insect

study
How to Use This Pamphlet
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 BOY SCOUTS OF AMERICA
MERIT BADGE SERIES

insect study
 Requirements
1. Tell how insects are different from all other animals.
Show how insects are different from centipedes and spiders.
2. Point out and name the main parts of an insect.
3. Describe the characteristics that distinguish the principal
families and orders of insects.
4. Do the following:
a.  Observe 20 different live species of insects in their
habitat. In your observations, include at least four
orders of insects.
b. Make a scrapbook of the 20 insects you observe in 4a.
Include photographs, sketches, illustrations, and articles.
Label each insect with its common and scientific names,
where possible. Share your scrapbook with your merit
badge counselor.

Yellow-legged meadowlark

35911
ISBN 978-0-8395-3353-5
©2008 Boy Scouts of America BANG/Brainerd, MN
2010 Printing 5-2010/060104
5. Do the following:
a. From your scrapbook collection, identify three species
of insects helpful to humans and five species of insects
harmful to humans.
b. Describe some general methods of insect control.
6. Compare the life histories of a butterfly and a grasshopper.
Tell how they are different.
7. Raise an insect through complete metamorphosis from
its larval stage to its adult stage (e.g., raise a butterfly
or moth from a caterpillar).*
8. Observe an ant colony or a beehive. Tell what you saw.
9. Tell things that make social insects different from
solitary insects.
10. Tell how insects fit in the food chains of other insects,
fish, birds, and mammals.
11. Find out about three career opportunities in insect
study. Pick one and find out the education, training,
and experience required for this profession. Discuss
this with your counselor, and explain why this
profession might interest you.

Cricket

*Some insects are endangered species and are protected by federal or state law.
Every species is found only in its own special type of habitat. Be sure to check
natural resources authorities in advance to be sure that you will not be collect-
ing any species that is known to be protected or endangered, or in any habitat
where collecting is prohibited. In most cases, all specimens should be returned
at the location of capture after the requirement has been met. Check with your
merit badge counselor for those instances where the return of these specimens
would not be appropriate.

Insect Study     3

 Contents
The World of Insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

What Is an Insect? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Parts of an Insect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Insect Safari . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Identifying Insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

The Life of an Insect. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55

The Social Insects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63

Insects and Humans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75

Careers in Entomology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87

Insect Study Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Walking stick

Insect Study     5

 .The World of Insects

The World
of Insects
Hiking in the woods or fields on
a summer day, you are sure to
see dozens, perhaps hundreds, of
insects. Many are so tiny and seem
so insignificant (except when they bite
you) that you might dismiss them simply as
nuisances. If you do, you are missing a chance
to explore a world of unbelievable variety, filled with
marvels hard to imagine.
Get ready to meet tiny creatures with tremendous strength
and speed. You will see insects that undergo startling changes
in habits and form as they grow. You will learn how insects see,
hear, taste, smell, and feel the world around them; how they
find food; and how some of them live together in amazingly
complex societies. You will learn about insects that are helpful
to humans and others that are harmful or even deadly.
The field of insect study is as broad as all outdoors and
just as open. Entomologists, scientists who study insects, have
described about 1.5 million different insects, each a distinct
type known as a species. Scientists discover from 7,000 to
10,000 new species of insects every year. They estimate that
there are between 1 million and 10 million species still undis-
covered. However, research in the Amazon region of South
America has led some scientists to think there could be as
many as 30 million insect species worldwide.
Clearly, much remains to be learned about insects. While
working on the requirements for this merit badge, you might dis-
cover something about insects that no one ever knew. Remember
that you are welcome to watch and study insects wherever you
find them, but it is illegal to collect insects in many natural
areas, especially state parks, national parks, and wildlife refuges.

Insect Study     7

The World of Insects.

Extreme Insects
Extremely strong: An ant can lift
50 times its own body weight.  
If a 180-pound man could do  
that, he could lift 9,000 pounds 
—4 1⁄2 tons!

Red fire ant

Extremely fast: Dragonflies can
fly 60 miles per hour. A housefly’s
wings beat about 200 times a  
second (the buzzing of a fly is  
the sound of its wings beating).
Some midges move their wings
1,000 times a second.

Dragonfly

Extremely nimble: A flea can

broad jump about 13 inches.  
By comparison, a human athlete
would have to jump 700 feet to
equal the flea’s performance.

Cat flea

8        Insect Study
 .The World of Insects

Extremely big: Goliath beetles

grow to about 5 inches long.
Australia’s giant Hercules moth
and South America’s giant owl
moth have wingspreads of about
12 inches. The Queen Alexandra’s
birdwing butterfly has a wing-
spread of about 11 inches. Some
extinct dragonflies were 18 inches
long with wingspans of 2 1⁄2 feet.
Goliath beetle

Extremely small: Fairyflies and

feather-winged beetles could  
easily pass through the eye of  
the smallest needle. The glassy
winged sharpshooter is a tiny
insect as well, growing to a  
half-inch at most.

Glassy winged sharpshooter

Extremely colorful: Butterflies are

every color imaginable, from
bright yellows, reds, and oranges
to shimmering coppers; pale,  
silvery blues; and pearly whites.
Some beetles are a rainbow  
of brilliant metallic or  
jewel-tone shades.

Eastern tiger swallowtail

Insect Study     9

The World of Insects.

Extremely smelly: Stinkbugs,

some beetles, and lacewings
emit foul odors to repel enemies.
The bombardier beetle fends  
off attackers by squirting two
chemicals from the end of its
body. The chemicals mix to  
produce a hot puff of gas.

Brown stinkbug

Silverfish

Extremely ancient: Insects first appeared on Earth

in prehistoric times. Dragonflies flitted through the
skies and silverfish and cockroaches scurried on the
ground while dinosaurs walked the land.

Extremely versatile: Among insects there are

builders and carpenters, hunters and trappers, farmers
and livestock
raisers, nurses,
guards, soldiers,
papermakers,  
sanitation work-
ers, slaves, and
even thieves.

American
cockroach

Texas leafcutting ant

10        Insect Study

 .The World of Insects

Extremely adaptable: Insects are everywhere—in trees and forests,

in grasslands, in deserts, on mountains, in lakes, in the air, on buses,  
in homes and offices. The young of some insects can live in pools of
crude oil. Some live in hot springs at temperatures of 120 degrees.  
Others live in ice-cold streams, even above the Arctic Circle. After being  
frozen and thawed, some insects will revive unharmed. Some insects  
live in caves deep within Earth, or between the thin walls of a leaf.  
The only place you are not likely to find many insects is in the oceans.

Insect Study        11
Bush katydid
 .What Is an Insect?

What Is an Insect?
There are more insects in the world than all other animals com-
bined; 75 percent of all animal species are insects. They come
in every imaginable size, shape, description, and color. Most
insects pass through life stages during which they look quite
different from their adult forms. Given the enormous number
and variety of these creatures, it might seem difficult to say
exactly what an insect is. Nevertheless, all insects have certain
things in common that make them recognizable.
All insects belong to a larger animal group known as
arthropods, which also includes spiders, mites, ticks, scorpions,
harvestmen (daddy longlegs), crabs, shrimp, crayfish, sow
bugs, barnacles, centipedes, and millipedes. All of these related
animals share two unique characteristics that distinguish them
from all other animal groups. Arthropods have
• Jointed legs
• An external skeleton—the exoskeleton—encloses the entire
body in a shell
Differences in body structure separate the insects from
their arthropod relatives. Insects have six jointed legs (three
pairs); all other arthropods have four or more pairs of legs.
Insect bodies are divided into three distinct regions—head,
thorax, and abdomen; most other arthropods have only two
body regions—head and trunk. Insects have one pair of anten-
nae or “feelers”; spiders and their relatives have no antennae,
while crustaceans (crabs, shrimp, crayfish, etc.) have two pairs.
Most adult insects have wings; no other arthropod has wings at
any stage of life.

Insect Study        13
What Is an Insect?.

Identifying insects from

other arthropods and small
animals gets easier with experi-
ence. For example, a caterpillar
you see feeding on a leaf might
not look like an insect because
it appears to have more than
six legs. However, it actually
has six jointed legs and 10
fleshy, unjointed accessory legs
called prolegs. When the cater-
pillar (larvae stage) transforms
into an adult butterfly, you will
have no doubt about the
number of legs it has.

Black swallowtail caterpillar

Black swallowtail adult butterfly

14        Insect Study

 .What Is an Insect?

Ant

Remember these identifying characteristics:

• Insects have an external covering called an exoskeleton (a shell).
• Insects have three body regions, six jointed legs, and one pair  
of antennae.
• Adult insects usually have wings.

Insect Study        15
 .Parts of an Insect

Parts of an Insect
Compare a bumblebee, a grasshopper, and a butterfly. They
differ in many ways, but they share the same general body
structure. While their body parts might differ in size and shape,
they and all other insects are put together in the same way.

Insect Body Regions

The insect body has three distinct regions—head, thorax, and
abdomen. The prominent features of the head are the eyes,
antennae, and mouthparts. Attached to the thorax are the legs
and, when they are present, the wings. The abdomen contains
many of the important internal organs, such as the reproductive
and digestive systems.

COMPOUND SPIRACLES Grasshopper

EYE wings
OCELLUS

Antenna

mouthparts ovipositor

legs

head thorax ABDOMEN

In a few insects, the thorax and abdomen might appear to

run together. The jointed legs, however, are always attached to
the thorax. The area where the last leg is attached is the point
where the thorax ends and the abdomen begins.

Insect Study        17
Parts of an Insect.

The Insect’s Armor

An insect’s exoskeleton, or shell, is formed of plates fitted
together like the armor of a medieval knight. Insects have no
bones—no internal skeleton such as humans have. Muscles and
other body tissues are attached to the inside of the exoskeleton.
The exoskeleton is made of chitin (KY-tuhn), a light, strong
material. Every insect lives encased in chitin, although shell
thicknesses vary. Exoskeletons of caterpillars form thin skins;
beetles have thick, armorlike plates.

Cicada nymphs hatch from

eggs laid in trees. The
young insects burrow into
the ground and suck sap
from roots, staying buried
for up to 17 years. When
they do come back out,
they crawl up trees, shed
their old exoskeletons,  
and emerge as full-grown
adults ready to lay eggs
and keep the cycle going.

As an insect grows, its skin becomes too tight and splits—

it molts, or sheds its skin. The chitinous exoskeleton splits
down the back, and the insect emerges from its old skin and
expands into a new, larger one. The number of molts needed to
reach adult form and size varies from four to 40, depending on
the species.

An insect’s body structure is related to its senses of

sight, smell, hearing, taste, and touch, and to how it
moves about, eats, and breathes.

18        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

How an Insect Sees

Most insects have two kinds of eyes: compound eyes for Ommatidium
seeing detail and simple eyes for perceiving brightness.

Lens
Praying mantis

Simple eyes

Photoreceptors

Compound eye

In the compound eye, six-sided lenses called

ommatidia contribute to the complete image the insect
Nerve fibers
sees. A large dragonfly can have as many as 28,000 to brain
ommatidia in each compound eye. Some queen ants
have about 50 lenses; some robber flies, 4,000; a
swallowtail butterfly, 17,000. These large compound
eyes bulge outward, allowing insects to see up, down,
forward, backward, and to each side.

Compound eye of a fruit fly

Head of fruit fly

OMMAtidia

EYE

Insect Study        19
Parts of an Insect.

The simple eyes, called ocelli, are set in a triangular

arrangement between the compound eyes. Simple eyes seem
Insects cannot to help the insect detect changes in brightness rather than
focus their eyes for actual vision. In some cases, the ocelli are 16 times more
sensitive to light changes than are the compound eyes.
first on distant Insects probably never see the world around them in per-
objects and then fect focus. They see objects, but probably not in sharp detail.
A dragonfly will dart at bits of floating ash above a campfire,
on near ones, evidently mistaking them for insects on the wing. A wasp might
as we can. Their dart repeatedly at the shadow of a fly resting on the other
side of a canvas tent. Butterflies will rush at a decoy cut from
eyes are like
colored paper as readily as at another butterfly.
fixed-focus
cameras. Insects Insects can see and remember different colors. The
English scientist Lord Avebury proved this in a classic
can, however, experiment. He placed a little honey on a blue square
see “black light,” among squares of other colors. After bees began to
the ultraviolet rays come daily to this square for food, he shuffled the
squares and put food on none of them. Instead of  
invisible to humans. flying to the square that lay where the blue square  
used to be, the bees immediately landed on the blue
square even though it was in an entirely different  
position. They associated the color with food, proving
they could see and remember blue as a color.

When a bee flies in a “beeline” home to the hive, it navi-

gates largely by using its eyes, recognizing landmarks along the
way. If the same bee is carried into country it has never seen
before, it is lost. Similarly, wasps find their
way back to their nests or burrows by eye-
sight. If you place a leaf over the entrance
of a digger wasp’s burrow, the wasp will be
confused when it returns because the spot
looks different. One scientist found that
when he cut off a small bush near the
entrance of a wasp’s burrow and stuck it in
the ground several yards away, the wasp
flew to the bush instead of to the burrow.
It was using the bush as a landmark.
Digger wasp

20        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

How an Insect Smells

An insect’s antennae function as its nose. Compare a damselfly
with a male cecropia moth. The damselfly has immense eyes
but small, spikelike antennae. The moth has small eyes but
large, fernlike feelers. The damselfly depends on sight to guide
it; the cecropia, flying in darkness, follows its feelers along faint
odor trails through the night.

Eastern forktail damselfly Male cecropia moth

Some ichneumons (ik-NOO-muhn), insect parasites

that lay their eggs on tree-boring grubs, have such  
an amazingly keen sense of smell that they can detect
the odor of their prey through 2 inches of solid wood. Laboratory tests
have proven
In the antennae  
of one june   that honeybees
beetle, scientists can distinguish
found 40,000 tiny  
more than
olfactory pits for
detecting odors. 40 different odors.

