Wetland Works Activities: Interesting Insects

Interesting Insects

Purpose:

The students will examine insects that live in a nearby pond, stream, or wetland. This activity requires that you take a field trip to a location of this type. In our area we use Miller Springs Nature Center. It provides a wonderful cross section of all types of habitats found within the state of Texas. Note: this activity should be done before the first frost of fall or after the spring thaw.

Objectives:

As a result of this activity, the student will:

1. Collect examples of aquatic insect life.

2. Determine the type of insect the have found.

3. Assess the importance of insects in the local food chain.

Materials:

Kitchen strainer

Jars (Baby food jars with lids work great)

Insect net (optional)

Magnifying glass

Field guide to insects

Notebook

Pencil

TEKS: 3.1A,B 3.2A thru E 3.3A thru D

Procedure:

1. Go to a nearby body of water. Before you do any collecting, look around. What wildlife do you see? Do you notice any insects?

2. Draw are write about any insects that you see. Look them up in your field guide. Can you identify them?

3. See if you can catch any insects. Put them in a jar to take back to the classroom.

4. Now look in the water. What wildlife do you see? Do you notice any insects?

5. Pull the strainer through the water and look at what animals you catch. If it isn’t a fish or polliwog chances are it’s an insect. Put any insects you catch in a jar with some water.

6. Draw or write about the insects you caught. Were there any you could see that you couldn’t catch? Look them up in your field guide. Can you identify them?

7. Chances are that many of the insects you see in the water are larval stages of the insects you see on land and in the air. Many insects stat their lives in water and then move out of the water as they mature. Can you figure out which of the insects you caught in the water are an earlier stage of the same insects you saw on land?

8. Take the insects you caught back to the classroom and try to identify them more clearly. See what you can learn about them.

Questions:

1. How would the food chain change if many of the insects didn’t have aquatic life-history stages?

2. What role do insects have in nature?

Extension:

Before a rain, look at your school grounds. Where do you think puddles will form? Put markers where you think water will gather. Do you think it will stay longer in one place than another? Why? After the rain, do check out your hypotheses. Were you right? Are any animals using the puddles?

Resources:

http://ericir.syr.edu/Projects/Newton/14/wetlands13.html

This activity came from "Newton’s Apple" which is a production of KTCA Saint Paul/Minneapolis. Tapes of the episode of Newton"s Apple that deals with wetland can be ordered by calling 1-800-228-4630.

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