UF/IFAS Entomology Club Builds 4-H Insect Collections

Armed with scissors, pins, ladybug hats and plenty of pizza, several members of our department's undergraduate Entomology Club gathered to create model insect collections for various age groups. Participating members included Ben Anderson, Wendy Gonzalez-Canal, Sarahlynne Guerrero, Michael Fowler, Marissa Gonzalez, Dan Pitt and Alyssa Porter. Entomology Education and Outreach committee members Dr. Rebecca Baldwin, Dr. Denise Thomas, and Sharon Clemmensen also assisted in the workshop.

The collections will serve as models for the annual Insect Collection Competition sponsored by the UF/IFAS Entomology and Nematology department each summer at 4-H Congress. For complete rules, please see 4-H Insect Collection Competition on the Florida Bug Club Web site.


Division I - Insects We See
Division II - What is an Insect?


Division III - Insect Growth and Development
Division IV - Where Insects Live?

"I am an Entomology major and have absolutely fallen in love with the intricate and vast world of insects. I volunteered [to work on the 4-H collections] because, as a freshman here at the University, I am continuously looking for ways to become involved in my college, and more specifically the Entomology Department. I love interacting with others in my field and sharing our passion for insects. Everyone has crazy personalities and enjoys working in a fun, lighthearted environment. The 4-H project is a great way to get children involved in Entomology early. The fall of participants over the past years was a concern of all involved in the Outreach program. These new displays are definetly going to spark the interests of the children. They are colorful and include a large number of different kinds of insects. I had an awesome time making the displays with the other volunteers and will always remember the crazy time we had in our matching labybug hats!" - Alyssa Porter
Alyssa Porter prepares insect order labels.


Danny Pitt completes Division I labels.
 "Entomology Club members worked together to create model collections for examples for students. We searched though disorganized collections for good specimens that represented correct pinning and made different collections for different age groups. The collection I worked on was for younger children (I'm not sure what age group). We used examples of some common insects and identified them with their common names and a short description of something interesting about each of them. I thought it was great to be able to help kids learn about insects at an early age. Maybe some will become inspired by making an insect collection though 4-H and grow up to become an entomologist." - Danny Pitt


Sarahlynne Guerrero selecting insects for the collections.
Ben Anderson pinning the insects.


Wendy Gonzalez-Canal inserting insects into
a Division II collection she assembled.
Dr. Rebecca Baldwin and Sharon Clemmensen
assemble a Division IV collection.

To view additional photographs taken at the workshop, please visit the Entomology Club's Web site.

Thomas Fasulo is the newsletter editor. You can submit news anytime to fasulo@ufl.edu. Issues are published the middle of each month. Submit items for an issue by the 7th of that month. Detailed articles, such as this one, must be submitted before the first of the month for that month's newsletter.

Return to the April 2009 issue.