Requirements for the Insect Collection -- Biology 4900: Entomology
The following Orders and Families should be represented in your collection by
at least one specimen
(and identified correctly). All specimens must have
a label on the pin/on the vial indicating location
and date of collection, and
the collector. I will NOT take off points if the collector is a different
person
than you, so you can recruit other people to help you!
Total number of required insects: 100. You can get
up to 15 points of extra credit for 5 more speci-
mens,
assuming they are identified
and labelled correctly! Points possible: 315 (3 pts. per
specimen).
You ARE REQUIRED TO get a specimen from each of the following orders or
groups of orders,
though some substitutions for small orders (see
Collembola/Siphonaptera entry, with all the other small
orders in
parentheses, below). The following families are the RECOMMENDED
families to look for;
substitutions of one family for
another are perfectly fine. For instance, if you get a Stag Beetle (family
Lucanidae, not on the list) but haven't gotten a cantharid, you are free to substitute. However, you
CANNOT simply collect ten different species of beetles in
ONE family and get full credit. Each
SPECIMEN is required to be
a different SPECIES.
Collembola (Springtails) or
Siphonaptera (Fleas) (or Protura, Diplura,
Archaeognatha, Thysanura,
Psocoptera, Phthiraptera, Thysanoptera, or Strepsiptera)
1 - 2. One specimen from
any one family in these orders. You, of course, may have more.
Ephemeroptera (Mayflies)
and/or Plecoptera (Stoneflies)
3. One
species from any family
Odonata (Dragonflies and Damselflies)
4. One
specimen from the Anisoptera [Dragonflies] (Libellulidae, Aeshnidae, etc.)
5.
One specimen from the Zygoptera [Damselflies] (Calopterygidae, Caenagrionidae,
etc.)
Blattodea (roaches) (including
Isoptera (Termites))
6. Any one specimen
from any roach family
7. Any one specimen from any termite family
Other Orthopteroid orders:
Mantodea
(Mantids), Phasmatodea (Walking Sticks),
Dermaptera (Earwigs)
8 - 9. Any two
specimens from these three orders
Orthoptera
(Grasshoppers, Crickets, Katydids)
10. One specimen from Acrididae
11. One
specimen from Tettigoniidae
12. One specimen from Gryllidae
Hemiptera (True bugs) -- 8 different families
(or more)
Heteroptera
13 - 16. One specimen from each
of four families
Auchenorrhyncha
and Sternorrhyncha (formerly Homoptera)
17 - 20. One specimen from
each of four families
Neuroptera and/or
Megaloptera (Dobsonflies, Fishflies, Lacewings,
Antlions, etc.)
21 - 24. Four specimens from at least three different
families
Coleoptera (Beetles) -- 10
different families (or more)
25. One
specimen from Carabidae
26. One specimen from Cerambycidae
27. One
specimen from Silphidae
28. One specimen from Scarabaeidae
29. One
specimen from Cantharidae or Lampyridae
30. One specimen from Coccinellidae
31. One specimen from Elateridae or Buprestidae
32. One specimen from
Curculionidae or Brentidae
33 - 34. One specimen from two other families
Hymenoptera (Ants, Bees, and Wasps) -- 7
different families (or more)
35.
One specimen from Vespidae
36. One specimen from Sphecidae
37. One
specimen from Apidae
38. One specimen from any other bee family (Halictidae,
Megachylidae, etc.)
39. One specimen from Formicidae
40. One specimen from
Ichneumonidae or Braconidae
41. One more specimen from any other family
Mecoptera
(Scorpionflies) or Trichoptera (Caddisflies)
42 - 43. Two specimens (can both be from the same family)
Diptera (Flies)
44 - 48. One specimen from
five separate families
Lepidoptera
(Butterflies and Moths) -- 10 different families (or more)
49. One specimen from Hesperiidae
50. One specimen
from Nymphalidae
51. One specimen from Papilionidae
52. One specimen from
Pieridae
53. One specimen from Noctuidae
54. One specimen from Erebidae
55. One specimen from
Geometridae
56 - 58. One specimen from any other three families
59 -
100+. Any additional insects that are different
species than the
ones above. You CAN have
more than one species in the same family. All of the specific families listed are common in this area.
Again, be aware that there are several orders that aren’t required but you can
use them.
Extra credit: I will allow an additional five (5) insects to be
included, each worth up to three
additional points (see below).
Most of your 100 - 105 specimens will be pinned, though a few (like the Springtail
or flea and possibly
termites) may be turned in in alcohol. However, even Springtails can be
point mounted (I'll show this
in lab). Non-hexapod
arthropods (spiders, scorpions, centipedes, millipedes) will NOT count.
I'll remind you to collect a few extra of species seen if you can. That way
you can trade with classmates
and help each other fill in holes in your
collections!
TURNING IN and GRADING OF your COLLECTION
Turning in your collection. Before you turn your collection in, you
should organize the collection so
that all insects in a particular order are
TOGETHER in a portion of the pinning boxes. In other words,
the beetles might
all be in the upper left hand corner, the flies in the upper right, the caddisflies in between
them, the orthops in another corner, and so on. To go
along with the ordered collection, I also want a
numbered sheet (from 1
to 100+) with the family identifications for each insect listed on it. You do
NOT
have to put separate numbers on each specimen. To clarify, suppose you have put
13 beetles in
the upper left hand corner of a box, and you decide to start the
list with the beetles. Put "Coleoptera"
on the sheet, follow this with thirteen
numbers, and then list the families of the thirteen beetles you have.
I’ll be
able to match them up easy enough with the family labels that you will put on
each specimen. This
will make my grading a LOT easier, and will also help you
make sure of exactly how many species in
each order and how many total species
you have!
Grading. Turn in at most 105 specimens. These must be in good condition
(in other words, identifiable!).
They must be correctly identified to family
level. Each specimen is worth three points. One point for
neatness of
preparation (how well it is pinned), a second point is for the appropriate
locality/date/collector
label, the third point is for the appropriate
identification (one half point each for the correct order and family).
One more clarification: if you can’t find enough of the required families for
a particular order, then make
sure that you still collect enough species
for that order. For instance, if you were to turn in ten different
scarab
beetles, you would lose one point a piece for each specimen for not
having family representatives;
BUT, assuming they were well prepared and labelled correctly, then each specimen would still be worth
two points. Simply
not collecting a specimen will cost you three points a piece.
MAKE SURE YOU KEEP TRACK OF WHERE AND WHEN YOUR INSECTS ARE
COLLECTED. YOU MUST
LABEL EACH SPECIMEN WITH THIS DATA (this will be
discussed in lab). IF YOU ARE
OUT COLLECTING AND VISIT MORE THAN ONE
LOCATION, PUT THE INSECTS FROM EACH
LOCATION IN A SEPARATE LABELED
CONTAINER UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO PIN AND LABEL THEM.