Science OlympiadNM Entomology Contest-2014

Dr. Carol Sutherland

csutherl@nmsu.edu

Supervisor for 2014 State Entomology Science Olympiad Competition

Extension Entomologist, NMSU &

State Entomologist, NMDA

Clarity---Simple ExplanationsWhere and What Are Your Resources?

What you’ll see are my plans for this event---based on Olympiad rules and resourcesGuided Tour of Resources---what’s helpful and good---or not so much….

Where Do You Find Information About the 2014 Science Olympiad Entomology Contest?

HERE www.soinc.org

Look for ‘Entomology’

General Rules for (B) & (C) Competition

• Any private or public school, charter school or home school in grades 6-12 is eligible to participate.

•Division B-students grades 6 to 9---Middle school 

•Division C-grades 9 to 12---High school

• Process Skills: observation, inferences, (data?) & diagram analysis, make and/or use a dichotomous key on insects (later)

General Rules for (B) & (C) Ent. Competition

1. DESCRIPTION: Student teams will ---identify insects & selected immatures by order and family (Official List) ---answer questions about insects ---use or construct a simple dichotomous key.

TEAM = 1 or 2 students APPROXIMATE TIME: 50 minutes

2. EVENT PARAMETERS: Each TEAM may bring---

---ONE 8.5" x 11" two-sided page of information in any form from any source (e.g., notes, insect lists, etc.)---see my suggestion

---ONE commercially published resource that may be annotated and tabbed (limit 3 words on any tab)---Audubon Field Guide

---ONE hand lens or magnifying glass---suggest at least 10x

*The Supervisor will provide a team answer sheet & any dissecting microscopes, lights, etc.*

CHEAT SHEET

TRAINING MATERIALS Training Power Point – content overview (confusing) Training Handout - content information Sample Tournament – sample problems with key (couldn’t

find) Event Supervisor Guide – event prep tips, setup needs and

scoring tips (don’t need) Internet Resources & Training Materials – on the Science

Olympiad website at www.soinc.org under Event Information YES!!

All cost some $$$. A Biology-Earth Science CD, and the Audubon Guide to Insects and Spiders are available from SO store at www.soinc.org (a taxonomy CD is coming soon)

Official Identification GuidePermit one copy/team during competition

quick reference tabs permittedlimit of 3 words/tab

Cost: $16 (new) @ Science Olympiad Store

Amazon.com has these, also$16.12 for ‘prime’$12.18 for new$ 5.24 for used

Official source to resolve ID disputes

GENERAL TIPS---FIELD GUIDE

Study information in the front of the field guide Become familiar with organization of color plates Notice field guide organization is similar to that of

Official Insect List Put the page numbers of Orders and Families

Information from the Audubon Guide to Insects and Spiders on the Official Insect List – it will save time

Tab the field guide with very small useful tabs Practice using the Field Guide to identify specimens or

photos Practice under timed conditions to prepare for

competition

Making That Info (CHEAT) Sheet

Their List---Jammed together format

My List---Orders with indented Families

Make surestudentsuse thislist as P.1of theirCheat Sheet

Why?These numbers will be the answers usedin the Identifications of insects! (no spelling errors!)

If they wish, write all over the front of thissheet and all over the back---8.5” x 11” MAX!This is the basis of your 2-sided info sheet.

Other written questions will be ‘MultipleChoice’ or maybe, T/F.

See the ** entries on the list; know those immatures, too!

This will simplify the answer sheet and speed upgrading, final results---and we get to go home sooner

My Design for the Competition 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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One-way traffic, accommodating 30 teams at once

30 stations, each with 1 insect & 3 questions

Each station = 1.5 minutes

30 stations x 1.5 minutes = 45 minutes, with 5Minutes to check answers or revisit the hard ones

(We do this annually with 4H Ent. ID contest)

But if there’s MORE than 30 teams scheduled forone competition time, then…..

ME

My Design for the Competition…with lots of teams…

….2 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

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One-way traffic, accommodating up to 60 teams at once

30 stations in a competition, each with 1 insect & 3 questionsBUT now use 2 sets of exams---arranged to loop

Each station = 1.5 minutes 45min. for quiz + 5min review

Start anywhere; advance 30 times = 1 completed exam

(We do this annually with FFA Entomology ID Competition)

General Rules for (B) & (C) Ent. CompetitionTheir Version

c. For any individual specimens, questions may also be asked concerning the economic or health impact of the specimen upon the human race.d. Topics may include structure & function of internal & external anatomy, ecology, behavior, & history.e. One of the stations may involve students using or formulating a simple dichotomous key to identify insects.

My VersionFor any specimen, questions also may be asked concerning the: ---economic or health impact of the species (-men upon the human race.) ---structure & function of internal & external anatomy ---ecology ---behavior

---history (related to that species).

