Meredith Hodnot

Yeah, it's a ton of work.

Finding a fly in a haystack.

And that's only the first step because it only matches what's in the database.

But that doesn't mean that it couldn't be a match to something else that's been described in some back corner of a natural history museum.

I'm thinking giraffe has a good buzz to it.

Yeah.

Do you think there'll ever be a point when we'll know all the species on Earth?

So it's sort of like, where is that line for it to be worth trying?

Yeah.

Right.

What does it mean to sign up for just, like, this kind of...

impossible project then in terms of like the quest of finding cataloging understanding a whole family of flies that could have millions of potential unknown dark species yeah I mean I think that if you are

I guess I'm struck by just the wonder in these teeny creatures.

Yeah.

For listeners at home that might find themselves wandering through Prospect Park or Central Park or somewhere in L.A.

or anywhere in between, what do you want people to see when they think about this tiny, mysterious world of flies that we know so little about?

Yeah.

So if you do find something that is totally new, what are you thinking about naming it?

You got like the Benjafly or something in your back pocket?

Ah, it's a faux pas.