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Smithsonian O. Orkin Insect Zoo’s Nate Erwin Appears on Late Show With David Letterman

On May 25, Nate Erwin, manager of the O. Orkin Insect Zoo at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C., appeared on CBS’s Late Show with David Letterman to discuss the emergence of the 17-year cicada, also known as Brood X.

In addition to discussing the biology of the 17-year cicada, the world’s largest insect swarm that has affected some of the East Coast this summer, Erwin demonstrated to Letterman how to cook the insect — and persuaded the late night talk show host to taste his cicada recipes.

Erwin first appeared on Letterman in 2003, when he introduced Letterman to arthropods including the African millipede, an Asian leaf insect, a lubber grasshopper, an owl butterfly, a rhinoceros beetle, New Guinea stick insects, a Madagascar hissing cockroach, and he even ate a honeypot ant.

Orkin’s long-standing relationship with the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History, one of the two most visited museums in the world, was solidified in 1992 when Orkin became the sole sponsor of the O. Orkin Insect Zoo. Orkin was the first corporation to sponsor any permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian. The O. Orkin Insect Zoo exhibit, which receives more than 2 million visitors annually, is named after Otto Orkin and teaches the importance of insects and their interdependent relationship with humans.