Articles By Resource type : Video
Asian longhorned beetle

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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Asian longhorned beetle public service announcement

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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Asian tiger mosquito pupa swimming

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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Bagworm

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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Beet Armyworm

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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Biological Control of Fire Ants

Demonstrates fire ant invasion of the southern United States and two biological control approaches: decapitating flies and disease. Upbeat music and corny graphics may make it similar to DDT videos of yesteryear, but it is valuable to quickly demonstrate the problem to students. The video appears to overstate the potential impact of these biological control agents but is a good, and fairly entertaining, introduction to the topic of biocontrol for the RIA. It will be importantant to use this video in the propoer context.

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Blacklighting for Beetles and Moths

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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Blacklighting for beetles and moths

A short video demonstrating the procedures of beetle and moth collecting using a blacklight. Dr. Edward Riley gives tips for successful blacklighting including site selection, ideal times and weather conditions along with a brief outline of which conditions are conducive to which order of insect discussed. 320 x 240 resolution, available in video formats for both Windows and Mac platforms (see main menu for video options).

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Carpenter ant

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

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Carpenter ant feeding

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

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Choosing and Using Insect Nets

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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Choosing and using insect nets

A short video demonstrating which type of net to use for collecting and the appropriate techniques for sweeping and successfully collecting the caught insects. Dr Noel Troxclair gives clear and concise instruction on the finer points of sweep netting. 320 x 240 resolution, available in video formats for both Windows and Mac platforms (see main menu for video options).

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Cockroach grooming behavior

Shows grooming behavior in a cockroach.

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Death watch beetle (Xestobium rufovillosum)

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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Dragonfly nymph feeding

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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Fire ant trail

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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Fire Ants and the Decapitating Fly

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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Fire Ants and Thelohania Fire Ant Disease

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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Forensic Entomology Lecture by Martin Hall

How forensic entomology helps solve crimes, specifically focusing on maggots and adult flies. This is a 23 min video that provides an interesting lecture by Martin Hall that includes a slide show presentation that was recorded in front of an audience. It includes a question and answer session with the audience. Windows Media Player or Quicktime is needed to view video, but there are links to download each software program available through the site. There is also a link on the same page that provides a PDF download that gives a written introduction to forensic entomology.

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Fundamentals of Collecting Aquatic Arthropods

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

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Fundamentals of collecting aquatic Arthropods

**WRONG LINK - GOES TO MAIN MENU** A video mainly demonstrating D-net sweeping for aquatic arthropods. Dr Nancy McIntyre touches on a few other techniques and discusses the need to think about using the right sampling technique when targeting specific aquatic Arthropods. Also discussed are techniques and considerations for different types of water bodies. There a four video types available in 320 x 240 resolution.

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Harvester ants

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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Honey bee feeding (side view)

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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Honey bee feeding (top view)

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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Honey bee stinging

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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insect Aerodynamics

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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Insect collecting

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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Insect collection is easy if you know where to look

An excellent ideas video for where and how to collect insects for teachers in a variety of video types. Dr Jeff Tomberlin demonstrates to viewers a wide variety of easily assessable arthropod habitats, ranging from living and dead vegetation, to leaf litter and soil sampling, carrion, and even dung, along with the tools needed to examine them. 320 x 240 resolution, available in formats for both Windows and Mac platforms (see main menu for video options).

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Insect Flight : Image Sequences, Movies and Pictures

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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Ironclad Beetle walking

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

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Lab-reared Giant Cockroach feeding on bread crumbs

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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Life Cycle of a Monarch Butterfly

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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Livestock Farmers and The Four Flies

This is a collection of three historical films from the Iowa State University Special Collections on www.youtube.com. This includes several historical pest management 16mm films made just after WWII. This particular address is for part one of the livestock fly management series easily accessed on Youtube or from the Iowa State University special collections youtube site: http://www.youtube.com/user/ISUSpecialCollection. While these films are more than 60 years old, the strategies are relevant. In the words of Dr. Wes Watson of NCSU "Not much has changed." The films are short and succinct with the first part at 8:14 and the two other volumes at about 7:00.

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Making an Insect Killing Jar

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

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Malaria: Cooperation among Parasite, Vector, and Host

This is a website containing an excellent flash animation showing the life cycle of the Plasmodium (falciparum) as it enters the human host, multiplies, and then is picked back up by the mosquito. The animation goes into good detail about each life cycle stage of the plasmodium, making this a great source for understanding detailed facets of malaria. There are also links about Malaria including World Heath Organization tracking reports. It is about 2 minutes long.

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Martin Hall Lecture on Forensic Entomology

Martin Hall, of the entomology department at the Natural History Museum in London, lectures on forensic entomology. He covers maggot behavior, the blow fly life cycle, how blow flies find a body and how to collect maggots. Requires QuickTime or Windows Media Player.

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National Geographic: Bugs

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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National Science Foundation: Inside a Beetle's Iridescence

Narrated Slide show well detailing University of Georgia's physical research on light reflection of beetle exoskeletons. Possible uses for various paints, and reflective surfaces are discussed.

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Painted lady caterpillar eating its way out of an egg

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

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Pavement ant nest

Demonstrates opportunistic pavement ant nesting location between stacked boards.

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Pig Decomposition Video

Time-lapse video documenting the decomposition of a pig carcass over two weeks. Waves of colonization by insects are visible, but specific species or taxa are not clearly viewed. The quality of the video is dependent on the software used to view the video. The Window Media Player version gives the best quality.

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Pitfall Traps for Collecting Arthropods

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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Pitfall traps for collecting Arthropods

A very good video demonstrating how to use pitfalls to collect ground dwelling insects. Dr. Nancy McIntyre gives clear and concise instructions on type and construction of pitfall trap to use and how to place in the ground. She also gives tips on killing agents and how to retrieve those arthropods caught in the trap. 320 x 240 resolution, available in video formats for both Windows and Mac platforms (see main menu for video options).

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Praying mantid feeding

Shows a praying mantid as it eats a cricket.

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Side view of carpenter ant

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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Skippers of the Northeast

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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Social Behavior of Polistine Wasps

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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Solitary Wasps

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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Steve Yanoviak's Gliding Ants

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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Three-dimensional ant

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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Using an aspirator for small insects

A short video demonstrating how to use an aspirator to collect small insects. Dr. Noel Troxclair gives clear instruction on technique and the construction of an aspirator. T320 x 240 resolution, available in video formats for both Windows and Mac platforms (see main menu for video options).

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Using an Aspirator to Collect Small Insects

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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Video Clips of Insects from the Forests of Northern Thailand

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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Virtual bee

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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Virtual flea

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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Virtual fly

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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Virtual german cockroach

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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Virtual grasshopper

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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Virtual Japanese Rhinoceros Beetle

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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Virtual mantis

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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Virtual mosquito

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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Virtual Scarabaeid Beetle

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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Virtual stag beetle

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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Virtual termite

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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Virtual water strider

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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Virtual yellowjacket wasp

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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