rose Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) I'd like to extend our nature study to insects and spiders but I'm not sure how to start. Have any of you done this? I like Fabre's books for some reading material. Can you suggest other authors? I'd love to go beyond bees and ants. Suggestions? Edited to add: I should really do a search first. I just found this thread: http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/585541-in-case-anyone-else-wants-to-do-entomology/?hl=%2Binsects&do=findComment&comment=6806818 . I'm still interested in other suggestions, especially ones for younger children. Any ages would be good though. Edited September 30, 2016 by Rose M Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackie Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 Search "field guides insects (name of state)". We have a guide on insects and another on butterflies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IsabelC Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 My kids are pretty into insects, arachnids and other minibeasts. We haven't really done any formal studies, but we have lots of discussions, and watch documentaries. Whenever a kid comes inside with some new spider/caterpillar/etc, we take photos and go onto a couple of websites so we can identify the critter and learn some facts about it. Also we have kept stick insects as pets, and we buy a butterfly chrysalis once a year to watch the butterfly emerge. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HomeAgain Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 We're currently reading Jack's Insects right now. It's slow going here (small type, lots of pages) but the story is so interesting that even my 17yo has picked it up on his own. For the littles, I pair it with playsets (think the Toob style creatures) and picture books about the insects we currently are reading about. And for the littlest, I pair it with a FIAR style lit book: we read about butterflies of the rainforest in Jack's Insects, we do the Very Hungry Caterpillar reading, crafts, and activities. Eric Carle has several insect books that make it easy. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.... Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 We have the Life of a Spider book by Fabre... Creepy Crawlies and the Scientific Method is another book for younger kids that's awesome. We had to buy a used copy, because I think the book is out of print now. My oldest *really* likes insects and spiders - ack! Over the years, she's kept (in her room with the door closed, of course) whip scorpions, a tarantula, wolf spiders, some sort of evil water bug that's huge with pincers (and I told her if it escapes and I find it, I'm killing it!!), the world's fastest spider (that unfortunately DID escape - "surprise, surprise"), dermestid beatles, etc. They raised preying mantises - Chinese and Egyptian. Even *I* learned a lot about mantises (and I have a degree in biology - Lol). Totally not recommended...but my kids brought home an egg sac one time (without telling me) from a leaf and waited for it to "hatch". Like 3 gazillion baby mantises came out of the egg sac. Um, yeah... They've also kept mealworms that you can get at Petco in a habitat until they turn into dermestid beetles. Then, they would do slightly benevolent experiments with them - like seeing how much weight they could pull (yes, this is what weird homeschool kids do - create weight-bearing harnesses for insects), seeing if they could find their way around a container with walls, etc. If they like videos, there are tons of insect/arachnid videos on Youtube (you'll just have to preview things first, because there can be weird things on Youtube, too). The Peacock Spider dance is hilarious (there's several videos). Netflix had a documentary at one point that showed life from an insect's perspective - I think it's called Microcosmos. Lots and lots of library books.... Good luck with your search! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RenaInTexas Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 (edited) For me, nature is the teacher. I got the boys a few tools (listed below), send them outside and they have at it. A plastic bottle never gets trashed around here because they are always building some bug habitat. They follow the bugs to see where they live. When they need to know something, about a bug, to make their habitat more suitable, they find youtube videos or get a book when we go to the library. My ds6, learned all about worms last year and made a worm habitat. Those worms are still alive and thriving. I know use their castings in the garden. I haven't done anything formal, bug exploration has been completely interest-led learning. When they have a deeper question about bugs, I encourage them to research it. For example, ds6 (now 7) learned that worms immediately go back under soil bc the light dries their bodies out when they are above soil. He even captured some and tested it using a flashlight --- and they laid still until he flashed the light on them and then they moved away. He also researched that they come above soil when it rains so they can move locations ---not because they would drown as he originally assumed. He knew about these worm movements because he was outside watching them. So his observations led to questions and then research. One day after a rain, he was rushing to get outside ('I have to hurry'). I asked what the rush was. He said all the worms are out and he wanted to watch them move to their new home. Now he is into slugs and snails. But there is a lizard out there that has him worried for all the bugs. Bug Encyclopedia for identifying bugs Tools to dig for bugs Magnifyer for observing small bugs So give them some tools or a plastic container and set them free --- if they are those kind of kids (willing to get dirty and touch bugs) --- of course. Edited September 30, 2016 by RenaInTexas 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
