Meet the Insects
Insects are really cool. Come on and meet some!
Today we will get to know some of the insects. We'll be learning interesting facts, looking at pictures, and even taking a look at insects under a microscope. You do not have to learn all of this. It is just for fun and so that you can discover all of the many worlds of insects.
There are more insects in one square mile of rural land than there are human beings on the entire earth.
No one really knows why some insects are attracted to light. Most scientists think that bright lights confuse the insects' guidance systems so they can't fly straight anymore.
The blood of mammals is red, the blood of lobsters is blue, and the blood of insects is yellow.
Insects do have teeth, however they are referred to as fangs or mandibles.
Some sea creatures, like crabs and lobsters, and centipedes and spiders have skeletons on the outside of their bodies too. They are not insects but they are related to insects. All of them belong to the family of arthropods.
Ticks are Arachnids (they have eight legs) and are related to the Spider and Scorpion.
The smallest insect in the world, the Tanzanian parasitic wasp, is smaller than the eye on a housefly. The largest insect is the goliath beetle, which can grow up to four and half inches long.
Each person has 792 muscles in their bodies, while caterpillars have a wopping 4,000 muscles in their bodies.
A flea can jump about two hundred times the length of their own body, which is about thirteen inches. This is the equivalent to a six foot tall human jumping nine hundred feet.
Aphids are born pregnant and can give birth when they are only ten days old.
Scientists believe the Mayfly is the most primitive present-day insect around.
Ant brains are largest amongst insects. An ant's brain may have the same processing power as a Macintosh II computer. The abdomen of the ant contains two stomachs. One stomach holds the food for itself and second stomach is for food to be shared with other ants.
Termites have been known to eat food twice as fast when heavy metal music is playing.
Scientists recently discovered that insects such as cockroaches and honeybees make collective decisions and use voting to help decide where to make their next home.
Many people think that water bugs are beetles. They are not beetles but what are known as true bugs. True bugs have sucking mouthparts that originate from the tips of their head. Some female Giant Water bugs will “glue” over one hundred eggs to the back of the male. He carries the eggs around for a week or so until they hatch. What a Dad!
Let's Look at Some Insects Under a Microscope
Electron microscopes are devices that can magnify things to look many times bigger than they actually are. Magnifications of 5 to 1500 times can be achieved. We'll go to the links below and see how insects look really close up.
1. Federal Bug Intelligence Agency (FBIA) seeks your help in locating a gang of notorious creepy crawlies! Please study these wanted posters and notify the FBIA if you know the whereabouts of any of these characters.
2. The Twelve Most Wanted Bug Mugs Be on the look out for these guys!
3. The Twelve Most Wanted Bug Bodies Special alerts now out on these guys!
Be a Bug Collector
This is something you can try when you go out to play. To observe insects more closely, take a white towel or other cloth outside and spread it under a plant (be sure to ask if the towel is okay to take). Shake the plant or wiggle it with a stick. See if any insects fall out onto the cloth. Quickly transfer the insects to a collection jar with holes for air
Closely observe your insects. Draw them in an insect journal, paying close attention to details. Write what kind of insect you found, what it looks like, and what you like or don't like about it. When you are finished, remember to release your insects where you found them.
