Week 12

Time to wrap it up.

• Your collection with insects identified to family level (except for butterflies) and properly labeled is due on Tuesday. Remember to include your insects preserved in alcohol. Wrap them in a rubber band with a piece of paper bearing your name. Submit them along with your pinned specimens (but do not put them inside the box with your pinned insects).
  

• Your research paper is due on Wednesday. Remember to have someone look at it first and at least correct simple mistakes such as spelling and punctuation before you rewrite it and submit your final copy. Place your project in my drop box and then leave me a comment at the bottom of this assignment page giving me the file name gave the project.
  

• Complete the blog lessons on Beneficial and Harmful Insects. Remember to take notes. There will be a quiz on the material on Wednesday. (you can use your notes).
  

• On Wednesday, leave your journal on my desk for grading.
  

Week 11

This final week of instruction we will study insect interactions with humans. Often we think of insects as pests, but there are many insects whose presence is beneficial to humans.

Assignment 1: Study the followng list of beneficial insects. Take notes and be prepared to discuss in class what you learned about these helpful "bugs." Click here to see list.

Assignment 2: Many insects can indeed have a detrimental effect on humans. To learn about some of these harmful insects, click here to view the following power point presentation.

Hey, click on this

Week 10 -- Social Insects

This week we will study social insects. Instruction will be a mixture of videos, direct lecture, guest lectures, and hands-on observations. When not working on the assignments listed below, continue working on your collection and research topic.

Specific assignments:

Assignment 1: Introduction to Social Insects - mini-lecture. Take notes and participate in class discussion.

Click here to view Power Point version of the lecture.

Assignment 2: Watch video on Fire Ants. Note how the ants reflect the behavior of a social insect. Take notes. Be prepared to write a simple summary of what you observed in the video. You can use your notes when you write your summary.

Assignment 3: Write a summary of the aspects insect social behavior portrayed by the fire ant colonies you watched in he video.

Use an essay format for the summary (introduction, body, conclusion) and follow these four steps:

• type a rough draft. Don't spend a lot of time on it. Get down the main ideas.
• print a hard copy of the rough draft and give it to someone to edit.
• type a final draft incorporating as many as the editorial suggestion as necessary.
• submit a hard copy of the final document with your edited rough draft attached.

Your summary will be graded using the following rubric:

Week 9 -- Insect Physiology

This week we finish our study of insect physiology with an examination of the nervous system, excretory system, and finally the respiratory system.

• Continue collecting and spreading insect specimens for your collection. We will continue to bait our traps and night collect throughout the week. Take advantage of the traps to help complete your collection of 40 insects.
  
• On days not suitable for collecting, concentrate on your research topic.
• Keep up with your journal. I will collect and grade your journals on Thursday

Next week: Social Insects -- bees, wasps, hornets, termites, and ants. Students from the Dept. of Entomology at the University of Georgia will come by for a visit and talk to us about beekeeping and honey production.

week 8 The Insect Life Cycle

This week continue collecting and spreading insects for your collection. As weather permits, we have a little time each day to go out into the field. However, continue to collect at home and where ever you may be. Keep a container or two with you at all times. You never know when you are going to a bug you need. This week we will do some night collecting. We will discuss in class exactly what day(s) we want to do this

SB5: Students will evaluate the role of natural selection in the development of the theory of evolution.
a. Relate animal adaptations, including behaviors, to the ability to survive stressful environmental conditions.
b. Trace the history of evolution.
c. Explain how fossil and biochemical evidence support the theory.
d. Relate natural selection to changes in organisms.
e. Recognize the role of evolution to biological resistance(pesticide and antibiotic resistance).

Specific assignments:

Assignment 1: Finish assignments 1 and 2 from last week (if you have not already done so).

Assignment 2: Watch video on Butterflies. Take notes. Be prepared to discuss what you learned.

Week 7

We are almost at the mid-point. It's time to take inventory of where you are. You need 40 insects in your collection. Continue to collect, especially hunt for insects that will help you represent 12 different orders in your collection. When not working on your collection, work on your research project. And, remember to keep up with your journal.

Specific Assignments:

Assignment 1: Mount (spread) the insects you have caught so far. This will take a good portion of your time. You will work in the lab. Follow the guidelines for mounting insects (on handout). Dr. Maudsley will demonstrate several pinning and mounting techniques and assist you with your pinning.

Assignment 2: After you have spread your insects, take inventory. Count the total number of insects you have and how many different orders they represent. Give me the numbers as a short comment at the bottom of this assignment page.

Assignment 3: Work on your research topic. At this point you should have a good idea (have an outline) of what information is going to go into your paper. Be prepared to discuss your progress with me at some point during the week.

Assignment 4: Keep up with your journal. Collecting, working in the lab, spreading bugs, and working on your research project are all items that should be recorded in your journal.

Assignment 5: Study for Unit Test on Orders. Use the matching quiz you took in the last unit and your flash cards to prepare for the quiz. For this quiz you will be required to know what kinds of insects are in each order, what the Latin name for the order means (e.g. Diptera mean "two wing"), and what are the diagnostic characteristic(s) for each order.

If you are missing any information on an order, you can click here to find the missing info.

Week 6

The cut off for grades for progress report grades is Thursday, so this week we are going to concentrate on wrapping up the first half of the course.

Assignment 1: Prepare for quiz on the characteristics of the common orders of insects. Use your "flash cards" to help you study. If you missed a day and do not have all the information, click here to view a power point that summarizes the characteristics of the major orders of insects.

Assignment 2: Continue to collect and process your bugs.

Assignment 3: Keep up with your journal, especially your insect log.

Quiz: Match the different kinds of insects to the order in which they belong. To study 1) use your flashcards OR 2) review the power point on "Common Orders of Insects." It can be found in under Important Information or access it by clicking here.

Remember, in order to receive a grade, all work must be completed.

Assignment 4: Continue to work on your research project as time permits.