Entomology Lab Syllabus (BIOO 462)– Spring 2016
Lab instructor: SteveLane ()
Office: BioResearch013
Office hours: By appointment
About the lab:
This lab is designed to complement the lectures and provide students with a hands-on introduction to the external anatomy of insects and classification of the major insect orders and families. Additionally, it will give instruction and practice in using primary literature (with an entomology slant) to upper-level biology students. While you will be learning about the peculiarities of insects throughout the semester during the class lectures, the labs will be an opportunity for you to get up close and personal with these crazy insects by actually looking at them and dissecting them under a microscope. The first two lab periods will be devoted to examining the external anatomy of insects and working on skills in extracting information from the primary literature. My goal for these introductory labs is for you to become comfortable with the basic nomenclature of insect anatomy that will be necessary for using the keys throughout the rest of the semester. The remaining labs will be spent identifying representatives of the major families of the big insect orders, working on your own insect collection, and reading and discussing primary literature related to lecture.By the end of the semester, you should have a basic understanding of general insect anatomy, be able to use a dichotomous key to identify just about any insect to the family level, and be quick and efficient in reading and using scientific papers. Most importantly, I hope this course will help you gain a deeper appreciation for the bizarre morphologies and incredible diversity that we find throughout the world of insects.
Comments on lab:
Identifying insects can be overwhelming, especially at the beginning. The keys can be very long, and there is often a LOT of new and strange terms. Be patient with yourself. Use the glossary at the end of the book, and take a close look at the figures! Keying out insects can be a meditative exercise - especially when listening to music - but it can (and will) take time.
A three-ring binder or folder will be handy. I will pass out handouts on a regular basis.
Bring your Borror and DeLong’s Introduction to the Study of Insects to lab every week! It will be useful both for understanding the anatomy and for keying out the insects. You can use it on the final, so get to know Borror. Use Borror. Make notes in Borror. Love Borror.
Lab Primary Literature Discussions:
Primary literature is the unit of communication for science. Being able to find, search, read, and extract information from primary literature is a crucial skill for anyone interested in science and particularly students interested in a career in biology. Our strategy for building these skills will begin with a reminder/overview of the parts of a paper and strategies for being able dissect/analyze papers. Then, we’ll move on to weekly discussions of papers.
Students will be broken up into small groups that will work together on paper discussions for the remainder of the semester. Once paper discussions begin (the second week of lab), one group a week will be assigned to present the paper. I’ll give an outline on what needs to happen in this outline/presentation during the first week of lab. Students in other groups (i.e. those not presenting) are expected to participate in discussions. Students will be graded on both their explanations during presentations and participation. This discussion will be held at the beginning of each lab and last approximately 30 minutes. Additionally, a few exam questions on each lab practical will be from the primary literature we read.
To prepare for the paper discussions each week, students who are not presenting required to turn a typed document with 3 well thought-out questions at the beginning of each lab. These questions are just meant to facilitate discussion and show that you read the article before coming to class.
Assessment:
Your lab grade makes up 50% of your total class grade, and will determined based on the following three assignments:
Participation in Discussion/Primary Literature 5%
Lab Practical 1 (closed book – external anatomy and mouthparts) 15%
Lab Practical 2 (open book – taxonomy) 15%
Insect collection15%
Lab Schedule
Week TopicReference Reading(7thed)
1-25Introduction – Reading Primary Literature
2-1External Anatomy - Grasshopperpp. 5-23
2-8Insect MouthpartsLab Manual
2-15No lab – President’s Day
2-22Lab Exam (External Anatomy)
2-29Identifying to OrderCH 6
3-7Odonata, OrthopteraCH 10, CH 11
3-14HemipteraCH 22
3-21ColeopteraCH 26
3-28Wing Venation – Neuroptera, LepidopteraCH 27, CH 30
4-4No lab – Spring Break
4-11Hymenoptera CH 28
4-18DipteraCH 34
4-25Major Aquatic InsectsHandout
5-2Lab Exam (Taxonomy)**Insect collections due!**