General Entomology Links
Forensic Entomology Links
Forensic Entomology Videos
These links are resources for budding entomologists. A URL and a brief description is provided and a suggested age range for the user. Many of these links are particularly useful for teachers!
| Website URL | Short Description | Age Range (Grade) |
|---|---|---|
| Ten Sure Places to Find Bugs - Bug People | A brief one page explanation of where to look for insects! Lots of pictures and big (simple) words. Good for younger ages! Could possibly be adapted into an activity where kids are assigned to find an insect from each location. | K-5 |
| What's that bug? | If you send in a picture to the bug man he will identify it for you! | Any age |
| Pest World for Kids | A beginners exploration to blow flies! This guide gives fun facts and tips on how to prevent pests. There are also critter crafts and interactive games. but we would suggest this activity for very young ages. | K-4 |
| Cockroach Facts | This website is a resource designed to teach kids an introduction to entomology - specifically cockroaches and other pests! This website has fascinating cockroach facts and has a step-by-step instruction on how to draw a cockroach life cycle. Information on this website also helps teach you how to remove pest insects from your home. | Any age |
| Entomological Extensions and Activities - Project Learning Tree | A 63 page entomological guide for teachers that includes quite a few activities! This resource takes into consideration the many environment that insects live in, and activities which you can apply | Activities range in difficulty |
| Bugs, Bodies, and Crime Scene Investigation - Tree of Life web project | Bugs, bodies and crime scene investigation! The resource describes a bit of what forensic entomology is, and who does it. There is also videos of different Diptera (flies)! The focus of this resource is primarily on the Dipterans. | 7-12 |
| Forensic Entomology Science Plans - The Science Spot | Broad overview of different areas of forensic science. Lots of informational power points with activity sheets to follow. | 8-12 |
| Entomology Activities and Games | There are a few different activities: creating their own insect newspaper article, create an environment diorama, and an insect hunt in the classroom. Three activities are described, but some are not available if not a site member. | 4-7+ but some activities could be adapted difficulty wise and be suited to older ages |
| Classroom Activities for Teaching About Bugs - Education World | Ten insect activities! Each differ in age ranges. Activities include: DIY field journals, creating Wanted posters, travel brochure. | Age is specified for each activity. |
| Activities for Playing and Learning Insects - The Imagination Tree | 50 insect activities for varying ages. | |
| Insects and Bugs - Scholastic | Lesson plans and resources for teachers revolving around insects. Activities are laid out depending on the insect of interest (bees, beetles, etc.) One of our recommended activities is the paper place insect life cycle. | Different activities have different age indications. Pre K-K, 1-2, & 3-5 |
| Bug Crafts and Activities - Buggy and Buddy | 30 crafts where children can create insects such as ladybug rocks, or an insect hotel that they can place in their garden and wait for visitors! Lots of visuals, and good descriptions! | K-3 |
| Doing Insect Week in the Classroom - Education to the Core | A week long plan for teaching students about insects (bug-week). Throughout the week, lots of videos, instruction and exploration are described. | K-3 |
| Insect Lesson Ideas - Brainpop Educators | This website provides a list of activities, and insect background knowledge for teachers and family to instruct their children on entomology. | The first 3 categories (insect interactional video, insect activities for kids, and background) are primarily for K-3. The last tab on arachnids is suitable for 3-5, and 6-8 |
| Entomology Lesson Plans - Ask and Entomologist | 3 different sets of lesson plans and activities for elementary school, middle and high school. Each link provides a small booklet that lays out objectives, class discussions, and activities | K-12 |
| Bug TalkA Learning Module on Insect Communication - Taylor Francis Online (Journal Article) - Taylor Francis Online | A classroom activity based on how insects communicate. The resource includes lessons on bioluminescence, pheromones, and the bee dance. | 5-8 |
