Utah Bug Club!

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Starting Your Own Bug Club 

Introduction

Starting a general bug club, butterfly/moth club, or another formal chapter of Utah Bug Club can be very fulfilling and rewarding; but also requires a certain amount of time and resources.  Our youth are our future entomologists and the better we teach kids the basics, and the more fun they have at it, the more motivated they might be as adults to pursue their interest in entomology.

Those who set up the initial chapter of the Utah Bug Club wanted to provide a basic classroom experience that touched on the basics of insects (with a strong bias towards lepidoptera) with a “summer school” type atmosphere—touching on the most interesting and the most fun parts.   Basic instruction should last only as long as the kids remain attentive.  Once they start "bugging out"; which generally takes about half an hour, it's time for the next portion of the program--the field trip.  This short field trip should occur at a nearby setting so that kids can experience firsthand what was reviewed in class.  It’s always important to try and align classroom instruction with what will be experienced and, hopefully, reinforced during the field trip as best as possible.

Goals and Curriculum

The basic yearly goal of the Utah Bug Club meetings and field trips, has been to teach children the basics of the material reviewed below:  Online content has been provided as a reinforcement to meetings and field trips.  If a family misses a meeting, they can always check online to see what they have missed.  Those wishing to start their own club can utilize this online material and curricula at their own discretion.

What is covered:

• Where they can get the basic resources—books, nets, mounting boards, internet, etc. for the hobby—i.e, bioquip.com
• An understanding of insect life cycles—especially lepidoptera complete metamorphosis--as well as provide kids with the equipment as well as the opportunity to raise a butterfly and/or moth from ova to adult.
• An understanding of the different families of butterflies and where they can go to find them.
• An understanding of how to collect, preserve, and mount a butterfly or moth and put it in a basic collection.
• An understanding of moths, how they differ from butterflies, and how and where to go to find them.  An introduction to blacklighting if resources permit.
• An introduction to beetles and other insects.

Creating Interest

One of the first steps to setting up your own club, or a UBC chapter is to locate a group of kids who would be interested in attending.  A way to stir up interest would be through local elementary school programs, friends, or 4H.  (It is also important that parents attend to support their children.)  It also makes for more enjoyable field trips.  

Another source of finding children to join is through the local Boy Scout office.  For example, since the Utah Bug Club founders have been associated with the Boy Scouts of America, they also have signed up with their local BSA office as merit badge councilors; so that boys of scout age can pass off any requirements for the Insect Study Merit Badge that are covered during meetings and field trips.  (Most requirements are covered during meetings.)

Once the interest has been obtained, the next natural step might be to set up a program of when and where meetings and field trips are going to be held.  Meetings can be held almost anywhere.  Obviously, a great place to hold meetings is in a natural history museum at a local university.  

My Bug Book

Utah Bug Club is sponsored by the Utah Lepidopterists' Society. If you have any questions, please contact the webmaster.

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