Insect Curriculum
Identification/Biology
Helping Pollinators
Insect Pinning
Documents
Videos
Local Groups/Resources/Facebook pages
Just for Fun
Supplies Available
- Invasive Species Educator Resources
- Nat'l Park Service Bee Week Curriculum
- K-12 & General Entomology Lesson Plans
- Beneficial Insect Curriculum
- Monarch Butterfly life cycle worksheet
Identification/Biology
- Life Cycle of a Butterfly
- All About Insects
- Caterpillar Turns Into a Puss Moth
- Nat'l Park Service Bee Week Curriculum
- Bee ID Guide (Note: This is for Missouri but many of these species are also found in IA)
- US Forest Service - Just for Kids
- Quick facts - Wood and tunnel-nesting solitary bees
Helping Pollinators
- Planning a Pollinator Garden lesson plans
- Bumblebee Watch Citizen Science
- Gardening for Pollinators
- Pollinator Friendly Practices
- The Nature Conservancy - Midwest Pollinators
Insect Pinning
Documents
- Youth and Entomology: How to Make an Awesome Insect Collection (Purdue University Extension - Entomology)
- Pinning and Labeling Insects
- How to Pin Butterflies and Moths
Videos
- How to Pin an Insect (Chicago Field Museum) Tutorial
- How to Pin Small Insects (Oregon State University Extension) Tutorial
- Displaying Insects (Queensland Museum) Tutorial
- DIY Kill Jar
- 10 Ways to Catch Insects
Local Groups/Resources/Facebook pages
- Insects of Iowa (Grades 4+) Identification, local collections, and more.
- Monarchs of Eastern Iowa
Just for Fun
- Life-Size Insect Sculptures Made Completely Out of Bamboo
- 9 Bugs to Eat in a Survival Situation (And 4 You Want to Avoid)
Supplies Available
- Various mounted and pinned insect specimens (Note: due to their fragile nature, most insect specimens should not be handled by students outside of their cases. If you would like specimens for handling, please specify!)
- Various insect specimen "parts" and slides for microscopic examination
- Insect field guides
- Insectigations - guidebook and activities
- Insect nets
- Kill jars
- Styrofoam
- Wing board
- #3 insect pins
- Insect pinning blocks
- Pinned specimen labels (via 4H Entomology)
- Parchment paper
- Paper triangles
- Clear nail polish