Insect Study        21
Parts of an Insect.

Larvae are young,

immature insects.
The larvae of
butterflies and
moths are Unlike bees and wasps, the earthbound ant seems to depend on
smell rather than sight to find its way. Ants leave odor trails on
called caterpillars. the main routes around their nests. As long as its antennae are
intact, an ant can follow these scent trails. Without its antennae,
the insect is completely lost, even if placed close to the entrance
of its home.

Like a radio tuned to one station, the sense of smell in

many insects seems limited to a narrow range of odors. A male
moth, traveling through miles of darkness to reach the female,
seems insensitive to the thousands of other smells around it.
Carrion beetles, which appear as if by magic when a fallen
sparrow or dead mole begins to decompose, are led to the spot
from far away by their sensitive feelers. All other smells seem
not to affect them. Butterflies and moths follow their sense of
smell to plants that will provide the right kind of food for their
larvae. The females are “tuned in” to that particular smell.

22        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

Feeling Their Best

A B C D

Antennae of (A) butterfly; (B) skipper; (C) moth;

and (D) saturniid moth

The antennae of  
different insects vary
greatly in shape and
size. They range from
the slender, threadlike
feelers of katydids  
and long-horned   Only female
grasshoppers to the
mosquitoes bite
stubby spikes of robber
flies. Ants and bees people; males
Delaware skipper have jointed, elbowed dine on the
feelers; butterflies have
nectar of flowers.
antennae that resemble long-handled clubs; gnats and
mosquitoes have bristly feelers that look like miniature
bottle brushes. With such feelers, mosquitoes find their
food in the dark.

Insect Study        23
Parts of an Insect.

Asian tiger mosquito

How an Insect Hears

Besides detecting odors, the bushy antennae of some mosqui-
toes and gnats help catch certain sounds. To demonstrate this,
Among all a scientist fastened a live male mosquito to a microscope slide,
the insect then held a tuning fork with exactly the same pitch as the hum
of a female mosquito to the right of the male. Instantly, the
“instrumentalists” hairs on the male’s right antenna began to quiver. The scientist
(katydids, held the tuning fork to the left of the male mosquito. The hairs
on the left antenna vibrated. When the tuning fork was held in
grasshoppers,
front of the insect, the hairs on both antennae quivered. Like an
crickets, cicadas), airplane pilot flying on a radio beam, the male insect can find
the female in the dark. To stay on course, he has only to keep
only the males—
the hairs on both his feelers vibrating equally. That will lead
never the females him to the humming female.
—make music. Other insects hear in different ways. A cricket’s ears are
on its forelegs, just below the knees, as are a katydid’s. You
can easily see these oval openings, called tympana, when the
insects are at rest. The ears of short-horned grasshoppers, or
locusts, are on the sides of their bodies near the base of the
wings. Many species, including honeybees, ants, and dragon-
flies, give no sign that they hear sounds the way humans do.
However, they certainly feel vibrations within the range that
we call sound.

24        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

Many insect
sounds are associated
with the mating season.
The song of the snowy tree
cricket, the fiddling of the
katydid, the chirping of the field
cricket, the loud burr of the cicada,
even the ticking of the deathwatch beetle as it
bumps its head against the walls of a tunnel it Cicada with
wings spread
has hollowed out in a house timber—all of these
are serenades to attract females. In a laboratory experiment, a
female field cricket was drawn to a telephone receiver 30 feet
away when she heard the chirps of a male cricket at the other
end of the line.

How an Insect Tastes and Eats

Many insects react to the same four kinds of taste—salty, sour,
sweet, and bitter—that people can identify. Some insects are
especially sensitive to certain tastes. A honeybee, for example,
will react to faint traces of salt that a human tongue cannot
detect. A monarch butterfly can taste sugar dissolved in water
at a level thousands of times weaker than a person can taste.
The taste organs of most insects are on their mouthparts,
as expected. However, the antennae of ants, bees, and wasps
help them taste, while
some flies and butter- Hawk moth with tongue
flies can taste with (proboscis) extended
their feet. When the
legs of a monarch
butterfly touch nectar
or sweetened water,
the insect immediately
uncoils its hollow
tongue—its
proboscis—to feed.

Insect Study        25
Parts of an Insect.

Butterflies and moths, with their coiled suck-

ing tubes, take only liquid nourishment, mainly
nectar. The paper wasp, with jaws and a tongue,
can lap up nectar or chew captured insects to
feed to the larvae in its nest. Plant lice and
squash bugs have
sharp, sucking beaks
for drawing sap from
plant tissues, as does
the tiny froghopper.
Beetles, crickets, and
The praying
grasshoppers have
mantis has jaws for chewing
powerful jaws leaves and other solid
for devouring food. The jaws, or
its prey. mandibles, work
sideways instead
A grasshopper’s strong jaws help it chew. of up and down
like the jaws of
higher animals.

How an Insect Feels

Tiny hairs and spines connected with its nervous system give an
insect a delicate sense of touch. These touch organs cover all
parts of an insect’s body, even its eyes. Ants and other earth-
hugging insects such as crickets, earwigs, and cockroaches have
spines that are particularly sensitive to vibrations. Some butter-
flies have a fringe of sensory hairs along the margins of their
wings. Water striders can use the fine hairs on their feet to sense
the approach of their prey through vibrations of the water’s
surface film. Tiny hairs on the leg joints of some insects—hairs
that are bent when the legs move—enable the insects to tell the
position of their limbs. In contrast, we humans tell the position
of our legs by the “feel” of the muscles.
The central nervous system in insects consists of a brain,
located in the head, and two nerve cords that lie side by side
along the lower side of the body cavity. This position of the
nerve cords is opposite to the placement of the spinal cord in
higher animals.

26        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

How an Insect Moves About

Insects travel on the ground, underground,
underwater, and in the air. Many have odd and
often surprising means of travel that fit them for
the place where they live. Dragonfly naiads, for
instance, sometimes move like miniature rockets
along a pond bottom by expelling jets of water
from their rears. This drives them ahead in
sudden spurts.
Primitive insects known as springtails have
a forked, taillike appendage that can be bent and
then suddenly released like a spring to catapult
the insect into the air. Springtails are so light that
some of them shoot into the air from the surface
film of ponds or streams. The most spectacular
Dragonfly naiad
are the so-called snow fleas. In mild midwinter
weather, these curious black insects sometimes
appear on snowdrifts in such numbers that they
look like clouds of windblown soot.
A naiad is the
immature,
water-living form
of insects such
as mayflies
and dragonflies.

Mature calico pennant dragonfly

Insect Study        27
Parts of an Insect.

Praying mantis

Periodical cicada nymph Camel cricket

Legs
The legs of insects suggest the kind of life they lead. Mole
Housefly crickets and the nymphs (larvae) of periodical cicadas have
forelegs enlarged into powerful digging tools. The long, spiked
forelegs of the praying mantis are spined traps for capturing
prey. Houseflies have feet with sticky pads that help them walk
on smooth panes of glass or upside down on ceilings. Robber
flies—insect predators that swoop down on victims and grab
them in midair with their feet—have unusually long legs ending
in hooked claws. Dragonflies are almost completely aerial
creatures; they form their spined legs into a basket to catch
prey in flight. Their legs are bunched so far forward that they
are almost useless for walking, and are used mostly for clinging
and climbing. Some water beetles have legs that work like oars.

28        Insect Study

 .Parts of an Insect

Water striders walk on the surface film on water-repellent tufts of

hair that spread fanwise near the tips of their legs, like snowshoes.
When not in use, the hairs fold up into a slot on the insect’s leg.

A Solid Footing
To find out how insects use their six legs to walk,  
watch a large insect from above when it is chilled
and moving slowly. The insect walks on a series of
tripods, the front and hind legs on one side and the
middle leg on the opposite side moving
in unison. Thus, like a three-legged stool
it is always firmly planted, never off  
balance. An exception is the monarch
butterfly, which walks on only four of  
its legs. The front pair is carried folded
against its body.

Bark beetle

Insect Study        29
Parts of an Insect.

Wings
Most insects have two pairs of wings, a few have one pair, and
some have no wings at all. Only adult insects have wings; a
winged insect is fully mature, with the exception of the sub-
adults (or subimagoes) of mayflies.
In the air, some insects reach high speeds and high
altitudes and travel great distances. Their wings operate differ-
Some butterflies ently from the wings of birds. Instead of the flapping or rowing
can reach motion of a bird, the wings of an insect usually move in a
series of figure eights. The English scientist Lord Avebury was
heights of almost the first to demonstrate this motion. He tipped the wings of a
20,000 feet. wasp with gold leaf and let the insect fly in sunlight. The tiny
spots of shining gold traced figure eights in the air. On wings
moving in this fashion—often so fast they are blurs to our
eyes—many insects can outmaneuver birds. They can stop in
midair, turn, go straight up, drop to the ground, and, in some
cases, even fly backward.
The wing muscles of flying insects are the largest in
their bodies. In one kind of fly, the wing muscles account for
48 percent of the insect’s body weight. These great muscles
change the whole shape of the thorax, causing the wings to
move up and down. Other special muscles are used to manipu-
late the wing to change direction, or to fold the wing when the
insect is at rest.
When wasps, butterflies, and bees take to the air, the hind
pair of wings attaches to the front pair so that the insect flies as
though it had only a single pair of wings. This is done in vari-
ous ways. In wasps and bees, small rows of twisted hooks on
the front edges of the hind wings engage little ridges on the
trailing edges of the forewings.
Dragonflies, which have four wings, use
a different flying technique than most
insects. The two pairs of wings are kept
separate and move independently.
 .Parts of an Insect

How an Insect Breathes

An insect has no lungs, When descending
but it still must breathe.
Air enters through underwater to lay
openings in the body their eggs in the
called spiracles, and
a system of finely stems of aquatic
branching tubes, or plants, some
tracheae, carries
oxygen directly to body female dragonflies
tissues. The droning are enclosed in a
of some flies is the
film of air. In the
humming sound made
The spiracles are easy to see on the
by air entering these sides of a tobacco hornworm. sunshine, it looks
breathing tubes.
as if each diving
Most insects need little oxygen. The most active fliers,
however, such as dragonflies, bees, and moths, have small, dragonfly has a
bladderlike reservoirs connected to air tubes. These reserve shiny silver case
“gas tanks” hold extra supplies of air. A dragonfly breathes
about 118 times a minute; some humans average about or “diving bell.”
18 times a minute. Less active species of insects breathe
more slowly.
Many diving, air-breathing aquatic insects have a thick
coating of fine hair, or pile, on the underside of their bodies.
A few insects,
It is called the plastron. Air catches in this pile and is carried
along when the creature dives. By carrying its own oxygen like bloodworms,
supply, the insect is able to stay underwater for long periods.
do have red blood
with hemoglobin.
An Insect’s Circulatory System
The insect circulatory system consists of its heart, an open-ended They live in
aorta (blood vessel), and hemolymph (blood). The heart and low-oxygen
aorta, located on the body cavity’s upper side, pump blood
environments and
throughout the open body cavity. There is no system of blood
vessels as in higher animals. Blood fills the entire cavity, bath- use hemoglobin to
ing all the organs and muscles.
transport oxygen.
The blood of most insects is usually straw-colored, pale
green, or colorless because it lacks the oxygen-carrying pigment
called hemoglobin. The blood of most insects is not designed to
carry oxygen. Instead, it transports and stores water, waste
products, disease-fighting antibodies, and hormones.

Insect Study        31
 .Insect Safari

Insect Safari
The most accurate observation of an insect in nature comes
from watching it undisturbed. When observing insects in their
habitat, be careful to leave them unharmed in the place that
you found them.

The Leave No Trace approach to nature and camping applies to all  

outdoor activities, including observing insects. Requirements for the
Insect Study merit badge call for you to observe insects, and in some
cases, collect them, so keep the principles of Leave No Trace in mind  
during your progress.

As with any trek in the outdoors, there are some basic

guidelines to follow when searching for insects.
1. When you embark on your insect safari, prepare a trip plan,
or at the very least, tell an adult where you are going. It is
also a good idea to take a friend with you.
2. It is a good idea to wear long pants, a long-sleeved shirt, a
hat, and closed shoes to keep ticks, chiggers, and insects
from biting you or hitching a ride.
3. Check with natural resources authorities in advance to
be sure that you will not be collecting any protected or
endangered species, or wandering in a habitat where
collecting is prohibited.
4. Ask permission before entering private property.
5. If you must handle an insect, be careful and gentle to avoid
injuring it. Insects are fragile.
6. Avoid touching an insect’s nest.
7. In most cases, specimens should be returned to the location
of capture after the requirement has been met. Check with
your merit badge counselor for those instances where the
return of these specimens would not be appropriate.

Insect Study        33
Insect Safari.

Equipment for the Insect Safari

To observe insects, you must go where they live. Bring along
the right equipment so you can properly study and document
the creatures you encounter. The basic equipment described
here should easily fit into a day pack.

The Basics
Some everyday items will be valuable in your search for the
most interesting insects:
• Some magnifying lenses can be worn around your neck.
Others fold up neatly and fit in a pocket.
• A good insect guide will help you identify the critters
you see.
• Use a notebook and pencil for jotting notes and
making sketches.
• A flashlight will help you investigate bushes and other
nooks and crannies where insects are hiding.
• Bring a camera that can take close-up photos. Your own
photos will make a great addition to your scrapbook.

34        Insect Study

 .Insect Safari

Aspirator
An aspirator is a handy tool that helps you capture most insects
without harming them. You can make one easily.
Step 1—Curl a 4-inch-square piece of 1–2
clear plastic into a tube and secure it
with tape or glue.

