Insects and People

BIOL-11300, T/Th 1:10-2:25 pm

Williams 225

Instructor: Marina Caillaud

Office: 165 Center for Natural Sciences

Office hours: T 2:30-3:30 and Th 2:20-3:30 or by appointment

Course description

There are somewhere between 10 million and 30 million species of insects, and insects account for roughly 5 out of every 6 species of land animal. If aliens from another planet landed on earth, they would conclude that insects were in charge, and probably ask to speak to a beetle rather than any human. The purpose of this course is to introduce you to the astounding diversity of insects, both in terms of morphology and anatomy as well as behavior, life history and ecology.

At the beginning of the semester we will trace the major events in insect evolution, from the colonization of land, the origins of flight, and the evolution of metamorphosis. Throughout these lectures you will be introduced to the insect orders. We will then investigate insect internal and external anatomy in order to identify the basic design features of insects. Then we will trace the basic life history features of insects, including mating behavior, development from egg to adult, and how insects perceive the world around them. Then we will turn to insect ecology and the role insects play in the natural environment, as consumers of decaying material, and other insects.

After Fall break, we will examine the intimate relationship between Insects and Plants, then turn our attention to Social insects. In the last part of the semester, we will explore how insects have affected humans, both beneficially and detrimentally. We will discuss insects as food (they are an important source of protein in many societies) as well as the important products that insects produce, such as wax, honey, and certain dyes. We will also investigate insect vectors of disease and insect invaders (killer bees, etc.).

Learning Objectives

1.To provide an introduction to insects: their diversity, unique anatomy/physiology, environmental adaptations and habits

2.To develop an appreciation of insects as an important component of our planet’s ecology

3.To explore the significance of Human/Insect interactions in ancient and contemporary History

4.To provide students with an appreciation for Biology through the exploration of Entomology

Required Textbook:

Berenbaum, M.R. (1995). Bugs in the system. Addison Wesley.

Readings from this book are assigned throughout the semester. Exams will have at least ONE essay question that uses the textbook.

Course Webpage:

Visit the website for this course (http://www.ithaca.edu/faculty/mcaillaud/303_113.html ) EVERY WEEK. This is where I will post updates of the syllabus, review sheets for exams, links to potentially interesting websites, AND grades (with your codename instead of your real name).

Lecture PowerPoint presentations

I will post the PowerPoint presentations presented in lecture 24 h before the actual lecture. Note that these lectures notes are not complete, and are not intended to serve as a substitute to coming to class! I encourage you to print them before class, using for instances the many computer classrooms available to you on campus. This will greatly facilitate taking notes for this class.

Assessment

Attendance	5 %
Exams (2 at 25% each)	50%	assess learning objectives 1, 3
Project (poem, art work, video, etc..)	20%	assess learning objectives 2, 4
Poster Presentation	25%	assess learning objectives 1 trough 4

A : 94-100; A-: 90-93; B+ : 87-89; B : 84-86; B- : 80-83; C+ : 77-79; C :74-76;C- :70-73; D+ :67-69; D : 64-66; D- :60-63; F : below 60%

Exams

There will be two exams, one during class (MidTerm exam: Oct 14) and one during the final exam week (Final exam: Dec16, 10:30 am-1:00 pm). The content of these exams will be a mixture of multiple choice questions and essay questions.

Project

It can be an original Children’s story, or a Science fiction thriller with insects as the main characters. It can be an original piece of Art that incorporate an insect’s theme. It can be a Bio-illustration. It can be a tabloid critique. It can be an Entomological Video. You can also rear an insect and keep a log of the progress of the larva. You can tape the sounds produced by an insect and edit them. It can be many other types of projects that I did not think about. Be creative!!! Detailed instructions for this assignment will be posted SOON.

If your project is a video, or a drawing, or some kind of “Visual Arts” project, it will be displayed during the last week of classes in the Center for Natural Sciences.

Poster presentation

You will form pairs, choose one topic related to insect biology (see examples below) and perform a search on the web as well as on databases available at the library to obtain more information on the subject. The results of your research will be presented in the form of a poster that will be displayed during one of the 4 poster sessions (last two weeks of classes). Detailed instructions for this assignment will be posted during the semester.

