8th
Grade FALL Science Project
INSECT COLLECTION
Dear Parents and Students,
Mrs. Johnson and Mr. Olson have given the assignment of making an insect collection to all 8th grade science
students. The objectives of this assignment are to: (1) identify insects found locally using field guides; (2) learn about many beneficial and harmful insects; (3) learn the techniques to correctly collect and display insects,
(4) learn about the diversity of insects
and gain an appreciation for the great diversity of insect form and function.
Entomology is the study of insects. Insects are found easily in the fall
here in Iowa. There are many things that can be learned by studying living insects,
but there are some things that can be learned BEST by making a permanent collection of insects. Some structures of insects are very difficult to observe while insects are alive. Insects can be compared to others when they are displayed properly in a permanent collection. In order to make permanent collections, insects must be killed and pinned and then put in a collection
box,
Any time living things are going to be killed, we should stop and think
first. A good question to ask is, If I destroy the life of a plant or animal,
even an insect, am I doing something harmful or helpful? Some things to know
about insects are:
1. There are great numbers of insects in Black Hawk County and 8th grade collectors are no threat to their populations.
2. Insects live over a large area and so you are not likely to kill a large part of the population.
3. Many adult insects die over winter in Iowa.
4. You will gain an appreciation for insects
that will last a lifetime.
PLEASE only collect, as many insects are
you will use in your collection. Plan in advance, so you arent completing this
project during the last 2 weeks. If you wait until the last weekend before the
due date, it may be raining or cold which can make collecting insects nearly impossible.
This is a FUN project if you
begin now if you procrastinate the project is almost impossible and will be very frustrating for you.
DUE DATES
All Insects must be brought in on October 1st. The collection and written
portion of the project is due on OCTOBER 8th. This will give you one
week to get help with identifying the insects both in class and before & after school.
There will also be 2 in class research days for the written portion of the project.
Please plan on doing some of this work on your own time.
GRADING
This assignment is worth 116 points. The
grade received depends on the quantity and quality of the insect collected and on the written and oral presentation
about one insect. Read Rubric #1 and #2 below carefully to understand how to
get the grade you want.
DISPLAY
The insects are to be mounted in some type of box for protection. A cardboard box with a piece of Styrofoam or a couple of extra layers of cardboard on the bottom will work
well to push the insect pins into. A lid should also fit over the top to protect
the insects. Decorate your box if you want to earn the maximum number of points
for the project. See Rubric #1.
PINNING INSECTS
· Insects need to be pinned soon after
they have been killed. If you dont, they become brittle. IMPORTANT
- a lot of great insects and hard work can be wasted if you don't pin them soon after killing or thawing.
· The large insects can be pinned directly to the Styrofoam or cardboard, the
pin should be placed through the thorax in most insects.
·
Smaller insects should be placed
on a small triangle of tagboard with
glue and then pinned to the Styrofoam
through the tag board.
· Insects with
large wings will need to be spread while they dry. Instructions for how to make
a drying board are below. Notice you dont pin through the wings, but use narrow
strips of paper to hold the wings in place for several days.
Cutting or chiseling a groove in a soft wood board, like pine can make an
insect drying board.
CLASSIFYING
1. Classify each insect into its
correct Order.
· all insects of the
same order are to be located near each other in your display and labeled with the name of the insect order.
Making a border
around each order with string, ribbon, or yarn is one way to do this. But wait
until all insects are pinned and placed in the collection before making borders. Each
insect order must be identified in the collection.
·
You must have TWO different
insects from each of the following Insect orders: Orthoptera, Hemiptera, Odonata,
Lepidoptera, Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, Diptera.
·
You must have ONE insect from
the Homoptera insect order.
·
The maximum number of insects
in your collection is 15. Any additional insects you have cannot be included
in your collection. If you have more than 15, for each additional insect, 1 point
will be deducted.
2. Use the field guides to find
the common name for each insect. See
below.
Identification label
Each insect
collected needs an identification label.
CN: Common Honeybee
Date: 8/31/2002
Location: Black Hawk Co, Iowa |
CN= common name
Date
= date collected
Location=
county, state
COLLECTING HINTS
·
Insects can be found in a variety of places. Look for them on or near
water, on leaves of plants and trees, or near your home. Outdoor lights at night
attract a variety of insects.
·
Leave the insect in a killing jar until dead. This may take 30 minutes
or more. Open and close the cover quickly to prevent the nail polish remover
from escaping. Do not put too many insects in one killing jar at once. Insects may stick together, especially insects with fragile wings.
·
Keep a record of where the insect was located (county & state) and the date found.
Another Alternative: Put
the insects in the freezer for about 30 minutes to kill the insects. You will
still need to pin them in a timely fashion in order to avoid them becoming brittle.