Step 2—Tape a bit of gauze over one end

of a wide drinking straw.

Step 3—Form two ping-pong- 3

sized balls of modeling clay.
Press them flat into disks big
enough to cover the ends of 4
the tube. Push a straw through
the center of each disk.

Step 4—Position the disks at the ends of

the plastic tube. Make sure the gauze is
inside the tube.

Insects you should

not capture with
an aspirator are
stinging and biting
insects, and large
insects, such as
butterflies, that
cannot fit into
To use the aspirator, place the straw covered with gauze
in your mouth. (The gauze will keep the insect from being the straw.
sucked into your mouth!) Position the bottom straw near the
insect you would like to capture. Suck on the top straw to
vacuum an insect into the bottom-end straw. You may then
observe the insect in the aspirator. To free the insect, simply
pull the clay disk off the bottom of the aspirator.

Insect Study        35
Insect Safari.

Collecting Net
A good collecting net is an important piece of equipment.
Collecting nets are lightweight, can be taken apart to be carried,
You can use your and will last a long time with proper care. College bookstores
and biological supply houses are good places to buy a net;
collecting net to
some hobby, sport, or department stores stock them.
capture insects You can make a net from a wooden dowel or length of
bamboo; a piece of wire or a wire clothes hanger bent into a
from the land,
hoop; some fine-mesh fabric or mosquito netting (preferably
air, and water. green) for the bag; monofilament fishing line; and duct tape.
The bag should be rounded or blunt-tipped at the closed end
and at least one and a half times as deep as it is wide. The
handle length depends on the material from which the handle
is made and the kind of collecting for which the net is intended.
Do not make the handle too long or heavy.

Make a Collecting Net

Step 1—Bend the wire coat hanger into a squared hoop, as shown.
Step 2—Make the bag from fine-mesh fabric, or use a five-gallon nylon
paint strainer (available at most paint stores for little cost). Use fishing
line to sew the bag to the wire hoop.
Step 3—Fasten the coat hanger to the handle with duct tape. (Wooden
dowels are available at most building supply stores for about a dollar.)

36        Insect Study

 .Insect Safari

A Clean Sweep
You can collect many insects by
“sweeping” a lawn or yard. This
technique is done not with a
broom but by swinging a  
collecting net back and forth
over the grass. Brush the tops of
the blades of grass with a flat
side of the hoop that holds the
mesh net. Sweep for 30 seconds or
even a full minute, then swing the net
swiftly through the air to force any cap-
tured insects to the bottom of the net bag.
Quickly grab the net bag about a third of the way up
from the bottom to keep the insects from escaping.
Have a friend open a clear, self-sealing plastic
bag. Carefully turn your net inside out into the  
bag, shake the insects into it, then seal it. After  
observation, return them to the area where  
they were collected.
Sweep the same area several times throughout
the year. Do the kinds of insects you capture change  
with the seasons?

Observation Jar
You might like to take along an observation jar so you can
momentarily watch the insects you collect with a net.
Remember to keep the insect in the jar
for only a few hours, at the very most.
As soon as possible, return the insect
to the place where you collected it.
To make an observation jar,
simply wash and dry a wide-
mouthed glass jar, such as a pickle
jar. Add a crumpled tissue or blades
of grass in the jar to give the insect
something to climb on.
You can place a piece of mesh in a
mason jar lid to help the insect to
breathe better.
Insect Study        37
Insect Safari.

Finding Insects
You will find insects almost everywhere: fields, gardens,
beaches, swamps, woods, and roadsides. Look under stones,
rotting logs, and leaves, and around flowers and grasses. The
best times of year are summer and early fall, but insects can
be found any time of year. In winter, look in protected spots
such as under tree bark or stones, and indoors. Here are some
suggestions for finding common insects.

Butterflies
Bright, sunny days with little wind are best for butterfly
observation. Clover fields and overgrown lots with thistles,
asters, milkweed, and similar plants are excellent locations
Building a butter- for collecting.
fly garden is a
great backyard,
schoolyard, or
Scout camp con-
servation project
that can serve as
a living classroom.
Butterfly bush (Buddleja)

Orange milkweed attracts so many of these insects that it is

commonly called butterfly weed. Butterfly bushes (Buddleja)
also are worth visiting often. On windy days, open fields on the
wind-sheltered side of wooded areas usually are good hunting
grounds, as are flower-filled fields on protected hillsides.

Blooms for Butterflies

Attract butterflies by planting some of their favorite flowers in a garden  
or a window box. Choose a sunny spot that is protected from wind—the
south or southeast side of a building, wall, hedge, or slope might provide
sufficient protection. Or, arrange your plants to grow into a bowl shape,
with the taller plants on the outside as a windbreak.
Do not use pesticides in your butterfly garden. The poison that kills
insect pests will also kill butterflies.

38        Insect Study

 .Insect Safari

Milkweed Goldenrod Hibiscus Marigold

Phlox Snapdragon Red clover Sunflower

Plant a variety of fragrant flowers with large petals or blossoms. Good

choices include goldenrods, dahlias, geraniums, hibiscus, marigolds,  
milkweed, phlox, snapdragons, lilacs, lavender, thyme, red clover, zinnias,
sunflowers, and common daylilies. Check with a local nursery, the county
extension agent, or your state’s department of natural resources to find
out which plants are best for a butterfly garden in your area. It’s always
best to use native species.
When trying to catch a butterfly on a sunny day, keep the
sun ahead or to one side of you. Approaching with the sun
behind you will cast a shadow that could alarm the butterfly
before it is within reach. Typically, it works best to drop the net
over the butterfly you are pursuing. Once your target is in the
net, pull up the bottom of the bag with your free hand, and the
butterfly will dart upward into the bag. Raise the net, rotating it
quickly to lock the butterfly inside.
In some cases, sweeping the net from the
side is more effective, but you will have to flip
the bag over the hoop to trap the butterfly in
the tip of the bag. Do this carefully so that you
do not damage the specimen.
Different butterflies have different flight
habits; some will dart quickly upward, some
will drop to the ground. Note the flight
habits of different butterflies, learn from
your mistakes, and you will become expert
at capturing these lively and colorful insects. Sulfur butterfly

Insect Study        39
Insect Safari.

Moths
Moths usually fly at night, so different methods are used to
capture them than are helpful in catching their butterfly
relatives. Working the lights, sugaring, and mate attraction
are some favorite techniques of moth collectors.
Working the lights takes
advantage of the attraction
that some artificial lights hold
for night-flying moths. Moths
will circle endlessly around
black-light or mercury-vapor
bulbs. You can catch many
moths after dark from around
an isolated streetlight, or at a
local gas station or shopping
center—with adult supervi-
sion. Or, attract moths by
setting up a white sheet at
Cabbage moth the edge of a wooded area,
then shining a lantern or vehicle headlights on it. You can
observe moths by catching those that come to your porch light
at night or that flutter along the lighted windows of your home.
Sugaring is an exciting method—and one of the most
successful ways—of catching moths. Flies, bees, beetles, wasps,
and butterflies also are frequent visitors to sugared trees. Mash
or blend some peaches, apricots, or bananas, add a bit of
brown sugar, molasses, or honey, some apple cider, and a
teaspoon of yeast (optional) in a plastic container. Loosely
Hot nights when cover the container and let the mixture ferment in the sun for
storms threaten a couple of days. Use a stick or an old paintbrush to smear
the mixture on tree trunks in long streaks. The best trees for
will bring the sugaring are those out in the open or at the exposed outer edge
most moths. of a wooded area. The best time is dusk. Sugar several trees in
a rough circle, creating a moth trapline that you can visit easily.
Make the rounds with a flashlight to observe insects
attracted to the trees. Add more of the concoction each night.
Spring and fall are best for sugaring, but sugaring can be
successful whenever moths are active. Visit the trees
occasionally during the day.

40        Insect Study

 .Insect Safari

To try the technique

of mate attraction, you
need any newly emerged
female saturniid moth. (The
saturniid family includes
the promethea, io, luna,
polyphemus, and cecropia
moths.) Place the female in
a screened box or in a jar
with a mosquito-net top.
Put this container in an
open area and wait for
results. Males attracted by
the scent of the female can
be netted easily. If your
female is a promethea,
the males of the species
typically will begin to arrive Luna moth
in the late afternoon. Males
of the io, luna, and polyphemus species usually arrive after
dark; the males of the cecropia arrive just before dawn.

Dragonflies
The best place to observe dragonflies is near vegetation where
they frequent, but you will need to be patient. These swift
aerial insects are skillful at dodging the sweep of a net. During A few species of
the evening after dragonflies have landed in vegetation, they dragonflies land
can sometimes be found clinging quietly to weed stems or
leaves. In early autumn they remain quiet for some time after as soon as the
sunrise while the morning chill keeps them inactive. sun goes behind a
To catch a dragonfly on the wing, sweep the net from
behind the insect, if possible. Sweeping a net back and forth cloud. The smaller
through the tops of swampside or pondside vegetation is damselflies flutter
another way of capturing small dragonflies and damselflies.
Use great care, as their delicate wings and body can easily slowly about
be damaged. and can be
Rake out trash from the bottom of a pond to capture under­
netted easily.
water naiads of dragonflies. Raised to maturity in an aquarium,
the naiads will provide perfect adult specimens.

Insect Study        41
Insect Safari.

Beetles
Beetles are everywhere, and most of them are easy to catch.
Look around dead trees, logs that are rotting in shade, clumps
of goldenrod, late-summer mushrooms, trees in bloom, and
piles of trash left by receding streams or spring runoff. Search
along woodland paths and moss banks or under old stones.
Many beetles can be picked up by hand, some are best
netted, and some can be caught by “beating” or “sifting.”
To beat, hold an open umbrella upside down under a bush and
hit the base of the bush sharply with a stick. Or, spread a sheet
under the bush. Startled beetles let go of the bush and drop
into the umbrella or onto the sheet.
Be careful; wasps may have built a nest in the bush you
have in mind, so use a flashlight to investigate the bush before
attempting to oust any insects.
Sift plant trash from a forest floor over a newspaper, a white
bedsheet, or a sheet of white poster board, and catch the beetles
as they appear. A beetle trapline also can excellent results. Bury
empty jars or tin cans in the ground with their open tops just
level with the earth. Bait them with old meat or decaying fish
to attract beetles, which tumble into the traps. Remember to
refill the holes with the earth when you are finished.
Never pull an You also can work the lights for beetles just as for moths.
Frequently, a blundering beetle will strike against the glass of
insect off a
a streetlight or a bright window and fall, kicking, on its back.
branch—its Capture it by simply picking it up.
legs could rip
off its body.
Handling Insects
Insects are fragile creatures and must be
handled with extreme care. The best way to
catch one is to gently coax it to crawl onto
your hand, into the observation jar, or onto
a piece of cardboard or clear plastic, where
you may observe it without harming it.
Always wash your hands after handling insects,
even if you were wearing gloves.
 .Insect Safari

An Insect Zoo
Besides collecting larvae, pupae, and cocoons during the summer, you
can collect adult insects for observation and maintain a temporary but
fascinating insect zoo. Katydids, praying mantises, and similar insects
make unusual short-term pets. Ants can be kept in ant houses for obser-
vation. (See “Preparing an Ant Observation Unit” in the next chapter.)
You can keep crickets in transparent cages formed of old-fashioned
glass lamp chimneys pushed down into the dirt in a flowerpot. Or, check
out the wide variety of small cages available at retailers. After you put  
the crickets inside, cover the tops of the chimneys with mosquito netting.
Lettuce and other greens and an occasional bit of meat protein, as found in
bone meal and dry dog food, will keep crickets in good condition. The meat
protein is essential; without it, the crickets will begin to eat one another.
Some butterflies that emerge indoors become so tame they will
alight on your hand and drink sugar water from a spoon or nectar from
flowers held in your fingers. Another way to feed butterflies indoors is  
to dip a small sponge into a mixture of sugar or honey and water. The
insects will uncoil their tongues and insert them into the sponge’s pores
to suck out the sweet fluid. If your butterfly needs coaxing, use the end of
a pin to carefully uncoil the tongue and lead it to the sugar water. Once
you do this, the butterfly probably will continue to feed.

Insect Study        43
Insect Safari.

Food Plants of Butterfly and Moth Larvae

Butterfly Preferred Food Plant of Larva

Pipevine swallowtail Pipevine, Dutchman’s-pipe

Tiger swallowtail Wild cherry, birch, poplar, ash
Cabbage butterfly Cabbage, Swiss chard, mustard, radish
Great spangled fritillary Violets
Black swallowtail Carrots, dill, celery, caraway, parsley
Clouded sulfur Clover, vetch, lupine
Regal fritillary Violets
Pearl crescent Asters
Red admiral Nettles and hops
Painted lady Thistles
Mourning cloak Willow, elm, poplar
Buckeye Plantain, snapdragons
Monarch Milkweed
Viceroy Willow, poplar
American copper Sorrel
Red-spotted purple Willow, wild cherry, plum, hawthorn

Moth Preferred Food Plant of Larva

Cecropia Willow, maple, apple, elm, lilac,

bridal wreath
Promethea Wild cherry, lilac, tulip tree
Polyphemus Oak, birch, hawthorn, dogwood, willow
Luna Walnut, hickory, butternut, sweet gum,
persimmon
Cynthia moth Wild cherry, ailanthus tree
Darling underwing Willow, poplar
Five-spotted hawk Tomato

44        Insect Study

 .Insect Safari

Preparing a Scrapbook
Creating a scrapbook of the insects you observe will give you a You can organize
valuable resource. If you use a three-ring binder and devote one
scrapbook page to each insect you observe, you can add to the your scrapbook
book as you observe more insects. You may want to keep your using a
scrapbook electronically, and scan photos or use digital photos.
phylogenetic
Labels. Label each insect in your scrapbook with the place system, arranging
and date of observation, and write the insect’s scientific and
common names (check a reference book for the correct spell- insect pages
ings). Some enthusiasts like to record fun facts such as the from the most
plant the insect was found feeding upon, or weather conditions.
primitive to the
Sketches. Sketching an insect is a way to learn about and most advanced.
become more familiar with its parts. Perhaps you will have
time to sketch from real life as you watch an insect in its Most books about
habitat, before it hopped or flew away, or from an observation insects use
jar. You might enjoy working from a photograph or illustration.
this system.
Check out the resources in the back of this book from which
you can create your own art.

