Imperfect FunGal

I was super lucky this week to get to work at the Insect Expo that was sponsored by The Entomological Society of America.  They had the booths you would expect like: how pollinators pollinate and monarch lifecycle. However, they also had amazing new ideas like: being able to see like an insect, games that made you think about the importance of leaving your leaves for habitat, how pheromones work using termites and a Bic pen (not kidding – I may need to throw out all my Bic pens), and the booth I ran to…painting with maggots.  This was tailored towards grades 3-5, but adults jumped right in to play.

“Maggots, Michael. You’re eating maggots.“

Ever since Keifer Southerland uttered those words in The Lost Boys I have had a fear of/loathing for maggots. Since this year is about getting out of my comfort zone, and no one said I had to eat any, this seemed like the spot for me.  (Unrelated fun fact that I learned at the event – if you’re allergic to shellfish you have a likelihood of being allergic to mealworms, so be careful what you taste – though the fried mealworms were a huge hit with the kids)  First up, meeting the maggots.  We were using blowfly maggots, so time to understand the lifecycle:

Image from the paper:  A Comprehensive Overview of Forensic Entomology (citation in sources)

Fun Facts:

• Maggots can change from a larva to a pupa in front of your eyes (especially if they are tired of painting)
• Maggots don’t have eyes!  They can sense light, but they can’t see you!
• Maggots don’t bite, even when you’re trying to use them to paint
• Maggots are great recyclers!  They can even be used to test for drug use in a decomposed body long after typical tests would work
• When used for painting, Maggots can take on the colors of the paint they are using

The Activity (note:  we were quite careful with the maggots and they were not harmed as part of this exercise)

NOTE:  If you plan to do this, please be responsible and have a plan for what happens post painting to the maggots.  

Activity Sheet:  If you are wanting the official sheet to learn about this, this is the project sheet from The Entomological Society of America.

I’m not going to go into a blow by blow of how you would do this yourself, see the activity sheet link above for that. This is more about the experience and what made it interesting. 

When we first met with the students running the table, the first step was for us to make a painting.  It was a great way to get us touching the maggots and understanding what would happen once the kids arrived. 

Step 1:  Pick a paper and add paint.  You really don’t want to go overboard on the side of your paint drops (think no bigger than a chocolate chip)  We found by having 10-15 drops on half a sheet of paper was more than adequate.

Step 2:  Add maggots.  Take the maggots from the bowl (gently) and stick 1-3 on each of the paint dots.  Let them go wild!

Step 3:  Let them do their magic.  Your only job at this point is the catch the maggots when they run off the paper, and put them back on paint dots.  Repeat until your masterpiece is finished.

Step 4:  Rinse off the little guys!  I can’t stress this enough. We placed them on a paper towel and used a squirt bottle to rinse them off, then placed them back in the bowl.  This allows the maggots to shed some paint and peps them up a bit.  Let them explore the paper towel for about 10-30 seconds and then restart the activity.

Things We Learned (or were told by the kids):

1. I can’t tell you how many times I heard – “They’re not slimy, they’re soft!” – I was also certain that they were going to be slimy.
2. They are great escape artists and fast, especially they don’t think you’re paying attention.  I had one travel to the next kid’s piece, how did I know?  There was a green streak on the painting and that kid was not using green.
3. If the kidlet is scared of touching them at first, put them on the dots for the kids, before you know it they will be picking them up and placing them back on paint dots without realizing they are doing it.
4. This was a great exercise that took kids from “ew, gross” to “they’re so neat!”  It was a great way to acclimate the kids to something that likely would never have tried and ask more about a really interesting insect and it’s lifelcycle.
5. You’ll get attached.  I’m not kidding, by the end of the afternoon I was tenderly patting my maggots dry and looking diligently for any that may have wandered off.  Almost everyone working the booth asked what was happening to them next, and if we had not approved of the answer we likely would have left with pets.

Overall it was a wonderful event and I was really lucky to get to take part in it.  Seeing the passion of the future entomologists (Oklahoma State Students) and how they interacted with the kids, and how excited the kids were about what they were learning, I am certain that there were at least a few future entomologists recruited.

Sources:

Ahire Sardar, Manisha & Sachdev, Sanpreet & Kadam, Sonali & Chettiankandy, Tabita & Sonawane, Sarang & Tupkari, Jagdish. (2021). A Comprehensive Overview of Forensic Entomology. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ETHICS TRAUMA & VICTIMOLOGY. 7. 19-28. 10.18099/ijetv.v7i01.5.

“Maggot Facts”, Fact Animal