Professor Doug Emlen
Course Information
Instructor: Douglas J. Emlen
email: doug.emlen@mso.umt.edu
Teaching Assistant: Alex Trillo
This will be a four credit class introducing students to the biology of insects. Lectures
will cover the mechanics of being an insect (how insects are put together and how they
function), they will cover the diversity of insects, including how to tell the major groups
of insects apart, and they will cover the development, ecology, natural history and
behavior of insects. I will end with several lectures addressing the impacts of insects
(both good and bad) on human populations, and we will begin to explore methods of
controlling insect outbreaks.
Lectures will be complemented with Laboratories that provide students with a hands-on
introduction to the external and internal anatomy of insects, as well as use of taxonomic
keys to the major insect families.
Students will draw the name of an insect from a hat, and prepare a five-minute talk on
their assigned insect. Student presentations will take place during a mini-symposium at
the end of the semester. Grading of talks will focus on content, organization, and
presentation clarity.
• The lecture exams cover the lecture notes and Facpac material (including the
supplementary reading/ journal articles at the end of each topic).
• There are two exams in lecture, a mid-term and a final. The final is not
comprehensive. Multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and short
answer/essay is the format of both exams.
• The two lab practicals will differ significantly—the first is closed book and covers basic anatomy (typical lab practical exam). The second is open book (Borrer only) and covers keying insects.
Course Grading
Midterm Exam (lecture)……….…………….…..20%
Final Exam (lecture)………………………….….20%
First Lab-Practical (anatomy)….……….………..15%
Second Lab-Practical (taxonomy)……………….15%
Oral Presentation…………………………………10%
Insect Collection…………..………….…………..20%
