The Russell County 4-H program collaborated with the Russell County School System to continue science programming during the COVID pandemic.  A series of videos were created to share with the students by their science teachers during virtual learning.  These videos explored several aspects of entomology.  The first video explored the main characteristics that insects share such as body segments, leg numbers and wing attachment; additionally the youth learned which arthropods were not part of the insect class and learned about a career in entomology.  The second and third videos explored incomplete metamorphosis and complete metamorphosis and which insects reproduced in each manner.  In the fourth video, the youth learned about the geology of Kentucky and the various types of fossils in Kentucky; the main fossil focus was on insect prints and preservation of insects in amber.  The final video educated the youth on pollination and provided a focus on honey bees and other pollinators and the important role of pollinators in agriculture and food production.

At the completion of the program, the youth were given a Qualtrics evaluation.  The results are as follows:

• 88% knew how many body segments that insects have.
• 71% of the youth knew that the legs and wings attach to the thorax of the insect.
• 78% of the youth said they could make a bee watering station with 26% indicating that they planned to make one this summer.
• Nearly 60% thought they might want to pursue a career in the sciences.

One of the participants said the following:  I learned about insects and that not just bees are pollinators.  Birds, butterflies, and other insects all pollinate.  I also learned that a spider is not a real bug because it has 8 legs instead of 6 legs.  Another youth simply said, “I learned that insects are more important than I thought.”