Pond Insect Investigation

Scot Stephenson, adapted from Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge Partner School Curriculum
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Summary

Insects are found in every habitat. Students will explore the wetlands to discover that many of the insects they find flying around the pond actually begin their lives in the water.

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Learning Goals

The students will identify 3 - 7 insect species common to Minnesota ponds. The students will learn about and describe the life cycle of 1 - 3 insects. The students will collect samples of insects from a pond, chart the information, and use that to analyze the environmental status of the pond.

Context for Use

This is part of a unit on animals and plants.

Description and Teaching Materials

These lessons are from the Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge - Partner School Curriculum, Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge, 3815 American Blvd. East, Bloomington, MN 55425

There are two lessons: "Are you me?" done in the classroom, which matches young insects with their parents, and the "Pond Insect Survey" in the field.

"Are you me?"

One of the most interesting things about pond insects is that many of the species flying around the pond actually begin their life cycles in the water. For this reason, many larvae or juveniles do not look anything like their adult parents.

Pass out the Project Wild Aquatic Are You Me? cards that illustrate pond insects and ask students to find their match. If they seem to be having trouble, point out that they can find their match by comparing the names on the cards. Once all students have found their match have them introduce themselves to the whole class. Pass around riker mounts or vials containing real pond insects so students become familiar with the insects they might catch during their fieldtrip.




Pond Insect survey
On-site activity

Materials
One aquatic sampling Kit per student team of 4-6:
2 aquatic nets, 2 skim nets, 4 specimen Coflection Containers, plastic spoons, laminated key to aquatic organisms, one magnifying glass per student, pond life field guide.

Activity 1: Pond Insect Hunt
Before students arrive, set up team collecting stations along the shoreline or dock, fill their tubs and collection containers with water.

Once the class arrives, divide the class into teams. Assign each team to one collecting sight and sampling kit. Show the students how to use the dip net to collect creatures from the water in a "figure S" motion and how to extend the handle of the aquatic nets. Review the following sampling tips with the students, teachers, and parent chaperones.


Sampling Tips for Teachers, students and Chaperones

- It is OK to get some plant material in the dip nets. Many aquatic organisms live among the plants.

- Assume every swipe through the water contains something in the net. Students should take their net back to their teams clear plastic tub and swish it through the water before determining that it is empty. Many pond creatures are very small and well camouflaged. Until they are back in water and swimming it is possible that the students won't realize that they caught something.

- Students should avoid scooping up lots of mud from the bottom of the pond. It clouds up the water in the clear plastic tub and makes finding and catching aquatic insects very hard.

If you are working from a dock, just one student from each teem can be on the dock at a time. Suggest students either kneel down or lay on their stomachs when using the nets. This helps reduce the chance of someone getting accidentally bumped into the water.

- Students waiting for their turn on the dock should use their plastic spoons to catch the creatures swimming in the pond and transfer them to their collecting containers.


Activity 2: Management Connection
Protecting the Pond Food Web
Leave about 20 minutes at the end of the activity to bring the teams together to discuss what the class caught. Use the Pond Life Key to help answer the following questions. Then carefully return everything back to the pond and rinse out the equipment.

- Which Creatures are clearly insects?
Remember that many insects are in their larval form and for that reasons may not have all the characteristics discussed earlier. Remind students of the Are You Me?cards they used during the pre-activity.

- Which appear to be part of some other anlmaj group? Students should notice that aquatic worms, sow bugs, leeches, snails and tadpoles are not members of the insect family despite their size.


- How do these creatures depend on each other? Wetlands, like this pond are often compared to a nursery. Here young aquatic insects, amphibians, and fish are the building blocks of the refuge food web. Without them, many of our migratory ducks, geese and birds would not be able to survive. Protecting pond habitat is a critical part of managing the refuge. Jpeg of Are you Me? cards for aquatic insects (Acrobat (PDF) 265kB Sep8 08)

Teaching Notes and Tips

I am planning to do this activity with my students in the spring. The park rangers and the wildlife refuge say that they have never had a student fall in the water, but I am concerned about that and will emphasize safety to the students before and during the activity.

Assessment

We will create a class graph of the species collected and compare it to water quality species indicator charts. The students will draw in their nature journals some of the specimens they collect. We will use the entire experience as a source for a writing assignment.

Standards

- MN Grade 1 IV. Life Science B. Organisms. The student will observe plant and animal life cycles. 1. The student will observe and describe how plants and animals grow and change.
MN Grade 1 IV. Life Science D. Heredity. The student will understand that there is variation among individuals of one kind within a population. 1. The student will describe ways in which many plants and animals closely resemble but are not identical to their parents.
2. The student will match adult animals and plants to their offspring.

References and Resources