GET THE BUGS OUT!!!
W HY INSECTS ? Easily capture student
attention and interest Relevant to lives of
students Versatile-can be used
to reinforce wide range of science concepts and skills Budget-friendly
(inexpensive or free!)
S CIENTIFIC M ETHOD AND E XPERIMENTAL D ESIGN Mississippi
2010
Science Framework Apply inquiry-
based and problem-solving processes and skills to scientific investigations.
S CIENTIFIC M ETHOD AND E XPERIMENTAL D ESIGN
Making Observations
Forming Hypotheses
Identifying Variables (independent, dependent, controlled)
Experimental and Control Groups
Writing Clear Procedures
Collecting Data/Graphing Results
Forming Conclusions
F LOUR B EETLES
Tribolium castaneum (red flour beetle) and
Tribolium confusum (confused flour beetle, black)
Very low maintenance
Cultures can be kept indefinitely in jars of flour
Need no water, produce water metabolically through cellular respiration
F LOUR B EETLE E XPERIMENTS Long-term experiment
on food preference of flour beetles from Univ. of KY Entomology http://www.uky.edu/Ag /Entomology/ythfacts/re sourc/tcherpln/flbeetle. pdf
The Effect of
Temperature on the Metamorphosis of Flour Beetles (complete metamorphosis, life cycle varies 7 to 12 weeks)
F LOUR B EETLE E XPERIMENTS
The Effect of Different Colors on Flour Beetle Attraction (are flour beetles color blind?)
Interspecific competition (when placed together with limited resources, does one species of flour beetle affect the survival of the other species)
Let students design their own experiments (experimental design template)
A NT L ION L ARVAE (D OODLEBUGS ) Order ant lion larvae
from www.antlionden.com or collect your own in sandy areas Observation:
Have students place ants or flour beetles in the cone-shaped pit and watch what happens.
A NT L ION L ARVAE (D OODLEBUGS )
A NT L ION L ARVAE (D OODLEBUGS )
Guided inquiry: What factors affect the size of ant lion pits?
Students form hypotheses and design experiments to test different factors such as type of substrate (sand, grits, flour, potting soil, sugar), depth of substrate, size of container, size of ant lion, etc.
A NT L ION L ARVAE (D OODLEBUGS )
Most groups hypothesize that the size of the pit is determined by the size of the ant lion or by the texture of the substance
Use guided inquiry to have at least one group test frequency of feeding
Answer: the size of the pit is determined by how hungry the ant lion is!
M ADAGASCAR H ISSING C OCKROACHES
Gromphadorhina portentosa, native of Madagascar
2-4 inches at maturity
Low maintenance specimen
Eggs fertilized in egg case (ootheca) which hatch inside female’s body (appear to be live birth)
Adults care for and protect young
M ADAGASCAR H ISSING C OCKROACH E XPERIMENTS
The Effect of Temperature on the Growth Rate of the Madagascar Hissing Cockroach
Nature vs. Nurture (cockroaches with similar DNA grow at different rates based on environment)
Extension: Is it possible to “catch-up” from stunted growth?
M ADAGASCAR H ISSING C OCKROACH E XPERIMENTS
M ADAGASCAR H ISSING C OCKROACH I NVESTIGATIONS Incomplete
metamorphosis Mating Behavior Sexual Dimorphism Territorial Behavior Food Preference Other ideas in FOSS
materials
O THER I NSECTS S UGGESTED F OR EXPERIMENTS Painted Lady
Butterflies or Mealworms (complete metamorphosis) Milkweed Bugs
(incomplete metamorphosis)
E XPERIMENTAL D ESIGN K ITS WARD’S Using Nasonia to Teach the Scientific Method Lab Activity
WARD’S Sci “Ant” ific Method Lab Activity
Nasonia vitripennis
Harvester Ants
(jewel wasp) and Sarcophaga (flesh fly) pupae
Design Experiments to Study the Behavior of Highly-Socialized Animals
Symbiotic relationship (parasitism)
TAXONOMY BIOLOGY I
MS 2010 Science Framework Competency 6. Demonstrate an understanding of principles that explain the diversity of life and biological evolution. a. Draw conclusions about how organisms are classified into a hierarchy of groups and subgroups based on similarities that reflect their evolutionary relationships.
BIOLOGY II
MS 2010 Science Framework Competency 5. Develop an understanding of organism classification.
a. Classify organisms according to traditional Linnaean classification characteristics (e.g., cell structure, biochemistry, anatomy, fossil record, methods of reproduction) and the cladistic approach
TAXONOMY Insect collections can
be done in spring or fall Have students collect,
pin and classify 30 adult insects from a minimum of 10 orders Equipment, nets and
reusable collection boxes available at www.bioquip.com
TAXONOMY
Insect collections are excellent practice using dichotomous keys for identification and classification
Learn the 10 major orders of insects to begin and look up the rest in identification guides
Great online dichotomous key to the Top 10 Insect Orders http://www.backyardnature. net/in_order.htm
BUG DAY!!!
F ORENSIC E NTOMOLOGY
WARD’S Critters on Cadavers: A Forensic Entomology Lab Activity
Students will first observe and record how various factors influence the development of an insect’s life cycle, then apply this information to a crime scene scenario in order to estimate the time of death, if the body was moved, possible suspect/victim interactions, and create a timeline for the sequence of appearance for each species found on the body.
M USE
OF F IRE
UMMC Base Pair/SOAR/RBI and Princeton Satellite Learning Center Summer Research Institute for Teachers
Application deadline May 31, 2011
5 Modules using Red Imported Fire Ants
http://basepair.library.umc.edu/sri/Moun ds%20of%20FunMuse%20of%20Fire%20Project.pdf
M USE OF F IRE : M ODULE 1
M USE
OF
F IRE M ODULES
Module 2 Toxicology Explorer (crickets)
Module 3 Health and Human Impact of Red Imported Fire Ants
M USE
OF
F IRE M ODULE 4
“Life Within the
Flame…Using PCR to Determine the Presence of the Symbiotic Bacterium –
Wolbachia in the Red Imported Fire Ant”
M USE
OF
F IRE M ODULE 5
Microarray
Simulations Using Simulated Red Imported Fire Ant Venom
C ONTACT I NFORMATION
If you would like more information about any of activities in this presentation or the UMMC Summer Research Institute, feel free to contact me:
Denise Thibodeaux
Cathedral School, 701 MLK Street, Natchez MS 39120 (601) 442-2531
[email protected]
Home (601)927-4218
[email protected]
