What do insects look like?
Insects have three body parts - a head, thorax and an abdomen. You can see the sections on the bee below. You know where your head is but where would you find your thorax? And what about your abdomen?
Insects also have three pairs of legs, making six in total. Have a look at the Giant Burrowing Cockroach. How do you think having six legs is useful for this insect? Find out more about this interesting insect here.
Can you see the antennae coming out from under the cockroaches hard exoskeleton? Why do insects have antennae? Have a think about what we use instead of antennae.
Insects also have three pairs of legs, making six in total. Have a look at the Giant Burrowing Cockroach. How do you think having six legs is useful for this insect? Find out more about this interesting insect here.
Can you see the antennae coming out from under the cockroaches hard exoskeleton? Why do insects have antennae? Have a think about what we use instead of antennae.
Do all insects have wings?
Not all insects have wings and there are a few reasons for this. Read this response by David Richman, an entomologist who explains why.
Find some pictures of insects that
Do you notice any similarities between the pictures of the groups of insects?
Find some pictures of insects that
- have wings
- don't have wings
- have wings that are too small to use
Do you notice any similarities between the pictures of the groups of insects?
What would an insect see if it looked at you?
We know that insects' eyes are different from ours but how different are they?
Insects have compound eyes and this means that they have multiple lens within their eye so that they can see lots of images and detect movement more easily.
We have two lens, one in each eye, and our brain puts together those images so that we see one three-dimensional image.
Why are insects different colours?
Some insects hide by being the same colour as their surroundings. This is called camouflage. Can you find the insects in these pictures?
Other insects are brightly coloured to scare or warn predators away. Find some examples here. If you were an insect, what colours and patterns would you use to warn away predators?
Other insects are brightly coloured to scare or warn predators away. Find some examples here. If you were an insect, what colours and patterns would you use to warn away predators?
