1. Bugscope: Ladybugs

2. Bugscope image of a ladybug’s mouth
Image of a real ladybug
Bugscope image of a ladybug’s mouth

3. About Ladybugs
Ladybugs (aka Cocinellidae) are a family of beetles that are found worldwide. In the United States alone, there are over 450 native species of the ladybug. They are small, round insects, ranging from 1 mm to 10 mm and are typically yellow, orange or red with small black spots covering their wings. Ladybugs are typically predators of hemiptera (small insects such as aphids and scale insects). However, different species within the ladybug family are herbivores. The way ladybugs look is a natural protection from potential predators. This works because most predators associate bright colors with poison. Most ladybugs mate in the spring or summer and the female lays a cluster of eggs numbering anywhere from a few to a few hundred. These eggs then hatch into a larval state within a week and this larval state lasts anywhere from 10 to 15 days. Once full adulthood is reached, the ladybug will typically live for a few months. Finally, a pupal stage is entered before full adulthood is reached. In the spring, ladybugs can usually be found in vegetable gardens. However, in the winter, depending on the climate they are in, ladybugs will either enter something called diapause (a state which helps with reproduction). Other species of ladybugs will gather in groups and move to higher lands during the colder months.
Sources:

4. 1) Big Book of Bugs by Theresa Greenaway
Bugscope addresses NSES Standard D: Teacher of science design and manage learning environments that provide students with the time, space and resources needed for learning science. Further, this standard states that teachers should make available science tools, materials, media and technological resources to students. It also states that teachers should identify and use resources outside of the school. Bugscope is a perfect way to utilize technological resources, by doing so, help the students understand a concept better. It also engages resources outside of the school.
Using technologies such as microscopes and ESEM are a wonderful way to shed new light on a topic such as bugs. Because these bugs are so little, it is difficult for students to fully understand what purpose they serve and how intricate their bodies really are. By putting them under the microscope and observing them, students can see how each part of their body serves a special purpose and it helps to further explain why they look a certain way and do certain things.
Three literature sources that could be connected to Bugscope:
1) Big Book of Bugs by Theresa Greenaway
2) Bugs! Bugs! Bugs! By Bob Barner
3) The Best Book of Bugs by Claire Llewellyn

5. Bugscope could be used for older students as a part of a lab
Bugscope could be used for older students as a part of a lab. The observations during Bugscope could serve as the observation portion of the lab. Also, Bugscope could be used to further examine different species of insects, arachnids, etc. Because it provides such a detailed look at the specimen, it would be a great way to study the many differences.