Download Insect world records (fastest flier, largest eggs, loudest, largest, etc

FROM BOOKS TO BUGS: DISCOVERING THE WONDERS OF INSECT LIFE
THROUGH READING
Prepared by Bob Androw, 29 Feb 2008
Carnegie Museum of Natural History, Section of Invertebrate Zoology
4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15213
phone: 412-622-3259; e-mail: [email protected]
Reading can open doors to the imagination, but it can also open the doors to curiosity about the
natural world. Using reading to stimulate the interest to investigate real creatures like bugs
creates a link between the best of both worlds for children.
Reading about bugs outdoors, with breaks to investigate the surroundings to look for and
watch bugs can create an immediate link between the reading material, and the real thing.
Promoting a positive image of bugs is critical to capturing a child’s interest in the subject, or
“breaking the ice” for someone predisposed to dislike or fear insects.
Don’t set up a “good bug” vs. “bad bug” scenario. “Bad” bugs are only labeled as such by
humans, based on our own perception of the world. These “bad” bugs are not so in the context of
their world, and while we interpret their behavior as “bad” it is necessary for their survival.
Examples:
 Hornets sting us, so we label them “bad” - but they forage for caterpillars to provision
food for their young, thereby reducing pest species.
 Mosquitoes bite and pass disease to us, but are a major link in the food chain providing
food for fish, frogs, birds and other insects.
 Spiders are often detested by humans, but they take a heavy toll on flies and mosquitoes,
reducing those pests that bother us.
After reading about bugs, discuss how each species can be labeled both “beneficial” and
“harmful”. This will help a child think critically about how all animals fit into the environment and
not just how we perceive them.
Kids are more open-minded toward insects than adults, and they generally inherit an
entomophobic attitude from adults warning them to “stay away from bugs”. This is nearly always a
result of adults having no or errant information regarding bugs.
Don’t fear them, but respect them. It is wise to observe bugs with care until one knows them
well enough to be sure a species cannot sting or bite. Learn the characteristics of potentially
stinging or biting insects and their relatives.
Kids should be taught to not kill insects indiscriminately, but shouldn’t feel bad about swatting a
mosquito or fly either – they breed in enormous numbers and can be a health hazard.
Urban myths
No, it is not illegal to kill a praying mantis, but there is no reason to do so either – they are
exceptional predators and can help keep pest numbers down in gardens.
DO YOU SWALLOW SPIDERS IN YOUR SLEEP? – NO!
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/whileyousleep.html
http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/index.html
Identifying the major Arthropod groups
Insecta – insects (close to 1,000,000 species)
3 main body regions: head, thorax and abdomen
3 pairs of thoracic legs in adults
1 pair of antennae
adults winged or not
Arachnida – spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions & horseshoe crabs (around 60,000 species)
2 main body regions: cephalothorax and abdomen
4 pairs of legs
no antennae
mostly terrestrial
Diplopoda – millipedes (around 8,000 species)
2 main body regions: head and body
2 pairs of legs on each body segment
1 pair of antennae
Chilopoda – centipedes (around 3,000 species)
2 body regions: head and body
1 pair of legs on each body segment
first pair of legs modified into poisonous fangs
1 pair of antennae
Crustacea – shrimp, crabs, lobsters, sowbugs (around 26,000 species)
2 main body regions: cephalothorax and abdomen
1 pair of legs per body segment, ending in pincers
2 pairs of antennae
mostly aquatic
Where insects occur
Insect species diversity is higher in less disturbed habitats, but even highly disturbed areas (inner
city, malls, inside buildings, etc.) have many insect species present.
Insects can be found almost anywhere: in or on plants; under rocks, logs, boards, leaves, debris
on ground; inside or around buildings; in ponds, lakes and streams; under bark of living or dead
trees; in lawns, compost heaps, flower gardens; flying in sunlight, or at lights at night.
Many insect species will occur in both urban and natural habitats. Butterflies will visit wildflowers
in the country or flower gardens in the city. Cockroaches will be found in city buildings as well as
under leaf litter in the wild.
