This list is by no means exhaustive, but highlights a range of areas and focuses on Ontario and Canadian sites. Some of these sites also have extensive links that you can explore.

Bug camp for kids
-at Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory

Fun Stuff

University of Florida's Book of Insect Records. This website is like an academic book, but with catchy chapter titles including largest, longest, loudest, fastest flyer, most spectacular mating, and largest blood meal.

Activities for students, organized by age. Prepared by the Entomological Society of Canada

Finding Latest Ontario Butterfly Observations

For the area from Windsor east to Kingston, a good source to see the latest observations is the group Ontario Butterflies, which is part of Google Groups. For eastern Ontario, see East. Ontario and W. Quebec Butterflies, which is part of Yahoo Groups. Also see Maritimes Butterfly Atlas Google Group.

Butterflies

eButterfly. This is a site for entering butterfly records for Ontario, the rest of Canada, and the US. Records from this site are provided to the TEA for use in our butterfly atlas and our seasonal summary publication (Ontario Lepidoptera).

iNaturalist.ca. This is a site for entering data for any living organism in the world. See particularly the iNaturalist projects Moths of Ontario and Ontario Butterflies, both of which were started by TEA member David Kaposi. Records from this site are provided to the TEA for use in our butterfly and moth atlases and in our seasonal summary publication (Ontario Lepidoptera).

Lepidopterists' Society News and Journal of the Lepidopterists' Society. These two publications of the Lepidopterists' Society are now available for free as full-page image pdfs. The Journal goes from 1947 to 2010 (subsequent isues involve a cost -- see BioOne) and the News goes back to 1959. Both publications are full-text searchable. For example, searching for "Toronto Entomologists' Association" produces 7 hits, including a review of our book "Ontario Butterfly Atlas" in 1994.

Photos of Ontario Butterfly Species by TEA member Rick Cavasin. Contains photos of about 115 of Ontario's 168 butterfly species.

North American Butterfly Association

Insects of Ojibway Nature Centre, Windsor. Includes checklists of Odonota and Lepidoptera, as well as information on fireflies, mayflies, true bugs, underwing moths, spiders, chiggers, etc.

Dragonflies

A good source to see the latest observations is Ont-Odes, which is part of Google Groups.

International Odonata Research Institute -a good starting point for dragonfly info

General insect information

Insect identification at bugguide.net

Canadian National Collection of insects in Ottawa.

Listen to insect sounds at USDA Agricultural Research Centre

Photographs of insects from Iowa State University

Insects as food: Food Insects Newsletter

The Insect Fear Film Festival

Newsletters on spiders published in the Kansas School Naturalist

Canadian Insect Associations, clubs and groups

Entomological Society of Canada

Entomological Society of Ontario. ESO newsletters are posted on their website, and applying for a free membership (available to amateurs and students) entitles you to an e-mail notification when a new issue becomes available.

Alberta Lepidopterists Guild (newsletters are available online)

Monarch Teacher Network of Canada

Monarch Conservation (Don Davis, a TEA member is chair of the board of directors)

Biological Survey of Canada (Terrestrial Arthropods) has a twice-yearly newsletter and a directory of professional entomologists

Ottawa Entomology Club. This is an informal gathering that meets on the 3rd Thursday of each month, from September to April. Contact Dr. Hume Douglas at: hume.douglas@inspection.gc.ca

Toronto Field Naturalists

Ontario Nature

Friends of the Spit (Leslie Spit/Tommy Thompson Park) Toronto

Corporation Entomofaune du Québec

BC Lepidopterists Guild 

Social Media

Monarchs migrating through Ontario (Facebook group)

The Insects and Arachnids of Ontario (Facebook group)

Online platforms for identifying insects and sharing insect observations

Bumble Bee Watch

iNaturalist (all insects)

eButterfly

Supplies related to insects

Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory sells high-quality butterfly nets.

Indigo Instruments (Waterloo, Ontario) has increased its offerings since Bioquip folded. They now feature insect pins, dissecting kits, spreading tools, and foldable magnifiers

Atelier Jean Paquet in Quebec City sells a wide variety of entomological supplies, including spreading boards and insect drawers

Raising Butterlies (US): butterfly nets and rearing cages

US mail-order places:
Ward's
Carolina Biological Supply

Insect Specimens (Papered, Mounted or Framed)

Wildwoodinsecta.com (Kitchener, Ontario). Sells butterflies and other insects mounted in picture frames. See their displays at the regular oneofakind shows in Toronto.

Thorne's Insect Shoppe (London, Ontario)

Sachawild (insects sold from Peru)

Tarax Infinity Products insects in resin. Seems to be based in the 905 area.

Wings of Desire: Asia's Illicit Butterfly Trade -- a TV program about the trade in CITES-protected birdwing butterflies in Indonesia

Live Insects

Raising monarch butterflies and many swallowtail butterflies may require a licence from the Ontario government. The TEA has a permit which covers members who have asked to be on the permit list. See the laws page for details.

Importing live insects into Canada requires a permit from the Agriculture Canada, so it is often much easier to buy insects within Canada. See the laws page for details.

Releasing farmed or raised butterflies at weddings and at school programs may harm wild butterflies. See NABA statement

Canadian suppliers include:

Ralph Sacchetti, Toronto (cecropia cocoons)

Bill Oehlke, PEI (swallowtail butterflies, silkmoths)

Gaia Nature (Dave Clermont) of Granby, Quebec

Butterflies and Roses, Pontroy, Ontario (painted lady butterflies, monarch butterflies)

Natural Insect Control, Stevensville, Ont.

Insect Production and Production Laboratories of the Great Lakes Forestry Centre sells various insects of economic importance as well as artificial diets for rearing these insects.

The Worm Lady (Bombyx mori silkworms, crickets, and other insects to feed to pet reptiles)

Moths

Jason Dombroskie, Moth Checklist (Pembroke Area Field Naturalists, 2003).

Photos for identification: North American Moth Photographers Group; microleps.org; and Butterflies and Moths of North America.

Moth man blog by TEA member Dave Beadle.

The late Jim des Rivières of Ottawa did exhibitions of large-scale (2 feet by 3 feet), extremely-detailed (see individual scales) scans of Ontario moths. see his website for pictures.

Insect Pests

For photos and help in identification and control in Ontario, see Pest Control Canada and Orkin Pest Control. The industry association is the Structural Pest Management Association of Ontario.

Things to do/places to go

Toronto

Toronto Zoo - Malayan Woods & Americas Pavilion. See the zoo's insect guide for visitors.

Humber Bay Butterfly Habitat

Ontario

Niagara Butterfly Conservatory (Niagara Falls, Ontario)

Cambridge Butterfly Conservatory (Cambridge, Ontario)

Entomica (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario)

Other provinces

Montreal Insectarium (Quebec)

Gaia Nature (a live-butterfly facility in Granby, Quebec -- in the Eastern Townships)

Newfoundland Insectarium

Butterfly World Coombs Coombs, BC (outside Victoria)

Victoria Butterfly Gardens Brentwood Bay, Victoria (British Columbia)