UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATION No. 318 



Washington, D. C. 



Issued February 1939 

 Slightly revised February 1940 



4-H CLUB INSECT MANUAL 



By M. P. Jones, senior extension entomologist, Division of Cooperative 

 Extension, Extension Service 1 



CONTENTS 



Page 

 Introduction ■ ] 



Why study insects? 2 



Part I.— Acquaintance with insects 3 



Collection and identification 4 



Calendar of activities, first year 6 



Activities for first year outlined 6 



Scientific names of insects 11 



Further aids to identification 12 



Orthoptera (grasshoppers and others) - 13 



Hemiptera (true bugs) 15 



Homoptera (bugs) 17 



Coleoptera (beetles) 19 



Lepidoptera (butterflies and others) .. 23 



Diptera (flies) 30 



Hymenoptera (wasps and others) 33 



Miscellaneous groups 37 



Insect record sheet 41 



Page 



Part II.— Life studies and control of insects... 43 



Life studies ... 43 



Control of insects 43 



Collection and identification 44 



Calendar of activities, second year 46 



Activities for second year outlined 46 



Things to know about insects 52 



List of common insects 54 



Answers to questionnaire 55 



Part III.— Telling others about insects 57 



Collection and identification 57 



Calendar of activities, third year 58 



Playlets 58 



Demonstrations 59 



Exhibits 62 



Surveys 62 



INTRODUCTION 



This insect manual was prepared primarily for the use of 4-H 

 club members, but it also may be useful to other groups of young 

 people. Its purpose is to give a better understanding of insects and 

 the principles underlying insect control. 



The study of insects at camps affords an ideal way to introduce 

 entomology. Under a competent leader who knows insects many 

 interesting things can be pointed out, such as facts pertaining to 

 insects in relation to other forms of life. Although this manual was 

 prepared primarily for a definite year-round project in entomology, 

 it will be helpful at camps also. 



In industrial sections of the country where use of leisure time is 

 becoming a problem, the study of insects and the making of insect 

 collections afford an excellent pastime. The cost of equipment is 

 small, and the insect supply is almost unlimited. In some places 

 county fair boards and local chambers of commerce have provided 

 money to be given as awards for commendable insect collections. 



Although some insect collections have sold for large sums of money, 

 such collections represent the lifetime jobs of the persons making 



1 Grateful acknowledgment is made to the Division of Insect Identification of the 

 Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine for selecting the list of representative 

 insects of the United States, for providing photographs or drawings of them, and for the 

 outline of the story about each insect. The other subject-matter divisions of the Bureau 

 reviewed all references to the biology and control of the insects listed.^ Acknowledgment 

 is also made to the extension entomologists and 4-H club workers in the States who 

 offered suggestions that have aided in making this manual useful and workable. 



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