When we met recently in her office at the District’s Department of Energy and the Environment in Northeast DC, Megan Wilkerson stood out in camo overalls, animated against the drab backdrop of cubicles. Images of colorful insects decorated her desk—appropriate decor for somebody whose title is Pesticides Branch chief, or “chief entomologist of DC,” as she tends to describe the job. Sometimes she just calls herself the Bug Lady. Wilkerson’s primary responsibility is leading the team that enforces pesticide rules in the District. The Pesticides Branch is the place you’d call about misuse—if you see someone putting rat poison onto chicken bones outside to kill rodents, for example. It also inspects pesticides applications and tests pesticides sold in stores for compliance, among other things. “I’m a huge advocate for insects and the environment,” Wilkerson says, describing her job as being about protecting people, land, and wildlife. If you don’t happen to be professionally involved in the killing of pests, you may have encountered Wilkerson another way: as a burgeoning social-media star. Using yet another nickname, Dr. Bug Bae, she’s created a series of popular TikTok videos in which she combines her exuberant personality with scientific expertise. Sometimes wearing a lab coat festooned with insects, she gives energetic chats on why bugs are important, how to get a PhD for free, and what it’s like being a Black woman entomologist. “I eventually want to do science communication full-time,” she says. “My true passion is to diversify the STEM landscape and bring nature to your neighborhood, make bugs cool, make science fun.” Wilkerson’s flair for storytelling was on full view recently when she showed up as a guest star in an Instagram Reel posted by the National Gallery of Art. Promoting an exhibit of 16th-century illustrated insects, she asked viewers, “Did you know that dragonflies can shoot water out of their butts to escape danger?” The bit that followed probably elicited chuckles from kids: “The next time you’re in a swimming pool, turn on your booty-jets if you get in trouble!”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by National Gallery of Art (@ngadc) The charming video, which she called “the collab of my dreams,” garnered dozens of comments asking if she had a TV show. Wilkerson doesn’t, but she’d love to move in that direction. Spurred by her success online, she’s currently creating YouTube content to “introduce STEM and insects to as early learners as possible.” She draws inspiration from educational figures from her childhood, such as the late “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin and the animated Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. “I want kids to turn on the TV and say, ‘Dang, she’s a scientist! Dang, I didn’t know that bugs were on every continent!’ I just want kids and adults to be wowed by how marvelous nature and insects are.” This article appears in the March 2026 issue of Washingtonian.The post DC’s “Bug Lady” Finds Fame Online first appeared on Washingtonian. ...read more read less