A. Is it honey bees or honeybees?

When in graduate school, I learned a convention from Dr. Roger Morse for insect names (I have since learned the idea originated with Robert E. Snodgrass). The insect names that are taxonomically correct, such as honey bees are actually bees, should be written as two words. Insect names that are not accurate in identification are given as one word. For example, whiteflies are not really flies, but are relatives of aphids, and thus should be one word.

Quiz (answers at the bottom of this post):

Pick the correct common name according to this convention:

1. Butter fly or butterfly?

2. Crane fly or cranefly?

3. Dragon fly or dragonfly?

4. Lady bug or ladybug?

5. Leaf-footed bug or leaf-footedbug?

Photo from Wikimedia

6. Bumble bee or bumblebee?

The convention is only a rule of thumb, however, because there are definitely exceptions:

Photograph by Craig Pemberton. Wikimedia

Although this creature is really a wasp, it’s common name is velvet ant (2 words).

B. Mantis or mantid?

This distinction is more difficult. I had learned that either is correct, that is the two terms are interchangeable. There is, however, a growing convention that mantis only be used for the insects of the genus Mantis, and that all others be called mantids. (Whitney Cranshaw, Colorado State University).

I personally like to use mantids for the plural, it is just easier.

For a searchable list of common names for insects of North America, see the Entomological Society of America

Let me know if you have any questions about insect names or would like to learn more.

Answers:

1. butterfly

2. crane fly (two words)

3. dragonfly

4. ladybug (Note: if you use beetle, then it is two words,  lady beetle or ladybird beetle)

5. leaf-footed bug (2 words)

6. Bumble bee (2 words)

Look for Space Day celebrations May 7-8, 2010. In the left sidebar is a set of middle grade lesson plans to download for free. The “Other Resources” is a .pdf file of a chat with four former astronauts. There are also games and links.

The NSTA (National Science Teacher’s Association) blog has a number of interesting posts.

The first is a short list of websites with information about the recent oil spill.

I was particularly interested in the post:  Are children getting enough direct experience with natural materials? The middle and high school teachers were bemoaning that most of the children in their classes had little exposure to real organisms.  For example, most of their students had never seen a real grasshopper! The teachers in the blog post blame the elementary teachers, but I think that is unfair. I recently was going to visit a second grade class room with live insects, but my visit was canceled because the classes were too busy with standardized testing.

Elementary teachers have an enormous amount of pressure to get their students through a battery of standardized tests. Their jobs may be at stake. But obviously this emphasis on testing has unforeseen consequences for the students’ future success, at least in science.

What do you think?

For more information on oil spills for children:

If you guessed both, then you are a lady beetle pro!

The bottom photograph in Wednesday’s post is our common convergent lady beetle, Hippodamia convergens, the type of lady beetle often sold in stores.

Lady beetles come in a number of colors besides orange with black spots, however, including this black with rusty-colored spots.

This is a cutie called the ashy-gray lady beetle, Olla v-nigrum. Why is it called ashy-gray? Because the same species comes in another color morph that looks like this:

Yes, not only are these both lady beetles, they are also both the same species!

Have you seen any lady beetles this month?

We added his results to the site today, and it was quick and easy.

If you did the count, we’d love to hear your results.

The first thing you need to start the new year is a planner. There are many available, but if you are interested in nature and photography you might want to check the free weekly planner by Snowcatcher. The photos are stunning and daily holidays are included. The only drawback the calendar is being released month-by-month, but the quality more than makes up for the inconvenience.

Tired of having to look all over for science materials and activities? For a well-organized guide to all the US federal government sites for the science education, try Federal Resources for Educational Excellence.

Science Buddies has ideas for science fairs, but many can be modified for use in the classroom or at home. Look for the free scientific method poster on the right sidebar of the home page.

Auditory learner? Scientific American has free podcasts on a variety of topics. Ask A Biologist at Arizona State University also has loads of information and free podcasts on a variety of biological topics.

Need some ideas to freshen your science lessons? Try this Squidoo lens on science notebooking , especially if you are working with visual learners. There are several links to pages with free ideas and sheets to get you started.

Your local library is always a great place to look for science ideas. If you have children who enjoy nonfiction picture books, then I’m sure you have stumbled across a book by author Gail Gibbons. Her website says she is “a master of children’s non-fiction,” and it is really true. All her books are one of the best or the best on virtually every topic she covers. Now Gail Gibbons has teachers guides for using her books, particularly with lower elementary levels. The guides are free in .pdf format. Even if you don’t use them as suggested, I’m sure you can get some ideas or modify them to fit your needs.

Finally, if you ever want to see a post at this blog about a particular topic or area of interest, now is a great time to leave me a comment. I’ll try to put something together for you in the upcoming year.

Thank you!

Ant Fact or Fiction Quiz
How well do you know ants? Answer the following questions by selecting true or false. Better yet, stump your family and friends by giving them the quiz.

1. Some ants can explode when threatened by enemies, true or false?

2. Peony plants require ants for their buds to open into flowers, true or false?

3. All species of ants can sting, true or false?

4. Soldier ants are all males, true or false?

5. Ants can be used as stitches to close wounds, true or false?

6. Ants are silent, true or false?

7. Ants plow more soil than earthworms, true or false?

8. Scientists who study ants are called antomologists, true or false?

9. Certain types of caterpillars eat ants, true or false?

10. Ants plant the seeds of many wildflowers, including violets, true or false?

11. Ants pollinate many types of flowers, true or false?

12. Ant larvae can make silk, true or false?

Thanks Starr!

Click on K-12 for teachers link and you’ll find Hands-on Activities for Teaching Biology. Although some experiments assume you have basic scientific equipment at your disposal (the first yeast experiment asks for test tubes), often you can make do with things around the house (old spice jars).

Right underneath is Off the Shelf Chemistry, which is “for high school students, using consumer products for experiments and not requiring a lab and specialized equipment.”

Take a look around and hope you have some hands-on science fun!

The sunflowers we planted for the Great Sunflower Project have started to flower.

The bees can hardly wait.

A few days ago these bees were sleeping on a nearby milkweed plant.

Long-horned bees (tribe Eucerini in the family Apidae) are named for the long antennae present on males. They have a habit of clustering in groups to sleep overnight on plants.

I’m not sure what species these particular bees are. There are over 30 genera in the tribe Eucerini, including Melissodes (the long-horned bees), Peponapis and Xenoglossa (squash bees), and Svastra (sunflower bees).

Hopefully we’ll be seeing bees on the sunflowers soon.