Hello everyone!

Hello everyone, my name is Sarah Zuehlke and I love insects. Here is a little bit about me.  Currently I live in the state of Maryland. I graduated with a Bachelor’s in Biology for my undergraduate degree. My favorite class in undergrad was an Entomology class I took my last semester. Now I am an online distance student at the University of Nebraska studying for a Masters Degree in Entomology. This is my second semester at Nebraska and so far I am really enjoying it. I am taking Management of Horticultural Crops this semester and it is really interesting. I am learning so much about insects and pest insects that attack plants it is amazing! I am realizing that I have seen some of these signs and symptoms of pests and hadn’t even realized insects caused the damage! 

I have liked insects ever since I was young. I come from a large family and have several brothers and it is funny that I am the only girl and am the one to like insects! Over the years I have collected crickets, grasshoppers, beetles you name it. I especially enjoy raising insects and every year I have quite the zoo of insects I am caring for. My favorite insect is the praying mantis. I like to breed them and raise the nymphs to adults. In the spring it is always a joy when hundreds of little mantises hatch out of their egg cases. I have bred the Chinese mantis and the Carolina mantis. This year I managed to  raise a lot of Carolina mantises. Consequently I have tons of egg cases the females laid. I can't wait until they hatch! At this time I actually have two healthy female Carolina mantises still alive! And two female Chinese mantises. Probably the longest living mantises I have had yet.

I enjoy collecting insects I find in my gardens around my house.  I have a pretty large insect collection that is growing every year as I find new and different insects.

I volunteer in the Entomology department at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. I have met and worked with several distinguished Entomologists and seen some pretty amazing insects. 

I am looking into different careers I can do with a Masters in Entomology, but I am not set on one thing at this time. Ecology interests me a lot and so does insect collection. I am interested in doing field work and collecting insects in the wild. I also wouldn’t mind working in an insect zoo or something like that. And now that I am taking a horticultural class I am interested in learning more about insects and plants.