Syllabus: BIOLOGY 4900 –
Entomology
Course Sort Number:
80959
Fall Semester 2022 -- 9:25 - 10:40 a.m., Monday & Wednesday, Peeples
111.
Lab meets Monday, 1:40 – 3:30 p.m., Peeples 116.
Dr. James K. Adams -- 164
Sequoya Hall
Off.: 706-272-4427
Cell: 678-767-5938
E-mail:
jadams@daltonstate.edu
Faculty website:
www.galeps.org/jadams
Student Hours: Student Hours: M & W – 10:50 a.m. to 12:00 noon; T – 2:00 to 3:30 p.m.; W also 1:30 to 3:30 p.m.
Thursday afternoon and Friday by appointment
Textbooks: Daly and Doyen's Introduction to
Insect Biology and Diversity, 4th Edition, by Whitfield
and Purcell III, and A Field Guide to the Insects, by Borror and White
Contents
Syllabus: BIOLOGY
4900 -- Entomology
BIOLOGY COURSE
POLICIES and OBJECTIVES
COURSE POLICIES AND
PROCEDURES
Diversity
Basic Needs Statement
August 15 - 18:
On Monday, I will talk about course policies and introduce you to the course
(please peruse Chapter 1). On Wednesday, I'll cover characteristics of
arthropods and then more specifically insects/hexapods (Chapter 15 & 16). I'll
further discuss why we should study insects. In lab, I will cover suggestions for collecting,
and will cover safety while collecting; I will also pass out equipment you will
need.
August 22 - 25:
We will cover the External Anatomy of insects (Chapter 2), including specific
termin-
ology (see the "Entomological Terms" handout), and details of the
integument/exoskelton (Chapter 3,
pages 51-56). In lab, we will discuss
appropriate preparation of specimens (bring any specimens you
have already
collected to lab to practice!).
August 29 - Sept. 1:
On Monday, we'll have our first QUIZ on external anatomy. We will
follow that with a discussion on Molting/Metamorphosis (Chapter 3, pgs. 56-57,
and Chapter 4, pgs. 67-75). This will be
followed by an overview of insect orders (Chapter 16, pgs. 335-342) and a
discussion of the non-insect hexapods (Chapter 18). In lab, we'll have our first FIELD
TRIP, weather permitting.
September 7: Monday, Sept. 5, is the Labor Day Holiday. In lecture on Wednesday, we'll start with QUIZ 2 on molting/ metamorphosis. Then we'll cover the Apterygotes (insects "without wings"; chapter 19). Then we will discuss flight mechanisms (Chapter 5, pgs. 123-127 and 16, pgs. 331-335). No lab this week because of Labor Day.
September 12 - 15:
We will start our discussion with Ephmeroptera (mayflies; Chapter 20) and Odonata (damselflies
and dragonflies, Chapter 21).
September 19 - 22: On Monday we will finish the Orthopteroid orders, and may begin the hemipteroid orders. On Wednesday, Sept. 21, we will have EXAM 1 on the material from the first five weeks (through the Orthopteroid orders). In lab, we will have an exercise on using Dichotomous Keys. Also, BRING YOUR SPECIMENS, as the first 25 will be due at this point (I'll explain in class). There will be a penalty if you do not have 25 insects by this point (you should have WAY MORE than that!).
September 26 - 29:
October 3 - 6:
We will start Monday with QUIZ 4 over the hemipteroid/neuropteroid
orders, and then cover the Coleoptera (beetles, Chapter 39). On Wednesday, we
will finish the beetles and begin the Hymenoptera (Chapter 41). In lab,
we will be examining, and collecting specimens from, our Berlese funnel samples.
October 12: On Monday and Tuesday, Oct. 10 & 11, we have our Fall Break. On Wednesday, Oct. 12, we will have EXAM 2, over Chapters 32 - 40 (the hemipteroid and neuropteroid orders). And, as with the Labor Day holiday, there is no lab.
October 17 - 20:
On Monday,
we will finish the Hymenoptera and begin the Mecopteroid orders (Chapters 42 -
44, 46). On Wednesday, we
will continue with the remaining Mecopteroid orders (except Lepidoptera). In lab we'll have our third FIELD
TRIP.
Friday, October 21, is the last Day to Withdraw with a W (not an F).
October 24 - 27: On Monday, we will cover
the Lepidoptera (Chapter 45). On Wednesday, Oct. 26, we will have EXAM 3
over Chapters 41 - 46 (Hymenoptera and the Mecopteroid orders). Bring specimens
to work on in lab; your second set of 25 specimens is due -- in other words, at
this point you should have 50+ (and again you SHOULD have way more than that).
This week in lab we will also have the KEYING TEST (using a
dichotomous key to identify a set of insects).
October 31 - Nov. 3:
We will cover the
internal anatomy of insects, including the digestive, respiratory,
circulatory, excretory (Chapter 5, pgs. 97-118) and reproductive systems
(Chapter 4, pgs. 76-83). In lab, bring your specimens to work on! We will
also have a review in the DSC
collection for the Identification test two weeks from now.
November 7 - 10:
On Monday, we will start with QUIZ 5 over internal anatomy. We will cover
sense
organs (Chapter 6, pgs. 136-147), and the Ecology unit on
interactions, including vertebrate-insect
(with defenses against predators;
Chapter 8, pgs. 201-212), plant-insect (Chapter 9), insect-insect
(Chapter
10), and insect-microbe (Chapter 11) interactions. In lab, we will do Grasshopper dissection to
analyze the internal anatomy;
November 14
- 17:
This week we will look at human-insect interactions (Chapter 12, overview), in-
cluding how we control insect populations (pest management; Chapter 13).
