Having so much fun with bugs, insects, spiders, & entomology!

From huge spiders to spindly stick insects, there are around 100 bugs hiding on every double-page of this book. Ages 8+

My curly-haired quiet 6.5-year-old daughter has discovered entomology as a career prospect. She's been fascinated with insects forever, but her interest has skyrocketed lately.

We've got a forest spider ("Wolfie") in a terrarium on the kitchen counter, some pill bugs in her forensic entomology kit, and two woolly bear caterpillars (one banded "Caramel", one yellow "Vanilla") in a terrarium on the picnic table out back.We're going to house them overwinter and watch them cocoon and transform into tiger moths.

We've also been making regular visits to an enormous bee/hornet? nest in a tree along our bike path, as well as to the field next door to catch crickets. We're having so much fun.

Here are some resources I've collected in our entomology endeavors

• Raise a woolly bear caterpillar into a tiger moth butterfly
• Entomology for kids: Bugs, insects, and spider science
• Entomology bug science printables and online games
• Easy pets for homeschool nature science

 Did you know? Pill bugs are not insects. They're the only crustacean that lives their whole life on land, which is why we could not find pill bugs in any of our insect field guides. I found this cool Pill Bug science experiment guide that's helping us design an experiment. Who knows, maybe we'll even do the science fair this year.

Stay tuned for an "Ilana's Show" on insects and entomology.