Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources

K-12 Recommended Resources, by Entomological Subdiscipline

Biology, Ecology and Behavior

• Antlion Pit: A Doodlebug Anthology - a collection of resources related to the antlion. Videos of feeding behavior and metamorphosis. Antlions in culture
• BugGuide.Net - community site with user-submitted images for identification, information on insect groups
• Kids' Cicada Hunt - follow two young brothers as they hunt for cicada nymphs, watch cicadas shed their skins, discover cicada predators, and try to solve cicada mysteries.
• Science Snoops - The Monarch Case - Students play the role of new researchers as they work to solve each life science mystery case as part of a team of real and virtual scientists. Virtual co-workers are portrayed by actors who interact with the student to give information, assign work, and give feedback on students' performance.
• The Butterfly Site - butterfly topics including rearing information, childrens' activities, images
• The Firefly Files - from Ohio State University. Fireflies/lightning bugs/glowworms are really beetles.

Apiculture (Beekeeping) and Social Insects

• Benefit of Manuka Honey - An informational site that describes the benefits of using Manuka Honey for medicinal purposes.
• Honeybee - students identify honeybee responsibilities inside the hive, importance of the honeybee to humans, and discover how honeybees communicate. Pre-K to 4th grade
• The Bumblebee Pages - life cycle, frequently asked questions, behavior

Behavior and Ecology

• Monarch Watch - including info on monarch butterfly biology, literature and current projects
• The Kansas School Naturalist
• The Manduca Project - student explorations of the tobacco hornworm, Manduca sexta

Urban Entomology

• Elementary Urban IPM Curriculum - exploring urban integrated pest management. K-6
• School IPM Lesson Plans - K-12 lesson plans that teach integrated pest management concepts

Extension

• Arthropod Proverbs - A collection of pithy sayings mentioning arthropods, organized taxonomically.

Medical and Veterinary Entomology

• Insects, Disease, and History - devoted to understanding the impact arthropods and diseases have had on historical events

Systematics, Morphology and Evolution

• Entomological Expedition: Research and Collecting in the Dominican Republic - local biologist with knowledge and expertise of habitats and localities of the insects (mainly Lepidoptera and Coleoptera) offers services for entomological collecting expeditions.
• The Kansas School Naturalist

General

• Alphabetical Insects - students find the names of insects that begin with each letter of the alphabet. Elementary-middle school
• Backyard Bugs - Natural history of the monarch butterfly, dragonfly, praying mantis, stick insects, luna moth, viceroy butterfly, antlion, caddisflies, whirligig beetle, giant water bug, hickory horned devil caterpillar, millipedes, centipedes, tarantulas, honey bee, mosquitoes, cockroaches, and flies via macro photography videos. Included ctivities are designed for 5-10 year olds. $79.95.
• Bugscope - students control a scanning electron microscope to view insects over the web. From the University of Illinois
• Cultural Entomology Digest - beliefs and symbolism of insects within all facets of the humanities.
• Dr. Frog's Recipe Page - "frog-approved" insect recipes
• Entomology Science Education
• Gordon's Wonderful World of Insects - good, though ad-infested, information on many aspects of entomology by Gordon Ramel
• Insect Images: The source for entomology images - A fully-relational, taxonomically-based web information system operated by The University of Georgia Bugwood Network that makes over 24,000 quality images on a broad array of entomological subjects, subdisciplines, program types, damage symptoms and identification characteristics on more than 4,700 subjects available for download or other no-cost educational uses. The overall objective is to provide an accessible and easily used archive of high quality images related to insects and entomology, with particular emphasis on educational applications. Images are available from more than 80 countries and from across North America and are used in all levels of educational programs and uses.
• Insect Macrophotography by M. Plonsky - Very large collection of insect and spider images with lots of extreme closeups.
• Insect Photography Search - Search thousands of entomological images and species, all at one site. Browsing through the archive is free, and there are no access charges, registration requirements, or usage limits. It is a great source for reference or entertainment.
• Insects as Food - recipes for edible insects
• Insects did it First - bungee jumping, air conditioning, and chemical warfare were done first by insects
• Life Cycles - students will identify the life stages of four different insects and will care for and observe the life cycle of one species. Pre-K to 4th grade
• Most Wanted Bugs - insect microscopy by Dennis Kunkel. Includes rap sheets.
• Teacher/Parent Resource Materials - including Wee Beasties, and entomology newsletter for teachers, and lesson plans
• Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms - lesson plans using insects to teach a variety of subjects: math, language arts, music, art, drama, science and health