The Worldly Antenna. of International Bug Club. International Bug Club updates! Erin and Katie

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The Worldly Antenna of International Issue 5 June 2009 Number 2 International updates! Hello members and families!

Updates WPZ Brookfield Santa Fe Teaching Zoo RWPZ Montlake Elem We've been enjoying the "buzz" of activity here in the Pacific

The bumblebees are very active - enjoying the blooms on our native plants, such as snowberry, lupine and oceanspray.

1 The Worldly Antenna of International Issue 5 June 2009 Number 2 International updates! Hello members and families! Welcome to a new issue of The Worldly Antenna! Updates WPZ Brookfield Santa Fe Teaching Zoo RWPZ Montlake Elem We've been enjoying the "buzz" of activity here in the Pacific Northwest US where summer came a little early, with some really hot June days! The bumblebees are very active - enjoying the blooms on our native plants, such as snowberry, lupine and oceanspray. We've included some ideas for observing and photographing insects and other arthropods in this issue we hope you'll share your bug photographs with The Worldly Antenna, your photos to bug.club@zoo.org! FPCS Tacoma Bellevue Montessori Snohomish Papua New Guinea Sincerely, Erin and Katie International Coordinators

Woodland Park Zoo Page 2 BUGS IN MOVIES!

where she could catch them more easily but luckily a millipede and a rubber duck came to the rescue and helped them climb out

Have you seen these movies featuring insects, spiders and other arthropods?

Take a look at the list below, watch some films and talk about your ideas with friends and family.

2 Woodland Park Zoo Page 2 BUGS IN MOVIES! In a recent session, we filmed short bug movies, about a trickster spider who lured an ant and a centipede into the bathtub where she could catch them more easily but luckily a millipede and a rubber duck came to the rescue and helped them climb out of the tub. The spider got a stern talking-to from the local "bug police" and learned her lesson! Have you seen these movies featuring insects, spiders and other arthropods? How are bugs portrayed in each film as friends or enemies? As helpful or hurtful? Are the new movies like the old movies? Take a look at the list below, watch some films and talk about your ideas with friends and family. If you were going to make a bug movie, what would happen in your film? Them! Mothra The Fly Honey, I Shrunk the Kids Arachnophobia Starship Troopers A Bug's Life Pokemon The Ant Bully Charlotte's Web Bee Movie Can you think of any other bug movies?

Papua New Guinea Page 3 YUS SCHOOLS CELEBRATE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY!

This year, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) invited schools in the YUS region of PNG to

This activity is designed to actively involve students and allows them to be creative with art and

Students use the World Environment Day theme and are asked to submit artwork, poems and essays to

3 Papua New Guinea Page 3 YUS SCHOOLS CELEBRATE WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY! World Environment Day is celebrated by people from around the world each year on June 5th. This year, the Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program (TKCP) invited schools in the YUS region of PNG to participate in their annual World Environment Day Essay Competition. This activity is designed to actively involve students and allows them to be creative with art and writing skills. Students use the World Environment Day theme and are asked to submit artwork, poems and essays to convey conservation education messages. TKCP choses 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners from each age group and gives prizes such as books and school supplies to the winning students. Here is one of the grade 2 winning poems: School children writing essays and poems in Nokopo Village

Santa Fe CollegeTeaching Zoo Page 4 Summer has hit us full steam (literally) here in Florida. So we are going to cool off this summer by diving into the world of underwater arthropods.

4 Santa Fe CollegeTeaching Zoo Page 4 Summer has hit us full steam (literally) here in Florida. So we are going to cool off this summer by diving into the world of underwater arthropods. Starting in freshwater lakes, rivers and springs we will discuss the lifestyle of arthropods that start life in the water but end up on land and ones that stay down deep and enjoy the water full time. We will then venture to marine invertebrates and see if life really is a beach for animals such as shrimp, lobsters and crabs! To wrap it all up we will compare adaptations of these animals and see what we can do to help out our underwater friends. We are excited to splash off this session of on June 20th and float on until the end of the summer.

We each took on the role of an entomologist from Lepidopterist to Dipterist, and learned what they all do! We made moth feeders to hang outside of our own houses with great results!

