On the Bird Banter Podcast #102 with Russell Rogers you’ll hear the story of a top birder who has changed the primary focus of his study from birds to beetles. Did you know that beetles, the order Cleoptera, are the largest order in the insect class of animals? There are something line 600,000+ species of insects in the class, and they can frequently be exceedingly difficult to ID to species. Birders have to leave an occasional gull or empid as sp. but beetle identification apparently ends at genus much more often. Imaging having to dissect into the abdomen of a beetle only 2 mm in length to find the genitalia which are osseous, dissolve away the soft body parts with potassium hydroxide, and hope you can then ID the bug? Russell enjoys this type of challenge. Shorebirds and immature gulls were among his favorite bird ID subjects, and he loves the puzzle of beetle identification.
Beetles can be tiny, huge, brillintly colored or drab and easily missed. Here are a few photos Russell shared.



Listen to learn about a website called BugGuide.net where you can find nearly every North American bug with photos and often much more info for identification help. Also hear about Russell’s time birding in WA, his difficulty with dyslexia and ADD in his youth, and overcoming those challenges to become a career naturalist.
I remember a field trip with Seattle Audubon to North Central WA in the winter that Russell helped lead. His penchant for seeing Northern Pygmy Owls at impossible distances while driving the van still brings back amazing memories for me.
You can reach out to Russell by email at rrogers-at-olypen-dot-com
Thanks for listening.
Good birding and good day!