What is your minibeast?

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1 3. Minibeasts

2 What is your minibeast? W9 Describe your minibeast by filling in the table below. no legs six legs more than six legs no wings two wings four wings shell no shell x x x Draw or name your minibeast in the box below. Try and answer these questions: How is a snail different from an earthworm? Which minibeasts have more than six legs? Which minibeasts on the chart are most alike?

3 Where do minibeasts live? W10 Put a tick where you found your minibeast. Remember, don t harm the minibeast in the grass under a stone or log on a flower on a tree somewhere else grasshopper or cricket spider or harvestman centipede or millipede beetle or ladybird butterfly or moth woodlouse flies snail or slug bee or wasp froghopper & other bugs dragonfly damselfly earwig weevil ant worm

4 Minibeast Habitat Investigation W11 We have several different habitats here - long and short grass, log piles and compost heaps, shrubs, trees, stinging nettles and wild flowers. Choose two different habitats to sample and record the number of minibeasts found. You may find it easier to draw a line for each minibeast like so: This would mean you ve found 7 minibeasts grasshopper or cricket spider or harvestman centipede or millipede beetle or ladybird butterfly or moth woodlouse Minibeast Habitat A is: Habitat B is: flies snail slug bee or wasp froghopper & other bugs earwig weevil ant worm What conclusions can be drawn from your results? Was your method of sampling a fair test?

5 An insect has. W12 4 wings (flies have two wings and two balancers) A small number of insects don t have wings. 6 legs a body in 3 parts Tick which animals you think are insects. Then colour them in. butterfly snail worm robin dragonfly bee spider beetle rabbit

Minibeast food chains W13 The list below shows some of the minibeasts that you may find on your visit and what they eat. Use this to help you make some land minibeast food chains.

6 Minibeast food chains W13 The list below shows some of the minibeasts that you may find on your visit and what they eat. Use this to help you make some land minibeast food chains. Minibeast Slug Snail Earthworm Ant Beetle Centipede Millipede Shield bug Ladybird Grasshopper Cricket Spider Woodlouse Earwig Fly Butterflies and moths What it eats Decaying and living plants Decaying and living plants Bacteria, fungi, dead plants Plants, nectar, other insects Other insects Small insects Decaying plants Plant juices Aphids and other small insects Plants Insects and plants Flies and other spiders sometimes Dead plants and animals, fungi Dead plants and other insects Dead plants and animals Nectar eaten by eaten by Producer primary consumer secondary consumer Dead plant Flies Spider

7 Land Minibeast Field Guide ID4 Common Garden Snail White-lipped Snail Slug no legs Earthworm Fly Larva Pupa Butterfly Moth Dragonfly Damselfly Hoverfly Cranefly 6 legs Mosquito Fly Mayfly

Grasshopper Earwig Springtail Ant Spider

8 Protecting Wildlife for the Future ID4 Continued Lacewing Ladybird Caddisfly Aphid Wasp Bee Beetle Weevil 6 legs Shield bug Froghopper bug Mirid bug Cricket spring Grasshopper Earwig Springtail Ant Spider Harvestman Woodlouse Centipede Millipede more than 6 legs

9 A Minibeast Sorting Tree ID5 earwig bee harvestman long thin legs spider medium legs ant no wings wings hidden wings visible wings see-through non seethrough wings butterfly 6 legs millipede slug snail no shell shell no segments body in segments 8 legs no legs many legs 2 pairs legs on each segment 1 pair legs on each segment centipede earthworm 14 legs woodlouse all minibeasts

n) Colour and camouflage I6 Look out for these insects on your visit to Chilston Pines and Ponds or Bull Heath.

It can be used for both hiding and showing off.

some animals also use bright colours as a statement.

mate. Some harmless species will even mimic(copy) the colours of others to protect against predators.

Hoverflies mimic bees or wasps to make predators think they sting.

