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About SciBugs Tours

Tours

SciBugs Tours are so much more than bug tours.

I believe that everything is connected. It’s impossible to focus on fauna without also exploring the flora.

It’s impractical to focus on Ecuador’s biology and ecology without also understanding the millions of years of geology preceding that shaped Ecuador into what it is today. You can’t talk about conservation without also acknowledging that the local people are our most crucial allies in the battle to save Ecuador’s diverse ecosystems.

While I have my master’s in Entomology (bugs!) the interconnectedness of all these facets - tourism, ecology, and conservation is what I hope to share with you in these tours.

You’ll get a unique experience exploring not just natural history of the ecosystems we visit but also connect with locals on meaningful levels as they show us their homes, their conservation projects, and their way of living with the Ecuadorian jungles and forests.

I invite you to join me on these purposeful and unique tours of Ecuador exploring the interconnectedness of ecology, geology, natural history, conservation, and local life.

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About Nancy Miorelli

About Nancy

The girl behind the bugs

I'm a contagiously passionate, and self proclaimed PR representative for insects. While earning my Master's degree at the University of Georgia in Entomology, it became crystal clear that most people did not see insects the way I do. In attempts to combat this "kill it with fire" mentality, I started several science communication projects including a YouTube channel (and now a TikTok) focusing on entomological topics in addition to co-foundeding the blog Ask an Entomologist which seeks to answer the public's questions about insects using scientific literature and written in a way that is both fun an accessible.

Following my Master's, I daringly flew to the heart of the Ecuadorian cloud forest where I worked in an ecolodge showing tourists the beautiful and hidden world of the smaller majority by leading environmental education programs, guiding night walks, and giving natural history presentations featuring insects.

After two years, I traded my leafy green jungle for the concrete jungle of Quito where I designed my own tours under the brand SciBugs focusing on the interconnectedness of ecology (especially insects), geology, conservation, local culture, and ecotourism.

In my free time I enjoy cosplay, video games, and our science focused D&D campaign called Nature Check. I also create online and in person workshops focused on entomology.

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Research

research

Investigating Entomology

Padron S, Velez A, Miorelli NC, Willmott Keith. 2020. Urban areas as refuges for endemic fauna: description of the immature stages of Catasticta flisa duna (Eitschberger & T. Racheli, 1998) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) and its ecological interactions. Neotropical Biodiversity 6(1): 109-116.

Jackson MD. Miorelli NC. Bond AL. 2017. New Record of the Non-Native Long-Legged Fly Thambemyia borealis (Takagi 1965) (Diptera: Dolichopodidae) in North America and an Example of Twitter's Utility for Natural History Documentation. Proceedings of the Entomological Society of Washington 119(1): 151-156

Science Communication Projects

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scicomm

See what the buzz is about

esa- ecp Public outreach & engagement award - 2017

This award honors a student transition or early professional working within the field of entomology who has demonstrated excellence, leadership, and creativity in outreach and public engagement.

Ask an entomologist

Ask an Entomologist is a blog connecting real entomologists to the public. We answer questions emailed to us using the latest scientific research.

scibugs tiktok

SciBugs TikTok aims to break down entomology into bite sized chunks.

scibugs youtube

SciBugs YouTube Channel aims to dive into the intricacies of entomology in an engaging and educational way.

nature check dnd Campaign

Nature Check brings science into roleplaying. Explore the world with the players while they dive into ecological, historical, and ecological concepts.