Hello Fellow Students!
Welcome to the free Lil Dude’s Learning Site, specially made for you guys, the Students! Here you can find all kinds of cool stuff, completely free of charge!
Here you will find some cool buggy facts throughout as well as some of Bradon’s favorite things to do with his bugs. You can also find some Blog posts from Bradon that you might Enjoy, and lastly, Bradon has provided some awesome resources for you guys to learn more about Insects and Science in General!
Hello, this is Bradon! Ever since I was about 3 years old, I have been fascinated with bugs. I have always loved learning more about them, teaching about them, catching them, holding them, looking at them under a microscope, and much more!
Meet Bradon's Bugs!
This was one of my First bugs and my very first Praying Mantis! I had it in 2016. This is a Chinese Mantis (Tenodera sinensis) They are one of the only Mantis species Native to the United States! Praying Mantis’s use their prehensile spiked front legs to swiftly catch their prey.
This is a Stick Bug that I had a while back, it is called an Australian Spiny Stick Insect (Extatosoma tiaratum). I would feed them Blackberry bush leaves and the Bugs grew very quickly. I still love to keep stick bugs because they are really fun to hold and my students seem to enjoy them as well.
This was my first Tarantula! She was a Chilean Rose-Haired Tarantula (Grammostola rosea). Although it has taken some time for me to get experienced with their care, I now love to keep them as pets and really enjoy holding them as well. I used to really not like spiders in general, but then I realized they were nothing to be afraid of. Now I love learning about them, holding them, keeping them, and teaching people about their docile nature. I would honestly recommend Tarantulas as pets to almost anyone, even Kids!
In late 2016 I had this awesome Indian Flower Mantis (Creobroter pictipennis). It was super small so I feed it fruit flies until it got larger and I could feed it Cockroaches.
In 2019 I had a few Leaf insects and they eventually grew up to adults and laid eggs!
2020 has been my first season as a Beekeeper! I have learned so much already about these little guys and I really love it! I am definitely looking forward to next season already. To learn more about my Bees and come along on the journey, I have made a YouTube Channel dedicated to documenting my experiences with my Bees here:
So far that’s all the cool live Bugs I have had thus far! I hope you enjoyed coming along with me on my journey that has been my Bugs.
Here are some of Bradon’s recommendations for fun buggy things to do at home, all year-round.
There are some really awesome YouTube Channels out there for everyone to enjoy.
1. Mark Rober
Mark was a NASA scientist and now has a YouTube Channel where he conducts crazy experiments of all kinds. He built a giant trampoline, made a Squirrel obstacle course, and a glitter bomb for mail thieves.
2. Smarter Every Day
Destin is just a normal guy, learning new cool things all the time! On his Channel, he demonstrates cool, everyday things and breaks the science down so his audience can better understand how the world works. It is so awesome and I guarantee you will learn something in the very first video you even watch.
These are two YouTube Channels that I can confidently recommend to anyone. They are all funny, enjoyable to watch, educational, and family-friendly!
Another thing you can watch at home and learn a bunch about nature and Bugs are Nature Shows!
Some of my favorites are Planet Earth 1 and 2, LIFE, Our Planet, and The Riot and the Dance. Most of these are on Netflix.
Here are some AMAZING resources for fun bug crafts and activities to do at home:
- Homesciencetools.com
I have been using Home Science Tools for years for all the supplies for my various bug events. They have awesome crafts, experiments, dissections, puzzles, and they even sell microscopes!
- BioQuip.com
BioQuip is another awesome place to go and they are completely focused on Bugs. You can buy Bug pinning supplies, butterfly nets, Bug Boxes, and even Live Bugs!
- Thebutterflycompany.com
I have been purchasing from The Butterfly Company for almost 5 years now. Their large variety of dried specimens from all over the globe make them a really great option for all your bug desires. I have purchased all of my specimens from them for all my events. They also have unmatched support. I really can’t recommend them enough.
Another awesome resource for you Students to enjoy is the Lil Dude’s Insect Academy YouTube Channel and Podcast.
I have been Podcasting since 2019 and I chat with real-life Entomologists and discuss the current news in the Bug world!
On my YouTube, I documented all the adventures with my Bees, I will post bug lessons, and some more of my awesome bug outings!
Hope you guys go and check all those out and enjoy!
And finally, JUST GO OUTSIDE and look for bugs. There is nothing better you can do about your passion for bugs than go out there and hunt for them! It is so rewarding to find a bug you’ve never seen before and then go inside and research it!
I hope you enjoyed learning a little about some of the things you can do to scratch your bug itch. Just go outside, learn about the world around you, and tell your friends all about it!
