Photo, Susan Ellis, Bugwood.org
Arthropods in Your Backyard
Last Tuesday I traveled from Pittsburgh, PA across the state to the Montgomery County-Norristown Library to present a workshop on Handmade Books to a wonderful group of librarians who are preparing programs and activities for their summer reading club. Since the theme for the summer reading club is Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Library the afternoon was all about books that can be created with insects as the focus. (I brought large folded insect scrolls for display on the walls – just to get everyone in the mood.) We began by creating books from one piece of paper and proceeded to altered books. An altered book actually celebrates the format of the book by saving an unwanted book from a trip to the land fill and transforming it into a work of art. We talked about selecting the book, supplies, techniques, and adding textures and embellishments. So, for those of you who have Catch the Reading Bug @ Your Library for your theme, or for those of you who just love arthropods, here are some helpful resources and links.
General Information and Resources
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Crinkleroot’s Guide to Knowing Butterflies & Moths by Jim Arnosky
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Eyewitness Handbooks: Butterflies and Moths by David Carter
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Eyewitness: Insect by Lawrence Mound Insectigations: 40 Hands-On Activities to Explore the Insect World by Cindy Blobaum
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My First Pocket Guide: Insects by Daniel J. Bickel
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National Audubon Society First Field Guide to Insects by Christina Wilsdon
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Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists: Butterflies by Jonathan P. Latimer & Karen Stray Nolting
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Peterson Field Guides for Young Naturalists: Caterpillars by Jonathan P. Latimer & Karen Stray Nolting
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What’s That Bug? by Nan Froman, illustrated by Julian Mulock
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World of animals: Insects and Other Invertebrates (10 Volume set)
Insect Information and Links
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Australian Museum Online - Insect fact sheets, basic information, and links to resources.
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Animal Diversity Web: Insects - Information, images, sounds, and specimens with a particular emphasis on classification.
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BugGuide - Online field guide to insects, spiders, and other arthropods created and maintained by naturalists.
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Chuck’s Butterfly Page - Photograph’s of specimens and the metamorphosis of several species.
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Entomology for Kids and Teachers: University of Kentucky -Extensive kid-focused site by the Department of Entomology includes resources, lesson plans, images, and much more.
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Monarch Watch - Everything about monarchs from the University of Kansas including research, facts, tagging kits, conservation, butterfly gardening, and migration.
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Monarch Watch Blog - Official blog of Monarch Watch.
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Insect Identification - Field guide from the Texas A&M Department of Entomology.
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Insect Images - Image database for public use through a joint project from University of Georgia and the USDA Forest Service.
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Inset Macro Photography - Incredible macro photography by M. Plonsky (use with permission from photographer).
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Insect Masks - Large printable insect masks from Alien Empire site at pbs.org.
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Insectclopedia: Insect Research Portal - Volumes of information on all aspects of entomology on this growing insect portal.
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What’s That Bug? - Ask questions, read other bug lovers’ inquiries, and view lots of cool pictures on this site all about insect identification.
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Wild Times for Kids: Insects - Booklet in PDF format with lots of information and activities.
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Virtual Insects and a Spider - Really cool site with insect animation.
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