As long as food sources for both the adults and their larvae are present, most insects can adapt
to city settings. City parks provide excellent reservoirs for insect species to exploit, evidenced by
the success of BioBlitzes, where more than 1500 species have been found in a 24-hour sampling
period.
Common, but often misused, terms
“Bug” – name commonly used for almost any insect, but the only true “bugs” are the species in
the Order Hemiptera, known as the true bugs.
“Beetle” – insect with forewings hardened into protective shells, the halves meeting in a straight
line down the back. In most, the wing-covers (elytra) can be opened to expose membranous
hindwings used for flight. All beetles have chewing mouthparts.
“Fly” – true “flies” belong to the group Diptera, meaning “2-winged” and have only one pair of
wings, the hindwings being reduced to small balancing organs called “halteres” which act like little
gyroscopes. Stoneflies, caddisflies, dobsonflies, etc., all belong to different Orders.
Some Common Insects of Pennsylvania:
Lepidoptera
Papilionidae – swallowtail butterflies
Pieridae – cabbage whites, sulphur butterflies
Nymphalidae – red-spotted purple, viceroy butterfly
Danaidae – monarch
Saturniidae – luna, io, cecropia, polyphemus moths
Sphingidae – sphinx moths
Arctiidae – tiger moths
Lymantriidae – gypsy moths
Coleoptera (beetles)
Scarabaeidae – junebugs, Japanese & dung beetles
Cerambycidae – locust borer, red milkweed beetle
Lampyridae – fireflies, lightning bugs
Carabidae – ground beetles, tiger beetles
Coccinellidae – ladybugs, ladybird beetles
Tenebrionidae – mealworm beetles
Chrysomelidae – potato beetle, dogbane beetle
Gyrinidae – whirlygig beetles
Hydrophilidae – water scavenger beetles
Dytiscidae – diving beetles
Odonata
Anisoptera - dragonflies
Zygoptera - damselflies
Diptera
Culicidae – mosquitoes
Tipulidae – craneflies
Tabanidae – deerflies, horseflies
Muscidae – house flies
Syrphidae – flower flies
Hymenoptera
Apidae – bees
Bombidae – bumblebees
Vespidae – hornets, yellowjackets, paper wasps
Sphecidae – cicada-killers
Pompilidae – spider wasps
Ichneumonidae – parasitic wasps
Formicidae – ants
Orthoptera
Gryllidae – crickets
Gryllacrididae – katydids
Acrididae – grasshoppers
Phasmida
walkingsticks
Blattaria
cockroaches
Mantodea
praying mantids
Dermaptera
earwigs
Heteroptera
Hemiptera – true bugs, stink bugs, backswimmers,
water boatmen, squash bugs
Homoptera – cicadas, leafhoppers, treehoppers,
aphids, scale insects
Neuroptera
lacewings, antlions
Megaloptera
dobsonflies, fishflies
Trichoptera
caddisflies
Plecoptera
stoneflies
Siphonaptera
fleas
Isoptera
termites
SOME GOOD ONLINE RESOURCES FOR INSECTS
INSECT WORLD RECORDS (fastest flier, largest eggs, loudest, largest, etc.)
http://ufbir.ifas.ufl.edu/
and a poster available to visualize the above:
http://ifasbooks.ufl.edu/merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=IFASBOOKS&Product
_Code=SP+421
FUN FACTS ABOUT BUGS:
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/start.htm
http://www.si.edu/Encyclopedia_SI/nmnh/buginfo/funfacts.htm
ON-LINE INSECT IDENTIFICATION RESOURCES:
When trying to identify a bug, stay general. The diversity and number of species is
daunting and there are many more species than could ever be presented in any single
field guide or web site – only the most common species are usually presented and often
“your bug” will not be listed, but close relatives may be.
Good overview of insect orders:
http://www.ento.vt.edu/Facilities/OnCampus/IDLab/insect_orders/index.html
Good general sites for getting identifications:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740
http://www.insectidentification.org/
Good basic identification tool:
http://www.einsteins-emporium.com/life/animal-nfo/insects/insect_identification.htm
Emphasis on Texas insects, but still very useful:
http://insects.tamu.edu/extension/insctans/identification/
A plethora of fact sheets, with emphasis on pest species:
http://ohioline.osu.edu/lines/pests.html
http://everest.ento.vt.edu/Facilities/OnCampus/IDLab/id/id-main0.html
GENERAL SITE FOR MANY INSECT INTERESTS:
http://www.insectnet.com/index.html
RESOURCE LINKS
Some on-line games and coloring sheets:
http://www.orkin.com/learningcenter/kids_and_teachers_games.aspx
Good selection of books, games, etc.
http://www.acornnaturalists.com/store/Insect-Activity-Books-Games-DVDs-References-C218.aspx
links to wide variety of insect themed sites:
http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/explore/bugs.htm
FUN INSECT FACTS