5 Roger Williams Park Zoo Page 5 It s been a great spring for Roger Williams Park Zoo Bug Club! Providence, RI is crawling with insects and we ve been learning about how actual scientists catch them. We each took on the role of an entomologist from Lepidopterist to Dipterist, and learned what they all do! We made moth feeders to hang outside of our own houses with great results! We also learned about light traps, pitfall traps, and each got to create our own aspirator, or bug vacuum for hands-free collecting. After getting all the "bugs" out of using our new collecting tools, we went on an off-the-beaten-track collecting expedition around the zoo. Some of our best finds included an extremely large slug, isopods and some very fast ants!

6 Celebrating Bug Diversity! Page 6 Woodland Park Zoo 's annual theme in 2009 is "Celebrating Bug Diversity" here's a fun activity for you to try if you've ever wondered how the number of species of insects compares to the numbers of species of other groups of living things (like mammals, plants, fish and others!) First, match the following groups with the number of species you think are in that group (check your answers - upside down in the box at the bottom of this page!). GROUPS Plants, birds, fish, non-insect arthropods, amphibians, insects, reptiles, mammals, fungi # SPECIES IN THE GROUP 19,000; 4,000; 4,200; 270,000; 72,00; 950,000; 9,000; 123,400; 6,300 (Each number represents the number of species scientists have identified in a particular group of organisms the numbers do not represent the number of individuals in a group but the number of species that have been identified in each group.) Next, graph these numbers so you can see how different these numbers compare! You can do this by making a giant bar graph on an open floor space using long strips made from scrap paper. For the scale of your graph, one inch = 8,000 species. To find out how long the paper strip for each animal group should be, divide the number of species by 8,000. So the bar for "mammals" will only be a half an inch (4,000 8,000 = 0.5 or one half) but you could run out of space for the bars for the groups with larger numbers! How significantly do insects contribute to the earth s overall biodiversity? fish = 19,000 fungi = 72,00 mammals = 4,000 birds = 9,000 amphibians = 4,200 non-insect arthropods = 123,400 plants = 270,000 insects = 950,000 reptiles = 6,300

Outdoor Arthropod Explorations Page 7 Observing and Photographing Arthropods in the Field Close-focus binoculars Binoculars aren't just for

You can use binoculars that can focus at a close range (6 to 8 feet) to get a closer look at bugs in your backyard, park or other natural area!

7 Outdoor Arthropod Explorations Page 7 Observing and Photographing Arthropods in the Field Close-focus binoculars Binoculars aren't just for birdwatching! You can use binoculars that can focus at a close range (6 to 8 feet) to get a closer look at bugs in your backyard, park or other natural area! Here is some information on close focus binoculars from the North American Butterfly Association, including reviews of 17 different models of binoculars: Bug Photography Tips You can get some great photos of bugs with many types of digital cameras give it a "shot"! Here are some web pages with lots of helpful tips! photo/article.htm beautifulbugs/howto.htm Photos by Katie Remine

Calendar Page 8 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference! Come to the desert for some quality time with people like you who love bugs!

sasionline.org/ Submission and Publication Dates for 2009 Leaders, please compile submissions for The Worldly Antenna from your and have them in by the Submission date below.

8 Calendar Page 8 Invertebrates in Education and Conservation Conference! Come to the desert for some quality time with people like you who love bugs! Workshops and field trips will be available for adults and for families. July 28 - August 2, 2009 Hosted by Sonoran Arthropod Studies Institute at the Esplendor Resort in Rio Rico, AZ Submission and Publication Dates for 2009 Leaders, please compile submissions for The Worldly Antenna from your and have them in by the Submission date below. You can send stories, photos (high resolution), drawings (scanned), ideas for bug club activities, or bug explorations for Bug Club families to try together at home. Send your submissions to bug.club@zoo.org. We look forward to your contributions! Submission Publication September 14 September 27 December 1 December 13

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#MKFoN MK Festival of Nature 6-15 July 2018 A special 10-day programme of activities to celebrate the beautiful and inspiring nature found in Milton Keynes green space. www.mkfestivalofnature.org #MKFoN Berkshire