4Kiddos Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 For younger ones: A Beetle is Shy by Aston Two Bad Ants by Allburg Terry and the Caterpillars by Selsam Field Guides: Kaufman Field Guide to Insects Audobon Field Guide Insects and Spiders Caterpillars in the Field and Garden Books: Wide Fields by Eberle The Big Bug Book by Taylor (For some reason Amazon shows another one that is more expensive. This is the one I am talking about.) Free Old Book Online: The Insect Folk by Morley Grasshopper Land by Morley 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 insect collecting kit $6https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FY2VDO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 In 45 minutes I will be teaching a co-op class, and the kids get a piece of candy for every new type of bug they catch and identify. We'll see how it goes,. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
creekland Posted September 30, 2016 Share Posted September 30, 2016 My youngest was (and still is) interesting in bugs and insects of all type. For anyone with a travel budget or who might happen to live close enough, he absolutely loved our field trip to Montreal's Insectarium. We all enjoyed it, but he was mesmerized and could have signed up then and there for a job if they had hired kids. http://espacepourlavie.ca/en/insectarium A reminder for those in the US, you will need a Passport or Enhanced License. At home, we just let him explore and gave him some resources much like RenainTexas described. Even today as a college student, anyone who knows him goes to him for their bug advice (identification, etc). He learned a ton as a kid - all self directed. We never did a "purposeful" study on it. My other two had little interest (but still loved the Insectarium). 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 1, 2016 Share Posted October 1, 2016 Here is what we did for DD's entomology last year. Note that most of this is high school and college level. DD isn't as into bugs as she is into herps, but she desperately needed something that would get her into the field, hands on, doing fun, exciting stuff, and even in January, insects are active and easy to work with. http://makingmusicwithkids.blogspot.com/2016/01/homeschool-entomology-resources.html The Audubon Insectarium in New Orleans is awesome. If you are on Twitter, follow TheBugChicks and CrawliesWithCri. Both are entomologists who do a lot of outreach and education. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cecropia Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 You can buy some live specimen cultures from Nasco. Wax Moth Culture Fruit Fly Culture Painted Lady Butterfly Culture Similar to the above is the "Butterfly Garden" kit which is also available at Toys R Us. Also, if you can identify some appropriate food plants in your yard/area, you can buy butterfly or moth eggs in the spring from the InsectNet classifieds. Cocoons and chrysalises are available there, too. I would also consider making a pinned collection... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmmetler Posted October 2, 2016 Share Posted October 2, 2016 (edited) Honestly, check your local pet store and bait shop. Our local pet store has flightless fruit flies, house crickets, mealworms, waxworms, superworms, and Catawba worms (all of which are actually insect larvae). The bait shop also has a range of insect larvae and other Arthropods and invertebrates. It will almost always cost less to get them that way-especially if the bait shop works, because they will usually sell just a few of a species. I think we've provided comic relief to our local one for the years we've homeschooled, because we've purchased so many critters to observe, and I've sent a lot of homeschoolers their way. In our case, we looked for insects that were used as feeders because then we had somewhere to send the excess. Most insects should not be released outdoors-there are a LOT of introduced insect and other invertebrate species. The Hissing cockroaches and a tarantula were both borrowed from people who keep them as pets to observe for a couple of weeks. Edited October 2, 2016 by dmmetler 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kalmia Posted October 3, 2016 Share Posted October 3, 2016 Mothing is super easy. The insects come to you. Just about zero work. Mothing is a really fun and easy way to see hundreds of beautiful insect species in your backyard. Leave on