Bug Expert Says Don’t Get Stung

On Sunday, June 5, the Cachuma Lake Nature Center will host a free presentation, “Lions, Tigers, and Ticks, Oh My!” featuring bug expert David Chang. As part of the venue’s Food for Thought lecture series, Chang will discuss how to identify ticks, mosquitoes, spiders, and wasps, and how to avoid getting bit or stung.

“When I was a kid, I enjoyed science and had an ant farm,” said Chang, who majored in zoology in college, but was most passionate about entomology. “My father tells me that if you feed the world, you will always have a job, and I associated insects with agriculture,” said Chang, who worked as an agricultural commissioner for 33 years.

In 2009, Chang became the General Manager of the Mosquito and Vector Management District of Santa Barbara County, where he works to prevent the nuisance and spread of disease by mosquitos. “Mosquitoes are one of the deadliest animals in the world,” said Chang, because of their ability to spread disease. “They cause more deaths than lions, tigers, and sharks.”

Chang says that it is thanks to vector control agencies that there aren’t even more insect-born diseases, at least in places that can afford them. “When people say that Santa Barbara doesn’t have mosquitos, I say, ‘You’re welcome,’” said Chang.

“Lions, Tigers, and Ticks, Oh My!” will take place on June 5, 2-4 p.m., at the Nature Center by Cachuma Lake. Entry is free.

See clnaturecenter.org.