Insect Expert

When Samuel Ramsey was a child, he was terrified of insects. His parents gave him books about insects to help him tackle his fears. As Ramsey read more about the critters, his fear changed to fascination. Within a year, he had checked out every young adult book about insects in the library. “As a kid who was always the smallest in my class, it was exciting to see the cool stuff a small creature could do,” he says.

Today Ramsey (who goes by Dr. Sammy) is an entomologist—a scientist who studies insects—at the University of Colorado. He has studied bees, stink bugs, and even a 15 centimeter (6 inch)-long jungle nymph. That’s one of the largest insects in the world! To share his love of insects with others, Ramsey hosts videos about insects on his YouTube channel, called Doctor Buggs.

Ramsey recently traveled to the Southeast Asian country of Thailand. There he studied honeybees and the parasites that live in their nests. Parasites have contributed to declines in honeybee populations. Ramsey wants to understand how to change that. He recently spoke with SuperScience about his work.

Samuel Ramsey was scared of insects when he was a child. His parents gave him books to help tackle his fears. They were about bugs. Ramsey read about them. And his fear turned to wonder. A year passed. He checked out every children’s book about insects in the library. “As a kid who was always the smallest in my class, it was exciting to see the cool stuff a small creature could do,” says Ramsey.

Today, Ramsey goes by Dr. Sammy. He works at the University of Colorado. He’s an entomologist. That’s a scientist who studies insects. Ramsey has studied bees, stinkbugs, and even a jungle nymph. It can reach 15 centimeters (6 inches) long. That makes it one of the largest insects in the world! Ramsey likes to share his love of insects with others. He hosts videos about insects on his YouTube channel. It’s called Doctor Buggs. 

Ramsey recently traveled to Thailand. That’s a Southeast Asian country. There he studied honeybees. He also studied parasites. Some parasites live in bees’ nests. Parasites are one reason honeybee populations are falling. Ramsey wants to learn how to change that. He recently spoke with SuperScience about his work. 

Farmers rely on honeybees to grow food. Honeybees eat a sugary liquid, called nectar, and powdery pollen produced by flowering plants. When honeybees land on flowers to gather food, pollen sticks to their fuzzy bodies. As honeybees eat, the insects carry the substance to other plants of the same species. This allows the plants to reproduce. Without bees acting as pollinators, we wouldn’t have many of the fruits and vegetables that we enjoy eating.

Farmers rely on honeybees to grow food. Honeybees eat a sugary liquid made by flowers. It’s called nectar. They also eat powdery pollen from flowers. Honeybees land on flowers to gather the food. Some pollen sticks to their fuzzy bodies. As bees eat, they carry the pollen between plants of the same species. This allows the plants to reproduce. Without bees, we wouldn’t have many fruits and vegetables we enjoy eating. They’re important pollinators (see Pollinating Plants).

Yes, North America has about 4,400 native bee species that originated on this continent. These bees pollinate native plants and trees.

Honeybees are originally from Europe. European settlers who came to the U.S. brought honeybees with them. Now they compete with native bees for food. It’s possible for all these bees to live side by side, but they need plenty of food.

To help, people can plant flowers in their yards or windowsills. One square foot of flowers can feed a lot of bees!

Yes. North America has about 4,400 native bee species. That means they come from this continent. These bees pollinate native plants and trees.

Honeybees are originally from Europe. European settlers came to the U.S. They brought honeybees with them. Now honeybees compete with native bees for food. It’s possible for all these bees to live side by side. But they need plenty of food.

People can help. They can plant flowers in their yards or windowsills. One square foot of flowers can feed a lot of bees!

Honeybees are remarkable mathematicians! They find their way to flowers by using the angle of the sun.

And they’ve figured out that if you want to store a liquid—such as the honey in honeycombs—the best shape for the containers is a hexagon. How they figured this out is crazy to me.

Like bees, many insects can perceive the world in colors that we’ve never seen and can’t even imagine! There are over 1 million species of insects. And they have been more successful than any other group of animals at figuring out new ways to solve problems!

Honeybees are amazing at math! They use the angle of the sun to find flowers.

And bees have figured out the best container shape to store honey. It’s a shape with six sides—just like you see in honeycombs. How they figured this out is crazy to me.

Many insects, like bees, can sense the world in colors we’ve never seen. Some we can’t even imagine! There are more than 1 million species of insects. And they’re very good at finding new ways to solve problems! Maybe more than any other group of animals.

Charles Henry Turner is an important entomologist from the past who I’m most impressed with. In the early 1900s, Dr. Turner figured out so much about how honeybees see color and how insects learn. Others treated him poorly because of his skin color. But Dr. Turner continued to learn and share information to make the world a better place. Insects see the world in a really cool way—but I admire how Dr. Charles Henry Turner saw the world even more.

I’m most amazed by Charles Henry Turner. He’s an important entomologist from the past. Dr. Turner figured out a lot about how honeybees see color in the early 1900s. And he studied how insects learn. Others treated him poorly because of his skin color. But Dr. Turner kept learning and sharing information. He wanted to make the world a better place. Insects see the world in a cool way. But I admire how Dr. Charles Henry Turner saw the world even more.

I watched a lot of people talk about science on YouTube and other places. It was almost never people who looked like me. And I wanted to change that. I also have so much enthusiasm for entomology that I needed somewhere to put it all.

I watched a lot of people talk about science on YouTube and other places. It was almost never people who looked like me. And I wanted to change that. I also have so much passion for entomology. I needed somewhere to put it all. 

You are the one writing your story. Don’t let anyone tell you how it will end. When I was in graduate school, someone tried to tell me that I didn’t seem like someone who would get a Ph.D. That individual tried to write my story. And I had to decide: No! I get to define who I am and what an entomologist can be.

You are the one writing your story. Don’t let anyone tell you how it will end. Someone tried to write my story when I was in graduate school. They told me that I didn’t seem like someone who would get a Ph.D. And I had to decide: No! I get to define who I am and what an entomologist can be.