Entomology -- April 22, 2026

Entomology - Unit 13 in your textbook. Complete the (optional) quiz.

Nancy Escobar

Read Nancy's BIO

1. Use Lisa's VMS slides to log last week's attendance in VMS

(If you missed class, contact Nancy to schedule a make-up.)   

Opportunity: Init Training-Class 11   

Date: April 15, 2026

Hours: 3.0     

Description: Weather & Climate with Dr. David Baker

2. Complete your class feedback survey ASAP

3. Look over Unit 13 in your textbook. Complete the optional quiz HERE

4. Watch these informative videos and complete the questions

A Bee Short (14:51), presented by Carol Clark, BPTMN class of 2010

Molly Keck on Insects: Part II (28:05) 

5. Capture an insect from your environment. Place it in your acrylic specimen box (the one you received in your meet & greet swag bag) and carefully examine all sides of your insect.  (You might find it helpful to place the insect and acrylic box in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.) Think about what you see. Photograph the dorsal and ventral sides. Use this Pictorial Dichotomous Key  to determine which Order you think your insect belongs to. Enter the pictures into iNaturalist, and see what kind of identification you get. Were you correct?

Optional Activities

If you have children handy, recruit them for an Insect Scavenger Hunt . Or if you want a real challenge, try this Advanced Insect Scavenger Hunt.

Scroll down to the bottom of this page to see some gnarly photomicrography of ants and read the article.

Molly Keck on Insects:  Part I (22:59)

lighted loupe

Graduation Celebration

Wednesday, May 13th, 6:00-9:00pm

Myers Park Event Center - 7117 Co Rd 166, McKinney, 75071

• pizza buffet with salads and desserts

• certificates and awards

• Mike Makuta, class of 2026, will share his DJ talents during arrival and dinner

• Carol Clark, class of 2010, will share "The Joys of Volunteering"

Logging AT

If you attended the Chapter Meeting in-person or online

here's how to enter it in VMS:

Opportunity: AT: Chapter Monthly Meeting Only

Date: April 14, 2026  

Hours: 1.0

Description: Dazed and Confused with Grayson Dean

If you attended the TMN Tuesday LIVE at noon

here's how to enter it in VMS:

Opportunity: AT: TMN Tuesday  

Date: April 14, 2026  

Hours: time of presentation   

Description: Virtual Volunteer Fair with Mary Pearl Meuth, Hannah Ferguson, and Michelle Haggerty

If you watched the TMN Tuesday recording

here's how to enter it in VMS:

Opportunity: AT: TMN Tuesday  

Date: that you viewed recording    

Hours: time of presentation   

Description: watched recording of 4/14/26 presentation Virtual Volunteer Fair with Mary Pearl Meuth, Hannah Ferguson, and Michelle Haggerty

Volunteers (VH) Opportunities  - for all, see chapter calendar for details

• Monarch View Park Workdays – Sundays, 9am-noon

• Monarch View special Spring Planting Event - April 18th, 9am-noon

• Pollinator Garden in JM Caldwell Sr. Park – 3rd Saturdays, 9-11am

• Pollinator Garden Workdays in McKinney Green Gardens - Thursdays, 9-11am and last Saturday of the month, 9-11am

• Mothing iNaturalist events

April 25th - Frisco Commons Park, Frisco

April 26th - Heard Museum, McKinney

May 8th - Erwin Park, McKinney

May 22nd - Hagerman NWR, Sherman

May 30th - Brockdale Park, Lucas

June 6th - Breckinridge Park, Richardson

June 20th - Oak Point Park, Plano

July 18th - Spring Creek Forest Preserve, Garland

July 25th - Heard Museum, McKinney

September 12th - Connemara Meadow, Allen

Advanced Training (AT) Opportunities

• Monarch Conservation Webinar Series, all dates are 1-2pm, see chapter calendar for details:

April 28th - Milkweed Biodiversity

May 19th - Stories That Move Monarchs

June 23rd - Mapping and Maximizing Monarch Habitat Outcomes

July 28th - Earth, Wind, and Fire

August 25th - The Foundation for Thriving Habitat

September 22nd - Seeds of Change

October 27th - Pollinator Habitat Conservation

November 17th - topic TBD

• May 20th, noon-1pm - Wildlife Conservation online webinar: Mobilizing TAMU Insect Collection Resources, see chapter calendar for details

• Wolbachia Insect Handbook 

• Bugguide.net - for expert help in insect ID

• Common Insects of Texas and Surrounding States - Abbott and Abbott (2020)

• Field Guide to Insects of North America - Kaufman

• Texas Crawdads - book by Sterling K Johnson, et al (2008). This book is out of print, but you might find it in the used book markets.

• List of Reference Books 

• Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation - website

• Dragonflies of Texas: A Field Guide - John C. Abbott (2015)

• Damselflies of Texas: A Field Guide - John C. Abbott (2011)

Ant photos from wildlife photographer Eugenijus Kavaliauskas

Here's an article discussing them with links to more of his photomicrography.

WEEK TWELVE CLASS UPDATE

How'd you do with your weather predictions last night? Dr. Baker never disappoints. You can see links to the Austin College weather station website and more in the "extras" section of the Week 11 webpage.

