The Summer Early Years column An Invertebrate Garden featured Teacher’s Picks from science resource teacher Fred Arnold of Spencerport, New York, who helps teachers and students raise Painted Lady butterflies, mealworms, super mealworms, and milkweed bugs in their classrooms. He finds insects can awaken an appreciation and understanding of the intricacy of our world.

Books

For Teachers

Life on a Little-Known Planet. Howard Ensign Evans. 1993. The Lyons Press.
This book highlights the wonderfully strange habits of insects and is richly described by an entomologist and naturalist.
The Handbook of Nature Study. Anna Botsford Comstock. 1986. Comstock.
Found a preying mantis, a walking stick, or firefly and want to know what it eats, where it lives, how it defends itself? This is a great book for you to demonstrate to your students what it means to “look it up.” It also has terrific ideas for investigations.

For Students

Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! Bob Barner. 1999. Chronicle Books.
Even the youngest bug enthusiast will find these colorful collage rendered illustrations and the rhyming text engaging. Eight common “bugs” are featured. The final pages list details and real-life-sized renderings for students fascinated by the facts.
From Caterpillar to Butterfly. Deborah Heiligman. 1996. HarperTrophy.
Butterflies may be the most easily appreciated of all insects. This book follows the growth of a Painted Lady butterfly raised in a classroom, from caterpillar to adult flying out the window. A brief final section introduces other common butterfly species and lists butterfly centers that can be visited.

Internet

BioKids
Kids’ Inquiry of Diverse Species. University of Michigan, School of Education and Museum of Zoology.
Teachers can use the Field Guides: Invertebrate ID Guide to narrow the field and identify the collected invertebrates, and students can view photos in the Critter Catalog to find a match and learn a little about the animal.
What’s That Bug?
Found a cool bug but no one seems to know what it is? This website was set up to identify insects from submitted photographs. Chances are good that you can find your interesting insect discovery in their enormous library of identified insects, just by browsing the site. Not there? You can send in a picture which, in time, may be identified.
Have other favorite invertebrate resources? Share them below.