2. Straight pins/insect pins- The pins will be used for mounting your insects; preferably pins without plastic balls on the end.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "2. Straight pins/insect pins- The pins will be used for mounting your insects; preferably pins without plastic balls on the end."

Phyllis Cameron
6 years ago
Views:

1 Name: updated 2010 Period: Date: PreAP Biology I - Insect Collection Due date: Introduction: Insects are the dominant group of animals on the earth today. They are the most numerous terrestrial animals and are found practically everywhere. Many insects are extremely valuable to humans and society could not exist in its present form without them. Insects are important because of their pollinating activities, production of commercial products----such as honey, silk and beeswax, their position in the food chain, their services as scavengers and decomposers, and their usefulness in medicine and scientific research. One of the best ways to learn about insects is to go out and COLLECT THEM!!!!!!!!!!! Objectives: 1. Identify the characteristics of Insects. 2. Collect a minimum of 35 insects from at least 10 different Insect Orders. 3. Identify structural adaptations that insects have for surviving in harsh conditions. 4. Understand the taxonomic system used for classifying insects. Materials Needed: 1. Kill Jar- A jar with a lid, cotton ball soaked in fingernail polish remover. Optional- cut a piece of cardboard to fit in the jar on top of the soaked cotton, this protects the delicate insects from getting their wings wet, esp. butterflies and moths. 2. Straight pins/insect pins- The pins will be used for mounting your insects; preferably pins without plastic balls on the end. 3. Box(es)- A box with a lid for storing and presenting the insect collection; a plastic container with foam board on the bottom works well. 4. Styrofoam or thick box board- A piece of foam board, sytrofoam or thick box board is needed to pin the insects on. 5. Labels- For identifying insects; these can be made from index cards cut 2x2 cm squares. Typing these on a computer and reducing the font is the best way. The label will be pinned directly underneath each insect with the same pin. Label must contain the following information: Insect Order Name Lepidoptera Common Name Monarch Date collected 9/1/04 Your last name J. Smith 6. Insect Net- Insect Nets will be provided for you to check out from class. The nets will be checked out on a rotational basis. There will also be inexpensive nets available for your purchase.

2 Catching and Preserving Insects: 1. To find insects look EVERYWHERE----- under rocks and boards, in rotten wood, loose bark, around porch lights and street lights, in and around flowers, under dead animals, in trees, on leaves, in and around water, in cow dung (yes, I mean cow patties) and anywhere else you can think of. 2. Once you have caught the insect, place it in the kill jar. Allow sufficient time for the insect to die. Certain insects will take a little longer to die, especially some of the beetles and wasps. They may take up to a day or so. Another thing you need to watch is the number of insects you place in the kill jar at a time because certain insects will eat or damage other ones. You may find it beneficial to have 2 or 3 kill jars. Insects can also be killed by putting them directly in the freezer - your mom might not like this method though. If you are allergic to stinging insects, please let me know. 3. After the insect dies, it should be pinned very soon (in a day or 2) because its exoskeleton will become very dry and brittle. It will be easily damaged when you are trying to pin them if you wait too long. Insects in your collection should be in good condition. If a leg or wing breaks off, try gluing it back on (use a toothpick to dab the glue on). Pin all insects through the thorax (middle section) except beetles and true bugs, these should be pinned through the abdomen. See pictures below. When pinning an insect, push the pin all the way through the insect until it is almost at the top of the pin. This placement on the pin allows the insect to be observed better. Insects are to be pinned with regular straight pins or special insect pins that can be purchased at a college bookstore or from a scientific products catalog. Below are examples of where different types of insects should be pinned.

3 4. Insects included in the Order Lepidoptera-----the Moths and Butterflies, have to be handled more delicately and can be pinned with their wings spread open. These insects will take a little more time and a little more effort to pin than the other insects. The illustrations below show the steps in spreading a butterfly/moth. Butterflies and moths must have their wings spread soon (1-2 days) after they die because their wings will become dry and brittle and will break if you wait too long to spread them. Thin strips of card board, or index cards can be used as spreading boards. Once the insect wings have been properly spread, leave the insect for 3 or 4 days so the wings will dry out and will remain spread out (as if the insect is flying). You can remove the strips of cardboard when ready to put the insect in your collection. You may find it easier to pin the inset through the thorax first and then attempt to spread the wings. Your teacher has spreading boards in the biology class and will be glad to help you spread your butterflies and moths. Very tiny butterflies and moths are difficult to spread. See illustration below for spreading butterflies and moths. Your teacher will be happy to help you with this but you must bring them in right after they have been caught. Strips will be removed after a few days. 5. Tiny insects like fleas, ants or mosquitoes should be pointed. This involves the insects being glued to the long pointed end of a small triangular-shaped piece of index card. The pin should be placed through the paper in the middle of the widest end of the triangular-shaped piece of index card. Below is an illustration of how to point insects.

4 Insect Identification: 1. Insect identification books are available in the school library and the Biology Classroom. 2. The Internet is also a good tool to help you with identification of your Insects. Here are some websites that you may find helpful: You are responsible for identifying insects in your collection by order and common name. The Latin two-part name is NOT required on your labels. Some insects may have more than one common name but just include one of them. For example a June bug is also known as a May Beetle so either name is acceptable for the common name. Example: (Order) Coleoptera (Common Name) June bug Types of Insects Required: Your collection must include insects from each of the following Orders: ORDER NAME # REQUIRED Coleoptera (beetles) 6 Diptera (Flies, mosquitoes, gnats) 4 Hemiptera (true bugs-stink bugs) 4 Hymenoptera (bees, wasps, ants) 4 Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) 4 Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) 2 Orthoptera, (grasshoppers, crickets and katydids) 3 PLUS: You must also have 1 insect from any 6 of the following orders (these are not as common as the Orders above): Isoptera (termites) 1 Psocoptera (booklice,barklices) 1 Siphonoptera (fleas) 1 Phthiraptera (sucking lice) 1 Neuroptera (lacewing, ant lions) 1 Thysanoptera (thrips) 1 Homoptera (cicada, leafhoopers. Treehoppers) 1 Mecoptera (scorpionflies) 1 Dermaptera (earwigs) 1 Blattaria (cockroaches) 1 Thysanura (silverfish) 1 Mantodea (mantids or preying mantids) 1 Ephemeroptera (Mayfly) 1 Phasmida (walking sticks) 1 Trichoptera (caddisfly) 1 Plecoptera (stoneflies) 1 Collembola (springtails) 1

5 You need a total of 35 insects from the orders above for your insect collection. 2 insects can be from any order to make the total 35. Insects are to be grouped together by order in your collection when you turn them in!!!!! Grading Your Collection Your Insect collection will be graded based on: 1. the number of required insects your collection includes 2. neatness 3. labels 4. correct identification (common name and order only) You should have at least 35 insects in your collection. You can get Bonus Points for having extra insects from different Orders (groups). *Your Insect Collection will count as 2 TEST Grades for the 2 nd 6 weeks. It is NOT DUE WHEN SCHOOL STARTS BUT SUMMERTIME IS THE BEST TIME TO START COLLECTING!

Insect Collection Due Date:

Insect Collection Due Date: Assignment Description: Students will collect 40 different species of insects from at least 12 different Orders Each specimen should be correctly pinned and have complete labels