Can't Wait for Spring

May is only a week away, however April is proving cold and wet in Nebraska this year.  However, this hasn't stopped us from finding insects in our world.  Despite the temperature hovering around freezing, and a cold rain falling; we pulled on our rain gear and went outside to collect some insects.

One of the most important characteristics that make insects such fantastic teaching tools is their availability.  Although it was cold and raining, you can still find insects in your environment.  This post is focusing on a garden pest, commonly called the bagworm moth. These critters are members of the Psychidae family.  They are moths, not worms as their common name may imply. They are plentiful in suburban and urban setting in the eastern United States, as far west as Texas and Nebraska, as far north as Massachusetts, and as far south as Florida.

At first, it may be tricky to find these little critters, they are an excellent example of camouflage.  Can you see how the outside of the casing is covered with bits of the host plant, including needles and branches?  Notice how it is attached to the arborvitae? There is a shiny, very strong piece of silk that attaches to the host plant, called a cremaster. Wiggle the branch, or better yet, have your child wiggle the branch and watch how the silk acts like a pendulum, allowing the casing to move freely with the wind. Often, the silk will be covered with a type of insecticide, to prevent predators from climbing down and attacking the casing. 

In hunting small game, it's easy to miss something you are not looking for. So, to increase your odds, first look for a common host plant. In this case, bagworm moths enjoy evergreens. After you find some evergreens, look for some dead spots or patches of the plant where the leaves or needles have been stripped. You will often find an insect responsible for plant damage, so spotting brown leaves/needles is a good point to start your investigation. I've included a picture of typical damage from the bagworm moth.

When collecting any type of casing or cocoon, it's best to take as much of the foliage as possible - more on this later.  James was more than happy to hold the basket and catch the falling casings. Older children would probably enjoy clipping the branches, too.

While we were outside, we collected a couple of sticks to provide some height to hang the casings on. I am using a critter container, which usually run around $10 at a pet supply store.

Here is another view of the casing and the amount of plant material I collected.

Notice how I used the sticks at an angle to provide height for hanging? These casings look a lot like a chrysalis that a caterpillar would make before emerging as a butterfly or a moth.  In this particular case, the casing is not actually a chrysalis, i.e. no moth with wings is going to emerge from this case. Adult, female bagworm moths do not have wings.  They look a lot like a grub, and each one lives in one of these casings. During the summer, you may notice them hanging from a strand of silk from the tree.  The female is probably dead right now, but inside of her are hundreds of eggs that will hatch and emerge in the spring. If a large butterfly was going to emerge, it is very important to provide them with an area to hang and stretch their wings.

 Anyways, the point is, you DO NOT have to know what will emerge to have this be a meaningful entomological experiment.  In fact, not knowing what will hatch can be half of the fun! I wanted to mention this point because if you don't know what will emerge, its best to prepare for a huge butterfly, and give them plenty of vertical and horizontal space to spread their wings. This activity is a great way to speed up the arrival of spring, if you are just as impatient as we are!  Because it is warmer in the house than outside, we should have some emerging bagworm moths very soon! Hopefully, we will have more pictures to post soon!

Boxelder Bug Safari and Buffet

It's that time of year again!  Mother Nature is making good on her promise to bring us spring, and after a long, Nebraskan winter, we are excited for the warm weather.  At this time of year, you may have the privilege of witnessing a spectacular event - the emergence of overwintering insects!  A common bug that you may see emerging for the spring, is the adult boxelder bug.

Many folks do not welcome these magnificent creatures into their homes, however they really aren't that big of a nuisance. They don't sting or bite, they rarely eat house plants or items from your pantry (as you will see later in the post), and are just interested in finding a warm place to stay during the winter. They will leave as quickly as they can, once the spring comes.

Since we have been cooped up in the house, I told the kids we were going on a safari - a perfect activity for a cold, rainy spring day. It is also great practice for the days of collecting insects that will come in about a month. Children are natural observers and make great insect collectors.  Since boxelder bugs generally enter homes through old window casings, holes from cable cords/pipes entering the home, cracks in siding/foundation, we focused our safari on the south side of our house where it is warmer, near a couple of older windows.  My enthusiastic junior entomologist left no nook or cranny overlooked, and decided to remove the floor vent, too.

Boxelder bugs have a some wonderful characteristics which make them perfect for handling by children. Most importantly, they will not bite or sting, so children can handle confidently.  They are fairly robust, so they can withstand tiny hand's pincher grasps, and allow children to develop great fine motor skills.  I find another extremely important characteristic is they are a gregarious insect and when you find them, they are usually prolific. This is great, in the likely event that a few get smashed while your child tries to pick them up. Also, there are plenty of specimens for all of your children - anytime I can avoid a lecture on sharing is a big positive!

