Have you ever seen a dung beetle?

What would happen if the world had no dung beetles?

How does their work contribute to the environment?

What are the parts of a dung beetle?

Dung beetles are delightful and interesting insects. 

Learning about beetles, helps build curiosity and wonder about the world.
 
Rebecca Knox Farris is a published author in A Poetic Inventory of Rocky Mountain National Park for her poem about mayflies, and with her previous book TERRIFIC TERMITES.  She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degree from CSU and has a degree in writing and a minor in entomology.  She has taught several years in grades 6-8.
Look at the amazing architecture built by termites!

(picture courtesy of  webecoist.momtastic.com)

"Insects are the most species-rich organisms on earth. They are of immense ecological, economic and medical importance and affect our daily lives, from pollinating our crops to vectoring diseases,” says Bernhard Misof, the third co-director, who heads the Department of Molecular Biodiversity Research at the Zoologisches Forschungsmuseum Alexander Koenig in Bonn, Germany. “We can only start to understand the enormous species richness and ecological importance of insects with a reliable reconstruction of how they are related.”

from Of Dragonflies and Dinosaurs: Rutgers Researchers Help Map Insect Origins, Evolution, Rutgers Today, Nov 12, 2014

TERRIFIC TERMITES aligns to Common Core:
Think about insects for future city food sustainability and help kids avoid the "EW BUGS!" reactions by reading  Q&A's in  TERRIFIC TERMITES. Also, check out this design for an insect city in Stockholm--Urban Insect Production to create food sources:
http://belatchew.com/en/2014/06/09/buzzbuilding-2/?utm_content=buffer26b0c&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
Click to set custom HTML
Check out this short TED video about the first 21 days of bees and helping to improve bee hive health \