoring, a lot of what is happening is done by volunteer groups who don’t have massive budgets for sampling.”
“If we did not have insects, we would not be able to survive,” said Bugajski. “They could very easily survive and thrive without us, but the reverse is not true. We need them.”
