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.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on insect predators that feed on insect and mite pests. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers lady beetles, mantids, lacewings, stink bugs, robber flies, assassin bugs, syrphid flies, spiders, ground beetles, big-eyed bugs and wasps. Some illusstrations are most appropriate for the southern U.S. Information is accurate. Requires Windows; program must be downloaded to hard -drive before use, but once loaded is intuitive. $15.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on insect predators that feed on insect and mite pests. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers brown lacewings, ambush bugs, dragonflies, damselflies, paper wasps, earwigs, long-legged flies, predaceous mites, damsel bugs, minute pirate bug, tiger beetles, tachnid flies, parasitic nematodes, entomopathogenic fungi and viruses. Requires Windows. SOme illustrations may be most apporopriate for the southern U.S. A couple of the questions have rather arbitrary answers; in general, the tutorials are well constructed and the information is accurate. Requires Windows operating system; program must be downloaded to the comptuer's hard drive, but once loaded is easy to launch and use. $15. Part number SW 154.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on filth flies and insects which bite humans. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers Asian tiger mosquito, black salt marsh mosquito, stable fly, horse flies, deer flies, sand flies, head louse, public louse, bed bug, bloodsucking conenose, house fly, greenbottle flies, bluebottle flies, secondary screwworm fly, vinegar flies, flesh flies, moth flies, eye gnats, humpbacked flies and soldier flies. Requires Windows, and the tutorials must be installed on the computer's hard drive prior to use. Once installed and launched, the tutorials are intuitive to use. Illustrations incorporated into the questions are of high quality and approporiate to the point being illustrated. Some of the illustrated species are of regional significance (southeastern U.S.) and thus may not apply to other geograhic areas. Program includes a tool for recording student performance. These tutorials will be most useful to those particpating in coursework leading to pest management careers, those in general economic entomology courses, and perhaps to students in medical/veterinary courses. $15. Part number SW 156.

Detailed Comments

A series of nine video clips from a cockroach dissection, showing structures of the digestive system (crop, gastric caeca, midgut, Malpighian tubules, hindgut), circulatory system (heart, aorta) and repiratory system (spiracles, tracheae, tracheoles). Ease of use: Text and video are extremely easy to use, although video 1 ("Dissection of a Cockroach Take 2", the title video) is unnecessary, particularly considering loading time. Also, due to differences in browsers and video dimensions, the background image can make it difficult to read the text in a screen that is not resized perfectly, making the site perhaps less user friendly/accessible to, for example, people with visual difficulties. Background necessary: Little if any necessary, although perhaps some additional information in text (e.g., duration of anaesthetization of the cockroach on ice) and pointers (e.g., arrows; such would aid in the circulatory system video, especially) during the videos via some post-video production editing would aid folks that are unfamiliar with the organs (specifically, lower division undergraduates). This should be minimally required though following a single run through by a lab instructor before a lab/video is demonstrated to students; should not be required at all for comparative morphologists. Regarding "core insect principles" below - I have included economic value and environmental services particularly due to the role that bacterial symbionts play in food digestion (as demosntrated in the video), while use of insects in inquiries is checked as cockroaches are excellent models for comparative physiology (e.g., tracheal & open circulatory system vs vertebrate cardiopulmonary system, and MTs vs kidneys). One last additional point is that the author "throws away" the fat body, discounting its very important role in insect biology - comparison at least to the kidney is warranted, particularly in light of its overwhelming presence inside the cockroach when dissected open (surely one student, at least, will ask why there's so much of it yet it's not discussed?).

Detailed Comments

This is a National Science Teachers Association PDF file located on Cornell University's website. The lesson plan is devoted to collecting and assessing stream macroinvertebrates for the purpose of stream water quality study. The last few pages feature some nice drawings of various grouips; stoneflies, beetle larvae, caddisflies, etc, with key determination characters, and an idea of their tolerance to pollution.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on wood-destroying pest insects. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers identification, life cycle, biology, damage and colony structure of the Eastern subterranean termite as well as covering powderpost beetles, old house borer, termites, carpenter ants and carpenter bees. Requires Windows, and the tutorials must first be installed on the computer's hard drive. Once installed and launched, the tutorials are intuitive to use. These tutorials will be most valuable to those studying structural pest management in pest management professional prepratory classes and perhaps in general economic entomology classes. $15. Part number SW 158.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on biting arthropods (fleas and ticks) and stinging insects. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. First tutorial covers adult cat flea, flea eggs and feces, flea larva, flea cocoons, American dog tick, brown dog tick, Gulf coast tick, lone star tick, blacklegged tick, and relapsing fever tick. Second tutorial covers bumble and honey bees, cicada killers, mud daubers and paper wasps, and yellowjackets. Requires Windows. Easy to use once loaded on computer. Some species depicted found only in Deep South. $15. Part number SW 159.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on pests of ornamentals. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers spider mites, broad mites, thrips, lace bugs, mealybugs, aphids and whiteflies. Requires Windows. $15. Tutorials are easy to use once loaded on the hard drive. Images are of high quality. Part number SW 162.