Over one million species of insects have been described, and it is estimated that
between 10 and 30 million species occur on Earth. Insects comprise 95% of
known animal species.

Over 300,000 species of beetles have been described, making beetles 1 of every
3 insect species.

It is estimated that at any moment there are as many as 10 quintillion insects
living.

It is also estimated that 10% of animal biomass on Earth is ants and another 10%
is comprised of termites.

The oldest insects on Earth are the cockroaches – they date back as far as 300
million years.

Insects’ protective exoskeleton, great fecundity, ability to fly and ability to adapt
to changing environments are the keys to their success on the planet.

The female leaf-cutter ant mates only once, but store sperm for up to 15 years,
producing as many as 300 million offspring.

The role of insects as decomposers is immeasurable – without them we would be
buried in dead animals, plants and other waste.

Insects are basal in the food chain of other animals and are important as
pollinators - without them, all other life would cease to exist.

Of nearly 35,000 species of spiders, only 27 species are known to have bites
fatal to humans.

The Anopheles mosquito, which carries the Plasmodium parasite that produces
malaria, is responsible for half of the human deaths in history, exclusive of war
and accident.

Butterflies were given their name from the European yellow brimstone butterfly,
which flies very early in the Spring, or during the “butter” season.
MAIN POINTS FOR ACLA PENN HILLS LIBRARY TALK
Books can provide the first exposure to bugs for many kids, especially in urban
neighborhoods, and may be the only source of positive information about them.
Many kids are open-minded to learning about the insect world – we aren’t born with an
innate fear of insects.
Entomophobic adults usually pass their fears onto their kids through good
intentioned warnings, often based on mis-information.
The first step in creating curiosity and eventual interest in the natural world
is through education.
Some kids will be resistant to “getting up close and personal” with bugs, and others
will be fearless – somewhere in the middle is good!
Reading about the lives of bugs can be fun and the “yuck” factor can be a real draw
as well in kids. Always accentuate the positive side of some of the “yucky” habits – dung
beetles eat poop, but what if they didn’t?
Knowing WHY bugs do what they do is the most important aspect. Bees sting – but
WHY? Mosquitoes bite us but WHY?
Once a child has been introduced to the insect world through reading, take that
knowledge outside, or bring the bugs inside.
Maintaining an aquarium with aquatic insects can be tremendously educational and
entertaining as well. Bugs do so much more than tropical fish!
Caging caterpillars and feeding them indoors is a great way to let kids see the life
processes of insects, and the experience of seeing the transformation from a larva to
an adult can be amazing.
Reading outside, with breaks to watch or search for insects mentioned in the books can
make a real link between the reading and the real world.
A fun exercise is to delimit an area (3’ in diameter is good) and then see how many
bugs one can find in the circle. This helps create an attention for detail and
appreciation of the small things.