At 8:00 AM at
the Las Cruces Biological Station, we gathered in the classroom for the Insect
Taxonomy workshop. First, we learned basic information about insect taxonomic
groups. Then we set off in pairs to search the garden for insects of every
kind. Armed with giant nets and several small bags, my partner and I scoured
the area. While I had early luck catching a small butterfly, I soon learned
that capturing insects is no easy task. For the next hour, we chased
butterflies, wasps, and many other types of insects, though I had no further
success. Luckily, my partner managed to collect ten to add to my one.
At the end of
the hour, we all gathered in the lab to identify the order of each insect we
had caught. We were then assigned the official insect homework: to capture ten
insects and correctly identify their order and family during the remainder of
our stay at Las Cruces.
A
friend and I went out around 5 PM to initiate the search. Thankfully, I had
some success, managing to catch a decent-sized one with two white spots on each
wing. We proceeded to the lab to identify our catch, and I quickly decided that
I had a beetle. However, when I went to confirm my results, it turned out that
I had not correctly identified my bug. I returned to the lab to come up with a
new identification for my not-beetle. Due to dinner discussion, I knew that I
had a true bug, so I only had the family left to identify. Searching my packet,
I felt confident that I had an assassin bug.
Unfortunately,
it turned out I had erred in my identification once again and so I revisited
the lab. I sat there for half an hour, writing down information about my bug
(four segments of antennae, about 10 veins running along each wing…) and
finally limited my options to either a leaf-footed bug or a broad-headed bug. I
was incredibly split between the two options, convinced that I couldn’t have a
leaf-footed bug because mine lacked the characteristic “leaf-foot,” while I
could see from the guide that my insect did not exactly match the description
of a broad-headed bug. However, not all leaf-footed bugs have that one defining
characteristic, and I realized that I couldn’t possibly have a broad-headed bug
because my insect did not in fact have a broad head. So I called my professor
with my final conclusion: I had a leaf-footed bug. Thankfully, I had the
correct identification.
This
experience taught me several lessons. Insect taxonomy is a difficult subject to
first grasp, though I enjoyed the satisfaction of cracking the puzzle. While I
am wary of the prospect of capturing and identifying so many more insects, I am
happy that I pushed through and correctly identified this one, especially as it
belonged to an order that I had not previously known about. I’m excited to
learn more about each order, as getting so involved with this one sparked my
curiosity, and I look forward to having equally valuable interactions with
other insects during the upcoming months.
Jessica Kuesel
Duke University
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