You're on a hike, sitting by the lake, or just soaking up the sunshine in your background. Summertime and the living is easy - until the bugs show up. Mosquitoes buzz around you, ants crawl over your lunch, wasps send you you scurrying inside. Why are these little critters so irritating and do we really need gnats?

Find out by going online and taking Bugs 101. Maya Evenden is a biological science professor at the University of Alberta and a co-investigator in TRIA-Net. She is also the instructor for U of A's Bugs 101. The 12-module course will take you through the biology and behaviour of insects and even explore the role of insects in our culture. Freelance broadcaster Don Hill sat down with Maya Evenden to learn more about the bugs that bug him and about the new online course.