10 n) Colour and camouflage I6 Look out for these insects on your visit to Chilston Pines and Ponds or Bull Heath. Look carefully to see how they may use their colour. Colour can have two almost opposite uses in animals. It can be used for both hiding and showing off. Most animals use some kind of camouflage to conceal themselves when hunting or being hunted.some animals also use bright colours as a statement. This may be to warn potential predators that the animal is dangerous or has an unpleasant taste or to attract a potential mate. Some harmless species will even mimic(copy) the colours of others to protect against predators. The black and yellow body of the wasp advertises its sting to the whole animal population. Hoverflies mimic bees or wasps to make predators think they sting. The mottled greens and browns of the grasshopper make it indistinguishable from its surrounding vegetation. Large eye-spots on the wings of the peacock butterfly are enough to startle predators giving the butterfly time to get away. A bird attracted to the bright yellow and black caterpillar of the cinnabar moth or the spots on a ladybird will in future associate these colours with the unpleasant taste and never eat one again.

Beautiful butterflies I7 Butterflies are considered by many to be the most beautiful and interesting of insects. Many people watch and collect butterflies as a hobby.

11 Beautiful butterflies I7 Butterflies are considered by many to be the most beautiful and interesting of insects. Many people watch and collect butterflies as a hobby. One of the most distinguishing features of butterflies are their bright and colourful wings of many different patterns. There are around 18,000 species of butterflies. They are found throughout the world. Stages of Life of a Butterfly The butterfly has a very interesting life cycle that includes four stages: 1) Egg - Butterflies are born from eggs. The eggs are attached to a leaf of a plant with a special type of glue. The butterfly egg stage usually only lasts for a couple of weeks. 2) Larva or Caterpiller - When the butterfly egg hatches, out comes a caterpillar. Caterpillars are long multi-legged insects that make up the larva stage. They eat mostly plants and moult (shed their skin) regularly as they outgrow their skin. 3) Pupa - The third stage of the Butterfly lifecycle is called the Pupa. The larva (caterpiller) attaches itself to usually the underside of a leaf, or a grass stem. At this point the caterpiller moults one last time and during the pupal stage undergoes metamorphasis into a full butterfly. When the butterfly first comes out of the pupal stage it can't fly. It takes some times for the butterfly to unfold its wings so it can fly. 4) Adult Butterfly or Imago - The final stage is the full winged flying butterfly. It is often thought that this last stage of life for a butterfly is very short. The length of life for the final stage is varied, however. Depending on the species, butterflies can live for one week (eg the Painted lady butterfly) or up to a year (eg the Monarch butterfly). The adult butterfly has four wings that are covered with tiny scales that give them their colourful and diverse designs. They have six legs, antenna, head, compound eyes, a thorax, and an abdomen. They can sense the air for nector and other scents with their antennas. Butterflies also have fairly good eye sight. Butterflies play an important part in ecology as pollinators. Adult butterflies eat a sugary water only liquid - nectar, fruit juice, and tree sap, but they mostly live off of nectar from flowers. Some butterflies will migrate over long distances. The monarch butterfly, for example, will migrate up to 2500 miles from Mexico to North America.

12 Butterfly lifecycle wheel F4 1. Cut around the circle below 2. Cut a triangular section out of a small paper plate 3. Put a split pin through both the centre of the plate and centre of the wheel 4. You can now turn the plate around the butterfly wheel to view the different parts of its lifecycle

13 Dragonfly lifecycle wheel F6 1. Cut around the circle below 2. Cut a triangular section out of a small paper plate 3. Put a split pin through both the centre of the plate and centre of the wheel 4. You can now turn the plate around the dragonfly wheel to view the different parts of its lifecycle

14 Butterfly maze F12 Can you help the butterfly find its caterpillar?

15 Looking at ladybirds F16

Let s Learn About Insects!

Let s Learn About Insects! All photos and text by Kris H. Light Copyright 2008 All rights reserved What is the difference between an insect and a spider? Insects: have 3 body parts have 6 legs can have