“When the phorids arrive, the ants release a pheromone that tells their nest mates, all the other ants that are in the vicinity, their sisters that are in the vicinity, tells them ‘Careful! The phorids are here! You better go back to your nest or get paralyzed.’”
This week on the show, we get to nerd out on insects with Ivette Perfecto who studies biodiversity and agroecology. She’s got some wild stories to tell about bugs on coffee plants and the importance of understanding the delicate balance between species.
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Ivette Perfecto is the Bunyan Bryant Collegiate Professor of Environmental Justice at the School for Environment and Sustainability at University of Michigan where she leads the Perfecto Lab focused on biodiversity and Agroecology. Her work focuses on insects and agriculture.
In our conversation she talks about her research with shade coffee farmers in the Chiapas region of southern Mexico which uncovered a complex web of interactions between species that could help farmers sustainably manage pests without the use of insecticides.
It is also a great story.
Ivette Perfecto and her colleagues developed a game called Azteca Chess, in order to engage farmers in learning about these insects and how they can work together in their farming practice. The game was a big hit, and they even hold tournaments, which can get quite competitive!
Music On this Episode
The Earth Eats theme music is composed by Erin Tobey and performed by Erin and Matt Tobey.
Additional music comes to us from the artists at Universal Productions Music.
Credits:
The Earth Eats’ team includes: Eoban Binder, Alexis Carvajal, Alex Chambers, Toby Foster, Leo Paes, Daniella Richardson, Samantha Shemenaur, Payton Whaley and Harvest Public Media.
Earth Eats is produced, engineered and edited by Kayte Young. Our executive producer is Eric Bolstridge.