Articles. Another way to learn more about an insect you

observe is to research it. Copy or print out articles you find. If
the article is short, you may want to write it out by hand. In
all cases, be sure to document the author of the article, the
place it was published, and the publication date.

Photographs and Illustrations.

You may be lucky enough to snap
some great shots of insects. If not,
you can use a copier to reproduce
images found in books and
magazines, or redraw yourself.

Insect Study        45
 .Identifying Insects

Identifying Insects
Watching and documenting insects can be fun all by itself,
but it is twice as much fun if you know precisely what you
have seen. Scientists must be able to determine exactly what
they are observing. One scientist can’t tell others about an
insect unless they all know and agree on the exact name of
the insect being described.
About 250 years ago, scientists began naming the hundreds
of thousands of known insect species. They started by dividing
all the insects into orders, broad groupings of insects. Some
scientists recognize 22 orders of insects; others, more than 30.
Most of the orders are based on the kind of wings and mouth-
parts of an insect. For example, the order Coleoptera includes
all sheath-winged insects—that is, all beetles.

Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778)

Swedish botanist and naturalist Carl Linnaeus was the
first to formulate principles for defining genera and
species of plants and animals, to simplify the binomial
(two-name) system for naming species, and to use  
the system consistently. His binomial system quickly
became the standard method among zoologists and
botanists for naming species and is still in wide use
(though with modifications) today.

There are about 300,000 different known kinds of beetles;

simply knowing the order is not enough. Scientists further
divide the orders into families. These are smaller groupings
within an order based on finer distinctions such as size, hard-
ness of armor, and shape of antennae and other body parts.

Insect Study        47
Identifying Insects.

There are about 150 families of beetles. While dividing

the order Coleoptera into families simplifies the problem of
naming a single beetle, this still is not going far enough.
Scientists next subdivide the families into genera. (The singular
form of genera is genus.) Each genus is then divided into
species. To pinpoint the name of an insect, therefore, the
scientist must know four things: the insect’s order, its family,
its genus, and its species.
When scientists write an insect’s name, they use only
the genus and the species, often followed by the name of the
person who first described the insect. The genus name is capi-
talized; the species name is not. The name of the person who
described the insect also is capitalized and may be abbreviated.
The person’s name is placed in parentheses if the species was
first described in a different genus. Scientific names are always
italicized in print or underlined in writing.

A familiar beetle is the ladybird or ladybug. It is

one of the most common and most welcome
insects, but there are more than 450 species of
ladybug beetles in North America. If scientists
want to talk about one of them, they must use its
scientific name. One of the species is called the
convergent ladybird. It looks like all the other  
species except that it has 12 spots. A scientist  
talking about the convergent ladybird calls it by  
its scientific name, Hippodamia convergens
Guérin-Méneville.

With more than 700 different families of insects, it is

impossible to cover in this pamphlet the characteristics of them
all. Therefore, to fulfill requirement 4 you will have to do your
own scientific research. Make it a point to observe the habits
of the insects you observe or collect. This type of research is
valuable because you will remember the facts you see in action
longer than those you merely read about. Make notes as
you observe.

48        Insect Study

 .Identifying Insects

Sources of Help
Plenty of sources can help you determine an insect’s
scientific name:
• Field guides, such as those listed in the resources
section at the back of this pamphlet.
• Local amateur or professional entomologists. If you
live near a college, natural history museum, agricul-
tural school, or national park, you can probably find
someone there who knows about the insects in your
area. A biology teacher at a local high school or a
county agricultural agent might also be helpful.

Major Insect Orders

Most of the insects you see will belong to the orders listed
in the table below. Some of the less familiar orders, including
the proturans, springtails, stone flies, earwigs, lice, thrips,
scorpion flies, and caddis flies, are not listed. You can find more
information about them in field guides.

European earwig

The descriptions in the table refer to adult insects only.

Remember, the young of these insects often do not look much
like the adults. (The difference between immature and adult
insects is discussed later in this pamphlet.)

Insect Study        49
Identifying Insects.

Descriptions of Major Insect Orders

Order Characteristics Typical Members

Thysanura Bristletails and silverfish: wingless, Bristletail

usually scaly body; long, slender Silverfish
antennae; two or three bristlelike
tails; no metamorphosis

Silverfish

Ephemeroptera Mayflies: net-veined wings folding Mayfly

over the back like a butterfly’s;
two or three long tails; found near
water; most live only a few hours as
adults; incomplete metamorphosis
Mayfly

Odonata Dragonflies and damselflies: two Dragonfly

pairs of net-veined wings; very large Damselfly
compound eyes; chewing mouth­parts;
adults are strong fliers but cannot
walk; incomplete metamorphosis

Dragonfly

Orthopetra Katydids, crickets, grasshoppers, Field cricket

praying mantises, cockroaches: Katydid
chewing mouthparts; two pairs of Cockroach
wings; forewings leathery, hind Praying mantis
Katydid wings broad and membranous, Grasshopper
folded under front wings when Walking stick
at rest; incomplete metamorphosis

Isoptera Termites: small, mostly white and Termite

soft-bodied; chewing mouthparts;
live in large, hidden communities;
incomplete metamorphosis

Winged termite

50        Insect Study

 .Identifying Insects

Order Characteristics Typical Members

Hemiptera True bugs: usually two pairs Box elder bug

of wings; forewings leathery at Squash bug
base, membranous at tip; sucking Water strider
mouthparts; feed on plant or animal Giant water bug
juices; many are harmful to crops;
Giant water bug incomplete metamorphosis

Homoptera Aphids, scales, leafhoppers, etc.: Cicada

winged or wingless; those with wings Aphid
(usually four) hold them arched above Spittlebug
abdomen; beak usually short; cicada Mealybug
males make loud buzzing sounds; Leafhopper
Periodical cicada
incomplete metamorphosis

Neuroptera Lacewings, etc.: chewing Lacewing

mouthparts; two pairs of Ant lion
net-veined wings, roofed
over body when at rest;
long, slender antennae;
Adult lacewing complete metamorphosis
Ant lion nymph

Coleoptera Beetles: hard-shelled front wing Ladybird beetle

covers (elytra) under which rear Boll weevil
wings fold; chewing mouthparts; Rove beetle
largest of the insect orders; complete Colorado potato
metamorphosis   beetle
Boll weevil Tiger beetle
Firefly

Insect Study        51
Identifying Insects.

Order Characteristics Typical Members

Lepidoptera Butterflies and moths: two pairs Monarch butterfly

of wings covered with scales (the Buckeye butterfly
“dust” that rubs off when one Mourning cloak
is handled); sucking mouthparts   butterfly
(long, coiled proboscis); antennae Painted lady
club-shaped on butterflies and   butterfly
Thistle butterfly fernlike or threadlike on moths; Swallowtail
complete metamorphosis   butterfly
Sphinx moth
Cecropia moth
Fall webworm

Diptera Flies: two wings; usually small, Housefly

often swift and agile fliers; many are Horsefly
nuisances to humans Gnat
and livestock; some Mosquito
carry disease; complete Midge
Biting metamorphosis
midge
Housefly Mosquito

Siphonaptera Fleas: tiny, wingless, jumping Cat flea

insects; adults are bloodsucking Dog flea
parasites of birds and mammals; Rat flea
body flattened side to side like a
sunfish; complete metamorphosis;
Dog flea caterpillarlike larvae

Hymenoptera Bees, wasps, and ants: all have Ant

four membranous wings (ant Honeybee
workers are wingless); one of the Sawfly
highest orders of insects, as many Hornet
are social; complete metamorphosis Ichneumon
Winged ant Wasp

52        Insect Study

Metamorphosis of the locust boring beetle
 .The Life of an Insect

The Life of an Insect

With the exception of aphids (the eggs hatch inside the female,
which gives birth to live young), all insects hatch from eggs.
Insects reach adulthood in a variety of ways. Some look like
miniature wingless adults when they hatch; others pass through
several stages during which they look entirely different from the
adult. This process of change is called metamorphosis.

Types of Metamorphosis No Metamorphosis

Insects grow into their adult forms in (Example: Silverfish)
one of three basic ways: no metamor- Egg Young in stages
of growth
phosis, incomplete metamorphosis,
and complete metamorphosis.

No Metamorphosis
Among the most primitive insects, the
young emerge from the egg looking just
like adults, only smaller. An example is
the wingless silverfish that often is
found in attics or basements. Young and
adult silverfish live in the same places
and have the same type of mouthparts
Adult
and feeding habits.

Incomplete Metamorphosis
Grasshoppers, chinch bugs, cicadas, Incomplete Metamorphosis
mayflies, and dragonflies (Example: Grasshopper)
Egg
are examples of insects
that undergo incomplete
Adult
metamorphosis. The young
emerging from the egg
resemble the adults in
general body form but
do not have wings. Nymphal stages
The Life of an Insect.

Water Babies
Among mayflies, stone flies, and dragonflies, the
nymphs live in water, while the adults are airborne.  
The nymphs only slightly resemble the adults into
which they develop. They hatch from eggs laid in the
water or on aquatic plants. They breathe through gills
and will die if removed from the water.
Egg

Aquatic
nymph Adult

Life stages of
a mayfly
Blue-winged olive mayfly

The dragonfly nymph is often mud-colored and  

well-camouflaged as it stalks smaller insects on the  
bottom of a stream or pond. Nearing its prey, it darts
out an armlike underlip nearly half as long as its body
and grabs the prey with a pair of sharp pincers.
After going through several growing stages and
molts in the process of incomplete metamorphosis, the
nymph reaches its full
size and climbs out of
Whitetail the water. The back of
dragonfly
its skin splits as the
nymph undergoes its
last molt, and a
mature dragonfly
emerges. The adult insect is fitted for an  
aerial life with fully developed wings and
has a tracheal system for breathing oxygen
from the air.
 .The Life of an Insect

Red-legged grasshopper

The young of such insects as grasshoppers and chinch

bugs—the nymphs—go through a series of feeding stages,
each followed by a molt. With each successive molt, the nymph
looks more like the adult than it did in the preceding stage.
The wing buds appear in the later stages. Both nymphs and
adults have the same type of mouthparts, eat the same foods,
and live in the same kinds of places.
Consider the life of the red-legged grasshopper, Melanoplus
femur-rubrum (De Geer). In the late summer, the female digs
an inch-deep hole in the ground with her long ovipositor, the
egg-laying apparatus on the rear of her body, and lays tiny eggs.
She then carefully covers the hole by scratching and sweeping
dirt around it.
Unless a bird or a predatory insect finds the egg mass,
it remains buried in the ground all winter. Hatching begins in
the spring, and within one or two days the young grasshoppers
have dug their way out of the hole. They emerge looking like
short, stubby, wingless versions of the parent.
During a two-month growing period, the red-legged grass-
hopper molts about five times, each time shedding its old skin
for a new, larger one. After the final molt, the adult has fully
developed wings and has reached full length—about 11⁄2 inches.
If it escapes its enemies, the grasshopper will live until autumn,
only to be killed by winter weather.

Insect Study        57
The Life of an Insect.

Complete Metamorphosis
The most advanced insects go through four life stages: the egg,
the young or larva, the pupa or resting stage, and the adult.
Their needs and ways of life during each of these stages are
different. Butterflies, moths, ants, bees, wasps, beetles, flies,
fleas, and mosquitoes all undergo complete metamorphosis.

Complete Metamorphosis
(Example: Potato Beetle)
Egg
Pupa
Larval stages

Adult

Colorado potato beetle larva Adult Colorado potato beetle

The larvae differs greatly in form from the adult into which
it develops. It passes through a series of growing stages and
molts, but, unlike insects with incomplete metamorphosis, the
larva does not resemble the adult any more closely after a molt
than it did before a molt; it remains wormlike or grublike in
form. The larva is primarily a growing stage. While most larvae
have chewing mouthparts, some are equipped instead with
mouth hooks.
The larvae of different insect orders are known by various
names. Beetle larvae are grubs, butterfly and moth larvae are
caterpillars, fly larvae are maggots, and mosquito larvae are
wigglers or wrigglers.

58        Insect Study

 .The Life of an Insect

When the larva is mature, it stops feeding and transforms

into the pupa. In this stage, the insect usually is inactive and
does not feed, but it undergoes a remarkable change into the
adult form. After several days or months, the adult emerges from
the pupal stage. The adult’s most important job is to reproduce.
In many insect groups, the adults die soon after laying eggs.

A Monarch’s Life
Let’s take a close look at an insect that undergoes complete metamor­
phosis—the monarch butterfly, Danaus plexippus. This common yet
beautiful orange-and-black butterfly begins life as a pale-green egg on  
a milkweed leaf. A tiny caterpillar emerges four or five days after the  
egg is deposited. This is the larval stage of the butterfly. The caterpillar
immediately eats the eggshell and then the leaves of the milkweed,  
the only food it will eat thereafter.
For about 12 days, the caterpillar does almost nothing but eat milk-
weed leaves, cutting off pieces with its strong jaws. By the end of that
period, it will have molted three or four times. The caterpillar is then  
about 2 inches long and striped with bands of yellow, black, and green.
As the end of the larval stage draws near, the caterpillar begins  
spinning a silken thread from glands in its mouth and attaches one end  
to a leaf. The other end is tied to its rear. The skin splits and slowly slides
off the body while the caterpillar hangs downward, revealing the third
stage—the pupa or chrysalis.

