Secret Agents – Investigating Insect Vectors

Students will investigate insects that live in mangroves in this lesson. Throughout the lesson, students will build an insect trap, deploy it, collect and analyze the insects caught in the trap. Additionally, students will randomly sample mangrove leaves, categorize the types of insect grazing present, and calculated the percentage of grazed area on the leaves. Students will participate in citizen science by uploading their data to the Mangrove Detectives website. This information will help scientists document all of the insects living in the mangroves and the types of insect grazing on mangrove leaves.