Larger View HERE

Larger View HERE

An introduction to scientific classification or taxonomy can be as easy as remembering ‘King Philip Came Over For Good Spaghetti’ (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species). For the bug enthusiast, a personalized fact file of bugs that live around the house helps greatly in the learning and memorizing of the different classifications (and a little anatomy while you’re at it). I think it would be less interesting (especially for children) to begin from a manual of bugs that one has never and may never meet. Moths are a nice starting point because everyone has them, one can attract them at night with the porch light, and their faces are so cute and furry.

The process was simple:

Using a large size black foam board (extra-large size at Staples), neatly arrange the most important objects that are used in the club or project. This was probably the trickiest part – being able to narrow down just the key elements and not including everything. This was good practice in identifying the essentials or the core principles of the club’s mission.

Try to leave an equal amount of black space around the edges of your object display, establishing a “frame” for optimal effect. Also, try to space out each object roughly the same distance from one another.

Photograph the board from directly above, as best as you can.

Crop your photo and add text in Photoshop. If you don’t want to use Photoshop you could try free photo editing at Pic Monkey. Alternatively, you could add your own labels prior to photographing.

There it is, easy peasy.

Photographer Magnus Muhr creates cartoon scenes with the dead flies (and other bugs) that he finds around the house:

More on Mr. Muhr’s site and in his book The Life of Fly.

Mantidae: Tenodera Supertitiosa
Brass, and steel watchparts, gears, springs, screws, glow in the dark dial

Artist Mike Libby fuses together the natural and mechanical by combining real insect bodies with a variety of old wristwatch parts and electrical components.

Cerambycidae: Batocera Numitor
Steel pocket watch parts, gears, springs and shafts.

Rutelidae: Plusiotis Beyerii
Brass and steel and copper watch parts, gears and dials.

Arachnidae: Heteromoetrus Spinifer

Odonata
Steel, brass and copper watch gears, dials and parts.

See more of Mr. Libby’s work HERE

Larva of a Bluebottle Fly (Protophormia sp.)

Wasp (order Hymenoptera).

Honey Bee (Apis sp.)

Yellow Dung Fly (Scatophaga stercoraria).

Dog Flea (Ctenocephalides canis).

Tropical Caterpillar (order Lepidoptera).

Common Housefly (Musca domestica).

More photos here [via The Telegraph].