Life stages of a monarch butterfly

Eggs on a leaf

Adult

Chrysalis
Caterpillar

Insect Study        59
The Life of an Insect.

Monarch butterfly chrysalis

The chrysalis is a shiny, transparent green with several spots of gold.  

It hangs from the leaf for several days to about three weeks, depending  
on the weather. Near the end of this period, the chrysalis turns very dark
(almost black), and the wing pattern of the adult butterfly can be seen
beneath the thin skin.
Finally, the bottom of the chrysalis splits and out crawls the adult
monarch butterfly. Its wings gradually expand and harden, and the  
butterfly starts to use its long, hollow, coiled “tongue” to suck  
nectar from flowers.
Usually, the adult will live four to six weeks, feeding occasionally  
but mostly just wandering from field to field. The last brood of summer,
however, will migrate south, often in large numbers and journeying an
incredible 2,500 miles. This brood lives longer—some of the monarchs live
through the winter in Mexico or along the southern coast of California.
Many fly northward the next spring and begin the cycle of life over again.

Moths, which go through the same stages as butterflies, often spin a  

protective cocoon of silk around the pupa. Only a few butterfly species
spin cocoons.

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 .The Life of an Insect

Studying the Life Cycle

One of the most dramatic events you are likely to witness Not all butterflies
during your insect watching will be when a large moth or a
brilliant butterfly comes out of its cocoon or chrysalis. During or moths spend
the summer, look for caterpillars of moths and butterflies to the entire winter
collect and raise. Watch them spin their cocoons or turn into
chrysalides and, later, see them come forth as adults. You can in chrysalides
get an early start by collecting the cocoons of larger moths or cocoons.
during the winter.
Caterpillars must have the right food. Most of them will eat Many caterpillars
the leaves of only one sort of plant and will quickly starve to collected in late
death if given other leaves. You can assume that you are feed-
spring or early
ing a caterpillar the right food if you give it the leaves of the
plant upon which you found it. summer will
Offer only fresh leaves. Keep your caterpillars in covered
emerge as adults
shoeboxes so the leaves will not wilt rapidly. Or, place caterpil-
lars on a small tree branch enclosed in a sleeve of mosquito before winter.
netting to keep out birds and insect parasites.
Some moths, notably the sphinx,
change from larvae to adults in the
ground. You often can collect pupal cases
of the five-spotted hawk moth by digging
carefully around the roots of tomato
plants in late summer or early fall. Look
for a large (about 3⁄4 of an inch thick and
1 1⁄2 inches long), shiny, mahogany-
colored, jug-handled pupa. A live pupa
is heavy and plump. A dead pupa is light Black swallowtail
and usually shriveled. larva, pupa,
and butterfly
It is best to leave cocoons, pupae,
or chrysalides outdoors over winter. If
you keep them indoors, dampen them
occasionally. Cocoons kept indoors at
room temperature all winter seldom
develop. They must be exposed to cold
temperatures to trigger development.
Place cocoons in the refrigerator for
one to two months, then return them
to room temperature to stimulate
emergence. This will cause the adults
to emerge sooner than they would if
the cocoons were kept outside.

Insect Study        61
Baldfaced hornets’ nest
 .The Social Insects

The Social Insects

Most insects are not dependent upon one another, but for a
few species, the story is different. Social insects will swarm and
sleep, hibernate, and migrate together. Social insects include
termites, ants, and certain species of bees, wasps, and hornets.
These insects live together in groups all their lives. By
instinct, each individual performs a certain task that is of value
to the whole community. Social insects care for their young
(something most insects do not do), build nests, and sometimes
feed each other. Let’s look at some species of social insects.

The Paper Wasp

You may have come upon the paper wasp
(Polistes) while hiking with your patrol,
on a family picnic, or in your backyard.
You might not have enjoyed the encounter,
as the female of this species can give quite
a painful sting when annoyed. Even so, this
wasp must be considered a friend to people
because it preys upon such pests as cater-
pillars. The larvae of various destructive
insects are food for the paper wasp’s young. Golden paper wasp
A paper wasp colony begins in the spring when a queen,
the only survivor of a nest from the previous summer, awakens
from her winterlong hibernation. She immediately starts build-
ing a new nest out of coarse paper. She makes this paper by
gouging out bits of old wood from stumps or logs and chewing
them into a pulp with her strong jaws.
She first makes a single, six-sided cell, suspending it upside
down in a protected place—beneath the eave of a garage or
barn, or from the underside of a tree branch. As soon as the
first cell is completed, the queen lays a single egg in it, attach-
ing it with a gluelike substance inside the upside-down cell. She
also places a drop of nectar in the cell for the larva’s first meal.

Insect Study        63
The Social Insects.

Paper wasp colony

The queen makes more cells surrounding the first and

lays eggs in them. As the tiny, white, helpless larvae mature,
they are given solid food—the bodies of insects the queen has
captured. When a larva reaches full size, it spins a cover over
the end of its cell and transforms into an adult paper wasp.
The emerging wasp breaks out of its cell and immediately
begins to help the queen make new cells and feed the larvae.
All of these workers are sterile females. Only the queen
can lay eggs. When she has plenty of papermakers at work,
the queen retires and concentrates on egg laying. Occasionally,
a wasp colony has more than one queen; then the nest
grows faster.
A few of the larvae get extra rations of food. These
will become queens of future generations of paper wasps.
As summer ends, the old queen lays unfertilized eggs that
develop into male wasps. These white-faced wasps mate
with the young queens.
As the chill of winter nears, the wasps become sluggish
and less active. Finally, all but the young queens die. These
fertile females find a snug harbor under a log, in a trash pile,
or in an attic or shed, and hibernate for the winter. With the
spring sun, the queens come out of their hiding places and
begin the cycle of wasp life over again.

64        Insect Study

 .The Social Insects

Real Stingers
Ants, bees, and wasps can
inflict painful, burning
stings. Be careful around
them all, but be especially
wary of fire ants and
Africanized bees.
Red imported fire ants
build large dirt mounds
that may house hundreds
of thousands of ants in  
a single mound. Areas
infested by this pest
might have more than  
200 mounds per acre. If
their mound is disturbed,
the ants swarm out to
attack the intruder. The
ant’s sting leaves an itchy,
pus-filled bump that is
easily infected. Some  
people have severe
(sometimes fatal) reactions
Red imported fire ants
to fire-ant venom.
Africanized bees, commonly called “killer bees,” are highly aggressive
and attack in large numbers if their hive is disturbed. Their stings can  
be deadly.
Some people are so sensitive to bee stings that they can die from
anaphylactic shock (a severe allergic reaction) after only one sting unless
they get immediate medical treatment. Anyone stung by a bee should
scrape the stinger out with a knife blade or credit card, being careful not
to pinch or squeeze it. This reduces the amount of poison that enters the
wound. For more information on first aid for insect stings and bites, see
the First Aid merit badge pamphlet.

Insect Study        65
The Social Insects.

Ants and Bees

Ants and bees are the most social of the social insects; both
are interesting to watch. If you choose to observe an ant colony,
you will have to make a special observation unit and put the
colony in it, because you cannot see much ant activity
above ground.

Preparing an Ant Observation Unit

The simplest method of preparing an ant observation unit is to
use two widemouthed glass jars with lids. One of the jars must
be smaller and slightly shorter than the other; when it is placed
inside the larger jar, there should be about a half inch of space
between the outside of the smaller jar and the inside of the
larger one.
Corked feeding hole
Screened airhole
Lid

Soil and ants

Food

Black paper or
ruby-colored
cellophane
Smaller jar

Larger jar

The soil in your ant observation unit must remain damp.

Be sure to add a little water from time to time.

Follow these steps to prepare your ant observation unit:

Step 1—Securely tighten the lid of the smaller jar, then put
that jar into the larger one.
Step 2—Drill two holes approximately 1⁄4 inch in diameter in
the lid of the wider jar.
Step 3—Put a tight-fitting cork into one of the holes; this will
serve as an opening for feeding the colony.

66        Insect Study

 .The Social Insects

Step 4—Use quick-drying rubber cement or a glue gun to

fasten a screen of fine cloth or wire mesh over the other hole.
A small piece cut from a discarded pair of women’s hose
will work well as a screen and will let plenty of air into the
observation unit. The opening will be small enough to prevent
the soil in the unit from drying out rapidly and endangering
the ants’ lives.
Your next step is to collect a living, functioning ant colony.
The simplest way during summer is to turn over some large flat
rocks until you find a full-fledged colony. The center of the nest
is often at the surface directly beneath a rock. You may see the
workers, soldiers, larvae, cocoons, eggs, and winged males and
females (young queens and their mates) in one scrambling
mass when you suddenly overturn a rock.
Quickly scoop up that living mass, along with the surface
soil, and pour it into the space between the two jars in your
observation unit. Do not pack the dirt tightly. Fill the space to
within an inch of the top and secure the lid of the larger jar.
You now have the makings of a functioning ant colony and can
watch members of the colony, especially the workers, make
order out of the complete chaos. They set to work, tunneling in
all directions until finally all galleries are interconnected. They
gather all of the eggs, larvae, and cocoons and place them in
neat piles to be tended by other workers.

As with any insects you collect and maintain at home,

keep the ant colony away from direct sunlight and
direct heat. Whenever you are not watching the colony,
wrap a piece of black paper or ruby-colored cellophane
around the outside of the jar and secure it with a rubber
band or tape.

Feed the colony by pulling the cork and using a medicine

dropper to add honey water or sugar water as an energy food.
Bits of hard-boiled egg and dry pet food will provide the ants
with needed protein. Be sure not to overfeed the colony,
because any surplus will decompose and contaminate the nest.
Keep the soil damp but not wet. Ants must have at least
some water to survive. From time to time, add a few drops
of water from your finger, a dropper, or a spoon.

Insect Study        67
The Social Insects.

Ant Society
Although not the oldest living insect type (that honor probably
There are about belongs to the silverfish, the dragonfly, and the cockroach),
9,000 species of the ant developed the first cooperative communities. While
their tasks vary among the species, citizens of ant colonies
ants worldwide.
hold roles as agriculturalists, livestock raisers, soldiers, and
even slave-makers.

Ant Castes
Ants have at least three castes, or groups of members that
perform specialized functions: queens, males, and workers.
The new queens and the males have wings, and when the
time comes for mating they all swarm out of the colonies by
the thousands and mate in the air. After mating, the males die.
The fertilized queens alight and rub or tear off their own wings.
Then they either return to the colony or make new nests away
from the original colony. Each nest can have several queens,
unlike a honeybee colony, which has only one queen.
After establishing a new colony, the ant queen stays in the
nest and tends the helpless young. When new workers emerge,
they take over the work of the colony and the queen restricts
herself to laying eggs. She might live for 15 years or longer.
A single colony can grow to more than a half-million ants and
survive longer than 20 years.
Most ants nest in the ground. The nests have tunnels,
chambers, and galleries sometimes extending over many acres
(as with the fungus-growing ants). A few ants nest in wood.
The workers enlarge and maintain the nest, gather food,
feed and care for the young, and defend the colony from its
enemies. Ants have a four-stage (complete) metamorphosis—
from egg to larva to pupa to adult. The care and feeding of the
young varies from species to species. Most ants eat both plant
and animal matter.

Although we commonly think of ants as pests that crawl into the picnic
basket or invade the kitchen, they are, on the whole, beneficial creatures.
They feed on countless dead or dying insects, thus helping dispose of
natural wastes.
Ants also are important in water conservation. Those that live in the
soil move great amounts of earth in making their tunnels and chambers.
They make the soil loose and porous so that it can absorb much water
that might otherwise run off.

68        Insect Study

 .The Social Insects

Farming Ants
Several types of ants farm in one way or another, but the most
interesting are the leafcutters. These ants spend much of their
time cutting pieces of leaves and bringing them back to the nest
to be used as mulch on the ants’ fungus gardens—practically
their only source of food. While some of the workers are bring-
ing in new supplies of leaves, others carefully tend the gardens
so that only the desired fungus grows. All other growths are
destroyed. The size of the tunnel is controlled to maintain
just the amount of heat and moisture this fungus needs. Some
leafcutters fertilize their gardens with their own excrement to
increase yields.

A Texas leafcutter worker ant Harvester ants

Another interesting type of farming ant is the harvester

ant, which lives in southwestern portions of the United States
and on all of the other continents except Antarctica. Harvester Fungus-growing
ants eat seeds that they gather and store. After a heavy rain, the leafcutter ants live
ants bring their stored seeds above ground and spread them out
to dry so that they will not become moldy. In some species, the in North and
large-headed soldier–caste ants serve as millers and grind the South America,
flinty seeds to a flourlike powder with their powerful jaws.
but the greatest
Livestock Raisers numbers of them
Some kinds of ants raise their own “livestock.” Plant lice, or are seen in
aphids, secrete a sweet, honeylike substance called honeydew
of which ants are very fond. The ants care for the aphids like tropical areas.
a human farmer cares for cattle.
The aphids live with the ants and are protected from harm.
When an ant wants some food, it strokes an aphid with its
antennae to obtain a drop of honeydew. In the fall, ants carry
young aphids or aphid eggs down into the nest so that they will
survive the winter.
Insect Study        69
The Social Insects.