| Pest Private Eye Game - University of Lincoln | The Pest Private Eye online interactive videogame! Through this game, student will work as a private investigator and will have to navigate around to learn about pests present, and how to solve problems from an integrative pest management standpoint | 3-6 |
| Teacher's Guide (Activities) - University of Illinois | Very simple activities for the classroom. Most of the example activities are more heavily art based, so a lesson would have to be tailored around them. | K-3 |
| Pollinator Activity Book - University of Illinois | A pollination activity booklet with lots of information! Lots of pictures, crosswords, and fun facts. Also, information on why pollination is so important. | 1-5 |
| Teacher/Parent Entomology Resources - University of Kentucky | A website crafted by the University of Kentucky. The resource is well laid out into activities, and entomology units. Also, the resource can help will teach students on the scientific method. | The activities vary in difficulty and length, but most could be adapted for elementary through to high school |
| Invent an Insect - California Academy of Sciences | Students will invent an insect after learning about their adaptations and gaining a bit of knowledge as to their segments, components and characteristics | 2-4 |
| Insects Everywhere (Lesson Plan) - CPALMS | Interactive lesson with a bit of outdoor exploration. The resource focuses on ant tunneling and insect life cycles. | 2-3 |
| Adaptations of Insects (Teaching Resource) - Smithsonian | This website contains multiple links to articles, videos and information pertaining to arthropod adaptations. | 8-12 |
| Flower Investigation and Activities - Cornell Institute for Biology Teachers | A series of four different lab activities that relate to flower reproduction. Some lab resources will be needed such as microscopes- best suited for a high-school setting. Students will be expected to name pollinators, create an artificial flower, and form a pollen tube. | 8-12 |
| Pests and Pesticides in Agriculture - National Agriculture in the Classroom | Students will learn through an activity how pests affect growth of crops, and how integrated pest management is utilized. Overall, this resource provides knowledge of pests, agriculture and chemical safety | 3-5 |
| Butterfly Printables | A collection of printables about butterflies including: colouring pages, educational material, posters | K-3 |
| Bug and Insect STEM Roundup - Science Buddies | An excellent resource to learn about insect environments and how variables can affect their growth! 14 hands on activities are displayed that give thorough explanations on the background behind them, and procedures/ materials. Students will have to create small environments and observe insect development. | 8-12 |
| Insect Investigations - MinSTEP | This activity places the students in the position of an entomologist, who is assigned with the task of viewing the world from an insects perception. The lesson will include learning about insect behaviour, and how they live. They will also learn about classification. As this activity also includes an insect collection outside, a plan must be made to have collection materials. | K-12 |
| Adopt a Bug - Peace Corps | Adopt a Bug- Students will collect an insect and observe it over a 1-2 day period. Insect anatomy, behaviour and environment are the focus of this activity. | K-12 (recommend 3+) |
| Insects in the Classroom (Journal Article) - Taylor & Francis Online | This activity explores the activity of the Milkweed bug and the mealworm to illustrate their responses to light, color and temperature. It should be noted that materials will be needed for this as they will be examining insect behaviour- therefore, there will be some cost. | K-12 (recommend 7+) |
| Rearing Insects - Science Learning Hub | Students will watch an educational video on moth rearing and create their own guide on how to raise a moth. Including descriptions on how their plan to grow their moths, where they live, what they eat, etc. | 4-7 |
| Adventures in Biocontrol - Landcare Research | A biological control Snakes and Ladders board game! Students will play this game in order to learn about all the twists and turns of biological control | 3-8 |
| All About Bees | An online collection of melittology resources ranging in age range. | K-12 (and beyond!) |
| Dipteran - Encyclopedia Britannica | Thoroughly explains Diptera (fly) and their lifecycles. | 6-12 |
A list of forensic entomology links are provided below. We suggest caution when browsing these links as these resources may contain graphic images.
