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Why should I use WOWBugs?

WOWBugs bring to life science instruction a winning combination: a fascinating life history and behavior that few students have ever seen before, coupled with an excellent and comprehensive set of educational materials. And to top if off, depending on how you obtain them, the insects themselves can be either low-cost or free.

These are some of the biological attributes that make WOWBug study particularly convenient and interesting:

	WOWBugs are harmless. They have no odor or other objectionable features. Although they posess a miniature stinger, they are incapable of stinging people. Although they have wings, they seldom fly. They cannot escape and multiply to become pests in the classroom.
	WOWBugs are sturdy and easy to care for. They can easily be kept at ordinary room temperatures. Adults do not need to be fed or watered. If she has no host but conditions are otherwise favorable, a female WOWBug can delay laying eggs for considerable periods -- normally up to two weeks, but over 200 days is the record under laboratory conditions.
	WOWBugs are easy to raise. In nature, they live on a great many different hosts. In the laboratory, they have been sucessfully reared from over twenty different host species in at least four insect orders, ranging from cockroaches to flies. In the classroom, WOWBugs readily accept blowfly puparia, which are commercially available from companies such as Carolina Biological Supply.
	WOWBugs have an extremely rapid life cycle. Under normal room temperature, a WOWBug matures from egg to new adult in only 21 to 26 days.
	WOWBug life history is easy to see. Because they develop on the outside of the host, WOWBug eggs, larvae, and pupae are easy to study with a magnifying glass or a microscope. Because WOWBugs do not make cocoons, one can watch pupa development and tell the sex of the new adults even before they emerge.
	WOWBug males and females are easy to tell apart. They differ in color and body shape. See the pictures in "About WOWBugs"
	WOWBug females are remarkable. A mated female can lay up to 800 eggs, and 95% of the progeny will be new females. However, an unmated female produces only a few eggs, and these mature into males. Then she mates with one of these males, and lays a normal batch of eggs on the same host.
	WOWBug males are remarkable, too. The blind males produce a sex pheromone to attract females, which they court elaborately. However, if they contact another male instead, a violent battle usually begins. Males will mutilate and even kill one another if given the chance to do so. In most WOWBug populations fewer than 5% are males.