Difference between revisions of "General Entomology"

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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

Collection Materials

Collection Guidelines

Label Template

Collection Excel Sheet

Ecological Labels

Collection Check #1

Odonate Label Template

Collection Check #2

Date	Lecture	Quiz	Lab	Readings
August 30	Course overview		Wagner Lab visit Collections Facility Intro to collections	G+C Chapter 1 B+W pgs 4-29
September 1	Importance of insects Introduction to insect diversity		Insect walk Collecting methods Pinning
Sept 6	Insect adaptations	Quiz 1: Insect Collecting	Overview of Insect Orders
Sept 8	External Anatomy I		External Grasshopper Anatomy
Sept 9-11			Great Mountain Forest Trip
Sept 13	External Anatomy II	Quiz 2: Insect Orders	Internal anatomy dissection
Sept 15	External Anatomy III		Aquatic insects Aquatic field trip
Sept 20	Internal Anatomy I	Quiz 3: Insect Anatomy	Non-insect arthropods
Sept 22	Internal Anatomy II and Fossil History I		Blattodea, Mantodea, Phasmatodea, Orthoptera Collecting around TLS
Sept 27	Fossil History II	Quiz 4: Primitive insect orders+ Aquatic insects	Dermaptera, Plecoptera, Pscodea
Sept 29	Growth and phylogeny	Collection check #1	Thysanoptera, Hemiptera I (aquatic)
Oct 4	MIDTERM 1		Hemiptera II (Heteroptera)
Oct 6	Growth and Molting		Hemiptera III (Aucheno- and Sternorrhyncha, Fulgoroidea)
Oct 11	Growth and Molting II Nervous System I		Neuropterida
Oct 13	Nervous System II	Quiz 5: Hemimetabola	Aquatic ecology field trip
Oct 18	Behavior I		Strepsiptera, Coleoptera I
Oct 20	Behavior II Social Insects I		Coleoptera II
Oct 25	Acoustical insects (Dr. Charles Henry) Acoustical insects		Coleoptera III Coleoptera III
Oct 27	Forensic entomology (Dr. William Krinsky) Forensic entomology		Coleoptera review
Nov 1	Social insects II Social insects II	Quiz 6: Megaloptera, Neuroptera, Strepsiptera, and Coleoptera	Trichoptera, Lepidoptera Trichoptera and Lepidoptera
Nov 3	Social insects III, Insects and plants Insects and Plants		Greenhouse Tour Bug jeopardy
Nov 8	MIDTERM II		Mecoptera, Siphonaptera, Diptera I Diptera I
Nov 10	Insects and plants II Insects and Plants II	Collection Check #2	Diptera II Diptera II	Chpt. 13, 14 Ant and Acacia Tiny Pollinator, Big Job Comet Orchid
Nov 15	Insects and plants III Medical entomology Insects and Plants III plus med end		Diptera III	Chapter 15 Jerry's Bot fly
Nov 17	Medical entomology II Medical entomology II		Hymenoptera I Hymenoptera I	Robotic cockroach
Nov 29	Chemical ecology of insects (Scott Smedley Chemical ecology)	Quiz 7: Mecopteroidea	Open lab
Dec 1	Insect Ecology Insect Ecology		Hymenoptera II Hymenoptera II
Dec 6	Pest management and biological control Insect Ecology and Pest Management	Live Insect Project due Aquatic assignment due	Bug Banquet Open lab	Chapter 16
Dec 8	Insect conservation 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.
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.