Information on the distribution, description, life cycle, damage, and biological control of all the mole crickets in the U.S. Includes graphical identification key and four tutorials that teach the concepts of mole cricket control through chemical and biological means. Requires a CD-ROM drive and a web browser. The material is easy to navigate and accurate. This is an outstanding resource.

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An insect life table simulation developed by Hein Bijlmakers. The above URL gets you to the introduction of the simulation model where various aspects of an insect population dynamics are explained. The link to the simulation brings you to the model itself with a myriad of variables including population development; egg; larval; pupal and adult mortality by parasitoids and predators amongst others. This is a great tool to investigate various aspects of insect population dynamics allowing one to investigate the impact of a number of variables on a population and may help students understand the function of insect life tables. Up to 40 generations can be iterated.

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Very good set of information about monarch butterflies and monitoring their annual migration. Some of the graphics on the site are large and may require high-speed internet for quick access. Lots of good lesson plan ideas for highschool and undergraduate students. Ideas that can be expanded for graduate students. Good photographs and video.

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Concise lecture on sound production in insects. Stridulation, forced air through spiracles, wing vibration, and tapping are all discussed with examples. Advantages and disadvantages of sound production are also discussed. The page also links to chemical, and visual communication pages.

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Part of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology's Animal Diversity Web, this site gives a general overview of the class Insecta targeted at college students. The site is organized into five tabs: Information, Pictures, Specimens, Sounds and Classification. Resources include images of live insects and pinned specimens, and sound recordings. Some pictures are only labeled with scientific genus and species names, making it difficult for novice users to understand what Order they are looking at, but many also have common names. Photos and sound bytes are good quality and easy to view and download. A very good resource for teachers needing lecture materials.

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A bibliography of peer-reviewed publications from the USDA on the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta. There are links to PDFs of each article with articles cataloged by year.

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Focuses on antlions (Mymerleontidae). Includes information on classification, habitat, distribution, behavior, life cycle, and how to capture and observe antlions. Also includes videoclips of various antlion behaviors.

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Video shows an adult female Asian longhorn beetle (Anoplophora glabripennis) with characteristic antennae waving. Video also shows the beetle spreading its elytra and flying.

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This public service announcement featuring John Walsh of America's Most Wanted is designed to raise awareness of the Asian Longhorned Beetle. The sound quality and lighting are good. The compression of the video makes the visuals less useable for some purposes.

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Good quality close up video Showing a mosquito pupa swimming. Respiratory siphons are clearly visible. The video demonstrates that insect pupal stages need not be stationary.

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This is a clear, well composed video clip of bagworm bags on cypress and of bagworm feeding behavior. There is no audio, leaving narration up to the end user.

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Nine photographs of well known dipteran, lepidopteran, and hemipteran mimics based on stinging or distasteful models. Photos are of high quality and useful for demonstrations or teaching insect identification.

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A non-journal article about the origin and history of modern bees. Links to discussion of bee fossils, genetic information, distribution of species, and an extensive bibliography are included.

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The caterpillar of the beet armyworm is shown in full body view as well as closeup footage of the caterpillar eating. Since there is no sound track, narration is left up to the instructor.

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A comprehensive bibliography of bees. Over 25,000 references and 8,000 authors are included. Navigation is unclear until one clicks on the Alphabetical Author Reference Index. The ninth edition was reviewed.

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Over 170 bibliographic references to the Zoraptera (angel insects). References from 1916 to 2005. What little is known about these tiny insects is available through this bibliography. The bright green background is somewhat distracting, but the list of references is extensive and organized, and would be useful to more advanced students who are beginning research on Zoraptera.

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An introduction to integrated pest management and biological control concepts, organisms, and practices. Information on specific natural enemies. The guide provides accurate information on a range of natural enemies. While not completely comprehensive, the organisms which are treated are comprehensively described. Each organism is treated on a sperate webpage with information on lifecycle, host range, etc. No special needs are required to use this resource.

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Good quality videos about collecting and preserving insects. These can be used as a stand alone or assigned in parts for students to review.

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Follow the adventures of the Chew family as they go to the Australian bush to study insects and spiders. While their English is not always perfect, there is a vast amount of information on Australian insects including many photographs. Clicking on "More about Insects" leads to examples of behavior, mimicry, reproduction, and evolution. The site is arranged well and the phtographs load quickly.

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Brochosomes are curious protein excretions produced by leafhoppers and spread on the body after molting. They are thought to aid the insect and avoiding sticking to the feeding substrate among other things. Many photographs of brochosomes as well as insects anointing themselves are included, as well as videos.

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A large collection of insect sound files (.wav) ranging from mosquito wings to orthopterous mating calls. Some of the more unusual insect communication files include termite headbanging, and fire ant stridulation.

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A database detailing the distribution records for Lepidoptera of North America searchable by taxonomic group, region (down to county level) species. Species details include identification, life history, caterpillar hosts, habitat, range and conservation status and more. Although a "work in progress" the site is extensive and has a useful links page for Lepidoptera distribution data around the world. Also included is a good glossary page A valuable resource for Lepidoptera enthusiasts and academics alike.

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Medium view of carpenter ant engaged in cleaning behavior of its antennae. Video size is fairly large.

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Closeup video of a carpenter (Camponotus pennsylvanicus) ant using its antennae to sense as it feeds.

