Skip to main content

Kelly Zimmerman

Entomologist and co-host of the Bugs Need Heroes podcast; doctoral researcher studying mosquito ecology and genetics and adjunct professor at Monmouth University and Montclair State University.

Aug 17, 2026

3:36
So tell us a little bit about that.
3:39
So I married my high school sweetheart, and we were actually married... we were together 17 years when I left and it was, it was a pretty toxic relationship.
3:52
He was an alcoholic.
3:54
I didn't realize how like the lack of confidence I had, my whole world revolved around his addiction and making sure that my kids were safe.
4:06
And so I never really developed or learned about who I was as a person.
4:12
And I, One day I call it like a light switch moment.
4:17
I just decided I was done.

12 MINS LATER

16:19
So tell us about how that all came about.
PeachHOST
16:17
Do we still use the language wrangler as well? Because it feels quite, it feels very, very inopportune.
16:24
I don't know about the term, but I would assume they're breeding them.
16:28
So in my lab, I have these isopods or roly-polies or whatever you want to call them.
16:34
And I started with maybe a dozen in each colony, and then they breed.
16:38
And now one tank, I have probably almost a thousand.
16:43
So I'm sure this bug expert is breeding them in huge um believe it or not probably not tanks my lab is set up so that people can come in and look at them too and it's kind of like a hey look at this stuff we do at the university if i weren't trying to like entice students in my lab these guys would all be in bins you know like the bins you shove under your bed that's what they would be in so that's probably what this guy's bugs live in

28 MINS LATER

ShagHOST
45:36
Like what even are they?
45:37
Uh, beetles are at the order level.

We value your privacy

We use cookies to understand how you use our platform and to improve your experience. Click “Accept All” to consent, or “Decline non-essential” to opt out of non-essential cookies. Read our Privacy Policy.