General Entomology
EEB 4250 - General Entomology
Fall 2016
Day/Time: Tuesday+Thursday Lecture 12:30-1:20 Lab 1:30 3:30
Place: Storrs campus, Torrey Life Sciences Room 313
Credits: 4
Instructor: David Wagner
- Torrey Life Sciences Rm 471
- 860-486-2139 and 860-942-1796 (cell)
- Office hours: 10 MWF and as available
TA: Kevin Keegan
- Torrey Life Sciences Rm 461
- 617-272-5054 (cell)
- Office hours: as available (email for appointment)
Textbook:
- Borror, DJ and RE White, 1970. Peterson Field Guide to Insects: America North of Mexico.
- Gullan, P. J. and P. S. Cranston. 2010. The Insects: An Outline of Entomology. Fourth Ed. Blackwell Science, Oxford, England.
Introduction
The lectures provide a broad introduction to insect diversity, phylogeny, structure and function, behavior, ecology, and conservation. The laboratory stresses sight identification and natural history of 120 common insect families. The collection requirement connects the lecture and laboratory by linking lecture topics, and especially insect behavior and ecology, to Connecticut’s extraordinary insect fauna.
Course Procedures and Policies
Academic Integrity:
Plagiarism and cheating are violations of the student conduct code, and may be punished by failure in the course or, in severe cases, dismissal from the University. For more information, see Appendix A of the Student Conduct Code.
Disabilities:
If you have a disability for which you may be requesting an accommodation, you should contact a course instructor and the Center for Students with Disabilities (Wilbur Cross Building, Room 201) within the first two weeks of the semester.
Syllabus and Course Materials
Item | Points |
---|---|
Midterms (100 pts each) | 200 pts |
Final | 175 pts |
Collection | 300 pts |
7 lab quizzes (25 pts each), attendance (25 pts) and participation (25 pts) | 225 pts |
Lab practicum | 80 pts |
Current events (2 articles) | 20 pts |
Total | 1000 pts |
Collection Materials
Collection Grading Rubric
Label Template
Collection Excel Sheet
Ecological Labels
Collection Check #1
Odonate Label Template
Collection Check #2
Other Assignments
Coming soon!
Date | Lecture | Quiz | Lab | Readings | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
August 30 | Course overview | Wagner Lab visit Collections Facility Intro to collections |
![]() ![]() | ||
September 1 | Importance of insects![]() Introduction to insect diversity |
Collecting methods Pinning ![]() How to pin and spread a moth |
![]() ![]() ![]() | ||
Sept 6 | Insect adaptations | Quiz 1: Insect Collecting | Fenton Trip |
||
Sept 8 | External Anatomy I : ![]() |
Insect Orders ![]() ![]() |
| ||
Sept 9-11 | Great Mountain Forest Trip | ||||
Sept 13 | External Anatomy II : ![]() |
Quiz 2: Insect Orders | External anatomy : ![]() |
||
Sept 15 | External Anatomy III : ![]() |
Internal Anatomy![]() |
G+C Chapter 3![]() ![]() | ||
Sept 20 | Internal Anatomy I | Quiz 3: Insect Anatomy | Aquatics Field Trip | G+C Chapter 3 | |
Sept 22 | Internal Anatomy II : ![]() Geologic History : ![]() |
Non-Insect Hexapods, Entognatha, Apterygota, Palaeoptera : ![]() |
Insect Fossil Record: G+C pp 225-236 Sound production and detection: G+C pp. 94-101 | ||
Sept 27 | Special Lecture: Acoustical Behavior in Insects (Dr. Charles Henry) | Blattodea, Mantodea, Phasmatodea, Orthoptera Collecting around TLS |
|||
Sept 29 | MIDTERM 1 | Quiz 4: Entognatha, Apterygota, Palaeoptera+ Aquatic insects |
Dermaptera, Plecoptera, Embioptera, Pscodea | ||
Oct 4 | Geologic History II; Higher Classification of Insects | Collection check #1 | Pthiraptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera I (aquatic) | ||
Oct 6 | Development and Life Histories | Hemiptera II (Heteroptera) | |||
Oct 11 | Nervous System and Sensory Organs I | Hemiptera III (Aucheno- and Sternorrhyncha, Fulgoroidea) Bug Jeopardy I |
|||
Oct 13 | Nervous System and Sensory Organs II | Neuropterida | |||
Oct 18 | Insect Behavior | Quiz 5: Hemimetabola (excl. Palaeoptera) | Experimental Lab TBD | ||
Oct 20 | Social Insects I | Special Lab Topic: Plant Secondary Compounds & Herbivory Greenhouse Tour Strepsiptera, Coleoptera I |
|||
Oct 25 | Social Insects II; Phytophagous Insects I | Coleoptera II | |||
Oct 25 | Special Lecture: Forensic entomology (Dr. William Krinsky) | Coleoptera III | |||
Oct 27 | MIDTERM II | Special Lab Topic: Ghost Moths and Other Scary Insects Coleoptera IV |
|||
Nov 1 | Phytophagous Insects II | Quiz 6: Megaloptera, Neuroptera, Strepsiptera, and Coleoptera | Trichoptera, Lepidoptera Bug Jeopardy II |
||
Nov 3 | Insects and Plants, Herbivory and Plant Defense | Quiz 6: Megaloptera, Neuroptera, Strepsiptera, and Coleoptera | |||
Nov 8 | Special Lecture: Chemical Ecology of Insects (Dr. Scott Smedley) | Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Diptera I | |||
Nov 10 | Insects -- The Hunted and their Defenses | Collection Check #2 | Diptera II | ||
Nov 15 | Entomophagous Insects | Diptera III | |||
Nov 17 | Medical and Veterinary Entomology I | Hymenoptera I | |||
Nov 29 | Medical and Veterinary Entomology II | Quiz 7: Mecopteroidea | Open lab | ||
Dec 1 | Insect Ecology | Hymenoptera II | |||
Dec 6 | Pest Management and Biological Control | Review for Practicum Open lab |
|||
Dec 8 | Insect conservation | LAB PRACTICUM | Open lab | ||
Dec ?? | FINAL EXAM | COLLECTION DUE |
Collection Tips
1) Ensure your name is clearly written on all boxes.
2) Please keep your vials in an easy-to-access container.
3) You must hand in a printed spreadsheet (found on the course website) along with your collection. Your name must be on it. The written families should be in the same order as the specimens in your boxes.
4) Don't forget about the ecological labels. Think about them carefully, this is an easy way to make mistakes if you rush.
5) Put the labels in the right order on the pin. Locality label on top, then species label (if needed), then ecological label (if needed), then family label (if it's the first in the row). Labels should be in line with the specimen and take up as little space as possible and still be legible. They should all be facing the same direction.
6) Organization of orders/families within the box is unimportant, as long as it is clear. Try to condense to as few boxes as possible.
7) Remember that the curation guidelines are to ensure that your specimens are "museum ready" - they might be your longest legacy on earth. Think about how beautifully well organized Dave's collection is upstairs, and the main collection next door. Look at your specimens and ask if they are ready to be seamlessly integrated into a museum collection.
8) Don't fret too much about a bad specimen (missing legs, etc) if it's the only one you have. Damaged specimens are still valuable if properly labeled.
9) Moderate trading is encouraged, ideally when both trade partners receive a family/order neither of them have.
10) Some specimens will be taken and added to the main collection (you should take this as a compliment, I had several of my specimens taken). If you have a favorite specimen you are particularly attached to, like something you raised as a pet, leave a note on your spreadsheet and we will try not to take it from you : ).