Entomology, Spring Semester, 2008

INSTRUCTOR:

Dr. Lee Dyer; 862-8288; ldyer@tulane.edu OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 9 – 11 AM; ESB 308

Dr. Dyer will run the laboratory and will be responsible for all final grades in the course.

LECTURER:

Clark Pearson; 865-5549; cpearso@tulane.edu OFFICE HOURS: Wednesday 9 – 11 AM; Stern 4045

Clark will design and present the lectures and exams and will grade exams and critiques from the lecture.

LECTURE SCHEDULE:

Date	Topic	Readings ( from Gullan & Cranston)
Jan 15	Introduction	Chp. 1
Jan 17, 22	Insect diversity, taxonomy, and systematics	Chp. 7
Jan 24, 29	Insect diversity, taxonomy, and systematics	Chp. 7
Jan 31, Feb 7	Insect body plan and integument	Chp. 2
Feb 12	Reproduction	Chps. 5, 6
Feb 14	Development	Chps. 5,6
Feb 19	Respiration and circulation	Chp. 3
Feb 21, 26	Digestion, metabolism and excretion	Chp. 3
February 26	Critique #1 due (20 points)
Feb 28	Nervous system, endocrine, exocrine and sensory systems	Chps. 3, 4
Mar 4	Locomotion and flight	Chp. 3
March 6	Midterm Exam (100 points)
Mar 11	Insect behavior	Chps. 4, 5
Mar 13, 18	Behavior / Communication	Chp. 4
Mar 25, 27	Social insects	Chp. 11
Apr 1, 3	Insect-plant interactions/Pollination biology	Chp. 10
Apr 8, 10	Insect-animal interactions / trophic cascades	Chp. 12
Apr 15, 17	Insect defenses	Chp. 13
Apr 22, 24	Interaction with humans: introduction to biological control	Chps. 1, 14, 15
Apr 29	Review for final
April 29	Critique #2 due (80 points)

FINAL EXAM (150 points) DUE on Tuesday, May 9, 1 PM

REQUIRED TEXT:

Gullan, P.J. and Cranston, P.S. 2005. The insects: An outline of entomology. Third edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford, England.

REQUIREMENTS TO PASS THE COURSE:

1. Pass the midterm and final exams.

2. Turn in two acceptable 1-page critiques of any current article in the primary literature related to entomology.

3. Turn in an acceptable insect collection (see lab description).

EXAMINATIONS AND GRADING POLICY:

The final exam will be cumulative. Final grades in the course will be based upon your total points with grades assigned using a standard percentage system: A = 90 - 100%; B = 80 - 89%;C = 70 - 79%; D = 60 - 69%; F < 60%.

GRADUATE STUDENTS:

Graduate students will be required to give one lecture (15-50 minutes, depending on experience) instead of the midterm examination. The final exam will be a take-home essay exam (different from the final for other students. Lab requirements are the same.

Entomology Lab schedule; Spring, 2008

Date	Topic for Lab
Jan 23	Introduction to the lab and brief review of arthropods and most orders of insects
Jan 30	Collection and mounting techniques; how to use insect keys; TOP TAG; BOTTOM TAG
Feb 6	Urban collecting – no lab this day; LEARN THESE TERMS
Feb 13	Identification of apterygota, paleoptera, and orthopteroid orders
Feb 20	Identification of the following orders: Blattodea, Isoptera, Embioptera, Thysanoptera, Hemiptera, plus others
Feb 27	Identification of the following orders: Neuroptera, Coleoptera
Mar 5	Review all orders and families; (lab3, lab4, lab5)
March 12	Lab Practical I (100 points)
Mar 26	Identification of the following orders: Lepidoptera, Trichoptera, Siphonaptera
Apr 2	Identification of Diptera and Hymenoptera
Apr 9	Review of all orders, families, and immatures; work on collections
April 16	Final Lab Practical (200 points--over all orders, families, and immatures)
Apr 23	Final work on collections
April 29	All collections due by 5pm

REQUIRED TEXTS:

Gullan, P.J. and Cranston, P.S. 2005. The insects: An outline of entomology. Third edition. Blackwell Science, Oxford, England.

Triplehorn, C.A. and N.F. Johnson. 2005. An Introduction to the Study of Insects. Seventh Edition. Saunders College Publishing Co. 875 pp.

SUPPLIES:

A sweep net, aerial net, kill jar, collection box, pinning block, pro tem block, and aspirator will be assigned to you for the semester. Pins will be provided, as will points, ethyl acetate, spreading boards, and labeling pens. Other helpful items that we cannot provide, listed in order of their priority, are hand lens, dissecting tools, glassine envelopes, and clear nail polish for cementing specimens on points.

INSECT COLLECTION:

A collection of properly preserved and identified insects is required and is part of your laboratory grade. The collection is to be turned in by Friday, April 27, at 5 pm. Each specimen should be properly labeled and entered into the Tulane University collection database. The arrangement of the collection should follow the list found on the database. Your collection should represent independent work during the semester. A minimum of 15 orders and 25 families are required. In addition, two different larval and pupal stages (nymphs are also acceptable) of two different orders are required. Your collections can be reviewed during the middle of the quarter to aid in your progress and to help perfect your techniques. An index will be calculated as follows:

1 point for each of the first 15 orders

2 points for each order beyond 15

1 point for each family (to receive the point, at least 50% of the specimens identified as belonging to the family must be identified correctly -- i.e. if 3 specimens in the family Largidae are submitted, at least 2 must indeed be largids)

20 points for presentation quality, using the following criteria:

(1) proper pinning or other preservation techniques, such as point-mounting, slides, alcohol vials,

(2) proper data, collector, and Tulane collection # labels,

(3) condition of specimens,

(4) arrangement of collection in box, and

(5) the variety of habitats represented.

A passing (C) score is 50.