{"id":36,"date":"2011-12-30T00:02:38","date_gmt":"2011-12-30T09:02:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.scimathinstitute.org\/msw\/?p=36"},"modified":"2012-05-15T07:36:51","modified_gmt":"2012-05-15T15:36:51","slug":"36","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scimathinstitute.org\/msw\/2011\/12\/30\/36\/","title":{"rendered":"Babies that don\u2019t look anything like their parents"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong><\/strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling1a.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-50\" title=\"darkling1a\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling1a.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"410\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling1a.png 400w, http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling1a-292x300.png 292w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\nOne axis that is helpful in the life-cycle arena is comparing organisms that exhibit different types of development.\u00a0 That may include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Complete and incomplete metamorphosis in insects<\/li>\n<li>Metamorphosis in amphibians<\/li>\n<li>Alternation of generations in plants<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This article discusses investigations of invertebrates that undergo complete metamorphosis.<\/p>\n<p>Step 1) Find insects.\u00a0 In Fairbanks Alaska during the winter, this can be a bit difficult.\u00a0 However, it is fortunate that we have a largish pet store here in town.\u00a0 A great organism for hands-on insect investigation is the Darkling beetle (Zophobas morio) larva, otherwise known as the superworm.\u00a0 Note that the term \u201cworm\u201d is a misnomer, because they are in fact insect larva with 3 pairs of fully-arthropodic legs. Second, the &#8220;super&#8221; part is a takeoff from the more common meal worms.\u00a0 Meal worms are also beetle larva.\u00a0 For hands-on insect explorations, however, I highly recommend the superworms over the meal worms for several reasons:<\/p>\n<p>1) superworms are much larger<br \/>\n2) superworms are far more active<br \/>\n3) superworms are really tough, and hold up well to handling (and the occasional drop)<\/p>\n<p>The one downside with these organisms is that the adults are reported to put off a fairly offensive odor.\u00a0 So, if you purchase a tub of darkling beetle larva, you\u2019ll want to have thought through an exit strategy to employ after you have finished experimenting with these organisms.\u00a0 Fortunately for me, I know several families who raise chickens and ducks, who are glad to take these tasty snacks home for their pets.<\/p>\n<p>Step 2) Experiment.\u00a0 Here are a few investigations kids can do with superowrms, as usual, the list of the ideas goes in increasing difficulty, but as usual older kids are not discouraged from doing any of the projects.\u00a0 It continues to be my experience that many kids like to revisit certain activities they\u2019ve done before, and I am sure they learn something new in the process.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling2.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-43\" title=\"darkling2\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"400\" height=\"421\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling2.png 400w, http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling2-285x300.png 285w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 400px) 100vw, 400px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Count legs (if child hasn\u2019t seen one before, begin the investigation by not telling them what the organism is), then let them guess.<\/li>\n<li>Measure length<\/li>\n<li>Measure burrowing rate \u2013 how fast will a darkling beetle dig into the food medium<\/li>\n<li>Observe burrowing behavior (notice that often darkling beetle larva travel in reverse!)<\/li>\n<li>Observe larva\u2019s behavior when placed on a table top<\/li>\n<li>Observe the larva\u2019s behavior when placed in a small pile of food medium on a table top (generally, they will venture out, in a few directions, recognize where the boundary is, then burrown into the pile and stay there)<\/li>\n<li>Build a track and place potential food items along the path observe the insect\u2019s behavior<\/li>\n<li>Build a track and place piles of potential burrowing stuff<\/li>\n<li>Build a maze and place potential food items at regular intervals<\/li>\n<li>Build a maze and place piles of potential habitat (wood shavings, grains, etc)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling3.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-38\" title=\"darkling3\" src=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"569\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling3.png 600w, http:\/\/www.madscientistworkshop.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/12\/darkling3-300x284.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><br \/>\n<strong>Math ideas<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Count legs<\/li>\n<li>Measure lengths of larva<\/li>\n<li>Calculate the animal\u2019s rate of travel.<\/li>\n<ul>\n<li>Measure how far the insect travels in a given time (say 10 seconds)<\/li>\n<li>Measure how long it takes for the insect to travel a given distance (say 100 cm)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<li>Calculate average length of 3 or more larva<\/li>\n<li>Calculate average rate of travel of 3 or more larva<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Take it further<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>1) Look up the following vocabulary words:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Egg<\/li>\n<li>Larva<\/li>\n<li>Pupa<\/li>\n<li>Adult<\/li>\n<li>Metamorphosis<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>2) Study darkling beetle life cycles.\u00a0 How long, on average do they spend as larva, pupa and adults.<\/p>\n<p>3) Find photographs of adult darkling beetles online.<\/p>\n<p>Please let me know how you enjoy working with these interesting organisms.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One axis that is helpful in the life-cycle arena is comparing organisms that exhibit different types of development.\u00a0 That may include: Complete and incomplete metamorphosis in insects Metamorphosis in amphibians Alternation of generations in plants This article discusses investigations of &hellip; 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