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A concise lesson about chemical communication in insects covering both semio and info chemicals. The site includes a short video of grape root borer moths using sex pheromone. Further links on the take the user to visual and auditory communication.

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Noel Troxclair of Texas Cooperative Extension demonstrates the difference between aerial and sweep insect collecting nets and their proper use. Excellent introductory video suitable for undergraduate and graduate students.

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Shows grooming behavior in a cockroach.

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The homepage of general entomology as taught by Dr. Bryan Danforth. Lecture topics are listed and most have PDF files of handouts or Power Points of the lectures attached for download. The focus of these lectures is on understanding insects, their form and function, life histories, and importance to our lives, health, and economy. A link to other entomology courses at Cornell is also provided.

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Natural selection simulation. Plants and animals (insects) go through generations according to parameters entered by the user. Pesticide and herbicide applications can be made, though resistance is not simulated. New species with characteristics like metabolism rate, density, and chance of procreation can be created. Good for understanding population effects. Requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later. Simulation is not available for Windows.

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Nine high-quality, interactive images showing insects that blend with their surroundings with spectacular success. Once selected, the image can be rolled-over to remove the background showing only the insect in question. Orchid mantid, several Lepidoptera, and a couple of Orthoptera are included.

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A short video clip of the famous Death Watch Beetle tapping on a substrate. Several other short videos of the beetle are also available. ARKive is a large British site devoted to wildlife images.

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A National Geographic article about a variety of cave dwelling (troglobite) arthropods. The story dwells on eyeless spiders, translucent centipedes, and other arthropod cave-dwellers and speculates about their phylogenetic relations, as well as their endangered future. The site includes a link to a fine interactive map with images of many of the animals discussed.

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This site includes images, sounds, animation and videos on insects. Great site for undergraduate students learning about the world of insects. Insect images include beneficial insects, common insects, vegetable insects, and agricultural insects. Videos depict insects which include butterflies, ants, grasshoppers, and thrips. Sounds available are for cicadas. An audio section on fire ant sounds and songs about fire ants is entertaining and informative (even if some of ther biological information in the song Freddie Fire Ant, isn't exactly completely accurate). Quality of materials is uniformly accurate. A thrips video link is not working, however.

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Demonstrates the suddenness with which a dragonfly nymph grabs prey using its specialized mouthparts. In this case, the nymph attacks an earthworm.

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A website devoted to online photographic nature guides including guides to select butterflies, spiders, insects, and many other groups of organisms. Care is given to proper classification. Each species page has a comprehensive description including range, flight, and habitat associations. Links to games, screen savers, and ringtones are also included. The links to photographs of species are good, however the site is not comprehensive. For example, only 36 kinds of beetle are presented.

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Traditional evolution of the insects is presented in cladogram form with a neatly organized short article describing the primitive wingless insect radiation into modern insect orders mainly during the Carboniferous period.

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An A-Z listing of a wide variety of entomology based resources. Many university departments, Insect control facilities, and museums are represented here, as well as outlets for gathering collecting and curating gear. Other lings take you to Usenet Newsgroups, and List servers.

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This web site provides various modules on exotic species, including both plants and animals, in North American ecosystems. The site includes methods of introduction; case studies of the Asian tiger mosquito, gypsy moth, and multicolored ladybeetle; a nice discussion of diverse ethics issues; and quizzes. It also includes a glossary of more than 75 terms related to invasive species biology; a multimedia player is required to hear pronunciations of the terms. Undergraduate students will find the site useful as an introduction to exotic species biology, although it is designed particularly as a learning and teaching tool for pre-college students.

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In this investigation, students design experiments to examine intraspecific and interspecific competition using two species of parasitoid wasps. They gather data on the number of offspring produced by females under each of the initial densities of founding females; the resulting data are used to estimate the parameters of the Lotka-Volterra competition model. The predictions of the model are then compared to the outcome of interspecific competition treatments.

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The best lecture on insect mouthparts currently available on the internet. An audio lecture introduces the subject followed by an interactive selection of insect mouthparts with descriptions and exploded views to demonstrate the evolution and adaptive radiation of these limbs.

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For each insect, the following information is presented: host plant, photographs, damage information, life cycle, and management recommendations. This is an excellent collection of tree pests, and the species accounts are accurate, well-laid out, informative, and well illustrated. However, in the table of contents, white pine aphid and white pine weevil are mis-placed under "sawflies," and the heading for "Honeylocust Insect Pests" and the link for "Honeylocust Plant Bug" are transposed.

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Fire ants mark their trail with a substance from the Dufour's gland. The trail used by a group of fire ants is shown. Several examples of groups of ants following each other are shown. File size is large and a highspeed connection is recommended.

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Excellent summary of how the decapitating fly works as a biological control measure against fire ants. Unhurried pace with great supporting video. Good choice for introducing students to the idea of biological control. Video quality is extremely high and the depiction of the complete lifecycle of the fly is valuable.

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Excellent summary of how Thelohania fire ant disease works as a biological control measure against fire ants. Unhurried pace with great supporting video and graphics. Good choice for introducing students to the idea of biological control. Video quality is excellent. This video should probably be used in conjunction with the other two fire ant biocontrol videos produced by the same workers.

