Introduction to Insect Identification: The Good, the Bad, and the Buggy
By John Meyer, Ph.D., Course Instructor
John Meyer, Ph.D., Retiring Professor, Department of Entomology, NC State University
Mondays, February 1, 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2016 - 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM
What's on the leaf of your azalea? Are you curious about those grubs in your compost bin? Is there a striped caterpillar eating your parsley? Learning to recognize and identify the insects in your garden can be a daunting task-there are over a million described species and at least that many undescribed ones! This course will help you sort out all that diversity. It will focus on the major orders and families of garden insects, show you how to recognize members of the common groups, and help you distinguish between the good bugs and the bad bugs. Knowing what it is opens the door to a whole world of information about what it does and what to do about it. As an old Chinese proverb says, "The beginning of knowledge is getting things by their right name."
Syllabus
February 1 - Orderly Insects - Basic systematics, morphology, and development
February 8 - The Hemimetabola - Orthoptera, Hemiptera, and Homoptera
February 15 - Pollination Central - Diptera and Hymenoptera
February 22 - Beetlemania - Coleoptera by the boatload
February 29 - Lepidoptera - Butterflies and moths, oh my!
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