| TERM: | 2020-21 Winter |
| COURSE NUMBER: |
BIOL 204 |
| COURSE TITLE: |
Insects and Humanity
|
| NAME OF INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr. John R. Wood |
| CREDIT WEIGHT AND WEEKLY TIME DISTRIBUTION: |
credits 3 (hrs lect 3 - hrs sem 0 - hrs lab 3) |
| CALENDAR DESCRIPTION: |
Insects are often hated, sometimes loved, but seldom ignored.
These minute creatures provide a window into the complexities of the biological world.
This course offers a survey of the varied habitats and peculiar habits of insects,
including their competition with humans for food and fiber and their role as disease
agents.
This course meets the natural science (with lab) breadth requirement for the
B.A. but does not meet major/concentration requirements in biology.
|
| REQUIRED TEXTS: |
- Winston, M. L. (2014). Bee Time: Lessons from the hive. Harvard University Press.
- Sverdrup-Thygeson, A. (2019). Extraordinary Insects: The fabulous, indispensable
creatures who run our world. Simon & Schuster Paperbacks.
- Minnick, D.R. and E.L. Matheny, Jr. 1981. Entomology Laboratory (2nd
ed.).[Supplied in lab]
|
| MARK DISTRIBUTION IN PERCENT: |
|
| Laboratory Exercises & Practical Exam |
20% |
| Reading Summaries |
20% |
| Two Mid-terms |
40% |
| Final |
20% |
|
|
|
100% |
|
| COURSE OBJECTIVES: |
- Concepts:
- To
Understand: the details of anatomical structure and functional
correlates across hierarchical levels of biological organization within
the invertebrate phylum Arthropoda.
- To Appreciate
insects: although all of us are aware of insects, few persons take the
time to appreciate the vast numbers of species and the great diversity
of lifestyles in the phylogenetic Class Insecta.
- To See: the ecological connections of these six-footed beasts that are found in nearly every conceivable environment on earth.
- To Recognize: the ways in which insects provide an excellent window onto the natural world and how the world works.
- To
Gain Deeper Insight: into the multiple values we place on nature of
utility, aesthetic, moralistic, ecologistic, dominionistic,
negativistic worth, among others.
- Competencies:
- To physically interact with insects, both preserved and living specimens, and to be able to trace the primary body systems.
- To recognize, in a comparative way, the adaptations that distinguish insects into taxonomic Orders.
- To be able to identify insect species to the level of taxonomic order, based on their shared and unique traits.
- To develop skills in reading the literature of science and evaluating the nature of the science as a social enterprise.
|
| Lecture Topics: |
- Introduction - Symbolic Value
- Why are insects so successful
- History of Classification
- Attributes of Living Systems
-
Cellular Basis of Insect LIfe
- Insect Behavior
- Flying & Walking
- Honey Bees & Social Lives
- Insect Reproduction
- Insect / Plant Relationships
- Predator – Prey Relationships
- Pest Control and Insect Damage
- Global Food Security - Entomophagy
- The Real CSI - Forensic Entomology
- Utility of Insect – Human Interactions
|
| Laboratory Topics: |
- Classes of Arthropods
- External Morphology – the head
- External Morphology – thorax
- Internal Systems – Grasshoppers & Crickets
- Integument, molting, metamorphosis; Plant Pests and Damage
- Insect Orders I – collecting & preserving
- Insect Orders II – keying & identification
- Bee Society; Bees and Art
- Private Lives of Plants -The Birds and the Bees
|
THE KING'S UNIVERSITY