Insect Ecology @ Au Sable - spring 2024

A group of students, backyard, a patio, a grill, a garden, and a hundred thousand bees… “Wait, what? That doesn’t sound right or safe” is what you may be thinking. A couple of weeks ago as a class we stopped by a local beekeepers house named Mindy. I was shocked to find that the hives were in the middle of the small town of Warr Acres, Oklahoma.The area is very familiar to me and I had never noticed bees there before.  We began our adventure by entering the backyard and getting a quick summary of what Mindy did year round to sustain her bee population. We were then given full body protection in the form of bee suits, making us feel safe ( suit ). What I didn’t realize is that there is much more that goes into it than just giving the bees a home. Beekeepers must be able to make constant adjustments based on how the bees are acting.  Mindy’s yard consisted of around 5 “hives” that looked like this image . At first, a few bees were seen hovering around the hives, coming and...

Nature’s Halloween  Stephanie Young and Abigail Chitwood  Halloween is here! A time when many dress up as ghouls, goblins, princesses or superheroes and venture out for an evening full of trick-or-treats. This yearly celebration allows for the mimicry of another for entertainment and fun. Many insects don’t need a special holiday for this, they rely on mimicry daily as a means for survival. They can disguise themselves as plants, leaves or even other species. Coloration and patterns are used to help them blend into the background or give the illusion of being something else. Giving these insects an award for best dressed this Halloween! Mimicry is when one organism shares common characteristics with another organism. Though mimicry is most often thought of as visual, it can also involve behavioral, the use of pheromones or audio sounds. It is used as a means of protection from potential predators, usually by confusing them therefore they av...

As a child, I collected insects. This may sound unusual to those who were so unfortunate as to grow up in the city, but in my neck of the woods insects were all the rage. My friends and I would collect everything we could get our hands on. We grabbed grasshoppers, crickets, beetles of all sorts, and even spiders which our childish naivete lumped in with the rest of their arthropod cousins. If you were especially daring, you would even go for wasps and bees. The ultimate prize however was the ever so elusive rhinoceros beetle. Only one among us was fortunate enough to have been gifted one by his mother. The rest of our band scoured high and low but could never find any of these remarkable insects. Few insects are as imposing as the rhinoceros beetle. Rhinoceros beetles consist of over 300 species, all belonging to the subfamily Dynastinae which is in the family  Scarabaeidae . They are found on every continent except Antarctica. Their large stature and fascinating horns ...

One day on a beautiful early fall afternoon we were taking a stroll across campus. We had just escaped an extra credit seminar on dental hygiene school, so it was safe to say we were ready for some interaction with nature. On our sunny walk, we heard a girl gasp with excitement as she stared into the palm of her hand. Driven by curiosity we hurried over to see what had caused the commotion. It was a beautiful green caterpillar. It was unlike anything I had ever seen, it was bright lime green with bristles covering its body. It was curled up in a defensive posture. This position revealed a crisp red over white line that ran laterally along its body.              The girl’s excitement transferred over to us as we examined this cool creature. This caterpillar was interesting to use because we were in the midst of an insect ecology class where we have to collect and maintain an insect collection. The immediate thought across ou...