Ryan Ream (left), 9, of Westfield and Ethan Tramp (right), 10, of South Sioux City look up in amazement as Plymouth County naturalist Victoria Samblen displays the upside-down sleeping Polyphemus moth. [Click to enlarge]

First through fourth graders from all over the region migrated to Hillview Park in Hinton to take part in the Plymouth County Conservation camp this Wednesday and Thursday.

The focus for the camps is learning about insects.

"The purpose of these camps is to get kids outside in the summer and to give them an awareness of what's in their own backyard," said naturalist Victoria Shamblen.

Candace Mayfield, 10, of Council Bluffs walks through the grass in search of insects. [Click to enlarge]

In the morning, Shamblen and naturalist intern Andrew Stevenson of Merrill took 11 first and second grade students through several buggy activities.

"We learned about insects, sang songs, had a hike to find some insects, made crafts, and went to the pond to get our feet wet and look for aquatic insects," Shamblen said.

Stevenson, who headed up the third and fourth grade camp in the afternoon, had the children split up into two groups and go on an insect hunt, careful to explain how to net the bugs without hurting them.

Jackson Gereau, 10, of Akron watches as Ethan Tramp, 10, of South Sioux City attempts to snare an insect out of the air. [Click to enlarge]

While on the expedition, the camp observed a rare endangered butterfly in the wild. The butterfly is similar to the monarch, different only in its black under side.

Campers trapped butterflies, moths, grasshoppers, flies, and a favorite of the group, stinkbugs.

The children then sat down to observe the elk that live at the parrk and to listen as Stevenson talked about what makes an insect an insect. Students were treated to knowledge of exoskeletons, thoraxes, wings, compound eyes and much more.

Naturalist intern Andrew Stevenson shows a group of campers how to catch and trap insects safely in their net. [Click to enlarge]

The seven in attendance then hiked back to the shelter where they learned about the different life stages of the ladybug and observed a rare Polyphemus moth captured earlier that day. Shamblen explained to the campers that most people think of moths as ugly, but really they are very pretty. She went on to lecture that the fuzzy antennae on the moth is what separates it from a butterfly. The eye-like spots on the back of the wings resemble the eyes of an owl to ward off predators.

After playing an insect educational relay game, the eager group hiked down to the lake, catching butterflies along the way, to learn about whatever they could find.

This year marks the second year the Conservation Board is putting on these summer camps.

Naturalist Victoria Shamblen shows the rare Polyphemus moth to all, which she caught earlier that day. Shamblen said the grip of the nocturnal creature was surprisingly strong. [Click to enlarge]

"We have six different age groups," Shamblen said. "Each participant does two years in one group and then moves on. The camps build on each other."

Shamblen has been a naturalist for Plymouth County since April 2005.

"This week we have the first and second graders and the third and fourth graders," said Shamblen. "Next Tuesday and Wednesday we have an overnight camp with the fifth and sixth graders. We'll teach them how to cook over a campfire, camping, canoeing, hiking, things like that."

There will also be a hunter's education camp for 11-15 year olds on July 29th.

All the camp registrations are full this summer.