Soldier Ants
Many species of ants have a special class of workers
with large heads and strong jaws called soldiers. Their
duties include defending the colony and, in the case of
the harvesters, crushing seeds and other hard food.
A few ant species in Africa, North America, and
South America seem to be almost all soldiers. These
army ants—legionary ants in North and South America
and driver ants in Africa—are foragers. Periodically,
the whole colony goes on a long march, preying upon
creatures that cross their path. Small workers carry  
the larvae while the larger ones, working together,  
do the killing. Some of them march by night and make
temporary camps in the morning. They spend much of
each day in raiding parties that go out from headquarters
and kill whatever they find, including insects, mammals,
and birds that can’t get away quickly enough.

Honeypot Ants
Honeypot ants, another type of ant with a fondness for honey-
dew, have overcome the problem of storage in an unusual way.
Some of their workers, called repletes, become living honeypots,
consuming great amounts of the sweet fluid until their abdo-
Communication mens expand to enormous proportions (the size of grapes).
among ants is They spend all their time—months or even years—clinging to
the ceilings of their underground chambers. When a hungry
almost entirely by
worker passes by, she strokes a honeypot with her antennae
touch and smell. and gets a drop of nectar. Honeypot ants live in warm, dry
areas throughout the world, including western portions of
the United States.

Slave-Making Ants
In the cool climates of Europe, Asia, and North America,
slave-making ant species make war on other ants to capture
their pupae. The pupae are brought to the nest and, when they
mature, must do the work of their adopted colony. A few slave-
makers have become so dependent upon these workers that
they have lost the ability to do work themselves. They must
continually kidnap workers from other colonies to survive.

70        Insect Study

 .The Social Insects

Bee Society
Humans have been keeping the honeybee, Apis mellifera L., for
more than 4,000 years; it is perhaps the best known of all
insects. We tend to think of the honeybee as only the maker of Honeybees are
honey and beeswax, but this insect is most important as a
managed as
pollinator. Many fruit trees cannot be
pollinated profitably any other way. Trees would not produce domestic livestock
much fruit if not for honeybees going from blossom to blossom. to pollinate crops.
Honeybee society is much more advanced than that of the
wasp, and it rivals the ant’s. In a beehive there are three castes Hundreds of
(the queen, the male or drone, and the worker), just as there lesser-known
are in a wasp colony, but honeybees have many more divisions
of labor and more specialized tasks. (mostly nonsting-
Unlike a wasp colony, a swarm of bees survives the winter, ing) native bees
although individual bees (especially workers) might live only a
few weeks during the active season. To live through the winter, lead fairly solitary
the colony must have high-energy food, which is why bees lives and pollinate
make and store honey. A honeybee society has two goals: to
the vast majority
be sure the young will be cared for and survive, and to collect
enough food to see the whole colony (which might number of plant species
50,000 bees) through the dormant season.
around the world.
Each bee has a task to do to ensure the proper working
of the colony. Let’s examine their roles.

The Queen Bee

A honeybee colony has only one queen,
who is the mother of all the bees. All she
does is lay eggs, sometimes at the rate of
1,500 to 2,000 a day. She might live several
years and lay more than a million eggs.
A bee becomes a queen because she is
fed a creamy, highly nutritious substance
called royal jelly during all five or six days
of her larval stage. Workers and drones get
royal jelly during only the first three days of
the larval stage. Then they get beebread—
pollen mixed with honey.
The queen honeybee sits among
workers on the honeycomb.

Insect Study        71
The Social Insects.

Sixteen to 18 days after her own egg was laid, the young
queen emerges from her comb cell, and often will sting and kill
the other queens that are still developing. If two queens hatch
at the same time, they fight until one has been stung to death.
Then, the old queen must either leave or fight for her life.
Usually she leaves, taking with her a large number of workers
to start a new colony. Their flight is referred to as swarming.
After the young queen has gotten stronger, she leaves the
colony for her mating flight, then returns to the hive and begins
her lifework of laying eggs.

The Drones
While the new queen is maturing in the hive, a few hundred
male bees also are growing. They develop from unfertilized
eggs. Their sole purpose in the honeybee society is to mate
with the young queen.
When the new queen takes off on her mating flight, all
the drones trail her. Usually, the strongest and swiftest flier
among them mates with her in the air. After a drone mates
After about six with the queen, he dies. The other drones, having been
weeks of hard pampered and cared for carefully until this time, find they
are no longer welcome in the hive. The workers might starve
labor, the them to death (drones cannot get food for themselves), drive
honeybee worker them from the hive, or sting them to death (drones cannot
fight back because they have no stingers).
has literally
worked herself to The Workers
death. Workers Nearly all the thousands of honeybees in a hive are workers—
sterile females that cannot reproduce. Like the queen and
that develop late drones, they go through the stages of egg, larva, and pupa
in the summer within the cells of the comb. From the moment they step forth
as adult honeybees until they die, they spend all the daylight
can live through hours at work.
the winter Some stay in the comb to clean empty cells, bring food
to the young, make beeswax for more combs, and, within
because they their bodies, change the nectar into honey that is stored in
rest during the the combs. On hot days they might provide air-conditioning
by fanning their wings to move the air within the hive. Or,
dormant season.
these workers might guard the entrance against enemies.

72        Insect Study

 .The Social Insects

Others work outside, gathering pollen and nectar to

provide the raw material for the colony’s food. They buzz
from flower to flower, packing pollen from the blossoms into
special baskets on their hind legs. They also bring home
nectar in honey sacs—a second stomach, or reservoir—within
their bodies.

Inside the Hive

A honeybee hive is divided into parts, each with its
own purpose. In one area there are cells full of grow-
ing larvae. Nearby are cells with beebread and others
with honey for the nurses that tend the larvae. In one
area of the nursery are larger cells that contain the
larvae of drones. Near the bottom of the nursery are
big peanut-shaped cells where a few queens develop.
At the top of the hive is the main storehouse of honey,
where most of the inside workers spend their time
making and storing the staple food for the colony.

Dancing Bees
Worker bees that search for food or a location for a new colony are called
scout bees. After finding prospective sites, each scout returns to the
swarm and “tells” the other scouts with a special dance just how far and
in which direction the site is. The scouts go to investigate the different
sites, then return to the swarm. A signal is given to the swarm and a
streaker bee leads the way to the chosen site, followed by the queen and
then the rest of the swarm.
When a scout bee finds food, it again communicates with a dance—
this time to let the others know where the food is in relation to the sun,  
as well as how close or how far away it is. The scout performs its dance by
running repeatedly up the honeycomb in somewhat of a figure eight pat-
tern. If the scout dances straight up the comb, the food is located in the
direction of the sun. Amazingly, if the food is located to the left or right of
the sun, the scout will dance at a specific angle on the left or ride side of
an imaginary vertical line on the honeycomb. In other words, if the food is
located 45 degrees to the left of the sun, the scout will run its dance at a
45-degree angle to the left of the imaginary line on the honeycomb.
The speed of the scout’s dance communicates how far or how close
the food is. The faster the bee moves, the closer the food.

Insect Study        73
 .Insects and Humans

Insects and Humans

We often think of insects as pests that bite, sting, or make us
itch, or as the makers of pleasant sounds on a summer night.
They are much more than that. Some insects are very useful to
us. Others are highly destructive and dangerous to human health.

Helpful Insects
Insects are valuable to us in several ways. They help by
• Pollinating plants
• Producing useful materials such as honey, silk, dyes,
and beeswax
• Conserving soil and water
• Controlling harmful insects and weeds
• Getting rid of wastes
• Being subjects of scientific studies
• Being food for animals and some plants

Pollinators
Honeybees are so important as pollinators that many fruit
growers rent hives during the blossom season of their trees to
ensure pollination. Although honeybees are by no means the
only pollinators in the insect world, they are particularly good
at it because they usually travel among blossoms of the same
tree or plant and, therefore, are very efficient.
Many other insects are pollinators: other bee species,
butterflies, moths, wasps, beetles, and some species of flies—
especially the flower or syrphid fly. Several species of wild
bumblebees are the only pollinators of red clover in North Squash bee
America. Without them no red clover (and few related species
that are important as animal feeds) could be grown here.

Insect Study        75
Insects and Humans.

Producers
Honeybees produce about 200 million pounds of honey for
beekeepers in the United States each year. They also make
about 4 million pounds of beeswax, which is used in lubricants,
ointments, furniture polish, candles, and other articles.

Silkworm cocoons are slightly larger than a nickel.

Silk, another insect product, is made chiefly in China, Japan,

and India by the larva of a particular moth, Bombyx mori (L.).
Other insects produce such useful materials as dyes,
medicinal products, and the resinous substance called lac that
is used in making shellac.

Soil and Water Conservationists

The important role that ants play in water conservation, by
digging and making tunnels in the earth, has been mentioned
already. Other insects, such as certain beetles and wild bees
that nest in the ground, have the same effect.
Insects also improve the soil when they feed on decaying
plants and animals. They return organic (living or once-living)
matter to the earth faster than it would break down without
them. Their excrement also provides good fertilizer for the soil.
Beetle larvae, ants, flies, termites, earwigs, and some cockroaches
also are important in soil and water conservation.

76        Insect Study

 .Insects and Humans

Predators and Parasites

The predators and parasites of the insect
world help us by preying on other insects
that spread human diseases or destroy
valuable plants. Dragonflies and damsel-
flies, ground beetles, ladybird beetles,
syrphid flies, praying mantids, and the
aphid lion (the larva of the lacewing) are
important predators. They seek out and
destroy such insect pests as the mosquito,
the aphid (which kills plants by sucking out Hornworm with cocoons of a
their juices), scale insects, mealybugs, and wasp parasite
mites that feed on plants.
Among the helpful parasites are fly maggots (especially of
the family Tachinidae) and various species of the ichneumons
that were mentioned earlier. Usually, the insects do their deadly Some predators
work by depositing their eggs on or in the body of the prey.
of harmful insects
The parasite’s larvae eat the host insect’s body gradually rather
than killing it with just a few bites as predators do. also destroy
Insects also are useful in controlling undesirable weeds. beneficial insects
Occasionally, certain insects are introduced into an area to kill
off a destructive weed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, but, overall,
for example, introduced chrysolina beetles from Australia into these predators
grazing land in the West that was being overrun by Klamath
weed. Within a few years, the beetles had Klamath weed are helpful to us.
under control.

Scavengers
Insects serve as nature’s garbage disposers. Many of them feed
on decaying animals and animal dung that, if left alone, would
breed disease-producing organisms or prevent plant growth.
The list of insects providing
this sanitation service is
long. Dung beetles, carrion
beetles, and blowflies are
among the more common
and important scavengers.

Margined carrion beetle

Insect Study        77
Insects and Humans.

Today, scientists
use insects in
toxicology (the
study of poisons),
physiology (the
study of the bodily
processes of
organisms), and
cancer research.

Mediterranean fruit fly

Subjects of Scientific Studies

Because many insects, such as the common fruit fly (Drosophila),
have many generations in a year, they are important in such
sciences as genetics, the study of heredity (how traits pass from
one generation to another), and genomics, how genes regulate
body functions in health and disease. They also are valuable in
studies of pollution problems and of ecology—the relationship
of living things to their surroundings.

Food
Many birds and some mammals live almost
entirely on insects. Insects are the major part
of the diet of frogs, toads, salamanders,
lizards, spiders, some snakes, fish, and
even some unique plants, such as the
Venus flytrap and other sundews, and
pitcher plants.

Venus flytrap

78        Insect Study

 .Insects and Humans

Some people say insects make

tasty snacks, like these
mealworm larvae.

Some people use insects as food. In South Africa,

some people roast termites and eat them by the handful,
like popcorn. Some people in Mexico make a cake from the
eggs of water boatmen. In Australia, grubs are roasted and
eaten by the Aborigines.

The Web of Life

Studying insects can help you discover how closely
connected all living things are. If every insect in the
world died tomorrow, many fruits would disappear.
Wildflowers would become rare or extinct because, like
fruit trees, they depend on insects for pollination. Many
songbirds that eat insects would die; game fish and
some mammals would disappear. There would be no
more honey or silk. We can never foresee all the conse-
quences of pulling a strand from the web of life.

Insect Study        79
Insects and Humans.

Harmful Insects
A sting from a hornet or bite from a horsefly can be a painful
reminder that some insects are harmful. But the chief ways in
which insects harm us can go far beyond bites or stings.
• They carry disease-producing organisms.
• They consume stored grains and other foods.
• They destroy crops, as well as forest and shade trees.
• They are household pests.

Disease Carriers
Many insects transmit the germs that cause
disease. Mosquitoes are the worst offenders.
They carry the organisms that cause the
deadly West Nile virus, malaria, yellow
fever, encephalitis, and many other tropical
and subtropical diseases. Malaria alone kills
more than 1 million people and makes
more than 300 million people clinically sick
every year. Every case is transmitted by one
of only a few mosquito species, all of
Mosquito which are in the single genus Anopheles.
Several other insects, such as blackflies, tsetse flies, sand
flies, and assassin bugs, are serious pests in other parts of the
world because they transmit disease. In the United States,
sickness can be transmitted by such disease carriers as
fleas, lice, ticks, deerflies, and horseflies.
Biting flies, mosquitoes, and bugs of several species,
as well as the housefly, are responsible for diseases in
animals. Some are parasites, living in and
on the host animal. Among the diseases and
conditions these insects transmit are anthrax,
botulism, tularemia, swine erysipelas,
heartworm infestation, and swamp fever. Some
insects do not carry diseases but kill or cripple
an animal by living in its flesh. Among these are
the botflies and screwworm fly. Some of these
diseases affect people, too.

