Wednesday, September 17, 2008

September program

All right! Some of you are probably wondering what the plan is for our first meeting, which is Saturday, September 27th, at 10:00 am at the Nature Centre.

This month we're going to be doing a program on insects.

We will be catching insects, including (hopefully!) lots of butterflies, praying mantis, dragonflies, beetles, and more. We have great nets, jars and terrariums, as well as a microscope and some magnifying glasses. We'll be using field guides to identify as many of the critters as we can. We'll create a list of the insects we catch and/or identify for our sightings book, too!

We'll also be playing a great insect game, and depending on time and weather we may have a craft as well.

If you have an insect field guide that you like to use, feel free to bring it along! Otherwise, you don't need to bring anything. Please remember to dress for the weather!

Early fall is a great time to be looking for insects. Praying mantis, for example, are in the process of finding mates and laying eggs; monarchs are starting to store up on energy in preparation for their trip south. Dragonflies are mating and laying eggs so that their nymphs will hatch before winter, during which they'll hibernate before becoming one of the first aquatic critters to be active in the spring time.

Looking forward to seeing everyone there!

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