Entomology B/C

[caseyotis]

Alright I thought so but I wanted to make sure that everyone else sees it this way.hopefully the admin will interpret it this way too.

Chances are, you won't be asked about common name. I wouldn't worry about it.

[SOnerd]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work together with your partner?
I have considered splitting the list, like having one of us do a couple of the major orders and the other do the rest.
Also, any good ways to work efficiently in the test?
Maybe having one person with the field guide and the other with notes?

[caseyotis]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work together with your partner?
I have considered splitting the list, like having one of us do a couple of the major orders and the other do the rest.
Also, any good ways to work efficiently in the test?
Maybe having one person with the field guide and the other with notes?

Splitting the list definitely worked for my brother and I. It cut the workload for both of us and prevented overlap.
The most efficient thing is to know all of the IDs so you don't have to actually look in the book for them. Once you've got the ID, either have tabs in your book to find the answers to the questions or just use the index. On our test, we had plenty of time to go to the index, find the order/family needed, and find the answers to the multiple choice.
My brother and I didn't have any notes. All we really needed were our own ID knowledge and the guide. I was able to use the guide the whole time (or, almost) with plenty of time to spare.

[silverheart7]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work together with your partner?
I have considered splitting the list, like having one of us do a couple of the major orders and the other do the rest.
Also, any good ways to work efficiently in the test?
Maybe having one person with the field guide and the other with notes?

My partner and I are really close- we understand each other and I believe we work well together. Get a sense of who your partner is, and learn how the two of you will work as a pair. Sometimes one person is more motivated than the other, or two people will just have completely different learning styles. Those are things to take into account. Splitting the list is an individual choice, although it's optimal for both partners to at least have a basic idea of every organism on the list.

In the test, as Case already said, knowing ID is the most important thing. Last year we used to have two field guides, which was easier on my partner, because I am a terrible book hog. The notesheet should be for extra information or diagrams, maybe the organism list. It's less essential in competition (especially when memorization is done) or so I've found. Keep communication open between you and your partner, bounce ideas off of each other. Learn how to use your time efficiently, and you should be fine.

[gneissisnice]

Does anyone have any suggestions on how to work together with your partner?
I have considered splitting the list, like having one of us do a couple of the major orders and the other do the rest.
Also, any good ways to work efficiently in the test?
Maybe having one person with the field guide and the other with notes?

My partner and I split the event when we did it. She focused on the more difficult orders (Coleoptera and Hemiptera, with a couple of others) and I took the rest of the list. So I know absolutely nothing about how to identify beetles or true bugs because she handled that part entirely, but I think it worked well.

[135scioly]

Hi, I had a question on the NWF field guide if anyone else is using it. First, it doesn't divide Hemiptera and Homoptera like the national list does.. Is this because the national list hasn't been updated, and if so, should we use hemiptera or Homoptera?

Also, for lice, the NWF field guide combines Mallophaga and Anoplura, but the list doesn't. For the competition, which should we use, the more recent classifications or what's on the national list?

Thanks!

[caseyotis]

Hi, I had a question on the NWF field guide if anyone else is using it. First, it doesn't divide Hemiptera and Homoptera like the national list does.. Is this because the national list hasn't been updated, and if so, should we use hemiptera or Homoptera?

Also, for lice, the NWF field guide combines Mallophaga and Anoplura, but the list doesn't. For the competition, which should we use, the more recent classifications or what's on the national list?

Thanks!

Always stick to the national list for identification. Even if you are right, the event supervisors will most likely be using that list, which is based on the more-outdated Audubon guide.

[135scioly]

Ok, thanks! And for identifying flies, does anyone have identifying characteristics? The color rarely helps, and the body shape sometimes does. But most flies look the same to me. Are wings important? I've seen diagrams on specific patterns in wings, but is that the only way?

[ceg7654]

Ok, thanks! And for identifying flies, does anyone have identifying characteristics? The color rarely helps, and the body shape sometimes does. But most flies look the same to me. Are wings important? I've seen diagrams on specific patterns in wings, but is that the only way?

I don't have my guide or list with me but at the top of my head, Calliphoridae usually has red eyes and either a shiny green or blue body. Tephritidae has clear and black patterned wings. Culicidae and Tipulidae look pretty similar but I think Culicidae has a arched body or was it the other way around? Asilidae has an almost triangular head shape, it looks almost like a paper football shape to me that makes it seem kind of... I dunno, mischievous? I mean, they're robber flies, so... Chironomidae has distinctly feathered antennae and on most of the pictures I've seen, the body is greenish but not always. Hippoboscidae has distinct legs, it looks like a spider's legs to me but you'll see what I mean if you encounter a Hippoboscidae on the Scioly Entomology Question Quiz. What else...
Simuliidae has a body with little stripes like a Cimicidae across it but all black. Tabanidae usually has flourescent(HOW DO YOU SPELL THIS WORD AGH) eyes like green, or even green and yellow, etc. Syrphidae has black and yellow patterns that aren't furry like an Apidae but more like a design, usually clearly straight smooth curves. Drosophilidae has red eyes and a translucent yellowy body. Tachinidae has, as my partner likes to say, 'spikes on its butt'. Which is true, there are little black spikes sticking out of its body. Bombyliidae has a furry golden body and a long thin mouthpart. I think I got them all but I might've skipped a couple. Just so you know, the way I came up with these was to literally look at each family in the book and write down characteristics for each one. I recommend this because since you're writing it down AND finding characteristics that stand out to YOU and YOU only, it's much easier to remember. So this might not help you but I hope it will!

[135scioly]

Thanks a lot, this helped!!! And that's what I usually do, finding the characteristics myself, but with flies, the characteristics I found in the book weren't that helpful when you looked at pictures on the Internet cause they varied so much. Hopefully, this will help, though I'll continue to look for more.

Edit: And I think Culicidae has the arched body, not Tipulidae?