Costa Rica Insects

The Insect class represents the largest group of organisms in the planet since it contains more than 70% of all the existent species. After appearing 360 million years ago insects have evolved into many groups. Their small size, the external cover that protects them and high reproduction rates have allowed them to colonize many different habitats. They were the first organisms that developed flight capacity: for more than 100 million years, they were the only flying organisms! This made it possible for them to colonize many favorable environments, among other advantages.

Insects are a very important part of the ecosystem, not only because of number of species and their abundance, but mainly because of the numerous interactions that they establish with other organisms. Insects are both predators and a food source. Also, an important quantity of the herbivory in many ecosystems is due to insects, as they are at the base of the food chain. Many insects are decomposers, or feed on organic matter, playing an important role on the nutrient cycle of ecosystems. From an economic point of view, insects are a force to recognize because many of them are involved in plagues, transmitting many illnesses to human beings and plants. They are indispensable pollinators for successful crops whose products feed and dress us, such as cocoa, coffee, silk, tobacco and others.

GENERAL OBJECTIVES

At the end of this course, you will be able to:

Identify the main external and internal characteristics of insects.
Analyze the interactions of insects in ecosystems to recognize their importance for nature and human beings.
Mention the characteristics and natural history of the main orders and families of insects to carry out an appropriate identification of this group.

STUDENTS PROFILE

Participants must be nature lovers who desire to expand their knowledge of insects and their natural history. Participants also will need to be in physical condition to do field work and take easy walks.

METHODOLOGY

The course is completely practical and will be carried out in the field. It will begin with an introduction to the National Institute of Biodiversity and Inventory of Biodiversity. Participants will visit the entomological collections of INBio, where they will learn about the process of incorporation of new specimens to this collection.
Different groups of insects will be studied as well as their classification, their natural history and collecting methods. There will be day and night walks, with the objective of observing insects on the field. Participants will be exposed to their forms, colors and textures, under the guidance of the course instructors. Additionally, laboratory practices observing the characteristics of the insects, using microscopes and stereoscopes will be carried out with another field team.

THEMES

Importance of the biodiversity inventory of insects.
Process of identification of insects developed by INBio.
Importance of insects for the ecosystems and human beings.
Distribution and diversity: microhabitats.
External and internal characteristic of insects.
Reproduction.
Introduction to their classification.
Characteristic of main groups.
Insect collecting methods and preservation of insects.

TEACHERS

Instructors are entomologist members of the Unit of Arthropods of INBio and specialists in different groups of insects. <

Manuel Zumbado: Curator of Diptera, order that includes flies, no-seeums and mosquitoes. He is in charge of the Arthropods Unit of INBio and has been a teaching assistant and professor of the Parataxonomist courses; more recently, he is an instructor in the courses for naturalist guides developed by INBio, specifically in the topic of insects.

José Montero: Curator of the group of Butterflies, is in charge of the collection of Lepidoptera, order which includes 400.000 specimens. He shares information, maintaining and encouraging relationships with other researchers at a national and international level. He will publish a complete guide on the Butterfly farming during this year (Guides for the elaboration of a Butterfly farming,
J. Montero & A. Barrientos) and also a Guide to the Butterflies of Costa Rica.

Manuel Solís: Specialist and curator of Hymenoptera, which includes bees, wasps and ants. He orders, cures and identifies the dry collection of Hymenoptera. He also orders, labels and separates the alcohol samples of the Diptera and Hymenoptera wet collection. He collects insects for the national monitory and inventory program of INBio. Mr. Solís is instructor in the courses for naturalist guides developed by INBio, specifically in the topic of Hymenoptera.

Costa Rica Rural Travel
Costa Rica Insects
PO Box 2535-3000 Heredia, Costa Rica
(506) 237-3400 from USA / (506) 262-1891 fax