3-Minute Insect Essential #50 from the INSECT NEWS NETWORK

WHAT IS THE 2012 BUG OF THE YEAR? Tune into the www.insectnewsnetwork.com and type in #50 in the search bar -that's number 5-0. While you're there. Make sure you sign-up for our newsletter the Periodical Buzz - and tell your friends - 2- 6- AND 8 legged - to stand up and declare themselves part of the INSECT TRIBE!

Oh the drama oh the intrigue - are you sitting at the edge of your seat? You should be b/c you are part of the global clique, the brillianr, inquisitive, and passionate community of the Insect Tribe, people around the world are wondering, wishing, wanting to know what is the 2012 Bug of the Year.

Hi everyone this is E Emmet Brady with the last edition o the Insect News Network before the end of time. Well at least before the end of the year. It's December 2012 and just in case the time space continuum is gong to fold next week, I wanted to acknowledge the members of the microcosm who made all the headlines.

This is a special 2-part INN, on Part one I count down the Top 25 hexapod headliners - the insects and spiders who made us think, who commanded our attention and ignited our imagination. Some were beautiful, Some were bold, some where amusing , and some were cold - but each and every entry on the Top 25 has had a practical, a compelling or a sublime connection to the human society. The team here at the INN scanned the headlines to find the nominees, AND we heard from you our listeners about how you think and what you feel were the most important 6- and 8- legged animals of the year.

These invertebrate creatures who share with us the modern evolutionary stage impacted so much of the human world, in both the sciences, the arts and the humanities. They truly embody the full scope of Cultural Entomology.

On part 2, I take a deeper dive into the Top 5 Hexapod Headliners - the insects and spiders that deserved a little more context and a little more attention, so much that they have their own episode.

Million of species, a little too close to call, maybe the bug of the Year, wasn't a bug at all?