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FORMIS is a composite of several ant literature databases. It contains citations for a large fraction of the world's ant literature (about 38,000 references). FORMIS contains all known ant taxonomic literature (through 1996). It also contains comprehensive bibliographies of leaf-cutting ants, fire ants, and Russian wood ants. FORMIS is also the only database which covers ant literature before the 1970s. For further details please see contributions and credits. This database is designed to allow convenient searches of titles, keywords and abstracts when available (online searches or downloads). Citations from this database can be exported to create specialty databases or personal reprint indexes. FORMIS is only updated every year or two, so it is not a source for the most recent ant literature.

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A good collection of videos about finding and catching insects and then preserviving them. Videos include narration.

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An exhaustively researched page on the Ichneumonidae, their biology, classification, life history, and general morphology. Nine subfamilies are covered, and a lengthy references list is provided.

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A reference heavy resource detailing care of captive colonies of these potently stinging ants. A great deal of behavior and biology is also included.

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Definitions of terms commonly used when discussing biological control, a type of insect management. These definitions are tailored to a lay or general audience.

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This is a commercial site that sells insect specimens. Usually quite spectacular specimens, for display. However, they have many excellent photographs of spectacular insects online as well as a fair amount of information about species classification, and origin.

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This is a classroom exercise aimed at high school students (grade 9-12) using insects as population models. This lab exercise was developed by high school teachers working with the University of Arizona and Center for Insect Science Education Outreach staff. Thorough step by step instructions are provided for non-scientists to study aphid biology and reproduction as an ecological model for population growth. The exercise could easily be used in the college curriculum or as an example in teacher training.

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Shows several different views of harvester ants, a major food source of the Texas horned lizard. The video is large and a highspeed connection is recommended. The video shows ants entering their nest and moving on pathways that have been cleared of debris. The nest entrance has guards that are checking each of the returning ants.

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Closeup video of a honey bee (Apis mellifera) feeding on honey and water. Lapping behavior is shown with the mouthparts clearly visible.

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Closeup video of a honey bee feeding on honey and water. Lapping behavior is shown with the mouthparts and honeybee "tongue" clearly visible.

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Closeup of a honey bee, Apis mellifera, stinging a person's arm. The sting and poison sack are clearly visible, including the poison sack contractions.

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A search enabled database of hostplants associated with Lepidoptera. The search page is Boolean and can be accessed with either lepidopteran or plant taxonomic information, or a menu-based search. It is world-wide in scope. The resource can be used for discussions of insect host plant evolution and for economic entomology discussions or lessons.

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A humorously written, well illustrated article about the lives, origins, ecology, and stings of wasps. The article is several pages long and includes an informative bibliography.

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This web page describes current research about insect flight dynamics. It focuses on the work of biologist R. McNeill Alexander of the University of Leeds, whose research team has built large-scale models of insects to test their flight aerodynamics in wind tunnels. At the bottom of the page is a small (160 x 120) QuickTime video of a Morpho butterfly (Order Lepidoptera, Family Nymphalidae) with detailed views of its wing scales. It is an excerpt from the Alien Empire miniseries of the Public Broadcasting Service's Nature series. The video requires QuickTime and may not be accessible to those with older or slow computers. The link to the "enhanced multimedia video clip" did not work at the time of this review.

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Current link unavailable. Unable to review resource. Update link to material and review.

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Discussion of the Bombardier beetle's chemical defense, detailing the explosive qualities of the chemicals, where the beetle is found, a bit about distribution, and what the chemicals do to people. There's also a bit about insects in the news detailing the beetle's role in the ongoing religious debate as it pertains to how such an animal might evolve, with an aside about a Richard Dawkin's demonstration.

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An introduction to looking for insects in various habitats. Jeff Tomberlin of Texas Cooperative Extension takes you to the field and shows you where to look and demonstrates techniques like using a beat sheet or bucket. Filmed in central Texas. The video is an excellent introduction to collecting insects. It is large (16 minutes) and a high speed connection is strongly recommended.

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This Flash animation is part of a lecture series on insect physiology and biochemistry by Dr. Larry Keeley, Professor Emeritus of Entomology at Texas A&M University. Topics covered include prevention of water loss, tanning, and the role of wax. Although unenthusiastic, the voiceover is clear and animation is used well to highlight areas being discussed. Requires Flash. The full version costs $10 to download, but a watermarked demo version can be viewed for free.

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A page from Dr. John Meyer's General Entomology course at NC State University detailing how insects defend themselves. Topics covered include speed, playing-dead, urticating hairs, chemical defenses, protective coloration and more.

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A video site of insects flying. The images are mainly of Lepidoptera, and many of the image sequences can be manipulated to slow the action. There are also many images available as well as the results of several flight experiments. Interestingly the researcher's expertise is engineering and aerospace and emphasis is placed on the mechanics of flight.

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A short and clever discussion comparing how insects walk to how people walk. Inverted pendulum motion, and dynamic stability as compared with static stability are discussed with excellent line drawings.

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A short popular article detailing three major methods of insect mate seeking; visual cues, auditory cues, and pheromones. Embedded links take you to further about.com articles about cicadas, pheromones, and other topics.

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Examples of Mullerian vs. Batesian mimicry are discussed, examples of Lepidoptera are provided contrasting palatable mimics of unpalatable models. A link will take you to another page with an interesting example of a beetle species using cooperation to lure mating bees into being phoretic. Another link discusses jumping spiders that mimic prey.

