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Bug of the Week Academy Awards
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The Film Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences just announced the nominees for the 80’th Annual Award Ceremony. By a remarkable and inexplicable coincidence, it is also time to recognize the accomplishments of the great cast of bugs we visited in 2007 in Bug of the Week. It has been another fantastic year for insects and their relatives. By virtue of the fact that you are reading this message, you are a member of the Bug of the Week Academy. This is your chance to vote for some of your favorite characters and episodes. Three categories of accomplishment will be recognized this year. They are: Arnold Schwarzenegger award for scariest predator, Ugly duckling award for being born ugly and growing into a beauty, and Best live action bug film.
The nominees for each category are:
Arnold Schwarzenegger award for scariest predator
A co-ed risks severe pain and injury, but triumphs over evil in “Belizean sting - Slenderbrown scorpion, Centruroides gracilis.”
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Army ants find revenge when a foolish entomologist sticks his finger in a raiding column in “An army of one – million, Army ants, Eciton sp.”
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A college professor learns how investigating beneath a stone in the tropics can lead to surprises in "You make me feel like dancin' - Tarantulas, Theraphosidae."
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Unsuspecting bumble bees meet their worst nightmare in "They steal lives - Robber flies, Promachus sp."
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Ugly duckling award for being born ugly and growing into a beauty
An awkward damselfly nymph lives the life aquatic, but later soars the skies in "Damsels not in distress – Damselflies, Zygoptera."
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After serving hard time underground as a grub, a beetle finds contentment in a flower blossom in "Lawn zoomers - Green June Beetle, Cotinus nitida."
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This child star played a leading role as a maggot in “Bugs on Bodies” and later became the gorgeous green blow fly in "They eat dead things, Part II – Blow flies, Calliphoridae."
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After bit parts as excrement, a reptile, and decaying foliage, a caterpillar becomes a star as a swallowtail in "Bird-droppings, snake eyes, dead leaves – Swallowtails, Papilio sp.
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Best live action bug film
Mosquito larvae are victimized by harmless looking nymphs in "Small Dragons – Dragonflies, Anisoptera."
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After 17 years underground, these teenagers are ready to rock the heartland in “Chicago style cicadas – Magicicada spp.”
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Carpenters work their magic while renovating decks and outdoor furniture in “Carpenter Bees - Xylocopa virginica.”
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Tiny female vampires are out for blood in this thriller "Almost biting time – Mosquitoes, Culicidae."
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To refresh your memory about the nominees just click on the image and the appropriate Bug of the Week episode will appear. You can cast your ballot by clicking the indicated circle next to the image of your choice for each category. Bug of the Week would be delighted to hear your comments and suggestions, in the optional blocks below, as we prepare for our next season. When finished, click the "Vote" button. Your votes will be counted and the winners in each category will be announced in a future episode of “Bug of the Week.”

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