Blake Newton, UK Extension Entomology

The Kentucky State Fair is happening right now in Louisville, Kentucky. Last week, I judged this year's entries in the 4-H Entomology insect collection contest! Every year, we like to acknowledge the winners on our blog. Here are the winners from each category:

Class 687  Beau Hendricks, Trigg County
Class 688  Emmett King, Oldham County
Class 689  Cody Hart, Metcalfe County
Class 690  TJ Svoboda, Clark County
Class 691 Sandra Brock, Harrison County

And the overall champions:
Grand Champion: TJ Svoboda, Clark County
Reserve Champion: Cody Hart, Metcalfe County

It's amazing to see several of the same names from last year, as the winners have graduated from one category to the next: Emmett King, Cody Hart, TJ Svoboda, and Sandra Brock were all winners in 2012 as well. Congratulations to everyone, and keep it up for next year! You can learn more about making a 4-H Entomology insect collection here.

More Peculiar Lacewings

Ululodes macleayanus (Ascalaphidae), photographed by yours truly in Taylorsville, KY

For those of us fond of the often-underappreciated order Neuroptera, the oddities of that order—the chimerical mantidflies (Mantispidae), the gas-weaponry-wielding beaded lacewings (Berothidae), and the chrome-eyed owlflies (Ascalaphidae), to name a few—are especially fascinating; and to that list, I would add the giant and moth lacewings, the latest subjects of my personal blog.