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This Flash animation is part of a lecture series on insect physiology and biochemistry by Dr. Larry Keeley, Professor Emeritus of Entomology at Texas A&M University. The major aspects of insect morphology are covered. Subjects include external body plan, fat body, flight muscles, and the respiratory, nervous, endocrine, circulatory, digestive and reproductive systems. Although unenthusiastic, the voiceover is clear and animation is used well to highlight areas being discussed. Requires Flash. The full version costs $10 to download, but a watermarked demo version can be viewed for free.

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Audio files in MP3 format of various cicadas, crickets and some other insects recorded in the forests of Chiang Mai, Thailand. A very useful site for demonstrating the diversity of insect calls. This can be used to develop a discussion of species isolating mechanisms and sexual selection.

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The compound eye is explained in this animation with voiceover by Dr. Larry Keeley of Texas A&M University. Topics include lens and photoreceptor formation, function of pigment cells, and the mosaic view of insect eyes with different numbers of ommatidia per unit area. Voiceover is unenthusiastic but accurate, but the animation is used appropriately to highlight the narration. Requires Flash. Demo version is full-length but has watermark. The forward and reverse arrows for the animation did not work when tested on several web browsers for Mac OSX, but all other features functioned properly.

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As of this writing two orders and one suborder of insects are covered: Odonata, Auchenorrhyncha, and Coleoptera. This is largely a photo gallery with some distinctive character descriptions and distribution information.

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Lesson plan using termites for hypothesis testing. Individual and group learning is emphasized. Other insects could be substituted if termites are not available. Filter paper and essential oils are needed. The lesson plan provides a good framework for investigating social insects. Although it may need modified for some purposes (i.e. include outcome objectives and assessment). The lesson plan forms a framework for other such investigative labs.

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This is a great site to get photographs, range information, seasonal abundance and checklists of dragonflies and damselflies that occur in Iowa. When you navigate to a particular species you not only find information and photos, but also a flight season calendar. The site also includes a section of Species of Concern. One neat feature is the option to display English or Latin names - this can come in handy to teachers and students learning scientific nomenclature.

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Beetle walks across the frame, demonstrating order of leg movement.

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A short Video of a cockroach (Blattaria) feeding. Clip is aa close-up of feeding apparatus in action in 320 x 240 resolution.

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This page deals with research being done on the parasitism of the "blue butterfly" group Maculinea. These species are well known for taking advantage of ants by chemically convincing ants that they are one of their own larvae. This page has some lovely photos, and a nice generalized life history table. Other links deal with aspects of the research including population genetics and communication.

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A well thought-out site full of useful links, information, photographs, and references. Included are links to researchers, high resolution images, keys, and even references in movies.

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C.H. Dietrich's Cicadellidae site dedicated to leafhoppers of the world. The site includes a subfamily by subfamily guide, a key to various groups, a frequently asked questions area, phylogeny,and a bibliography.

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A page in French dedicated to dragonflies and damselflies of Quebec. With many photographs. Sections devoted to life history, ecology, morphology, and collecting are included.

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This is an excellent animated resource for introducing teachers and students to Entomology. The interactive Flash animation covers classification, basic anatomy, beneficial vs. pest insects, and life cycles. The dialogue is engaging, clear, and accurate at the elementary level. After completing the animation students have additional activities and exercises available to them. The links at the top of the page are particularly helpful. Users can access an index of the Flash animation slides, as well as a Teacher's Guide that includes example classroom activities and statewide learning standards for 3rd - 5th grades. Available in English and Spanish. Also available on CD.

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Video of the larval, pupal and adult stages of the monarch butterfly. Pupation and eclosion are shown clearly. Audio is poor, containing uneccessary sound track. Includes suggestions for a lesson plan although it cannot be immediately used as a stand alone. This resource provides a good example of integrating technology into the study of insects with a middle school or high school class. Video footage of monarch butterflies is of maderate quality.

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Videos showing insect collecting techniques. Includes narration and tips for learners.

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A www.Biodiversityexplorer.org webpage devoted to the newly described order Mantophasmatodea (2002). The page includes description, images, behavior, distribution, and phylogenetic information.

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This website centers around the popular, age-old question of why so few insects live in the oceans; only about 250-350 species are routinely exposed to seawater. Marine insects and their special adaptations are discussed and the life histories of several species are treated in detail. The authors formulate and discuss six hypotheses as to why there are so few insects in the ocean. They then weigh in on their choice of the most likely explanation. Teaching notes are included that discuss the utility of marine insects in formulating and evaluating scientific questions and in exploring evolutionary aspects of life. The site is easy to navigate, requires only about 30 minutes to view, and is full of solid information that is presented in a light-hearted manner. No special requirements are needed to use this resource.

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A page deliberately arranged to teach a bit about hypothesis testing and evolution, as well as ponder the reasons why insects do not dominate the oceans. Several hypotheses from salinity, to crustacean competition are discussed. A unique password method is used to access the conclusions of the authors, which can be collected only after reading the other hypotheses suggested.

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Classroom study ideas, questions, and multimedia dealing with Monarch butterflies as classroom study organisms. Information about conservation, migration and tagging, biology, and live butterflies for sale is presented.

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A large resource of information about Monarch butterflies, migration, metamorphosis, and conservation. Many photos from various places highlight the information. This is a teaching focused set of pages. Of major interest are their many links, which deal with migration routes, roosting sites, and various other activities of interest.

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Bibliography of scientific literature on the monarch butterfly. The references have been helpfully organized into topic areas and subtopics.

