Today we participated in OARDC’s fabulous program for school-aged kids, A Bug’s World. Once a year, more than 1,200 students descend on the Wooster campus for an opportunity to learn the importance of insects in our world.
The adventure began with bee lessons. The kids were challenged to take paper and pencil on their next shopping trip and write down all of the items they see with honey in the name. Being diligent little listmakers, Snicker and Doodle are now eager for a jaunt to the grocery store.
They had a chance to view a colony of bees. They identified the queen and the drones. They even listened to the buzz of the hive.
It takes about 21 days for a bee to grow, about 16 days for a queen bee. Did you know if a human baby ate at a rate equal to a baby honeybee, the human would be the size of an elephant in five days? Whew!
The Bug Guy taught us about collecting and preserving insects. The girls have already made a to-buy list: pins, display boxes, moth balls, labels.
Do you know the most humane way to kill a bug for preservation? Place it in a small dish (envelope for butterflies) and put it in the freezer. And I can see it now … some sunny day in July I will open the freezer for a popsicle and be buried in an avalanche of dung beetles and mealworms.
Last stop of the day: Bug Zoo. This is hands-on entomological entertainment.
Everyone had an opportunity to hold mealworms and milkweed beetles and hissing cockroaches from Madagascar. Not everyone accepted the opportunity, but it was offered.
Incidentally, only the female Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches hiss. As Farm Guy pointed out, “You can always tell a woman by her hiss.”
Uh-huh. And the male cockroaches have horns on their head. So what’s that tell ya?
Did you know giant millipedes do not have a thousand legs? The Bug Lady said they have about 120 legs. Hmmm.
How many legs does a centipede have? Well, some have 100 legs, others more. Many have as few as 30. Those tricky scientists … they like to keep us guessing.
Wow. These are big and scary giant millipedes.
Come on … get a little closer to the big and scary giant millipede.
If Mom is willing to hold a big and scary giant millipede without fear of its one thousand 120 legs, you can too.
This is Rosie. She’s a Chilean Rose-haired tarantula. We were first introduced about 10 years ago. Rosie and I had a love-hate relationship. I loved to to freak out tour groups and school kids by letting her crawl up my arm … but I hated it when she crawled up my arm.
According to The Bug Lady, Rosie is no longer crawling up the arms of witless public relations coordinators. She’s 20 years old and retired to a cozy home with rocks and hiding spots and lots of fresh food. She looks quite happy in her dwelling.
It was good to see ya, Rosie—it’s been a long time. I’m glad we were friends.
Looks like a great little field trip! Although, I think if Baby TC ever goes, I’ll let her cousins take her! I HATE BUGS! Yuck! Yes, I have been transformed into a city girl in that area.
Hey. I had a few minutes today and was tripping around the web and remembered that I needed to go look at your new location. It sounds like your abw visit was fun for you and maybe a trip down memory lane. I liked your t-shirt blog. Happy Earth Day!!