Ento-musings from the University of Kentucky Department of Entomology


Sunday, May 30, 2010

Entomology Leadership Program

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I'm leaving today for a a week in Jabez, Kentucky. There, I work with Doug McLaren from UK's Forestry Department to present the Kentucky Forest and Entomology Leadership Program (KFELP). This is an intense, week-long, overnight, residential program that immerses students in the world of natural-resource management. We will be working with about 30 high-school kids, and about 1/4 of them have signed up to be "entomology specialists" for the week. The entomologists will learn how to observe, study, collect, and preserve insects that are important in the forest ecosystem. They will also see how entomologists and foresters depend upon one another to solve problems. This is one of the best weeks of the year for me, because it is one of the few times that I get to work with students for an extended period of time. Also, we spend almost the whole week outdoors in the woods!

Learn more about the entomology component of KFELP.

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Ornithopter what? Artificial butterfly flight!

by Andy Boring, UK Entomology Graduate Student

This is a pretty neat news article that came my way and I thought I would share it. A quick summary is that a group of researchers have made a robotic swallowtail butterfly that flies. The link has a video of the "Ornithopter" in flight and a brief description of what this is all about.

http://www.iop.org/News/news_41310.html

Enjoy!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

First HD Video: Native Kentucky Scorpion

by Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomologist

I recently figured out that I can upload high definition videos to YouTube, so I just added our first one. It's a short clip of Kentucky's only native scorpion, Vejovis (a.k.a. Vaejovis) carolinianus . The nice thing about HD is that it fills the YouTube viewing frame better than standard-def.

Here's the video:
http://www.youtube.com/user/UKEntomology#p/a/u/0/VOC4jF61TDo

These are cool little scorpions. They are found in wooded areas in southern Kentucky, and they sometimes wander into cabins. They have a very mild sting, so they are not considered dangerous. You can read more about them in our Kentucky Critter Files: Kentucky Scorpions.