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An interactive site devoted to general entomology and specific information on 12 charismatic insects species including, Monarch butterflies, Morpho butterflies, mandids, Luna moths, and crickets. The site includes insect descriptions, morphology, behavior, as well as games and other interactive insect oriented entertainment. Includes the often sited formula for calculating the temperature from chirping crickets.

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A variety of impressive videos of a large variety of arthropods from bedbugs to centipedes and more. One drawback is the number of advertisements you must sit through before viewing. Videos are about 1 to 2 minutes long and include narration. Of particular entertainment value is the match between a large centipede and a "grasshopper mouse".

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An engaging National Wildlife article about insect evolution spotlighting some of the more unusual and bizarre insects from caves to islands isolation pushes speciation and provides hypotheses to difficult questions. Highlighted here are some of the more fantastic of these unusual insects, predatory caterpillars, and blind cave crickets. The article also ponders the destructive potential of invasive species.

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The Orthoptera Species File (Version 2.0/3.1) is a taxonomic database of the world's Orthoptera. It contains full synonymic and taxonomic information for more than 25,000 valid species and more than 39,000 taxonomic names, and has more than 140,000 citations to references Users can also access images and sound recordings for many species. The "Education Exercises" link has tools (in both English and Spanish) to learn about synonymic lists, the taxonomic history of a generic and specific name, type specimens, and valid names. There also are interactive keys for identifying and diagnosing species of Orthoptera and teaching users about the Linnaean hierarchy. Another useful resource on the home page is the list of experts and their contact information. The OSF is useful for professionals, students, educators and users with a general interest in Orthoptera. It stands out as excellent because it is well-documented, has many "help" features to guide users, and is associated with a well-respected group, the Orthopterists' Society. If you are not sure where to start looking, or if you are interested in how the database is constructed, use the home page links listed under "Other Places to Start".

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Shows a Painted Lady,Vanessa cardui, caterpillar eating its way out of its egg.

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Demonstrates opportunistic pavement ant nesting location between stacked boards.

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Thorough discussion of the Periodical cicada, life cycle, habits, songs (includes audio files), biodiversity, brood range maps, bibliography and more.

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Knowledgebase of urban, structure, lawn and landscape pests. Includes sections on pest management theory; biting and stinging insects; pests of food, fabric and wood; occasional invaders; lawn pests; landscape pests, and some vertebrate pests. Includes pest identification keys. This is an excellent resource, although much of the material is specific to Florida. Vertebrate pest management sections are also of high quality and interesting. Requires a CD-ROM drive and a web browser. $25.

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The Phasmida Species File (PSF) is a taxonomic database of the world's Phasmida (stick and leaf insects, known as walking sticks and walking leaves in the U.S.). It provides useful and accessible information for professional taxonomists and systematists, such as full synonymic and taxonomic information for over 2,700 valid species and 3,900 taxonomic names (all ranks, valid and not valid), and over 11,000 citations to references. The PSF home page also lists phasmid specialists by geographic location, so users can email them with questions. What makes the PSF stand out as excellent is the substantial amount of documentation and "help" features to guide users. This makes the site easily-accessible to professionals as well as students and educators with more general interests (e.g., rearing records and photographs). If you are not sure where to start looking, or if you are interested in how the database is constructed, use the home page links listed under "Other Places to Start". For information and statistics about the current status of the database (as of October 2006), click on the "About this website and the underlying database" link on the home page.

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Many well illustrated examples, with many insects, of various forms of coloration or patterning for Camouflage, mating, communication, mimicry and other purposes. Examples for entomological use include walking sticks, katydids, moths, ambush bugs, and many others.

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A good online resource with video and dialogue for making an insect collection. Videos include different methods of capturing insects and preservation techniques.

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Nine high quality photos of various insects important in pollination. Photos include several Hymenoptera, a soldier beetle, a fly, and several Lepidoptera. Photos are useful for demonstration, and for teaching insect identification.

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This website provides a bibliography of about 45 popular classics in entomology, written as early as 1895 to as late as 2002, that emphasize the human side of entomology. The list, compiled by Lou Bjostad (Colorado State University), includes works from 1895 to 2002 and is arranged alphabetically by author. These books will inspire a love for insects and a fascination for the natural history of insects. Included are a wide range of books, from well-known works such as Rachel Carson's Silent Spring, to lesser known but, nonetheless, marvelous works such as Hans Zinsser's Rats, Lice, and History. All entomologists, as well as all biologists, should read everyone of these works.

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Shows a praying mantid as it eats a cricket.

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Nine high quality insect predator photographs including a mantid, a tiger beetle, a lacewing, ambush bug, and more. Excellent for putting into classroom presentations, or use for teaching insect ecology or behavior.

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Radar tracking used to profile insect migration, mating and flight patterns. Many links to various pages include current workers in radar entomology, historical uses of the technology, and many images.

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An excellent collection of different kinds of insect sounds: movement and feeding sounds, courtship, defensive stridulation, and insects flying. The sounds are organized by topic and species. The audio files are in .wav format which can be played in nearly all web browsers. Although some links are not working, this is a comprehensive resource to include insect sounds in teaching and learning exercises.

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Comprehensive database of information on scale insects (Homoptera: Coccoidea), an important pest of greenhouses and fruit trees. Topics include general information, economic importance, life histories, distribution, ecology and classification. Users can query the database for information like valid names, distributions, hosts, references, synonymy, and remarks for a particular taxon. The bibliography goes back to 1758. Last updated December 2006.

