Insects

• Hi, I'm Elizabeth. I have always loved all insects (except termites) and hope you do too after reading this.

intro

• Some people say that venomous or even non-venomous insects are icky or scary, but if you go deep down into the ground, you might find that insects can be the most fascinating creatures on earth. But it’s the feelings of these insects that fascinates me most of all.

Body Parts

• All insects have 3 body segments or parts. The first part of the body is the head. The head holds two different types of eyes. The first eye is the simple eye. The simple eye can only see if it is light or dark. The second eye is the compound eye. It can hold up to 25,000 different lenses! Together, both eyes see clearly. The second body part or segment is the thorax. Most people think that the abdomen holds the legs and wings,but they hold nothing. The thorax holds the legs and the wings.
• The last body segment is the the abdomen. The abdomen goes all by itself. Nothing is attached to it, but the rest of the body and where they create wastes and lay eggs.

Carpenter bees

• Carpenter bees are usually out in the Spring. That is when their mating season starts! They will be out on your porch before you can say buzzz. The reason that they are all out then is because they are all looking for mates. They will hover around the nests of other carpenter bees, waiting for an eligible mate to buzz out. Most people think that carpenter bees can’t sting and they actually can, but only the female carpenter bees can. This is because the females are using their egg -laying system to do so.

What to do, What to do?

• It might not seem like it, but insects are all around us. They stay everywhere including basements. Sometimes it is OK to keep a bug, but sometimes it isn’t. A good way to do it is the 24 hour rule or the a bug a day rule. You keep the bug for a day, (24 hours), and let it go. Who knows? Maybe it has a family to look after. If the bug dies while you are taking care of it, put it where it belongs. As an example, ants. If they die in your care, bring them to their type of ant hill. The ants will take care of the rest.

Venom, or mimic?

• You can’t easily tell if an insect is venomous. There are bugs called mimics. They are insects that can act and look like a venomous insect when they are really not. Hymenoptera means membranous. These insects sure are membranous!! Some insects “play dress up” as villains. ( Wasps, bees, hornets etc.) They can even smell like the same insect that they are “dressing” as. They sometimes kill the insects just to get their scent. It can help the mimics a lot. They can scare off predators, and even get more prey. But, just because they can be a venomous insect doesn’t mean they can have stingers. They don’t have stingers at all. They can mimic having stingers by waving their abdomens, but they will never develop stingers.

Entomology

• Entomology comes from the Greek word Entomos. Entomos means insect. Entomologists can study all bugs, a couple bugs, or even be a specialist in a certain bug! A specialist means an expert. Some study behavior and some study how they affect humans. Some even study medical entomology! Imagine giving shots to a bug! Yuck! Also entomologists do experiments to see what works and what doesn't. They do most experiments in a lab (like all scientists) and they study all day and sometimes all night. Some invent repellant for exterminators to make!

Venomous bug, or bogus bug?

• The only way to determine if a venomous bug is venomous to see if the bug is naturally venomous. Poisonous is not venomous. It is only venomous if it injects venom. If the poison is not injected like poison ivy, it is poisonous. It is easy to remember if you say it this way. “Venom is in you, poison is on you.” There are lots of fairly harmless venomous insects. Usually, we don’t feel the sting.

What kills the most people?

• The insect that kills the most people every year is not venomous. That insect is a mosquito. They spread diseases like Malaria and other bad illnesses. They do not know when they spread the disease. And when they bite you, they have no clue. They are mostly found in the Amazon. When they bite, they are holding on with sharp legs and stick a needle-like tongue into your arm or leg. When they are biting you, their tongue happens to have a type of liquid that makes you itch. If your bite itches, you are considered “allergic” to the liquid. Few very lucky people are not allergic and their bites don’t itch.

How many?

• There are just under 1,000,000 known different species of insects. Scientists predict that there are about 4-20,000,000 that we have yet to find. As an example, spiders. Scientists and entomologists find a new species of spider every year. If we didn’t find those species, we might not have known about venom or sicknesses that they spread. It is good that we know these awesome insects.

Ouch!

• There are a few simple things to do if you are hunting for insects. The first thing to bring is a big ice bag or pack. The second thing to bring is a towel so if one faints, you have a towel to help them relax. The next thing to bring is a benadryl. If not a benadryl, an epipen.
• If the person bitten or stung starts swelling in the neck, throwing up, had multiple rashes, or stops breathing,they are having an allergic reaction. Use the epipen and take them to the hospital immediately. That is how to deal with a venomous bite or sting.

Thanks! I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I did writing this!!

Bibliography

• Wikipedia.com\entomology
• Galileo.org
• Entomology.com
• Google.com
• https://www.childrensal.org/poisonous-insects .http://ento.psu.edu/public/kids/cool-sites-for-kids http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/general-facts-about-insects-and-... http://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/ythfacts/stories/hurtrnot.htm http://www.ducksters.com/animals/black_widow_spider.php http://www2.ca.uky.edu/entomology/dept/youth.asp http://www.wonderville.ca/asset/entomology http://easyscienceforkids.com/animals/insects/ http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/ http://www.neok12.com/Insects.htm