Lesson 3: Insects: The Tiny Workers
Insects are everywhere on a golf course, even when you cannot see them. They pollinate flowers in the rough. They decompose dead plant material. They are food for birds, reptiles, and small mammals. They aerate the soil with their tunneling.
Some insects — like the grubs of certain beetles — can damage grass roots and are a concern for turf managers.
Others, like fireflies and butterflies, are beloved for their beauty. A course that has butterflies in its rough is doing something right for the environment.
Without insects, the entire food web of the golf course would collapse. They are small but absolutely essential.
Use a magnifying glass to examine a small area of rough or long grass for insects. How many different kinds can you find? Draw three different insects you observe. Try to identify what each one is doing — eating, resting, flying, tunneling?
A magnifying glass is one of the most powerful scientific instruments available to a Stage 1 student. If your student does not have one, this is worth obtaining — it transforms invisible detail into visible wonder, and it works for everything from insects to soil particles to water droplets on grass blades.