The Bug Whisperer

You’ve heard of The Dog Whisperer, The Cat Whisperer, and The Horse Whisperer. Well, now there is The Bug Whisperer. Antonio(Tony) Gustin, an entomologist, is an award winning film producer, educator, and performer. He also started Tony’s Creepy Crawly Zoo, a fun and educational series of programs that teaches kids (and adults) about the world of bugs.

I sat down with my 11-year old and a handful of his friends to get their reactions to Tony’s videos that are posted on YouTube. A few of them doubled over laughing, and got grossed out–in just the way little boys like to get grossed out do. After watching a handful of the videos, a few of them expressed interest in possibly working with bugs someday.

A few years ago, I wrote a book called “The Everything Guide to Working with Animals.” The book covers all types of animal-related careers. One of my favorite chapters is the one on entomology. It’s not that I have a love of bugs; I just found the entomologists that I interviewed for the book to be a hoot. They are quite knowledgeable, extremely passionate about their craft, and just a lot of fun to interview.

Tony’s high energy and enthusiasm for educating kids and all things creepy crawly, comes across strong in these videos. Following is a short video on the milkweed plant and the insects it attracts.

17 comments to The Bug Whisperer

lydia

February 28, 2012 at 12:30 PM

Fascinating ! Thanks , Lots of info there too !
Bette

February 28, 2012 at 12:39 PM

I’m also going to share this with my kids. What fun!
Ian

February 28, 2012 at 12:40 PM

Love the video! I’m sharing!
Ray

February 28, 2012 at 4:00 PM

What a fun post Michele! Thanks!
Warren

February 28, 2012 at 6:00 PM

Great story! Michele! The video is a lot of fun.
Allan

February 29, 2012 at 2:19 AM

Funny video that teaches kids too!
Rachel

February 29, 2012 at 7:45 AM

Hi Michele, Fun post, I also spent a lot of time on The Bug Whisperer’s YouTube site.
Kathy

February 29, 2012 at 8:50 AM

What a cool guy. The Bug Whisperer really enjoys his work!
Warren

February 29, 2012 at 9:19 AM

Love it! I played the video with my kids and we all laughed and learned something too.
Carly

February 29, 2012 at 4:21 PM

Great post Michele! Thanks for the giggles. My kids loved it too.
Melanie

February 29, 2012 at 6:38 PM

We actually like watching bugs in our house. We have 3 boys!
Sandrea

February 29, 2012 at 7:04 PM

What a fun way to learn. Great share, Michele….I enjoyed very much and will definitely watch more vids of this guy
Joe

February 29, 2012 at 8:10 PM

My uncle is an entomologist and he and his co-workers are a “hoot.” Thanks!
Paul

March 1, 2012 at 2:04 AM

Very funny video. My sons and I watched the rest of his videos on Youtube.
Sam

March 1, 2012 at 10:04 AM

Very funny video!
Ellen

March 1, 2012 at 4:22 PM

My kids have been playing the video over and over again! Thank You! This is really something different.
Harry

March 3, 2012 at 11:37 AM

I love the quirky articles you sometimes post. Thanks! My brother works as an entomologist & these guys are really a bit crazy–in a good way.