The harmless-looking housefly spreads more

than 100 human diseases, including typhoid,
tuberculosis, dysentery, and cholera.
 .Insects and Humans

Crop Destroyers
The damage insects do to useful trees, crops, and
other plants and to stored grain runs into tens of
billions of dollars each year in the United States
alone. Wherever there is organic material, you
can be sure some insect is either in it or trying
to get into it.
Among the insects that take a huge toll by
their feeding are corn borers, grasshoppers, corn
earworms, Hessian flies, chinch bugs, aphids, leaf-
hoppers, tussock and codling moths, scale insects,
borers such as the elm bark beetle (which also Corn earworm
transmits Dutch elm disease), and other beetles.
A few species of aphids and leafhoppers
spread crop-plant diseases, causing hun-
dreds of millions of dollars in crop losses
each year in the United States alone.

Household Pests
Click beetle
You can probably find a few unwelcome
guests in your home. Some ants will visit
occasionally if you leave sweets on the table.
Cockroaches will nibble on uncovered food and,
if nothing better is around, will chew the bind-
ings off books and magazines. Silverfish and
book lice also enjoy eating starched shirts and
rayon curtains. The larvae of clothes moths and
carpet beetles make meals of woolen and mohair
garments, furniture, feather dusters, silk stock-
ings, and other dried animal products.
Perhaps the most destructive household Termite damage
pests are termites, carpenter ants, and other
wood-destroying insects such as powder-post beetles. Left
uncontrolled, these insects can cause serious damage to house
and furniture. Termites are particularly damaging because they A termite queen
rarely show on the surface of the wood, which makes it diffi-
can live for
cult for property owners to know that termites are at work. The
termites chew from the inside until only a shell remains. Rarely, 50 years or longer.
termites will excavate an opening when swarming.
Other beetles, flies, and moths of several species feed on
leather, wool, tobacco, spices, drugs, meats, dried fruits, nuts,
and cereal products.

Insect Study        81
Insects and Humans.

Controlling Harmful Insects

The best insect controls are the natural controls provided by
animals and other insects. Predators—including birds, small
mammals, spiders, and especially other insects—destroy far
more harmful insects than are ever destroyed by artificial
means. Insects prey on one another, and birds, skunks,
shrews, moles, snakes, and lizards are constantly on the
lookout for insects.
Biological control—introducing predators, parasites, or
forms of life such as bacteria that will destroy an insect pest—
was introduced in the late 1800s, when California citrus
growers were being wiped out by an insect called the
cottony-cushion scale. The vedalia ladybird beetle (Rodolia
cardinalis Mulsant) was imported from Australia to eat the
cottony-cushion scale, and within two years the pest was
completely controlled.
Another kind of biological control is sterilizing the males
so that no eggs hatch. This was first done successfully in 1954
against a parasite called the screwworm fly that, in its larval
stage, lives in and feeds on the flesh of living livestock. Three
and a half billion male screwworm flies (males can mate
repeatedly; females mate only once in their lives) were sterilized
by X rays and released over Florida, Georgia, and Alabama,
the hardest-hit states. In less than a year the screwworm fly
menace was virtually wiped out in the Southeast because so
few young were hatched.
New synthetic insect-growth-regulating hormones are
sometimes spread as liquids, as granules, or in plaster pellets in
the habitats where the larvae of pest or disease-carrying species
live. These hormones slow or stop the insects’ development and
sometimes kill them. These materials are very safe for all animals
except arthropods.
Another way to keep the insect population within bounds
is cultural control. This is largely a matter of common sense. It
involves, for example, sanitation. You know that garbage and
filth attract the common housefly and many other insects. Getting
rid of such breeding material is an excellent control measure.
On the flip side, some nonnative insects, such as loose-
strife weevils and beetles, have been used to counterattack
nonnative plants like the purple loosestrife.

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 .Insects and Humans

Spiders, like this crab spider, feed mostly on insects and are helpful to people because
they eat harmful insects. Spiders eat grasshoppers and locusts that destroy crops;
caterpillars that damage plants; and disease-carrying flies and mosquitoes.

For farmers, cultural control also means planting more

than one crop. Many varieties of insects depend on one kind of
plant for their entire food supply. If there is plenty of that plant,
the insects will thrive; if it disappears, they die off.
Soil cultivation in the fall is another method of control
that farmers use. Cultivation destroys insect larvae and pupae
buried in the earth by crushing them or exposing them to the
surface cold.

Insect Study        83
Insects and Humans.

Mosquitoes and other insects whose larvae live in water—

breathing air through a sort of snorkel at the surface—can be
controlled by spreading light oil over their breeding ponds. The
oil enters or jams the breathing system and suffocates the larvae.
Lastly, there is chemical control. Insecticides have been
extremely important, particularly since World War II, when
DDT was introduced. DDT alone was credited with saving
5 million lives by controlling mosquitoes, lice, flies, and other
disease carriers. However, it was later discovered to be very
harmful to the environment.
In the 1960s, the public (including many scientists)
became increasingly alarmed about the side effects of insecti-
cides including DDT and related compounds. Many insecticides
persist for long periods in nature, killing not only harmful
insects but also useful ones, as well as birds and small animals.
Pesticides can build up over time in soil or water and bioaccu-
mulate in natural food chains (including that of humans); such
pesticides are now banned. In addition, some of the insects
brought under control by new insecticides are now resistant to
them and are thriving once more.
For these reasons, many scientists believe that the future
of insect control will be in integrated pest management (IPM).
This approach uses all environmentally sound techniques in
combinations that are compatible with local conditions.
Monitoring the pest or disease-carrying species; using biological,
cultural, sanitary, and other control methods; and resorting to
chemicals only when no other effective method is available
(and then using the lowest effective chemical dose possible)
are the basics of IPM.

Scientists use this

flight intercept trap
to help them study
adult red oak borers.

84        Insect Study

 .Insects and Humans

Boll weevil

Hessian fly

Keep Out!
Many of the worst insect pests in the United States,
including the boll weevil, Japanese beetle, gypsy moth,
Hessian fly, and imported cabbageworm, came here from
other countries. Some of these nonnative invasive spe-
cies, such as fire ants and Africanized honeybees, are
dangerous to both people and wildlife. For this reason,
quarantines are set up to try to keep foreign pests out.
At the borders and chief points of entry into the
United States, agricultural quarantine inspectors examine
baggage and cargo for pests that might be imported  
accidentally on ships, planes, or other vehicles. Within
the United States, there are also agriculture-related laws
that limit the transport of fresh fruits and vegetables
across state lines.

Insect Study        85
 .Careers in Entomology

Careers in Entomology
People who study insects, either as a career or as a hobby, are
entomologists. Tens of thousands of amateur entomologists
have provided valuable information on insect distribution,
identification, life cycles, behavior, habits, and more.
Professional entomologists have a variety of career choices,
including controlling harmful insects, raising bees, teaching,
consulting with farmers and homeowners, enforcing quaran-
tines and regulations, doing insect surveys, selling insecticides,
or researching insect identification, classification, biology,
ecology, and behavior. They might work for private companies,
universities, or government agencies.

Beekeeping is one of many hobbies or professions an

entomologist could choose.

Insect Study        87
Careers in Entomology.

The Wide World of Entomology

The work of entomologists can prevent the spread of disease,
help farmers grow crops, save endangered species, and help
solve crimes. Here are some examples of what entomologists
can achieve and where they find employment.

Preventing Epidemics of Disease

Entomologists do research to combat insects that transmit
malaria, yellow fever, plague, river blindness, sleeping sickness,
and other diseases such as typhus, typhoid fever, and Lyme
disease. Medical entomologists, who specialize in studying
and stopping the spread of insect-borne diseases, work for
the United Nations; the World Health Organization; the U.S.
Department of Defense; the Centers for Disease Control; federal,
state, and local public health departments; mosquito abatement
agencies; and universities.

At least one-sixth
of the human
race suffers A crop duster sprays pesticide on a crop of peas near
Walla Walla, Washington.
from insect-borne
Protecting Crops and Other Vegetation
diseases.
Entomologists work to reduce the crop losses that insects
cause, which can help to relieve some of the food shortages
that exist in many parts of the world. Entomologists also
work with foresters to battle the insect pests that injure trees,
destroy timber, and damage the biological riches found in
forests. Plant protection entomologists study insect pests and
figure out ways to protect crops, trees, flowers, and other
plants from attack and injury by insects. These entomologists
work for the Department of Agriculture, the Forest Service,
the Department of the Interior, universities, nature centers,
conservation agencies, and private industries.

88        Insect Study

 .Careers in Entomology

Saving Endangered Species

By identifying endangered insect species and studying their
habitats, conservation entomologists can help rebuild threatened
ecosystems. Many are involved in education and outreach
programs at natural history
museums, nature centers,
zoos, conservation agencies,
and extension offices. They
encourage people to appreci-
ate insects.

Solving Crimes
Forensic entomologists help in
police investigations by
examining insects that
inhabit decomposing
remains. For example, insects
can help establish the time of
death. Among the first
insects to arrive on a newly
dead body are blowflies, and
a female blowfly usually lays eggs within a very short time after
arriving. The eggs develop into larvae, then pupae. A researcher
who knows how long it takes blowfly eggs to reach these
different stages can estimate the time of the victim’s death.
Few people are employed full-time as forensic entomolo-
gists. Most are affiliated with colleges or universities, teach
entomology or biology, and do research. Some work as consul-
tants to law enforcement and judicial agencies, or train crime-
scene technicians to recognize, collect, and properly preserve
the evidence that insects provide. Other forensic entomologists
might concentrate on food or other product contamination
cases, on insect problems in hospitals or nursing homes, or the
effects insects have on structures.

Insects can help investigators determine whether a

murder victim’s body was moved after death. If the
insects found on the body are different from those  
that live where the body was discovered, that gives
investigators an important clue.

Insect Study        89
Careers in Entomology.

Preparing for a Career

Acquainting yourself as early as possible with the science
of entomology will help you to recognize the variety of
career choices and begin to match your values, interests,
aptitudes, abilities, personal traits, and desired lifestyle to
your career decision.

Meet a Professional Bug Watcher

Leslie Saul Gershenz is director of the San Francisco
Insect Zoo in California. What she likes best about her
job is going out into the field to look for new insects  
to put in the zoo. She has collected insect colonies and
specimens in Trinidad, New Guinea, and Malaysia; in
the rain forests of South America and Borneo; and in
the deserts of California and Arizona.
“I’ll never forget the excitement of my first major
collection expedition to Costa Rica,” Gershenz said.  
“We arrived at the field station late at night and walked
the paths with flashlights. We were surrounded by a
symphony of sound. . . . Every leaf held another insect—
each one unique and mysterious.”
This professional entomologist became fascin­ated
with insects and other animals at an early age. “I remem-
ber my first encounters with insects—catching fireflies
on warm summer evenings, marveling at the beautiful
colors of butterflies, and watching ants scurrying across
my path,” she recalls. “I made my first insect collection
at summer camp.”

For a career in entomology, you must have a thorough

understanding of math and science. Begin now to take all the
biology, zoology, botany, ecology, chemistry, math, statistics,
genetics, and physics courses you can. Also develop your
writing skills. Study foreign languages if you are interested in
traveling abroad.

90        Insect Study

 .Careers in Entomology

Get hands-on experience in entomology and biology  

by volunteering at a museum, science center, or  
zoo. Seek summer positions with universities, state
experiment stations, or government agencies that  
work with insects. Join an entomology club. Getting  
to know people who share your interest in insects  
can help you decide whether you want to make  
entomology your career.

In college, you will study basic and applied entomology,

as well as ecology, genetics, microbiology, biochemistry, and
statistics. A bachelor’s degree that includes coursework in
entomology should qualify you to work for government
agencies, chemical companies, or pest management industries.
Advanced degrees are required, however, for many positions
in entomology. You will need a master’s or a doctoral degree
to teach, conduct research, or work in extension services.

Insect Study        91
Insect Study Resources.

Insect Study Resources

Scouting Literature –——. Ninety-Nine More Maggots,
Slugs and Bugs pocket guide; Animal Mites, and Munchers. University of
Science, Bird Study, Collections, Illinois Press, 1993.
Environmental Science, Forestry, Bland, Roger G., et al. How to Know the
Gardening, Mammal Study, Medicine, Insects. McGraw-Hill, 1978.
Nature, Plant Science, Public Health,
Chu, H. F., and Laurence K. Cutkomp.
Reptile and Amphibian Study, Soil and
How to Know the Immature Insects.
Water Conservation, and Veterinary
McGraw-Hill, 1992.
Medicine merit badge pamphlets
Dashefsky, H. Steven. Insect Biology:
Visit the Boy Scouts of America’s 49 Science Fair Projects.
official retail Web site at   Tab Books, 1992.
http://www.scoutstuff.org for Dunkle, Sidney W. Dragonflies Through
a complete listing of all merit Binoculars: A Field Guide to
badge pamphlets and other   Dragonflies of North America.
helpful Scouting materials   Oxford University Press, 2000.
and supplies. Eisner, Thomas. For Love of Insects,
2nd ed. Belknap Press, 2005.
Eisner, Thomas, Maria Eisner, and
Books and Brochures Melody Siegler. Secret Weapons:
Arnett Jr., Ross H. American Insects: Defenses of Insects, Spiders,
A Handbook of the Insects of Scorpions, and Other Many-Legged
America North of Mexico, 2nd ed. Creatures. Belknap Press, 2005.
CRC Press, 2000. Evans, Howard E. The Pleasures of
Arnett Jr., Ross H., and Richard L. Entomology. Smithsonian, 1985.
Jacques Jr. Simon and Schuster’s Holldobler, Bert, and Edward O. Wilson.
Guide to Insects, 2nd ed. Fireside The Ants. Belknap Press, 1990.
Books, 1981.
Lehmkuhl, Dennis M., et al.
Berenbaum, May R. Ninety-Nine Gnats, How to Know the Aquatic Insects.
Nits, and Nibblers. University of McGraw-Hill, 1979.
Illinois Press, 1989.