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A lesson plan devoted to understanding "capture, mark and release" methods of estimating population densities. The lesson plan is straight forward and mainly requires an appropriate field for grass feeding insect collection. Students will learn about sweep net methods, as well as population estimation, and insect diversity.

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A summary of the Mecoptera, including a key to North American adults.

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Close-up side view of carpenter ant feeding on artificial diet. Videoclip is very short and shows the antennae and mandibles of the ant as it examines the diet.

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Maps, photographs, drawings, songs, keys, and references are available for many species of crickets, katydids, and cicadas from North America. Useful for answering the question "what is making that sound, what does it look like and where does it occur?" Keys for some groups (cicadas) are all textual, while other groups such as katydids have pictures and drawings allowing lower division students to be able to identify these insects.

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A guide to the songs produced by Orthoptera and cicadas in North America north of Mexico. Site includes sound files (as well as spectrograms of the sound files) of of some of the species described, keys to the groups, and many images. It is a work in progress and contributions are being solicited. The bibliographic references are quite extensive.

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Excellent short videos of skipper butterflies(generally the more challenging to identify of the Lepidoptera), with short voice overs describing color patterns and a bit about distribution, and flight period. The skippers are often shown basking, or feeding.

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Behavioral videotapes of polistine wasps form the basis of a student project to explore data observation and analysis, using the scientific method. This is a learning exercise based on real-world data concerning the social structure of insects. A very interesting website with many teaching applications.

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Wasp behavior recorded in video format, and discussed at length. Behaviors discussed include, lunging, chewing, egg-laying, and fighting. Other links include information about genetic work being done, and general wasp info.

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Many videos of representatives from many families of wasps. These are mostly without narration at the time of this writing, but the author intends to add more information to the images.

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Japan has a long tradition of appreciating the songs of Orthoptera, and caged orthopterans are often kept as singing pets. This website presents photos of various singing insects (on a grid for sizing), as well as the Japanese common name and scientific name for each species, the time of year when they are found, and their habitat and distribution. The presentation is available in both English and Japanese languages. More than 90 songs are available for various Orthoptera (crickets, katydids, grasshoppers, and mole crickets); several additional songs are available for beetles and assassin bugs. Also available are more than 10 examples of chorusing orthopterans, as well as examples of variations in songs caused by temperature and other factors. Click on the Insect Sound links. Audio files are in MP3 and RealMedia format. Each song plays for roughly 10 to 30 seconds. This is a wonderful website.

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A audio library with a good selection of crickets, katydids and cicadas form Lang Elliot and Wil Hershberger. The audio library is searchable by groups of similar species and by species. There is also a library of 20 common insect songs and a "Vocabulary of Insect Songs" with short explanations of how the various groups make their songs. This is a great resource of insect songs for undergraduate and graduate courses or for individuals trying to identify an insect by its song. There is also a section about keeping a singing insect as a pet.

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A less well known 1964 research into the famous waggle dance and other bee communication methods concluding that other bee produced sounds carry more meaning than the actual shape of the dance. A discussion of queen "tooting" and "quacking" is also offered here, followed by a long discussion of how the bees may be producing these sounds.

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Interactive illustration with different organisms sized based on relative number of species. Especially interesting is the relative size of the arachnids and insects. Requires Flash 5 or higher.

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Home page of the gliding ant research of Steve Yanoviak including many videos of ants falling and swerving back to the tree, comparison videos of non-gliding ants are given for comparison. This is a fascinating insect behavior that may be an evolutionary step in insect flight.

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A source for a variety of electronic newsletters, and list servers to distribute regular information from teachers, experts in the field, and other interested parties about a variety of arthropod topics, including insects, spiders, and museum collections.

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Various caterpillars that create silk tents are covered on this website. Life history, biology and many images of the most common tent making caterpillars. Covered here are the four species of Tent Caterpillars, Fall Webworm, Tiger Moth Caterpillars, and others. A bit of IPM is included with a discussion of Bt.

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This Australian website is an interactive activity where students learn about the importance of termites to the Savanna ecosystem. Students explore the castes of termites, the home structure and function, and the impact of the colonies on the surrounding landscape. A decent ecology primer, as well as introduction to termites. Other website links lead to other savanna information.

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A collection of colored scanning electron microscope images of insects (and a few spiders) by Dennis Kunkel Microscopy, Inc. The images are arranged as FBI-style rap sheets, each one containing the scientific name and facts about that species. There are two different “12 most wanted bugs” pages: Bug Mugs (head shots) and Bug Bodies. Several species appear on both pages. The images are clear and the fact sheets are easy to read (although no references are provided). Also check out the "Zoom In!" link at the top of the page for more insect images.

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A page concerned mainly with Hexagenia spp. mayflies, their common name, and "hatching" behavior as it applies to fishing, and concerned human witnesses of the event. Nice discussions of environmental impacts, the many common names, and importance to fishing is included. Most impressive are the series of molt photographs documenting the subimagal molt to adult, Ephemeroptera are the only group that molts after flying!

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Images, life cycles, coloring pages, and well-designed teaching tools about butterflies are presented in a website with lots of photography. Five lessons are oriented around pollination. An interactive pollinator quiz allows users to pick appropriate pollinators for various flowers allowing discussions about pollinator ecology.

