We Lost A Legend. (Justin Schmidt's Final Interview)

It is with great sadness that I let the Coyote Pack and Brave Wilderness universe know that we lost our Yoda this past weekend. Entomologist Justin Schmidt passed away Saturday evening from Parkinson’s Disease and transcended into his next wild adventure beyond this life. As many of you know he is the Peter Benchley to my Steven Spielberg and his brilliant book The Sting of the Wild is what inspired me to climb up the Insect Sting Pain Index. Without this roadmap to entomological education and our own spin of entertainment myself, my team and Brave Wilderness as we all know it would not be where it all is today. I am proud to have called him a friend, honored to have spent many hours in his presence and humbled to call him the Yoda of Sting. To my knowledge I was the last person to spend significant on camera time with him in a detailed dive into the world of stings. Ill never forget that last big hug he gave me and how excited he was to hear about all the new bug fanatics we were reaching using the Internet as a vehicle to share the alien world of insects. Justin will be greatly missed by all who knew him but I know on the other side he is out there with a bug net, a fearlessness, and a tarantula hawk sized smile chasing the next stinging insect. Thank you for being such an inspiration my friend, I will continue to carry on your love and understanding for our planets misunderstood insects!

Justin Schmidt is the author of The Sting of the Wild, please consider purchasing his book: https://amzn.to/3y7964C