Example of topics

Agriculture: insects as human food, insects as vectors of plant disease
Applied Life Sciences: insects as team sport mascots, flea circuses, insects and campers
Commerce: butterfly dealers, insect zoos, regulating pesticides, insect commodities
Communications: insects in advertising, insect editorial cartoons, insects on T.V
Education: insects in children's literature, insects as teaching tools
Engineering: physics of insect flight, mechanics of exoskeletons, insect-inspired machinery
Fine and Applied Art: insects in painting, sculpture, classical music, plays, dance
Law: insects and hotels, insects and crime, pesticide legislation, forensic entomology
Liberal Arts and Sciences: insects and the evolution of human behavior, arthropods and constellations, insects in mythology, insects in Shakespeare, fossil insects
Veterinary Medicine: ultrasonic flea collars, insects as vectors of animal diseases
Medicine: insects as vectors of human disease, military medical entomology

Attendance policy

Students at Ithaca College are expected to attend all classes, and they are responsible for work missed during any absence from class. Students should notify their instructors as soon as possible of any anticipated absences, especially for examinations. Written documentation that indicates the reason for being absent may be required.

In accordance with New York State law, students who miss class due to their religious beliefs shall be excused from class or examinations on that day. Such students must notify their course instructors before any anticipated absence so that proper arrangements may be made to make up any missed work or examination without penalty.

Any student who misses class due to a verifiable family or individual health emergency or to a required appearance in a court of law shall be excused. The student or a family member/legal guardian may report the absence to the Office of Student Affairs and Campus Life, which will notify the student's dean's office, as well as residential life if the student lives on campus. The dean's office will disseminate the information to the appropriate faculty. Follow-up by the student with his or her professors is imperative. Students may need to consider a leave of absence, medical leave of absence, selected course withdrawals, etc., if they have missed a significant portion of classwork.

A student may be excused for participation in College-authorized cocurricular and extracurricular activities such as athletic events, musical and theatrical performances, and professional conferences.

Policy on Plagiarism in Collaborative Projects

In a collaborative project, all students in a group may be held responsible for academic misconduct if they engage in plagiarism or are aware of plagiarism by others in their group and fail to report it. Students who participate in a collaborative project in which plagiarism has occurred will not be held accountable if they were not knowledgeable of the plagiarism.

Lecture Syllabus (as of Aug. 26)

Date	Lecture topic	Powerpoint notes	Reading

28-Aug	Introduction	Intro
2-Sep	Origin and Diversity	Origin/Diversity	Chapter 1
4-Sep	External Anatomy		Chapter 2
9-Sep	Internal Anatomy		Chapter 2
11-Sep	Sensory system		Chapter 3
16-Sep	Development and life history		chap 8
18-Sep	Communication and Intelligence
23-Sep	Mating Behavior I
25-Sep	Mating Behavior II		Chapter 5
30-Sep	Parasites and Predators		Chapter 6
2-Oct	Insect Defenses I. Morphological and Behavioral
7-Oct	Insect Defenses II. Chemical
9-Oct	Review session
14-Oct	MidTerm Exam
16-Oct	Fall break
21-Oct	Insects and Plants I
3-Oct	Insects and Plants II
28-Oct	Insects Societies I		Chapter 4
30-Oct	Insects Societies II
4-Nov	Insect products		Chapter 7
6-Nov	Insects as vectors of disease
11-Nov	Insect conservation biology	John Losey (Cornell U.)
13-Nov	Insect invaders I (fire ants)	Bryan Danforth (Cornell U.)	Chapter 9
18-Nov	Insect invaders II (Asian long-horned beetles)	Rick Hoebeke (Cornell U.)
20-Nov	There are other cool invertebrates: ex. Spiders	Linda Rayor (Cornell U.)
25-Nov	Thanksgiving break
27-Nov	Thanksgiving break
2-Dec	Poster presentations
4-Dec	Poster presentations
9-Dec	Poster presentations
11-Dec	Poster presentations
16-Dec	Final exam. 10:30 am-1 pm