92        Insect Study

 .Insect Study Resources

Milne, Lorus J. National Audubon Zim, Herbert S. Insects, rev. and

Society Field Guide to North updated ed. St. Martin’s Press, 2001.
American Insects and Spiders.
Knopf, 1980. Organizations and Web Sites
Mound, Laurence, and Stephen Brooks. American Beekeeping Federation
Insects. Sagebrush, 2003. P.O. Box 1337
National Audubon Society. National Jesup, GA 31598-1038
Audubon Society Field Guide to Telephone: 912-427-4233
North American Butterflies. Web site: http://www.abfnet.org
Chanticleer Press, 1981. American Entomological Society
Opler, Paul A. Peterson First Guides: The Academy of Natural Sciences
Butterflies and Moths. Houghton 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway
Mifflin, 1998. Philadelphia, PA 19103-1195
Telephone: 215-561-3978
Peterson, Roger Tory. Peterson First Web site:
Guides: Insects, 2nd rev. ed. http://www.ansp.org/hosted/aes/index.html
Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
BugGuide.net
Turpin, Tom. Insect Appreciation, 3rd ed. Iowa State University College
Kendall Hunt Publishing Co., 2002. of Agriculture
West, Larry, and Julie Ridl. How to Entomology Department
Photograph Insects and Spiders. Ames, IA 50011-3140
Stackpole Books, 1994. Telephone: 515-294-7400
Web site: http://www.bugguide.net
White, Richard E. A Field Guide to the
Beetles of North America. Houghton Carolina Biological Supply Company
Mifflin, 1998. 2700 York Road
Burlington, NC 27215-3398
Wilsdon, Christina, et al. National
Toll-free telephone: 800-334-5551
Audubon Society First Field Guide:
Web site: http://www.carolina.com
Insects. Scholastic, 1998.
Entomological Society of America
Winston, Mark L. The Biology of
10001 Derekwood Lane, Suite 100
the Honey Bee. Harvard University
Lanham, MD 20706-4876
Press, 1991.
Telephone: 301-731-4535
Wright, Amy Bartlett. Peterson First Web site: http://www.entsoc.org
Guides: Caterpillars. Houghton
Mifflin, 1998.

Insect Study        93
Insect Study Resources.

Monarch Watch We appreciate the Quicklist

University of Kansas Consulting Committee of the
Entomology Program Association for Library Service to
1200 Sunnyside Ave. Children, a division of the American
Lawrence, KS 66045-7534 Library Association, for its assistance
Toll-free telephone: 888-TAGGING with updating the resources section of
Web site: http://www.monarchwatch.org this merit badge pamphlet.
National Museum of Natural History The Boy Scouts of America is
Department of Entomology grateful to those who have contributed
P.O. Box 37012, Smithsonian Institution to previous editions of the Insect Study
Washington, DC 20013-7012 merit badge pamphlet, upon which this
Web site: http://entomology.si.edu new edition is closely based. We are
grateful to: Dr. John A. Jackman, Texas
Young Entomologists’ Society Inc. A&M University; Gary A. Dunn, M.S.,
6907 West Grand River Ave. Young Entomologists’ Society; Robert
Lansing, MI 48906-9131 D. Hall, Ph.D., J.D., University of
Telephone: 517-886-0630 Missouri; the Entomological Society
Web site: http://members.aol.com of America for permission to adapt
/YESbugs/mainmenu.html material from the society’s Web site
(http://www.entsoc.org); writer and
Acknowledgments editor Deborah Lightfoot Sizemore;
Timothy Ebert, Ph.D.; Lt. Col. Harold J.
The Boy Scouts of America thanks
Harlan; and Gary A. Dunn.
Howard Evans, Ph.D., professor emeri-
tus, Veterinary and Comparative Photo and Illustration Credits
Anatomy, Cornell University, Ithaca,
New York, for his generous contribu- David T. Almquist, University of
tion of time and expertise in the updat- Florida, Bugwood.org, courtesy—
ing of this merit badge pamphlet. Dr. page 29 (bottom)
Evans is an active Scouter and serves Stephen Ausmus, USDA Agricultural
as merit badge counselor for many Research Service, Bugwood.org,
nature- and science-related topics. courtesy—page 86 (main)
Thanks to Maria Eisner and Thomas
Eisner, Ph.D., also of Cornell Scott Bauer, USDA Agricultural
University, for their contributions to Resource Service, Bugwood.org,
this pamphlet. courtesy—cover (potato beetle);
The BSA is thankful to Gary Stolz, pages 58 (bottom right), 65, 74, 78
Ph.D., U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, for (top), 81 (bottom), and 85 (bottom)
his thorough reviews and input. This Joseph Berger, Bugwood.org, courtesy—
dedicated Scouter has long served as a cover (ladybird beetle); pages 28
subject expert for the revision of many (bottom left), 48, 56 (blue-winged
different merit badge pamphlets and has olive mayfly), 64, and 80 (bottom)
been a valuable resource for the series.

94        Insect Study

 .Insect Study Resources

Ronald F. Billings, Texas Forest Service, Susan Ellis, www.forestryimages.org,

Bugwood.org, courtesy— courtesy—page 21 (bottom)
page 69 (left) Chris Evans, River to River CWMA,
Brand X Pictures, Bugs and Insects Bugwood.org, courtesy—page 39
2001©, all rights reserved— (milkweed, phlox)
page 25 (top) Wendy VanDyk Evans, Bugwood.org,
Charles T. and John R. Bryson, courtesy—page 39 (snapdragon)
Bugwood.org, courtesy— Reyes Garcia III, USDA Agricultural
page 9 (bottom) Research Service, Bugwood.org,
David Cappaert, Michigan State courtesy—page 9 (center)
University, Bugwood.org, courtesy— Peggy Greb, USDA Agricultural
pages 2, 12, 15, 16 (top inset), 21 Research Service, Bugwood.org,
(top left), 23 (bottom), 26 (left), courtesy—page 58 (bottom left)
27 (bottom), 30 (bottom), 49,
56 (bottom left), 77 (bottom), James Henderson, Gulf South Research
81 (center), and 83 Corporation, Bugwood.org,
courtesy—page 78 (bottom)
Clemson University—USDA Cooperative
Extension Slide Series, Bugwood.org, Tom Heutte, USDA Forest Service,
courtesy—pages 10 (cockroaches Bugwood.org, courtesy—
and silverfish), 28 (bottom right), page 39 (red clover)
57, and 85 (top) Gerald J. Lenhard, Bugwood.org,
Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State courtesy—page 61 (center, bottom)
University, Bugwood.org, courtesy— Gerald J. Lenhard, www.forestryimages
pages 63, 69 (right), 75, and .org, courtesy—page 14 (bottom)
81 (top)
Edward L. Manigault, Clemson
Carl Dennis, Auburn University, University Donated Collection,
Bugwood.org, courtesy—page 71 Bugwood.org, courtesy—pages 16
©Digital Vision® Ltd,. Little Creatures©— (bottom inset) and 56 (bottom right)
cover (praying mantis) Paolo Mazzei, Bugwood.org, courtesy—
©Digital Vision® Ltd.—page 26 (right) page 40

Arnold T. Drooz, USDA Forest Service, John Moser, USDA Forest Service,
Bugwood.org, courtesy—page www.forestryimages.org, courtesy—
39 (hibiscus) page 10 (bottom right)

Maria Eisner, Cornell University, Jerry A. Payne, USDA Agricultural

courtesy—page 8 (bottom) Research Service, www.forestryim-
ages.org, courtesy—page 62
Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org, courtesy—
pages 24 and 61 (top) J. Scott Peterson, USDA NRCS, www.
forestryimages.org, courtesy—
page 38

Insect Study        95
Insect Study Resources.

©Photos.com—cover (monarch butterfly USDA Agricultural Research Service/

at bottom right, butterfly and cocoon, Keith Weller, courtesy—page 91
and caterpillar at left); pages 3, 5, 7, USDA APHIS PPQ Archives, USDA
11 (both), 14 (top), 18, 25 (bottom), Animal and Plant Health Inspection
29 (top), 30 (background), 37 (both), Service, www.forestryimages.org,
39 (bottom), 41–42, 73, 77 (top), courtesy—page 8 (top)
and 80 (top)
USDA APHIS PPQ Archives, USDA
Herb Pilcher, USDA Agricultural APHIS PPQ, Bugwood.org, courtesy—
Research Service, www.forestryim- page 39 (marigold)
ages.org, courtesy—page 10 (top)
USDA Natural Resources Conservation
Dave Powell, USDA Forest Service, Service/Paul Fusco, courtesy—
Bugwood.org, courtesy— page 8 (center)
page 39 (goldenrod)
USDA/Doug Wilson, courtesy—page 88
John Ruberson, University of Georgia,
Bugwood.org, courtesy— U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service/Paul
cover (ants and leaf) Gertler, courtesy—page 9 (top)

James Solomon, USDA Forest Service, Wikipedia.org, courtesy—page 21

Bugwood.org, courtesy—page 54 (top right)

Alton N. Sparks Jr., University of Peter Wirtz, Bugwood.org, courtesy—

Georgia, Bugwood.org, courtesy— cover (chrysalis); page 60
page 31 All other photos and illustrations
Terry Spivey, USDA Forest Service, not mentioned above are the
Bugwood.org, courtesy— property of or are protected by
page 39 (sunflower) the Boy Scouts of America.

Tim Tigner, Virginia Department of John McDearmon—pages 17, 19 (all),

Forestry, Bugwood.org, courtesy— 22 (all), 23 (illustrations), 27 (top),
page 28 (bottom center) 35–36 (illustrations), 50–52 (all),
55–56 (illustrations), 58–59
University of Arkansas Forest (illustrations), and 66
Entomology Lab Archive, Bugwood.
org, courtesy—page 84 Brian Payne—pages 6 and 87

USDA Agricultural Research Service/

Stephen Ausmus, courtesy—page 53
USDA Agricultural Research Service/Scott
Bauer, courtesy—page 4
USDA Agricultural Research Service/
Peggy Greb, courtesy—
page 86 (inset)

96        Insect Study

 Merit badge library
Though intended as an aid to Boy Scouts, Varsity Scouts, and qualified Venturers in
meeting merit badge requirements, these pamphlets are of general interest and are made
available by many schools and public libraries. The latest revision date of each pamphlet
might not correspond with the copyright date shown below, because this list is corrected
only once a year, in January. Any number of merit badge pamphlets may be revised
throughout the year; others are simply reprinted until a revision becomes necessary.
If a Scout has already started working on a merit badge when a new edition for that
pamphlet is introduced, he may continue to use the same merit badge pamphlet to earn
the badge and fulfill the requirements therein. In other words, the Scout need not start
all over again with the new pamphlet and possibly revised requirements.

Merit Badge Pamphlet Year Merit Badge Pamphlet Year Merit Badge Pamphlet Year
American Business 2002 Engineering 2008 Photography 2005
American Cultures 2005 Entrepreneurship 2006 Pioneering 2006
American Heritage 2005 Environmental Science 2006 Plant Science 2005
American Labor 2006 Family Life 2005 Plumbing 2004
Animal Science 2006 Farm Mechanics 2008 Pottery 2008
Archaeology 2006 Fingerprinting 2003 Public Health 2005
Archery 2004 Fire Safety 2004 Public Speaking 2002
Architecture 2008 First Aid 2007 Pulp and Paper 2006
Art 2006 Fish and Wildlife Radio 2008
Astronomy 2004 Management 2004 Railroading 2003
Athletics 2006 Fishing 2009 Reading 2003
Automotive Maintenance 2008 Fly-Fishing 2009 Reptile and
Aviation 2006 Forestry 2005 Amphibian Study 2005
Backpacking 2007 Gardening 2002 Rifle Shooting 2001
Basketry 2003 Genealogy 2005 Rowing 2006
Bird Study 2005 Geology 2005 Safety 2006
Bugling (see Music) Golf 2002 Salesmanship 2003
Camping 2005 Graphic Arts 2006 Scholarship 2004
Canoeing 2004 Hiking 2007 Scuba Diving 2009
Chemistry 2004 Home Repairs 2009 Sculpture 2007
Cinematography 2008 Horsemanship 2003 Shotgun Shooting 2005
Citizenship in the Indian Lore 2008 Skating 2005
Community 2005 Insect Study 2008 Small-Boat Sailing 2004
Citizenship in the Nation 2005 Journalism 2006 Snow Sports 2007
Citizenship in the World 2005 Landscape Architecture 2008 Soil and Water
Climbing 2006 Law 2003 Conservation 2004
Coin Collecting 2008 Leatherwork 2002 Space Exploration 2004
Collections 2008 Lifesaving 2008 Sports 2006
Communication 2009 Mammal Study 2003 Stamp Collecting 2007
Composite Materials 2006 Medicine 2009 Surveying 2004
Computers 2009 Metalwork 2007 Swimming 2008
Cooking 2007 Model Design and Building 2003 Textile 2003
Crime Prevention 2005 Motorboating 2008 Theater 2005
Cycling 2003 Music and Bugling 2003 Traffic Safety 2006
Dentistry 2006 Nature 2003 Truck Transportation 2005
Disabilities Awareness 2005 Nuclear Science 2004 Veterinary Medicine 2005
Dog Care 2003 Oceanography 2009 Water Sports 2007
Drafting 2008 Orienteering 2003 Weather 2006
Electricity 2004 Painting 2008 Whitewater 2005
Electronics 2004 Personal Fitness 2006 Wilderness Survival 2007
Emergency Preparedness 2008 Personal Management 2003 Wood Carving 2006
Energy 2005 Pets 2003 Woodwork 2003

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