Detailed Comments

A flash demonstration with narration of the dissection of an American cockroach. The demonstration features heart, muslces, salivary glands, proventriculus, midgut, hindgut, and more.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

A preK-4th grade level observational exercise for the classroom focusing on life stages of insects, as well as metamorphosis. Students are provided mealworms to rear, and are asked to observe several other insects to identify their life stages.

Detailed Comments

This site is devoted to art created with paint, paper, and fly larvae as an entomological outreach project. It includes many full color images of art, and a page with supplies for purchase. Although intended for children, the information on the site can be applied by college students as an outreach exercise.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

This tutorial is part of a series of entomological tutorials and covers the general biology and ecology of mosquitoes. The tutorial has 100 questions (50 in each of 2 tutorials); incorrect answers lead to additional information describing the correct answers. Covers all mosquito genera and their habitats, identification, life cycle, biology, and economic importance. Requires Windows. MAC is not supported. The cost for the tutorial CD is $15.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on houshold pests. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers booklice, plaster beetles, centipedes, millipedes, amphipods, earwigs, pillbugs, sowbugs, fungus gnats, springtails, silverfish, scorpions, thrips, crickets and plaster bagworm. Requires Windows. $15. Easy to use once loaded on hard drive. Some of the pests depicted are largely restricted to the Deep South. Part number SW 161.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on pest ants and cockroaches. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers acrobat ant, Argentine ant, bigheaded ant, crazy ant, Florida carpenter ant, ghost ant, imported fire ant, little fire ant, native fire ant and Pharaoh ant, American cockroach, Australian cockroach, brown cockroach, brownbanded cockroach, Cuban cockroach, Florida woods cockroaches, German cockroach, oriental cockroach, smokybrown cockroach and Surinam cockroach. Requires Windows. program must be downloaded on to hardrive, but once installed is intuitive. many of the species depicted in these tutorials are restricted to Florida and the extreme southern U.S. $15. Part number SW 157.

Detailed Comments

A lesson plan for the introduction to pest damage on crops and genetically modified food crops. Modified corn is grown alongside non-Bt corn and infested with European Corn Borer and feeding damage recorded and compared, a standard exercise in pest control applications with a nice introduction to genetic modification.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

This tutorial is part of a series of entomological tutorials and covers the general biology and ecology of many caterpillar taxa. The tutorial has 100 questions (50 in each of 2 tutorials); incorrect answers lead to additional information describing the correct answers. Requires Windows. MAC is not supported. This tutorial covers saddleback caterpillar, puss caterpillar, io moth caterpillar, hag caterpillar, buck moth caterpillar, spiny oak-slug caterpillar, flannel moth caterpillar, azalea caterpillar, bagworm caterpillar, eastern tent caterpillar, fall webworm caterpillar, oleander caterpillar, cabbage palm caterpillar, palm leafskeletionizer caterpillar, and tussock moth caterpillar. The cost for the tutorial CD is $15.

Detailed Comments

Tutorial on insects that attack stored grains and tutorial on German cockroaches. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers rice weevil, lesser grain borer, red flour beetle, sawtoothed grain beetle, cigarette beetle, drugstore beetle, cowpea weevil, mealworms, almond moth and Indianmeal moth. Requires Windows. Program must be downloaded to computer but once installed is intuitive and of high quality. There is a broken link to a photo of a female German cockroach with an ootheca in the German cockroach tutorial. $15. Part number SW 165.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

A high school level genetics project housed on the Tree of Life web project site using Drosophila to predict genetic crosses. The site includes instructions, worksheets, and extensive explanations as well as many images and example results.

Detailed Comments

Tutorials on insects that are common pests of turfgrass. Each tutorial has 50 questions; incorrect answers lead to additional information. Covers chinch bug, fall armyworm, tropical sod webworm, mole crickets, ground pearls, white grubs, spittle bugs, banks grass mite, Burmudagrass mite and fire ants. Tutorials are easy to use once loaded on the hard drive. Requires Windows. $15. Part number SW 163.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

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.

Detailed Comments

This two-page guide for teachers uses termites as a springboard for writing conventions and skills. The exercise includes brainstorming questions and writing assignments. It allows a good deal of flexibility and imagination on the part of the students, although it will tend to evoke anthropomorphism. Students, for example, are asked to discuss how being "almost blind" or "living with 5 million of your brothers or sisters" might feel, and if they would "want to be the king or queen of a termite colony". Students are asked to obtain the necessary scientific information about termites from online sources, library books, encyclopedias, and other soures.

Detailed Comments