Experiment 1

The first experiment we did was make insect traps out of four 20 oz. plastic bottles and soap water. Our design was simple and easy to conduct. The first step was to cut the top off of our 20 oz. bottles. The next step we did was we pushed the bottle tops up side down in the bottles to form an entrance. With the bottle tops upside down it made it hard for the insects to get out, but easy for the insects to enter. In the third step in our experiment we went to Cotton Park to pick out the locations to set the traps.Before setting the traps we put soap water in them.The first trap was set up in a tree. The second trap was placed in the ceiling of the picnic shelter. The third trap was also placed in a tree at the splitting of the tree trunk. The last trap we set was put under a bush by a fence. The traps were set outside for about four days. Then they were collected. They were brought back to the lab and we recorded our final results. To the right is a diagram of the trap, and below are our actual traps

Location1

Location4

Location4 close-up

Our Entomology group performed another experiment. This experiment we designed ourselves. We choose what we wanted to design, but we had to make our traps based on catching beetles. Our group made our traps based on the use of pitfall traps.Each trap had a different entrance. The first had a plain open top, the second had a cardboard that was set about 1/4" above the entrance to keep the beetles from flying out, and the third had a funnel like the traps in Experiment 1. The bait that we used was a cut up strawberry. We put a little bit of strawberry in the bottom of each trap. Then we took them out to Princeton Avenue. The weather was sunny and warm when we set the traps. We set the traps out in a field in three different locations. The first trap we set was set by a small tree. The second beside a bush and the third and final trap was set in between three plants. All the traps were buried to their rims in the ground. We let the traps set for one day. The day they were set was on June 27, 2007 we recovered the traps on the next day June 28, 2007. We recorded the results of what we caught. Altogether we caught about 10 beetles.The trap that caught the most was the one without a top.We also caught ants in out traps. Below is a diagram of our trap.

Open top

Funnel Top

Dichotomous key[to top]

As part of our research, we used a dichotomous key and a dissecting microscope to determine the orders of six insects. A dichotomous key is a key used for identification. We classified insects in six different orders which were coleoptera, hymenoptera, mantodea, hemiptera, lepidoptera, and orthoptera.

In a dichotomous key, you start with the first question, then you answer it depending on the characteristics of the insect you are identifying. Your answer might lead you to another question further down the list until you finally identify the species or order.

Here's an example on classifying orthoptera

1. Organism has no legs…………………Worms or Juvenile flies.
1.” Organism has legs………………………..(anthropoids) go to 2.
2. Organism has more than 6 legs…………………..go to 3.
2.” Organism has six legs…………………….go to 7.
2.”’ Organism has fewer than 6 legs……………juvenile insects.
7. Organism has fully developed wings………………go to 33.
7.” Organism has no wings or wing buds (underdeveloped)………go to 8.
33. All wings membranous, soft, no shell…………………go to 34.
33.” Front wings are completely or partially leathery, hard or shell like…………….go to 47.
47. Mouthparts are straw-like, sucking insects………………Hemiptera
47.” Mouthparts have tiny teeth; chewing insects………..go to 48.
48. Abdomen has no cerci, tarsi have 3 segments, wings short……..Demiptera
48.” Abdomen has no cerci; wings long…………………go to 49.
49. Front wings very hard, completely shell-like………….Coleoptera.
49.” Front wings not shell-like, held roof-like over body……….go to 50.
50. Tarsi have 4 or fewer segments, large, jumping hind legs………………Orthoptera

For our experiment we used four traps. When we first tried to do the experiment we used four keychain lantern lights, four different colored balloons, and four bowls. The lanterns were small and too dim. We also had problems when we tried to put the balloons over the lanterns. The balloons were too thick and weren’t letting off enough light to attract any beetles, mosquitoes, or gnats. Then we decided to work with permanent markers instead. We colored the lanterns with different colors, but it didn’t really change the light color. So we used little flashlights instead and covered them with the balloons. This time the lights worked because the balloons turned the lights green, red, yellow, and we had a plain controlled light in our experiment. We also added soapy water and taped the lights to the bottom of the bowls so it could reflect off the water and the sides of the bowl. We then set our traps in a dark, moist place over night. The next couple of days we looked at the results of our traps and we realized we didn’t really catch the insects we expected to catch. We caught some crustaceans, a moth, ants and one water beetle. Our experiment was shown that light attracts certain types of insects. For example, moths are attracted to the moon and the moth we caught was in the bowl with the green balloon covered light, which is closer to a blue color for the moon and night sky.

Entomology
Our team traveled to Sioux Falls to see the Sertoma Butterfly House. Here we had the opportunity to see how they get the butterflies from different countries. They do this by ordering shipments from other countries. First the chrysalis are taken from their natural habitat and put into a box with cotton. Second they are shipped off to the SBH. Third, they are pinned upside down from a small closet.
The butterflies will not survive if the shipment arrived just a day late. They need to be out of the box in order to let the blood flow to their wings. The butterflies that do not survive or the left over chrysalis are put into a freezer for about three days, before they are disposed of, this helps prevent diseases coming in from different countries.
We also had the chance to be in the actual butterfly house. Here in the butterfly house it has to be humid and warm because a butterfly can’t fly if their body temperature is below 86 degrees. Butterflies here at the SBH are fed by this bowls of rotting fruit, as shown here in this picture. The field trip to the Sertoma Butterfly house helped our team see what kind of environment Lepidoptera are native to