Once the kids each caught a boxelder bug, I asked them if they thought the bugs were hungry.  My two-year old was excited and suggested we feed them breakfast.  I asked him what he thought the bugs would like to eat.  He suggested chocolate and grapes. I created a plate with several options on it; pictured from the left is spinach, an M&M, two goldfish crackers, a piece of onion and half of a grape. And then we waited and observed.

Depending upon your child's age, the waiting might lasted longer than what my two-year old was able stand.  As you can see in the next picture the boxelder bug wasn't really given a lot of time to investigate the M&M before my son grabbed it...doesn't look like he'd pass the marshmallow test!

As I mentioned before, boxelder bugs aren't pests of the kitchen. They usually go into an overwintering period, which is similar to hibernating mammals. Overwintering insects slow down their metabolisms; during this time they don't need to eat. At most, they would probably appreciate a tiny drink of water.  Just use the lid from yogurt cup or Tupperware container and add a few drops of water.  Watch with your kids to see how he uses his proboscis (nose/mouth part) as a straw to drink the water. We gave our little specimen a drink before we sent him on his way.

Be not afraid

My husband is one of the bravest men I know. As veteran, he spent considerable time in combat zones, and deployed on countless occasions. I remember a few nights before he deployed to Afghanistan, our garage reeked of permethrin (an insecticide). He had to soak his uniforms in a solution of permethrin; the same type that is used for the topical treatment of head lice. At the time, leishmaniasis, which is vectored by sandflies, was a legitimate concern for deploying troops. In fact, two of his troops would later be sent home mid-year due to severe soft tissue necrosis from leishmaniasis.

"I am terrified you will be captured by the Taliban." I remember telling him one night, as the deployment departure date grew nearer, and our conversations broached the subject of mortality.

"What are you most afraid of?" I asked him.

"Spiders. Giant, hairy spiders that hunt in packs." He whispered.

I remember choking on my beer, and trying to check his face in the moonlight for a sign he was joking. He was deadly serious and his face was slightly pale as he uttered his deepest fear; arachnophobia.  I suddenly remembered how he would beg me to kill spiders he found in the house.  How he was adamant that I keep any rescued tarantulas at my office, and not in the house.  I suppose I always knew how much he disliked spiders, but I had no idea that they were more terrifying than going to war.

A few years later, we visited his parents in Texas.  I happened to find a teensy, tiny spider and scooped it up to take it outside.  I met my mother-in-law in the hallway, who was absolutely terrified.  I immediately understood the origins of my husband's arachnophobia.

As parents, we have the opportunity to impart our beliefs on our children.  While I admittedly have a few idiosyncrasies that I would love to spare my children from, arachnophobia is not one of them.  I encourage parents and teachers to "be not afraid" of insects and spiders.  The vast majority will not harm you. Start with small steps, you don't have to touch them, start by simply observing them.  Ask your child what they see the insect doing, and why do they think the insect is doing that behavior.  If your child is old enough, have them keep a journal with their observations in it. If they are young, encourage them to color a picture of what they saw or recount their observations during your dinner conversation. The possibilities are really endless!

Introduction

After completing nearly half of the required coursework for the UNL EntomologyDistance Masters Program, my love and knowledge for insects has continued to grow. I find myself looking more deeply at the backyard landscape when I attend suburban picnics. On my early morning jogs, I look forward to the times that I'm up early enough to beat the robin to the cecropia and luna moths clinging to the footpath lights. When I'm at the park with my two children, I take refereeing breaks by looking for dragonflies and damselflies skimming the overly irrigated turf. And I purposely brave the mosquitoes every summer night to enjoy the lightening bugs on my deck.

I truly appreciate that my coursework, work and life history have provided me with “inspectacles”, an imaginative pair of glasses through which I can observe the lives and biodiversity of the insect world. I want to share this vision, and seek to accomplish it through my MS project. 

The goal of my MS project is to start a blog; that targets parents, teachers and children with step by step ideas and tutorials on how to incorporate insects into their lives. 

I believe insects make tremendous teaching tools. They are numerous, accessible, diverse and interactive without batteries. I am always looking for ways to incorporate not only insects, but all kinds of natural elements into the everyday activities of my two children. I also think this is a very appropriate senior project for a land grant university, as it will embody cooperative extension and community outreach.