The course is conducted in English。。A8:Life Science

Insects made their first debut on earth 480 million years ago and have interacted with humans through a love-hate relationship. They are very fertile with enormous influence on nature. It might seem disgusting to you, but insects are a food source in many places across the globe. Depending on the association, be it parasitism, commensalism, or mutualism at the time, people decide to take action to combat or encourage insects worldwide. Although insects have various negative impacts on humans, their positive contributions far outweigh any harm they cause. They, therefore, are a necessary part of life. This course will give a general introduction and hope to clarify common misunderstandings of these six-legged creatures through in-class lectures and off-campus activities. Field trips on the NTU campus, to the NTU Insectarium, the Taiwan insect museum, and Fuyang Ecological Park will be arranged for students to observe insects commonly found in open environments and learn how to recognize them using field guide/naked eyes. Lecture topics include but are not limited to insect morphology, systematics, diversity, ecology, and behavior. Guest lectures from NTU/NCHU/NCU faculty and industry will be eye-openers.

This course aims to help you appreciate the diversity and value of insects and gain practical information on insects of relevance to your daily life. Please take insect photos with your camera/cellphone during field trips or leisure. Using these photo collections, develop a report introducing insect diversity in Taipei. Participation in the classroom and discussion is strongly encouraged. Students will sometimes be asked to work together in groups. Through these activities, you would expect to 1) identify common insects that occurred in Taipei, 2) understand their biology and unique adaptation, and 3) recognize the physical features of insects that help them live in a different environment.

Students are strongly encouraged to review the syllabus concerning the course carefully. Know why you are discussing this particular topic in the course. Put down whatever you have found during the field trips or personal visits to points of interest—collecting photos, recording time, locations, and surrounding conditions after each trip to complete your report. Homework will be assigned weekly. All reflections will account for 70% total grade. You must upload an insect photo to the Facebook fan page every week, with clear information and description, as you were told in the first week's lecture. The pictures and comments you took and made on facebook take up another 30%. Failure to do so will be assigned a grade of zero on your performance grade. The assignment you turn in should be neat and legible. Make sure to show sufficient work each time. Insufficient work may result in a lower score. Cutting and pasting, lazy paraphrasing, and borrowing information from the web are prohibited. Attendance is expected. If you find that you must miss class, do file the leave of absence on My NTU. You may miss up to 1 class without any excuse. After that, each unauthorized absence will lower your final grade one increment (i.e., A to A-); this policy is cumulative. Extreme emergencies arise in life, so feel free to contact me if this happens to you, but do so within a week to be excused. One may not text, use a phone or have your laptop open for unrelated issues while I am speaking. A breach of regulations will lower your final grade by one increment (i.e., A to A-) the moment it happens.

No textbook is required for the class. However, you may find a textbook useful as a reference or to learn more details of some of the ideas discussed in the course. There are a number of good textbook in Entomology; here are three in particular: 1. Gullan, P.J., and P. S. Cranston 2014. The Insects: An Outline of Entomology, 5th Edition. 624pp. Wiley-Blackwell. 2. Borror, D. J., and R. E., White 1970. A field guide to the insects of America north of Mexico. 404pp Peterson field guides #19. 3. Gillott, C. 2005. Entomology, 3rd Edition. 834pp. Springer.