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External anatomy of the cockroach, presented from various angles with body parts clearly labeled on photographs rather than diagrams. The user can navigate their way through different views of the head, thorax and abdomen sections. There are also close-up views of the legs. The user can download each image. The internal anatomy section is under construction.

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A general audience discussion of the natural history of Glow Worms of Britain. This well illustrated page also provides tips for venturing out and seeing them for yourself. The author is a lifetime naturalist and fellow of the Royal Entomological Society.

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The information provided includes information concerning the morphology, distribution, hosts, damage, and life cycles of the Hessian Fly. Also includes a listing of Hessian fly research labs and a bibliography in regard to pest management. The work is succinct. It gives a good overview on the Hessian fly. Internet is needed to access the information.

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Honey bee workers communicate distance and direction of a food source to other workers through a dance language. A diagram of the dance as well as general and technical articles (PDF) about the dance language are provided. Site currently has a number of broken links and images at the top of the page. Fix these or make a stand-alone page and re-submit the site for approval.

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A short, well illustrated article about light producing insects. Includes a discussion about the range and intensity of the light, a little about behavior of lampyrids, and finally ends with some interesting cultural facts.

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Focussing on the use of the tobacco hornworm as an experimental animal in the classroom, this site includes information on rearing, life cycles, and lesson plans.

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National Public Radio audio slideshow about ants and eusociality, as well has Wilson and Holldobler's newest book (as of this writing)mainly about leafcutter ants and their giant colonies. An excerpt of the book is included as well as audio of Dr. Wilson discussing ants.

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Facts and Theories on the Insect Head, Part 1. Audio recording accompanied by illustrated transcripts of lecture given in 1960 by seminal insect morphologist Robert E. Snodgrass. This lecture series covers the morphology and evolution of the insect head in two parts. Part I discusses the structures of the head and mouthparts, and begins to address the evolution of segmentation (continued in Part II). The web page is clear and easy to follow. The transcribed text makes it possible to follow along with the entire lecture even though parts of the audio file are difficult to hear. The text is clearly annotated to tell the reader when Snodgrass is using a figure, and those figures are labeled accurately and placed properly throughout the text. This is an excellent supplemental resource for anyone taking or teaching an insect morphology class. The lecture was moderated by William Bickley and transcribed by Jeffrey W. Shultz, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland.

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Facts and Theories on the Insect Head, Part 2. Audio recording accompanied by illustrated transcripts of lecture given in 1960 by seminal insect morphologist Robert E. Snodgrass. This lecture series covers the morphology and evolution of the insect head in two parts. Part I discusses the structures of the head and mouthparts, and begins to address the evolution of segmentation (continued in Part II). The web page is clear and easy to follow. The transcribed text makes it possible to follow along with the entire lecture even though parts of the audio file are difficult to hear. The text is clearly annotated to tell the reader when Snodgrass is using a figure, and those figures are labeled accurately and placed properly throughout the text. This is an excellent supplemental resource for anyone taking or teaching an insect morphology class. The lecture was moderated by William Bickley and transcribed by Jeffrey W. Shultz, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland.

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Evolution of the Arthropods. Audio recording accompanied by illustrated transcripts of lecture given in 1960 by seminal insect morphologist Robert E. Snodgrass. In this 3rd lecture of the series Dr. Snodgrass discusses the evolution of the arthropod body plan from a phylogenetic perspective. The lecture also covers the phylogeny of Hexapoda and the diversity and evolution of insect appendages compared to those of ancestral arthropods. The web page is clear and easy to follow. The transcribed text makes it possible to follow along with the entire lecture even though parts of the audio file are difficult to hear. The text is clearly annotated to tell the reader when Snodgrass is using a figure, and those figures are labeled accurately and placed properly throughout the text. This is an excellent supplemental resource for anyone taking or teaching an insect morphology class. The lecture was moderated by William Bickley and transcribed by Jeffrey W. Shultz, Department of Entomology, University of Maryland.

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This is a commercial website for the sale of a book with accompanying CD collecting the songs of some 76 insects. A few other products are also available on the page. The main resource useful on the page is a "jukebox" of eight common insect songs including several crickets, a couple of katydids, and two cicadas. The recordings are high quality and unmistakable.

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A 40 chapter online book devoted to insect "champions" in the manner of a world records list. Subjects include, fastest flier, longest lived adult, fastest runner, largest eggs, loudest, most toxic, and more. The Insect Records represent student research and include citations. This project can serve as the basis for additional student assignments to examine adaptations, ecology, and extreme environments.

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This page, dedicated to the charismatic and large orthopterous insect known as the "weta" includes links to classification, morphology, a picture gallery and references.

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Three-dimensional rendering of an ant. This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the orginal models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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Current, on-going phylogenetics devoted to the representation of the evolution of life through the use of the most current published data. This particular page highlights the evolutionary relationships of the arthropods showing the insects (Hexapoda) sister-grouped with crustaceans, and outside this arrangement the centipedes and millipedes. The groupings are not yet well resolved as the site is an on-going world wide scientific project. Links to all varieties of organisms are included.

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C.H. Dietrich's site dedicated to Treehoppers of the world, includes a frequently asked questions link, with species, distribution, and collecting information. Information about phylogenetic relationships could be used for upper division courses.

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A bibliography of publications from the USDA Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology. Cataloged by year and searchable by peer-reviewed journal publications only or all publications. Links to each publication give reference details along with an interpretive summary as well as the technical abstract.

