It has demonstrated the insect's usefulness both as a research subject and as a bridge between the University and the public schools. The Manduca Project began simply. Teachers received caterpillars, artificial diet, instructions, and help with planning a week of classroom activities around the insects. Soon, teachers and their students expanded this activity into interdisciplinary lessons covering weeks and even months. Insects in the classroom Insects lend themselves particularly well to exploratory classroom activities.
Insects are easy to find, and there are several that are simple to raise in the classroom.
Insects give students hands-on experience observing and designing experiments with live animals, experience that cannot be duplicated using books and models. Most importantly, students of all ages are fascinated by insects. Scientists around the world study this insect to answerquestions ranging from ecology and growth to agriculture, neurobiology, muscle physiology, and the biochemistry of camouflage. Finally, there is little controversy regarding using non-endangered insects in scientific research. For these same reasons, Manducas make excellent subjects for raising and investigating animals in the classroom.