Living in the city, we don’t always see the good bugs amongst the pesky ones. In this presentation, I’ll take you on a trip down insect lane and share with you the incredible diversity of insects that have lived in Vancouver over the last 100 years. Many of these bugs have been collected and preserved in museums and these collections provide us with a historical snapshot of insect communities from the past. My students and I have made some remarkable discoveries using museum insect collections, and these findings help us understand how these fascinating creatures are changing in response to warming climates and increased development.

Michelle Tseng is a professor of insect ecology at the UBC Biodiversity Research Centre. She and her students study the impacts of habitat and climate change on plankton and insects. Her group’s work has been featured in national and international media, and on CBC’s Quirks and Quarks. Michelle is also the zoologist on the award-winning CBC kids show Scout and the Gumboot Kids.