MSU Extension

The organizations and websites listed here may provide more information in the 4-H entomology project area. This information is for educational purposes only. Reference to commercial products or trade names does not imply endorsement by MSU Extension or bias against those not mentioned.

MSU Resources

Michigan State University Department of Entomology
MSU Bug House
243 Natural Sciences Bldg
East Lansing MI 48824-1115
Phone: 517-355-4662
Find out about touring the MSU Bug House.

Other Resources

Alien Empire
This special multimedia web companion to the three-week Nature miniseries takes you into the bizarre, fascinating world of insects, with amazing graphics, sound and animation, enhanced video and activities for kids. Read the articles to learn more about how insects reproduce, live together in society, migrate and battle for survival.

Amateur Entomologists’ Society Bug Club
The Bug Club is devoted to young people and the “young at heart” who find insects and other creepy crawlies interesting and even fascinating.

AntBoy’s Bugworld
More than 1,000,000 different known species of insects exist in the world, and some experts estimate that there might be as many as 10,000,000. This site contains basic facts about common insects and links to sites about them.

Bio-Quip Products
2321 Gladwick St
Rancho Dominguez CA 90220
Phone: 310-667-8800
This company offers equipment, supplies and books for entomology and related sciences.

Bugfood II: Insects as Food!?!
Activities from this unit from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology would make a very interesting 4-H talk or demonstration to spark interest in a classroom setting.

Carolina Biological Supply Co.
This company offers many different types of science education equipment that 4-H’ers can use to make a bug collection or teach others about bugs.

Citybugs
Entomologists and teachers work together to create and maintain this website and curriculum using insects to teach about science. Identify bugs you find by searching the insect database (guided and direct methods available).

Colorado Water Knowledge
This Colorado State University site provides a description and some illustrations of the fish and aquatic insects present in Colorado’s waters. It gives details about the state’s wetlands and water quality and provides links to environmental laws.

Emerald Ash Borer
This website is part of a multistate effort in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana to bring you the latest information about the emerald ash borer. Get involved with the effort to wipe out the emerald ash borer! You can help spread the word about the importance of not moving firewood from quarantined areas. You can also help others learn to identify this invasive species and identify infested ash trees.

Iowa State University Entomology Image Gallery
Insects and plant disease pictures, many of them full-color photographs, are divided into these categories: lice, beetles, butterflies, moths and caterpillars, cicadas and leafhoppers, flies and mosquitoes, grasshoppers and crickets, true bugs, ticks, plants and plant diseases.

Iowa State University Entomology Index of Internet Resources
This is a directory and search engine of online insect-related resources.

Kids in the Creek
The Kids in the Creek program provides students with a simple method of assessing the long-term health of a stream by viewing and identifying the aquatic insects and observing the world they inhabit. The site is produced by the Bonneville Power Administration of Portland, Oregon, a federal agency operating under the U.S. Department of Energy.

Lady Beetles
This Ohio State University Extension fact sheet is filled with facts about the lady beetle. Lady beetles, often called ladybugs or coccinellids, are the most commonly known of all beneficial insects. In Europe, these beetles are called “ladybirds.” Both adults and larvae feed on many different soft-bodied insects, with aphids being their main food source. Ohioans like lady beetles so much that the Convergent Lady Beetle became the official state insect in 1975.

Lady Beetles
Did you ever see a little red and black beetle crawling along your window sill? It was probably a lady beetle. Most species of lady beetles are among our most beneficial insects as they consume huge numbers of plant feeding insects – mostly aphids. These notes from the Michigan Entomology Society give facts about these helpful creatures.

Michigan Beekeepers Association
This site provides contact information for officers of the Michigan Beekeepers Association in case of a problem with bees. It offers general information and provides contact information to sign up for beekeeping classes.

Nature Songs
This site features a collection of sounds including birds, insects, weather and people.

O. Orkin Insect Zoo
Live spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and insects reside year-round in the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Natural History Insect Zoo. Learn how these fascinating animals are designed for survival and where they fit into the natural world.

sts who work on them.

Purple Pages: Purple Loosestrife Eradication
Learn how to rear the beetles that love to munch on purple loosestrife, an invasive species that is crowding native plants out of Michigan wetlands.

Sci4Kids
What would happen if you opened your cereal box and found insects where the raisins should be? Sci4Kids explores the science behind questions like these in a collection of stories written by ARS (Agricultural Research Service) scientists.

Stein’s Virtual Insectary
This site provides images of some common insects and information about what they eat and the habitats in which they can be found.

Using Live Insects in Elementary Classrooms Information Sheets
The University of Arizona Center for Insect Science and Education Outreach presents information sheets on various insects. Each sheet includes a section on identifying features, natural history, impacts on the ecosystem and tips on collecting.

WARD’s Natural Science
PO Box 92912
Rochester NY 14692-9012
Phone: toll-free 800-962-2660
This company is a supplier of science education materials for high school- and college-level biology and geology classes, and life, environmental, earth and physical science studies in grades 5 through 9.

Entomology for Kids and Teachers
This University of Kentucky entomology site is designed for teachers, 4-H’ers, young people and anyone else who would like to pursue an interest in entomology. “Katerpillars,” Kentucky’s online source for insect fun and information, includes Mystery Bugs, an online insect game. At the “Kentucky Bug Connection,” students can find entomology facts in the Critter Case Files. Visit the 4-H entomology resource section for entomology curriculum.