The following videos were reviewed by high school students working as part of the Bugscope Operations Team.

See How They Grow: Insects and Spiders, 1995, Sony Wonder, 5550 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10022-3211, 30 minutes.

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303588921/qid%3D933082532/002-4836808-8331444)

This video is suitable for very young children. Kindergarten and younger is ideal. Accompanied by narration that borders on baby talk, the video shows the different developmental stages of ladybugs, spiders, butterflies and grasshoppers. The camera work is good, even by more mature standards.

Growing Up Wild: Creepy Crawlers, 1992, Time-Life Video, 777 Duke St., Alexandria, VA 22314, 30 minutes.

Hosted by the animated Madison the cat, this video would be suitable to children in K-3rd grade. The narration explains things in simple terms and does not go into enough depth to provide any real information about what you are seeing. The pictures are nice and sure to entertain younger children.

Housefly, An Everyday Monster, 1999, Winstar Home Entertainment, 419 Park Ave. South, New York, NY 10016, 45 minutes.

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1572522984/qid%3D933082631/002-4836808-8331444)

This video is suitable for students in fifth grade through twelveth. The camera work is very good; it was nominated for a 1994 Wild Screen Award. However, the information provided by the video is not that enlightening. Topics discussed include reproduction, predators, distribution, feeding and egg laying. The video mentions that houseflies are great fliers but does not examine why or how they fly.

Bug City's Really Gross Bug Stuff,1998, Schlessinger Media, P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096, 25 minutes.

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000F0MG/qid%3D933082712/002-4836808-8331444)

Despite extremely annoying hosts, this is an excellent video for all ages. The narration, camera work, and computer graphics are excellent and informative. The only true problem with the video is the vague and subjective central theme: really gross bug stuff. This detracts from the educational value of the program in that the hosts are constantly admitting how "gross" all the different topics and pictures are.

An outline of the one activity discussed follows.

Mosquito Breeders (Mosquitoes can be grown and studied from larva fairly easily:

Materials:
two jars
water
sugar
mosquito larva
strainer
rabbit pellets, grass clippings or fish food flakes
separator for the two jars with a hole in the center (a thick piece of cardboard with a 3 cm diameter hole will work)

Procedure:

You should be able to catch the larva with a basic fish net or strainer where ever there is standing water.
Place the larvae in a jar with an opening at the top and affix a jar/container on top of that with separator in between.
Make sure the apparatus is sealed.
By putting grass clippings, rabbit pellets or even fish flakes in the jar with the larva, you should be able to "grow" mosquitoes. When they become adults the will fly into the upper jar where they can be kept alive for days if fed sugar water.

Bug City's Incredible Insects ,1998, Schlessinger Media, P.O. Box 580, Wynnewood, PA 19096, 25 minutes.

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00000F0MH/qid%3D933082757/002-4836808-8331444)

This video was plagued by the same annoying hosts but the topics covered and the camera work were again enthralling and informative for all ages though not as informative as the previous video. Topics were centered around the vague theme of incredible insects. Metamorphosis, and social practices of insects were some of the many subjects covered. An outline of the one activity discussed follows.

Make your own Formicarium (ant farm):

Materials:
Gallon
quart
sand
water
spray bottle
sponge
straw
seeds
wheat germ
honey
ants
panty hose
rubber band

Procedure:
Place quart jar upside down inside gallon jar.
Pour sand inside gallon jar until it covers the quart jar
(Note: the quart jar should not fill with sand. It should be upside down!)
Spray water on sand, add wet sponge.
Add seeds, wheat germ and honey for food.
Add ants and cover with panty hose and rubber bands.
The ants will soon build visible tunnels.

Secret Weapons ,1995, Nature Archive Series, WNET, New York, NY, 50 minutes.

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6303926339/o/qid=933082794/sr=2-2/002-4836808-8331444)

This video is excellent. It is full of astounding camera work including bombardier beetle blasts slowed down to 400 frames per second. The footage is
accompanied by enlightening explanations of what is going on and why. The main theme of the video is the chemical defenses utilized by different insects. The audience is also treated to actual laboratory experiments on several insects that reveal surprising facts about them. The video is fascinating and very informative. It would be best suited for students in grades 6-12 though I'm sure it will appeal to adults as well.

Webs of Intrigue (National Geographic Video)

(http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6304475985/qid%3D933082858/002-4836808-8331444)

This video thoroughly examines the many aspects of varioius spiders' lives. It has excellent time-lapse photography of web-making. There are many memorable scenes of the eight legged hunters striking their prey. Mating rituals and processes are also observed as well as the intricacies of spinning thread, raising young and eating mates. The few spiders that pose a threat to humans are also discussed. This is a very good video for anyone interested in spiders. It is best suited for grades 5 and up.

The following series of three videos introduces students to WOWBugs, a small parasitoid wasp sepcies which has potential as an excellent organism for students activities at the grades 5- 12 level. More information about the organism and its potential in the classroom can be found at Welcome to WOWBugs! In the classroom, WOWBugs reproduce successfully upon blowfly pupae, which are commercially available through biological supply companies. A number of WOWBug-related activity and resource books, videotapes and slide sets are commercially available and can be found at the above-mentioned site.

Video 1 (and accompanying teachers guide): WOWBug Biology

This video gives much information on the biological processes and developmental stages of Melittobia digitata, WOWBugs. There is very useful background information here. Though the material is at times too complex for children below high school, there is certainly something for everyone. Younger children may not fully understand all the concepts but they will still learn much and stand to get even more out of the video with the teacher's help. The teachers guide has good discussion questions and a list of relevant activities in a separate book. The back of the book has several puzzles, many of which are irrelevant to the concepts addressed.

Video 2 (and accompanying teachers guide): Organ Pipe Mud Dauber Biology

This video deals with the WOWBug's preferred host, the Organ Pipe Mud Dauber. It discusses organ pipe mud dauber nesting practices and other parasites and pests to the Mud Dauber larva.The concepts in this video are significantly more complex than those in the first video. They are best suited for grades 9-12. The ideas are well presented with excellent camera work and narration. Most students will probably find it fascinating provided they are old enough to understand the material. Again the discussion questions are an excellent compliment to the video while the games in the back are mostly useless.

Video 3 (and accompanying teachers guide): WOWBug Rearing and Maintenance

This video is largely for teachers hoping to raise WOWBugs for classroom activities. It may be shown to students as well, though most of the material is not directly relevant to them. The video outlines how to raise WOWBugs and manipulate them for different purposes. It also describes a list of materials needed to replenish your own WOWBugs reserves. In addition to all this, the video summarizes the characteristics of WOWBugs that make them excellent classroom specimens. The teachers guide has good questions and refers to good activities in the activity book. As usual, the puzzles in the back have almost no relevance to the concepts discussed and are useless to any student above a 4th grade level.