OUTREACH UPDATE
The “On Six Legs” column was established in 1988 as a method to disseminate entomological information to the general public. The bi-weekly column was written by Tom Turpin and distributed by the Purdue Agricultural Information Service. Designed to reach the general reader with fun and interesting insect information the inspiration for the approach and the title for the column was Anna Botsford Comstock’s 1903 book “Ways of the Six-Footed.” The column has been published on a regular basis since that time.
In keeping with the need to make the column attractive to the general reader, column titles frequently suggest the light nature of the approach. “Rainy Days Bad for Hair and Bugs,” “The Treetops are Alive with the Sounds of Cicadas” and “Battle of the Sexes, Insect Style” are example of column headlines. The columns became a regular weekly feature on WBAA radio under the title of “Insect Insights.’ Now that activity is an hour-long monthly hour call-in program as part of the AM-920 series on WBAA radio. The program airs the second Tuesday of each month at 2:00 pm. Past columns can be found on the Purdue Entomology website and the radio program is available live on the web from WBAA. |
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