Content
Awards
Purple - $3.00 Blue -$2.50
Red - $2.00 White - $1.50
GENERAL INFORMATION
Specimens in display collections should be mounted properly and labeled with location, date of collection, name of collector, and order name. Boxes are preferred to be 12" high X 18" wide, and landscape orientation, so they fit in display racks. Purchase of commercially made boxes is allowed. All specimens are to be pinned and labeled by the exhibitor. No purchased specimens allowed. All specimens must be from the collector. More resources can be found at: https://marketplace.unl.edu/extension/catalogsearch/result/?q=entomology
No projects over 50 pounds allowed.
CLASSES
H800001 Entomology display - First year project - to consist of a collection of 25 or more different kinds (species) of insects representing at least 6 orders. Limit of one box.
H800002 Entomology display - Second year project - to consist of a minimum of 50 kinds (species) of insects representing at least 8 orders. Replace damaged or poorly mounted specimens. About 25 species should be present from after July 1 of previous year. Limit 2 boxes.
H800003 Entomology display - Third or more year project - to consist of minimum of 75 kinds (species) of insects representing at least 10 orders. Replace damaged or poorly mounted specimens. About 25 species should be present from after July 1 of previous year. Limit of 3 boxes.
H800004 Special Interest or Advanced Insect Display – Educational display developed according to personal interests and/or advanced identification capability. This also is an opportunity to highlight favorite insects in a creative arrangement. Insects should conform to pinning and mounting standards as in Classes 1-3 and be protected in an insect box. Each specialty display should include names of the insects, interesting information about them, and why the display was made. Advanced identification collections should have insects grouped with labels that correspond with identification level (e.g., family, genus, species). A specialty collection may consist of insects by taxonomic group (e.g., butterflies, grasshoppers, dragonflies, scarab beetles) or by host, subject or habitat (e.g., insect pests of corn, aquatic insects, insect mimicry, insect galls, insects from goldenrod, insect pollinators, etc.).
H800005 Insect Habitats – Habitats consist of any hand-crafted objects, made of natural or artificial materials, to be placed outdoors, which promote or conserve insects in the environment. Insects may include bee pollinators, butterflies, beneficial insects, etc. A one-page report describing activities must accompany the exhibit. Report should include placement, target insect, why materials were chosen, functional design, and indicators of success. See the following resources for reports:
- Nebraska Extension NebGuide: Creating a Solitary Bee Hotel (G2256)
- University of Minnesota: Wild Bees and Building Wild Bee Houses
- National Wildlife Federation: How to Provide Water in Monarch Gardens
H800006 Macrophotography – Subjects should be insects, spiders or other arthropods, or any nests, webs, or constructions they make. All exhibit prints should be either 8.5” x 10” or 8 .5” x 11” and mounted on rigid, black 11” x 14” poster or matt board. Either orientation is acceptable. No frames or mat board framing is allowed. A caption of a few sentences should the subject, printed on white paper, and be glued below the print on poster board.
H800007 Insect Poster/Display Exhibits - Can be posters or three-dimensional displays, and artistic creativity is encouraged. Posters should be no larger than 22" x 28". They should be instructional and can be attractive and have pictures, drawings, charts, or graphs. Posters and displays may show any aspect of insect life, habitat, or related conservation or management. Examples include life history and other facts about an insect; insect anatomy; how to manage insects in a farm, home, lawn, or garden setting; experiences rearing one kind of insect; survey of an important insect; insect behavior (ex. nesting, finding food, mobility, defenses, etc.); habitats (e.g., forests, grasslands, wetlands, rivers, or lakes) and what insects are found there, etc. Three-dimensional displays, such as dioramas, sculptures, models, or decorative boxes should have a page of explanatory information accompanying them and fit within a 22” x 28” area.
H800008 Reports or Journals - Reports and journals should be in a 3-ring binder. A report may be informational, that is, an original article about a favorite insect, a history of insect outbreaks, diseases caused by insects, insects as food, etc. Or it may be a research report about an investigation or experiment done in a scientific manner. It then should have a basic introduction of the insect studied, methods used, observations, and results of the project. Tables, graphs, and images are helpful to include. A journal is an observational study over time with personal impressions. It may cover watching changes of kinds of butterflies over the summer, rearing a specific insect from egg to adult, managing a beehive, observations of insects in a specific habitat, accounts of insect behavior in a forest or flower garden, etc.