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Backyard Explorer 3 to 5 / Week 04 / Monday
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Week 04 · Insects and Pollinators

Monday

What makes an insect an insect
// Six legs, four stages and a flower full of visitors
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: What Makes an Insect an Insect

Rocket crouches by the workshop steps with his orange glasses pushed up. "A beetle! It must have a hundred legs!"

Raven kneels beside him and opens the field notebook. "Count again. Slowly."

Nova hovers low and projects a cyan outline around the beetle. "Count the legs on one side," she says. "Then double it."

Rocket counts under his breath. "Three on each side. Six legs!" Raven writes it down.

A bee gathers pollen on a flower while a caterpillar eats a leaf nearby.

The insect body plan

Insects are the biggest group of animals on Earth.

Every insect has six legs. Every insect has three body parts.

The head holds the eyes, the mouth and two feelers called antennae.

The middle part is the thorax. The legs and wings attach there.

The back part is the abdomen. It holds the stomach and other inside parts.

An insect has no bones inside. Its hard outer covering gives it shape.

Scientists call that covering an exoskeleton. Exo means outside.

Body partWhere it isWhat attaches there
headthe fronteyes, mouth, antennae
thoraxthe middlesix legs, wings
abdomenthe backnothing outside, but many parts inside
INSECT CHECK
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
How many legs does every insect have?
Where do the legs and wings attach?
What are the two feelers on an insect head called?

Not every bug is an insect

People say bug for any small creepy crawly thing. Scientists are more careful.

A spider has eight legs and two body parts. A spider is not an insect.

Spiders belong to a group called arachnids. Ticks and scorpions are arachnids too.

A worm has no legs at all. A worm is not an insect either.

A millipede has far too many legs to be an insect.

When you find a small animal, count its legs. Six legs means insect.

  • Insects: six legs, three body parts, antennae.
  • Spiders: eight legs, two body parts, no antennae.
  • Worms: no legs at all.
  • Most adult insects have wings. Spiders never do.
StatementTrue or false?
A spider is an insect.?
Every insect has six legs.?
Insects have bones inside their bodies.?
The abdomen is the back part of an insect.?
WHY THIS EXERCISESpiders have eight legs, so they are not insects. Insects have a hard outside, not bones.
An insect has ____ body parts.
The middle body part of an insect is the ____.
A spider has ____ legs.
Try it
Look at a window, a porch light or a garden flower for five minutes.
Find one small animal. Do not touch it. Count its legs from where you stand.
Say out loud: insect or not an insect? Tell your grown-up why.
Safety first
Look with your eyes. Never touch an insect or a spider.
Some insects sting and some bite. Stay calm and step back if one comes close.
Stay with your grown-up outside. Wash your hands when you come in.
A small animal has eight legs. Is it an insect? Type yes or no.
WHY THIS EXERCISEEight legs means a spider or another arachnid, not an insect.
Draw an insect with its three body parts labeled. Give it six legs and two antennae.

Great counting, explorer! Tomorrow we follow an insect from egg to adult.