Understanding God's World Chapter 2: Insects

Thorax - The "engine room" of an insect

Mole cricket - The insect with scissors on its front legs

Is an earthworm an insect? How do you know? - No; doesnt have six legs
 

What insect uses its hind legs for oars? - Back swimmer
 

Active after dark - Nocturnal
 

Why is a spider not an insect? -It has more than six legs

To which section of its body are an insects' wings attached? - Thorax

Why are wings important to insects? - Adult insects often must travel long distances to get food or to find the right place to lay their eggs.

Insects that migrate - Butterflies, locusts, ladybugs

Why do you think wings are not necessary for insects like fleas and some grasshoppers? - They have very powerful legs that enable them to travel great distances by jumping.

Three stages of incomplete metamorphosis

1. Egg
2. Nymph
3. Adult

How are crickets and moths alike? Both are nocturnal

Which cricket chirps, male or female?  Male

How are butterflies and grasshoppers alike? Both are active during the day

Body temperature changes as the outside temperature changes - Cold-blooded

Three ways to tell the differences between grasshoppers and crickets

1. Grasshopper's wings meet in a peak like a roof; cricket's lie flat
2. Grasshopper's antennae may be long or short; cricket's antennae are long and slender
3. Grasshoppers are active during the day; crickets at night

 

How can you tell the difference between a male and female cricket?

Male cricket chirps; female has an ovipositor

Predator - An animal that captures and feeds on other animals

Camouflage - Markings on an insect's body that causes them to blend in with their surroundings

Mimicry - A harmless animal looks like a harmful one

Monarch & Milkweed butterflies - Insect that uses bad taste for protection

Insect that uses camouflage for protection - Dead leaf butterfly, measuring worm moth, praying mantis in Thailand

Insect that uses bad odor for protection - Bombardier beetle, stinkbugs, lacewings, carrion beetle

Insect that uses jumping for protection - Grasshopper

Insect that uses chemical defense - Termite, bombardier beetle

Insects that use parts of their body to defend themselves - Jerusalem crickets, giant water bugs, beetles, earwigs, bees, wasps

How does the viceroy butterfly escape its enemies? - It mimics the monarch which is a bad-tasting insect.

What is the defense of the swallowtail caterpillar? - It has patches of color to look like big eyes to scare predators.

How is the dead leaf butterfly camouflaged? - When its wings are folded, it looks like a dead leaf.

Could a viceroy butterfly have decided, thousands of years ago, that it would be a good idea to look like a monarch butterfly and make the necessary changes? - No.

Which insect mimics the yellow jacket? Syrphid fly

How do insects communicate?

1. Sight

2. Smell
3. Touch
4. Dancing
5. Sound

How do honeybees tell their fellow bees where to find a good food supply? By doing a round or waggle dance that tells the direction and how far to travel.

What insects can make sounds like a flute? Males of some fruit flies.

What helps an insect to pick up sound vibrations? The sensilla on its body.

A God-given ability or behavior that is inherited rather than learned called instinct.

What is the name for an insect that lives in the water? Aquatic insect

An animal or plant that attaches itself to another animal or plant and feeds on it called parasite.

The animal or plant that a parasite lives on called host

A chemical used to kill insects: insecticide

What is the difference between a predator and a parasite? Predator captures and feeds on other animals. Parasites attaches itself to a plant or animal and feeds on it.

 

Examples of parasitic insects: Parasitic wasps, mud dauber wasps, lice

Why is it important to control the mosquito population? Mosquitoes carry many diseases

Insect that builds a house which it can carry about with him: Caddis worm

Ladybug is an insect who is a great help to farmers. 

Where do most insects lay their eggs? On or near a source of food

One way to control mosquito populations. Filling in ponds or pools

Tiny hears for hearing and sensing called sensilla

A young insect which looks almost like an adult: Nymph

Compound eyes: The eyes which enable an insect to see in almost all directions at once.