One of the stations may involve students using or formulating a simple dichotomous key to identify insects.

anatomy & physiology, reproduction, habitat characteristics,

conservation, biogeography

Mentioned in Karen’s Ent. ‘Overview’

This is ‘General Ent Knowledge’

General Rules for (B) & (C) Ent. Competition

36. Order? (use number from your List of Insects) (Cheat Sheet)

37. This insect has __?____ metamorphosis.A. ametabolousB. semimetabolousC. hemimetabolousD. holometabolous

38. This insect has _____ mouthparts.A. chewingB. suckingC. rasping-suckingD. sponging

EXAMPLE OF A STATIONWITH AN ORDER ID

With

Two questions onGeneral entomology.

Specimen

General Rules for (B) & (C) Ent. Competition

EXAMPLE OF A STATIONWITH AN ORDER ANDFAMILY ID

With

One question onGeneral entomology.

40. Order? (use number from your List of Insects (Cheat Sheet)

41. Family?

42. This insect has ___mouthparts.A. chewingB. suckingC. rasping-suckingD. sponging

Maybe the student answer sheet will look like this?

Team

Middle School ____ High School____ Science Olympiad, 2014---Entomology Competition

Team School_____________ Team City ______________ Team Last Names ______________ and _______________

Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans Q# Ans

01 56 10 19 28 37 46 55 64 73 82

02 3 11 20 29 38 47 56 65 74 83

03 4 12 21 30 39 48 57 66 75 84

04 4 13 22 31 40 49 58 67 76 85

05 4 14 23 32 41 50 59 68 77 86

06 2 15 24 33 42 51 60 69 78 87

07 62 16 25 34 43 52 61 70 79 88

08 64 17 26 35 44 53 62 71 80 89

09 3 18 27 36 45 54 63 72 81 90

Where Do You Find ‘General Ent Knowledge’?• Your web site for general info on the Entomology contest:

www.soinc.org under Event Information

• Let’s see what’s there……

Here’s the outline of ‘general entomology’ resourcesavailable to both B and C groups.

I fixed this for you already---USE THE FIXED, INDENTED FORM!!

Sampler of the general web site

Some are very good--- including text, color photos anddiagrams, some animation in the Gen. Ent. Tutorial.

Explore the NCSU Tutorial site & find the ‘Bug Chicks’ videos. Most are 10 minute video lessonsthat hit the highlights of particular subjects.

NCSU content also included where there are more --- might be a repeat

I RECOMMEND THE NCSU SITES---HINT, HINT……YES, THIS IS A COLLEGE COURSE IN ENTOMOLOGY

What About the Rest of the Resources?

Several good sources of photos for ID, study

Some of these are NCSU sites, still good

Rest seem somewhat repetitive

What is a ‘dichotomous key’?

YYY

Identification tool in which the user compares an unknown with a PAIR of descriptions…..

Select the option with the BETTER fit, follow instructions to move on to the next PAIRof descriptions and repeat….

Final couplet should produce the correct ID

** This is a ‘short-horned grasshopper’

Insect Characteristics Make a list of characteristics for each

insect

Construct a dichotomous key using list of characteristics

1.   . . . . . . go to step 2  1a. . . . . go to step 3

2. . . . . . . . ladybug  2a. . . . . .grasshopper  

3. . . dragonfly3a. .. . . . Housefly

Note: There should be one less step than the total number of organisms to be identified in your dichotomous key.

A Sample Dichotomous Key

1. wings covered by an exoskeleton . . . . . . go to step 2  1a.wings not covered by an exoskeleton. . . . go to step 3

2. body has a round shape. . . . . . . . ladybug  2a. body has an elongated shape. . . . . .grasshopper  

3. wings point out from the side of the body . . dragonfly3a. wings point to the posterior of the body.. . . . Housefly

Note: There should be one less step than the total number of organisms to be identified in your dichotomous key.  

Doing the Competition

Carefully read questions; use common sense in answering

Write answers legibly in appropriate places on answer sheet

Work as a team – use time effectively

Use Notes & Field Guide effectively

NO SPELLING IS NECESSARY! Relax, Do your best, and Have

Fun!!

Insect Experts in About 3 Months…

You are the coach---encourage your team Help students pace their studies? NCSU course

is full of good information. Vocabulary! Collect several photos of each family, each

order (where only the order is on the list) DO NOT depend on colors and patterns for ID Questions? Problems? Ask me & I’ll post Q&A

for all

Dr. Carol Sutherland

csutherl@nmsu.edu

Supervisor, 2014 (State) Entomology

Science Olympiad Competition

Extension Entomologist, NMSU &

State Entomologist, NMDA