Graham Oaks Bug Class

James Davis holds a garter snake the kids found in the grass.

Entire-leaved Gumweed

Metro naturalist James Davis lead a Bug Class at Graham Oaks Nature Park to talk about the amazing world of arthropods.  He explained what the different families of arthropods are, and lead an expedition to search for them.  Mr. Davis is a wealth of knowledge, and certainly knows a thing or two about arthropods.  And Graham Oaks proved to be a really wonderful place to search for them, since countless numbers have found sanctuary in the thick grass and in the forest floor.  

Mr. Davis brought along a lot of big butterfly nets, and demonstrated how to sweep them through the grass to collect insects.  The sheer number of insects to be gathered this way was quite astonishing, mostly tiny crickets and grasshoppers that blended in perfectly with the browning grass. I've known for a while that just taking a child to a pond, giving them a fishing net, and leaving them to discover what is living in the water is a wonderful thing.  I had no idea how excited a group of kids could be with  just some butterfly nets and some tall grass.  They could have kept themselves happily occupied for hours this way.  I am definitely adding "butterfly net" to my list of things parents of young homeschoolers should consider always keeping in the trunk of the car!

Making friends with a BIG millipede.

Moth Mullein