Notes from Last Night:

End-of-Class Presentations & Projects:

We have room for more presentations! Let me know if you have an idea.

Take a look at some of the presentations from the 2024 and 2025 classes. You'll see that the topics can range from broad/general to super-focused, and just about any topic is possible. Think about what YOU'RE interested in. 🙂

Lauren's BPTMN Reels:

If you haven't already signed up to record a short snippet for Lauren's reels, please consider it (SUG link). Larry, Grayson, and Pat helped out last night. They can tell you it's painless. She has a script for you!🙂

Highlighted Volunteer Opportunities:

Accessibility Trail Assessment - contact ED Burke at burkeb@sualumni.net

Monarch Monitoring at Hagerman NWR - contact Laurie Sheppard at butterfly@friendsofhagerman.org

Class Completion Requirements:

Class completion = attend and log 13+ classes and 3+ field trips

Initial TMN certification = complete class requirements PLUS accrue and log 40 VH and 8 AT hours

Double certification = complete initial certification requirements PLUS accrue and log an additional 40 VH and 8 AT hours

Jean's Plant Pots:

I forgot to mention this last night. Once you've planted Jean's Texas Yellow Star, please bring the pot back so she can use it again. You can bring it to one of the classes, graduation, or chapter meeting.

Week TWELVE: Apr 16 - 22

Pre-Work:

Check out your entomology pre-work for next week with Nancy Escobar. There are some really good videos and you get to observe a bug or two.

Events This Week:

Heritage Farmstead Native Plant Beds Construction Project (VH event)

April 17th, 18th, and 19th

8am-noon, come & go when you can

Sign up here

Monarch View Park Planting (VH event)

Saturday, April 18th

9am-noon

Sign up here

Heard Spring Native Plant Sale

Friday, April 17th 4-7pm, for Heard Museum Members only (that's YOU! 🙂)

Saturday, April 18th 9am-5pm, open to the public

Sunday, April 19th 1-5pm, open to the public

Events Next Week:

City Nature Challenge Events (VH event)

What to Bring: Smartphone with iNaturalist installed, water, sunscreen, namebadge, and comfortable walking shoes

How to Participate:

    Signup on the SUG

    Download the iNaturalist app

    Join the iNat project: BPTMN - City Nature Challenge 2026: Dallas/Fort Worth

    Take photos of wild plants and animals

Friday, April 24th

10am - noon  Stewart Creek Wetlands – Frisco

1 - 3pm   Arbor Hills Nature Preserve – Plano

Saturday, April 25th

9am - noon Brockdale Park / Blackland Prairie Raptor Center – Allen

4 - 6pm Frisco Commons Park – Frisco

7:30 - 10pm Evening Mothing – Frisco Commons Park – Frisco

Sunday, April 26

2:30-4:30pm Heard Natural Science Museum – McKinney

7:30-10pm Evening Mothing – Heard Natural Science Museum– McKinney

Monday, April 27

9am - noon Erwin Park – McKinney

1 - 3pm  Hoblitzelle Park – Plano

You can also participate independently anywhere in DFW and anytime from Friday, April 24th to Monday, April 27th.

For the entire weekend (24th-27th) LLELA is waiving their entrance fee for Texas Master Naturalists who are iNatting. They would like you to pre-register at volunteersignup.org/FLE3C. Wear your nametag and let the gatehouse attendant know who you are.

Looking Ahead on the Calendar:

Field Trip to Parkhill Prairie - LAST FIELD TRIP

Saturday, May 2nd

9:00-11:30am

17109 CR 668, Farmersville 75442

Please arrive early to park and get ready,9:00am is late. 

Wear your nametag, outdoor walking shoes and dress for the weather.

If your plans change, don't forget to update the SUG.

Stiff Creek Wildflower Walk (AT event)

Saturday, May 2nd 

9:00am-1:00pm

4545 CR 412, McKinney 75071

Hayride transportation and brunch potluck

Native Plant Society of Texas members assist with native wildflower ID

SUG link

Class Graduation Celebration

Wednesday, May 13th

6 - 9pm

Myers Park Event Center, McKinney

Pizza buffet, salads, desserts, drinks for you and a guest

You can invite more than 1 guest, but we ask that you make a $4 donation to offset the increased cost. I'll have a large floral envelope on the front table during classes 12, 13, and 14.

RSVP on the SUG 🙂

Class of 2026 Reunion Event (AT event for iNatters)

Wednesday, May 27th

6pm

Oak Point Park & Nature Preserve

Bring your sack supper to tailgate in the parking lot before exploring and practicing your plant/critter ID skills

Questions? Contact Lisa Manion at manion.lisa@gmail.com

Helpful Links:

Field Trip SUG

Class Snacks SUG

VMS login

Class Website

Chapter Website

Past Chapter Meeting videos

Volunteer Opps & How to Log

Texas Master Naturalist Listserv Sign-Up link

Graduation SUG

See you next week,

Nancy

Nancy Casillas, Training Director

Texas Master Naturalist, Blackland Prairie Chapter

nancyc@bptmn.org

214-725-2309