We will also start our
unit on insect behavior talking about communication
(Chapter 6, pgs. 149-156). In lab, we will be
working on the
collection, and the last 25 insects are due (big surprise). Also, this week
we'll have the
Identification Test.
November 21:
In lab, this will be your last chance to swap
specimens, identify specimens, put labels on the
specimens, organize
your collection, and ask questions of either Darren or me. The collection is
due next week!
November 28 - Dec 1:
seasonality and diapause (Chapter 4, pgs. 83-90). In lab, the COLLECTION IS
DUE.
December 5: Finish up and review for final (cumulative).
FINAL EXAM (cumulative): TBA
Withdrawal date is
Friday,
October 21, 2022.
BIOLOGY COURSE POLICIES and OBJECTIVES
Biology 4900: Entomology – Fall 2022; Dr. James K. Adams –
164 Sequoya Hall
Currently, class will be in person, at full capacity.
Be aware this could change during the semester. Attendance in class is
recommended, but if you are absent, YOU are responsible for the material covered
as well as any announcements and assignments given in class.
Remember, YOU (or somebody close to you) are paying for your
education, so you actually get less for your money if you do not attend
class! Attendance to all labs and
tests is mandatory for all students, unless you have a reasonable and valid
excuse. Make-up labs and tests will
be given only if you have notified me beforehand (with reasonable and
valid exceptions) that you will be absent, and only if I agree that your reasons
are sound. To reach me, call my office at 272-4427, my cell at 678-767-5938,
leave an e-mail message at jadams@daltonstate.edu; or you can call at
home until 9:00p.m. at 706-602-6993 (Calhoun is a local call from the Dalton
area).
If you
miss a test or lab without contacting me (up to 24 hours afterwards), you will
receive a zero for that test or lab, even if you come to us later with a
doctor’s (or other) excuse (there are, of course, exceptions for EXTREME
circumstances). When you contact me,
you need to indicate when you wish to make up the missed test.
If you do it before I am done grading and returning the tests to other
students, you will be allowed to have the same test, but if you schedule to make
the test up after I have returned it to other students, then obviously you will
get a different test. If you missed the scheduled make up time, you will receive a zero,
with excuses only in extreme circumstances.
Anyone caught cheating on any assignment or test will also receive a zero
for that work only – everyone is allowed one bad decision (but only one).
A second instance of cheating will result in an “F” for the course.
You must pass both the lab and the lecture to pass
the course (get an “F” in either and you will get an “F” for the course).
Grading scale:
90 - 100%:
A
80 - 89%:
B
70 - 79%
C
60 - 69%
D
<60%
F
Grades may be subject to some curving after all points are totaled at the
end of the semester. You
will be
notified of such at that time.
The tentative point total for the course is 1060 points (see
below). I reserve the right to add
or delete
a couple of assignments/quizzes at my discretion, though this is
UNLIKELY.
4 exams @ 100 points each –
400
Final
– 150
5-7 20-point quizzes
– 100
Keying
Test (lab)
–
40
Identification Quiz (lab)
–
40
Three collection checks
–
30
Insect collection
–
300
Total: 1060
You may drop/withdraw from
the course without penalty until Friday, October 21, 2022.
DESCRIPTION OF THE COURSE:
This course should be a LOT of fun!
We will start with a
discussion on what exactly makes and insect an
insect, and what other groups of organisms are related to
them.
This will be followed by a brief discussion on why we should be
interested in studying insects. I
will then give a quick overview of some basic biological concepts that you
would need to have to under-
stand basic biology of any living creature.
Then we will discuss the basics of external and internal
anatomy
(with a bit of physiology thrown in) of insects and metamorphosis.
An overview of the major
groups of insects will then follow, with
extra laboratory discussion. The
semester will end with more
detail on the biology of insects, such as
predatory defense, injurious and beneficial insects, chemical/
visual
communication and reproduction, and social behavior.
COURSE OBJECTIVES:
Upon completion of this course, you should be able to:
1.
Indicate the importance of entomology in terms of the impact on human
lives.
a. Indicate some examples of
beneficial insects (pollination, food, silk, etc.)
b. Indicate some examples of
harmful insects (pests on: crops, wood, animals, us!)
2.
Identify several (not all!) different orders and families of insects, and
indicate some basic
distinguishing characteristics.
3.
Recognize and name basic external and internal structures/systems of
insects.
4. Understand the basics
of metamorphosis, and indicate some insects that exhibit the different
types of metamorphosis.
5.
Understand important interactions (including communication and social behaviors)
between
insects and their foodplants, prey, predators, and pathogens.
TIPS FOR SUCCESS:
It is important that you keep a few things in mind
so that you may more easily
succeed in Entomology. First and foremost, if
you have questions about any entomological topic we have
discussed, ASK!!
There is no better way to learn material that you are in any way confused by
than to
ask questions. Hopefully my lectures and the book will provide you
what you need, but I can clarify
anything you wish to have clarified.
Speaking of the book, another way to insure success is to STAY
AHEAD in the
READING. In other words, come to class prepared. This way you will likely be
able to
sit back and listen when I lecture, as you will have already read
something on the topics being covered.
This class has a LOT of classification and learning of superorder,
order, suborder and family names, so
you will need to put in some concerted
effort to learn these names.
Should it be
necessary that we miss classes due to inclement weather or coronavirus, please
refer to the schedule of readings/exercises on the syllabus and my faculty
website at
http://www.galeps.org/jadams
and complete the indicated readings/exercises. Obviously, we can continue online
even if inclement weather or coronavirus does keep us from coming to campus. We
MAY be able to do limited group field trips, IF people are still well and the
college has been closed, but don’t count on it. Do not forget that I have a
special link on my website specifically for test dates and due dates, so it
should be easy to remind yourself if the due date for some quiz/collection
update/test is fast approaching.
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