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A large set of online videos describe insect collecting techniques. In addition, curation methods are demonstrated and described. A very good set of materials for introducing students to the art of making collections. Some videos are long and require a good internet connection.

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Twenty lesson plans (NSES aligned) directed at students K-3, feature lessons on observation and description, growth, morphology, grooming, and more. General information sheets on a variety of insects (mosquitoes, ants, flies, crickets, mantids and others) are available as well as cited references, rearing information, and links to suppliers. To be included in the entomological library for college students, the creators of the site should use it as a template to improve education of teachers. The site provides many good lesson plans but at present does not make a link to training teachers.

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A PDF file with a lesson plan, biological information, and instructions for the teacher mainly about using a particular termite behavior to teach scientific method. It is aimed at grade school level students, but the ink-mimicking-pheromone "trick" has been demonstrated at much higher class levels. And the information in the file could easily be adapted for undergraduate use.

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The substrate vibration songs of membracids and cicadellids are the focus of this site. So far just a few species are represented, their vibrations converted into audio (and sounding like humpbacked whales).

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Video clips are mostly of butterflies, but also include other video of insect behavior, such as a parasitic wasp attacking a spider and a damselfly eating a moth. Video is in QuickTime format. Clips are short (quick downloads) and the resolution is generally very good.

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3D virtual image of a honey bee (Family Apidae *spelled Apiidae in the image caption*). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a flea (Order Siphonaptera). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a blow fly (Family Calliphoridae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a German Cockroach (Family Blattidae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a grasshopper (Family Acrididae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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This is a 3D virtual reality image of the "Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle," or Allomyrina dichotoma (family Scarabaeidae, subfamily Dynastinae). Menu tools can be used to rotate and/or zoom in on the image. The clarity of the image is excellent, but gets slightly blurry when fully zoomed. This is a high quality resource for teaching, especially for topics involving insect morphology. The Cornell University "Beetle Science" home page (http://www.explore.cornell.edu/scene.cfm?scene=Beetle%20Science) has many more excellent resources for teachers and students. QuickTime 5.0 is required to view it, which possibly could limit users with older or public computers.

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3D virtual image of a mantis (Family Mantidae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a mosquito (Family Culicidae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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This is a 3D virtual reality image of the shiny green beetle Chrysophora chrysochlora (family Scarabaeidae). Menu tools can be used to rotate and/or zoom in on the image. The clarity of the image is excellent, but gets slightly blurry when fully zoomed. This is a high quality resource for teaching, especially for topics involving insect morphology. The Cornell University "Beetle Science" home page (http://www.explore.cornell.edu/scene.cfm?scene=Beetle%20Science) has many more excellent resources for teachers and students. QuickTime 5.0 is required to view the image, which possibly could limit users with older or public computers.

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3D image of a stage beetle (Family Lucanidae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a termite (Order Isoptera). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a water strider (Family Gerridae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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3D virtual image of a yellowjacket wasp (Family Vespidae). This movie is also available as a Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML) model. The VRML models are more interactive than the QuickTime versions, but special software may need to be downloaded to open them (read the “Help” page for details). Those people using public computers may be limited from fully accessing the resource. Mozilla Firefox users can view the VRML files directly in their browsers by downloading the Cortona extension (http://www.parallelgraphics.com/products/cortona/download/netscape/). This website is an excellent educational resource for all ages. The Virtual Insects home page (http://www.ento.vt.edu/~sharov/3d/3dinsect.html) has a basic explanation of how virtual reality works, including the Virtual Reality Modeling Language. The "Virtual Images" link takes you to a list of insects that can be viewed as 3D digital reconstructions. The image files would make excellent additions to teaching lectures for introductory classes. Visit the "How to Build Virtual Insects" page to read about how the images were created and how the original models were made more biologically accurate. Also be sure to read the page on how to view the cyber-insects inside a virtual reality "cave".

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Nine high-quality photographs of insects that demonstrate bright yellows and oranges, often in banded patterns, which provide predators information about distaste or poison. Great for demonstrations or insect identification lessons.

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Historical and evolutionary basis and discussion of mimicry. The ecological and genetic basis are discussed as well as some details about speciation. These are excellent introductory lecture notes, but are lacking in illustrations.

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Basic introduction to dragonfly (Odonata: Anisoptera and Zygoptera) anatomy, biology, ecology and behavior from the Minnesota Odonata Survey Project. Concise yet clear and a good place ot start for biological information on these fascinating insects.

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A short, well illustrated article about the research done on gliding insects as a possible evolutionary link toward flight. Initially noticed when ants were dropped from tree branches and swerved back to teh tree trunk, this research now goes on on many primitively wingless insects that can also glide.

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Nine insects in high-quality photos that specialize in wood-feeding, and habitation. In many cases insects are pictured with their damage. Several common wood-boring beetles are included.

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Knowledgebase of pest and beneficial arthropods of woody ornamentals of the southeastern United States. Pests include aphids, borers, chewing insects, galls, lace bugs, leafminers, scales, spider mites, thrips and whiteflies. Other topics include host plant resistance, biologically compatible pesticides, scouting, monitoring and beneficial organisms. Requires a CD-ROM drive and a web browser. $12. This resource is extremely informative and easy to navigate once launched; however, a more intuitive "gateway" would be desireable. The taxa covered by the resource are skewed towards those found in Florida and other parts of the south, but much of the information will be useful in other parts of North America.

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