| Website URL | Short Description | Age Range (Grade) |
|---|---|---|
| Introduction to Forensic Entomology | Gives a definition of Forensic Entomology; includes short description of collection equipment and methods. | 7-12 |
| The Use of Insects in Death Investigations - Simon Fraser University | A simple description of forensic entomology and the field. | 7-12 |
| Decomposition and Flies - Australian Museum | Summarizes the life cycle of insects and discusses transition between life stages. Some pictures are provided. | 7-12 |
| Lesson Plan for Forensic Entomology - NLM | Provides lessons in which students can follow (one for grade 6-9 and another for grade 10-12). Lesson 1 explains ADH and Lesson two overviews how an entomologist solved a case. It's kind of a lesson plan for teachers to give to their students- but still informative. It goes through the lesson plans step by step, so the resource is easy to follow. We recommend that it would be better if a teacher guided a student through it as laid out. | (lesson 1- grade 6-9, Lesson 2- grade 10-12) |
| Investigating Forensics - Virtual Museum | Overview of forensic entomology including description of death investigation (PMI), succession and maggot development. Gives some good key points! This resource includes write ups, pictures and videos and touches upon the role of the forensic entomologist and insects as evidence along with information obtained from insects | 6-12 |
| CSI Entomology - Amateur Entomologists' Society | Good website for general entomology with a brief, but easy to follow explanation of which insects visit the body at certain points. This resource is more oriented toward succession of maggot development. | 6-12 |
| Forensic Entomology - Science in School | This resource gives two case examples where forensic was used to solve the mystery. This resource contains lots of pictures, discusses some of the factors that affect rate of development (such as maggot masses- there are thermal pictures included). | 9-12, some graphic images of maggot masses |
| Forensic Entomology - The Forensic Library | This resource is an overview of forensic entomology. Insects other than blowflies are addressed in this resource. | 7-12 |
| Smell That? - Science Friday | The images in this resource can be rather graphic. Describes forensic entomology then gives an activity where you construct your own body farm (using meat of course). There are some audio clips, and video clips included. The video clips feature researchers conducting experiments at the Texas body farm. | Grades 6-12, but due to the graphic images we suggest 10-12. |
| Forensic Entomology Activities - Science in School | This activity examines the behaviour and physiology of blow flies. By placing files in different lightings, temperatures, etc., students can document their behaviours. Activity involves students handing insects and applying different variables to see their behaviour. It's mostly the children documenting and taking notice of behaviour changes (maggot wandering, negatively/positively phototropic) | 5-12 |
| Forensics - Nancy Clark | This resource contains a multitude of links to forensic exercises. | Varying ages |
| CSI Bugs - The Why Files | This resource has very informal writing therefore might be more inviting to younger children! It takes a CSI standpoint to solve a murder case. Weighed heavily on forensic entomology but also touches on forensic linguistics. | 7-12 |
| Forensic Entomology - Science Spot | This resource is a two page explanation of basic forensic entomology. This resource includes LOTS of visuals- including a cartoon insect collection kit with explanation. | 7-12 |
| Eeew! Maggots - Science Buddies | This activity is similar to rearing insects in the lab. It is quite an intermediate one and takes about a month to complete. The activity described can be a bit costly. Overall, the goal of it is to examine maggot mass temperature. | 10-12- a teacher would have to oversee this, and it would have to be done in a fume hood. |
| Maggot Art | Who could forget about maggot art! As maggots in the 3rd instar/ pre puparial begin to wander away from the body, it's the perfect time to take advantage of their movement! | K-6 |
| How to Paint with Maggots - 6Legs2Many | Also maggot art with step by step instructions | K-6 and older kids too! |
The following are links to videos that show forensic entomology. Once again, be wary that forensic entomology can have graphic images. Please read the description and suggested age range to determine if the video is suitable for the audience.
| Website URL | Short Description | Age Range (Grade) |
|---|---|---|
| CSI Special Insects - SciShow | A general overview of forensic entomology. The video gives example of cases and is CSI based | 7-12 |
| Forensic Entomology - Wellcome Collection | A complex video that gets more into the nitty gritty details- such as a more detailed life cycle, thermal images of maggot masses, and PMI complications. An interview Dr. Martin Hall - forensic entomologist for the Natural History Museum. | 10-12 (Shows pig cadaver) |
| Forensic Entomology - Gail Anderson | A thorough video on the process and details of forensic entomology. Graphic images contained. The information contained is for an older and advanced audience. The video contains explanations of insect life cycle/collection | 11-12 |
