ENTOMOLOGY CDE
By: Amanda Boehnke
OBJECTIVES
The student will be able to:
 Understand the rules regulations of the contest
 Gain Knowledge about how to prepare students for the Entomology contest
 Gain knowledge of some Orders of Entomology
 Understand the format of the event
PURPOSE
The insect contest introduces high school students to the fundamentals of
entomology and develops skills in identification of common insects and
their relatives using taxonomy and nomenclature used by practitioners in
the industry and in the scientific community.
Understanding insects and the different species is important to
agricultural crops, animal production, conservation, human and
companion animal health, and just overall well being.
BASIC ENTOMOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
1. Insect Structure and Function
 Basic Anatomy
2. Metamorphosis
 A change in body form
3. Insect Identification
 Recognition of order (31 groups)
4. Significance to People
 Harmful or beneficial
TEAM MAKEUP
A team consists of three or four individuals from a single
school
All members are scored and only the top three scores will
count toward the teams’ total score.
EVENT FORMAT
The event consists of 25 unidentified, preserved specimens that are
selected from a list of 150 species.
Each contestant will identify for each specimen, the order, common
name, metamorphic type, mouthpart type, and the significance to
people.
There is only 90 seconds allowed per specimen. At the end, when
all contestants have finished examining, additional time may be
given to complete scan sheets
SCORING
Order ……………………2 points/specimen
Common name …………....3 points/specimen
Metamorphosis……….….. 1 point/specimen
Type of mouthparts ……....1 point/specimen
Significance to people …....1 point/specimen
Total Points Individual…………….200points
Total Team ………………………..600 points
TIEBREAKERS
Team and individual ties will be broken by using the following
tiebreakers:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
High score on orders
If still tied, high score on common names
If still tied, high score on metamorphosis
If still tied, high score on mouthparts
If still tied, the highest alternate score
If still tied, winner will be determined by a coin toss.
THINGS A TEACHER MAY NEED TO KNOW
This contest is all about memory and being able to identify
different parts of a certain species.
 So a teacher may help the team practice!
 I would suggest making flashcards with pictures and the description.
EXAMPLE
Common Name: darkling beetle
Order: Coleoptera
Metamorphosis: Holometabolous
Mouthpart: Chewing
Significance: Variable
RESOURCES
Texas FFA Website
 https://www.texasffa.org/page.aspx?ID=132