your incandescent or florescent outdoor lights (anti bug bulbs, and LEDs don't work for this) to draw in moths and other insects. If you'd like, replace one outdoor bulb with a UV blacklight bulb and you will attract even more moths. You and your child can step outside, observe, take photos (the photos capture the detail of the unbelievable color and patterns many moths display), go back inside to identify or do other things, and go back out again in twenty minutes or an hour and find a whole new set of moths (during the height of the season). The species that visit your lights change over the seasons as well so check your lights throughout the year. Of course there will be fewer in the colder months. Some moths tend to fly after midnight, but many come around right after dusk. Other insects I have seen at my lights include: scorpionflies, caddisflies, fishflies, dobsonflies, June bugs, praying mantis, etc. I have also attracted toads, which are not at all insects, but do love the well lit dining table I set. Now, do turn your lights off after you are done moth watching, so they can get on with the business feeding and of making new moths. A good entry level book is John Himmelman's DIscovering Moths: Nighttime Jewels in Your Backyard https://www.amazon.com/Discovering-Moths-Nighttime-Jewels-Backyard-ebook/dp/0892725281/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475512413&sr=8-1&keywords=john+himmelman%27s+moths If you get really into mothing, you can set up a white sheet illuminated by a black light and/or paint trees with moth bait, but I have attracted over 200 species of moths and 30 species of other insects without this effort using only my porch light. Planting bee balm in your garden will attract day flying moths (as well as bees, butterflies, and more). Also, if you get really into mothing, the slightly expensive but excellent Peterson's Guide to Moths of Northeastern North America is the best print reference. https://www.amazon.com/Peterson-Field-Northeastern-America-Guides/dp/0547238487/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1475512583&sr=8-1&keywords=peterson%27s+moths Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daijobu Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 There are a lot of NOVA videos about insect behavior. Check your library. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shawthorne44 Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 If you want to watch the butterfly life cycle, it is much cheaper to get the refill kit of Painted Lady Butterflies, rather than the whole kit. The instructions are online and can be printed. You can make a nicer habitat with two cardboard circles and tulle. I think the refill kit was around $15. The classroom refill set made a really nice activity for a co-op class. That was $47 for the refill. But, we got a ton of caterpillers and the per kid price was very low. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bics Posted October 4, 2016 Share Posted October 4, 2016 We have CM-style Nature Journals that the children love to draw in. Some days I give an object lesson on a certain insect. It sits in front of us in a glass jar, and we draw it. Then my very young children dictate to me what they observe as I write it for them. This makes it all joy, no drudgery for them. I don't have to do any prep work, and they think they are getting away with drawing and coloring for school. I know they are honing their observation skills and composition skills. win-win. Also, constant review is built in, because they love to look back over their work and remember. This is not something new every year; this is our third year in the same notebook. Neither has finished one yet. So it will just accumulate until full, however many years that takes. This, paired with a small introduction to a different insect at a once-a-week-Co-op has been enough to draw my girls' interest. HTH, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rose Posted October 5, 2016 Author Share Posted October 5, 2016 You can buy some live specimen cultures from Nasco. Wax Moth Culture Fruit Fly Culture Painted Lady Butterfly Culture Similar to the above is the "Butterfly Garden" kit which is also available at Toys R Us. Also, if you can identify some appropriate food plants in your yard/area, you can buy butterfly or moth eggs in the spring from the InsectNet classifieds. Cocoons and chrysalises are available there, too. I would also consider making a pinned collection... That's an interesting idea. The fruit fly culture made me laugh though. You should see my kitchen at the moment. We're living in a fog of fruit flies. I've got two traps set up on the counter. I suppose we could start by studying those! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MIch elle Posted October 5, 2016 Share Posted October 5, 2016 My bug loving son is now raising his own red wigglers (he's 22yo). He always loved bugs, spiders and creatures of all kinds as a homeschooled kid. We loved: Christian Liberty Nature Readers 5 book series The Thorton Burgess series for children (Birds, Animals, Seashore, & Flowers) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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