What is an insect?

Ask your kids to describe insects. Their answers may be very general or more specific, so
depending on what you feel they already know about insects, you will probably want to pick
and choose which parts of this teaching tip you use. You might also want to use our Insect
Activities for PreK! to give your kids more handson e"perience#
Activity #1
$elp your kids write a list of every insect they can think of. Younger ones %preschool and
kindergarteners& might want to draw a picture list, write their list on the chalkboard, or dictate
their list for you to write out. 'ncourage them to include anything they think is an insect since
the goal of this activity is to develop thoughts. As your study continues, they will be able to
look over their lists again and cross off any items they included at first that are really not
insects %such as spiders or rolypolys&.
$ow can you tell an insect from a bug or other creepycrawly creature( Ask older kids %first
and second graders& to describe characteristics that insects have in common. Younger kids
can do this too, )ust get them started with some e"amples, such as *insects have eyes* or
*insects do not have tails.* +ee the Insect Anatomy section for more ways to tell.
Activity #2
,isual learners will especially benefit from browsing nature maga-ines, books,
encyclopedias, or the internet for pictures of different insects. %A .oogle image search for
*insects* will bring up some great photos.& $ave them try to find a picture of each insect on
their list or ask them to find one picture that shows each of the characteristics they
mentioned.
$ow big are the insects you have seen( %.et younger kids to show you with their hands/
older kids might estimate the si-e of particular insects.& +ome adult insects are less than 0
mm long/ that*s really tiny# 1n the other hand, some rare stick insects in +outh America can
grow all the way up to 23 cm %about 04*& long. %+how the contrast between how big and small
these dimensions are on a ruler.&
Insect Anatomy
5o insects have bones( Insects do not have a backbone like humans and many other animals
do. In fact, insects do not have any bones/ they have a hard e"oskeleton instead. *'"o* means
outside, so that means that the skeleton is on the outside of the insect*s body instead of on the
inside like in our bodies. 5id you know that insects are related to crabs and lobsters, which
also have e"oskeletons(

Thinking +cientifically6 Animals that have a backbone are called vertebrates can you think
of any vertebrates(. Any animals that do not have a backbone, like insects, are called
invertebrates.
All insects have three main body parts6 a head, thorax, and abdomen. It*s important to know
these parts in order. It helps to think of the thora" as being sandwiched in between the head
%which is at the top )ust like your own head& and the abdomen %at the bottom&.

Head6 An insect has a small head that is a lot like your own head because it holds the insect*s
brain, eyes, and mouth. Insects also have special feelers called antennae that stick out of the
top of their heads. They use their antennae to smell and feel because they do not have noses
and hands like we do.
Thinking +cientifically6 You may have heard the word antenna before, but have you ever
heard anyone say antennae %pronounced6 antenI&( 5id you know that *antennae* is )ust the
plural form of the word *antenna*( 7hen we say *antenna,* we are talking about one and when
we say *antennae,* we are talking about two or more, )ust like when we say *shoe* we are
talking one shoe, and when we say *shoes* we are talking about a pair of shoes.
Eyes6 Insect eyes are much different from human eyes %called simple eyes&. In fact, insects do
not even see things the same way we do# They have two compound eyes with many different
lenses to see out of instead of )ust one lens in each eye like we do. 'ach compound eye can
have anywhere from ! to 28,888 different surfaces that are very sensitive to light. 9ompound
eyes cannot see very much detail or things that are far away. They can see e"tremely :uick
movements and things that are close to them, though. If insects did not have compound eyes,
they would have a very difficult time surviving and finding food# $ave you ever tried to swat
a fly( 7hat happened when you got close to it( It probably flew away the second you got
close enough to swat it. That is because a fly*s compound eyes bulge out of its head so it can
see motion all around its body and see when you are coming closer to it.

Thinking +cientifically6 +ome insects, like grasshoppers, have compound eyes and normal
eyes %called simple eyes&# 7ith simple eyes, they can see a lot more detail and see things that
are far away.
9lick these links to see some close up pictures of compound eyes6
Compound insect eye
A dragonfly's compound eyes

,isit this site with your kids and help them do the activity to learn more about compound
eyes6 Insect 'ye '"am

Thorax6 ;ight
below the insect*s head is a middle section called the thora". The thora" of an insect is kind of
like your chest, e"cept insects have si" legs that come out of their thora"# Insect legs have
special )oints %sort of like your knees& and tiny barbs on the ends instead of toes. <any kinds
of insects have one or two pairs of wings attached to their thora".

Thinking +cientifically6 1n insects, wings are always in pairs, )ust like on airplanes. <ost
adult insects have two pairs of wings, but some only have one pair, and some don*t have any
wings at all# 9an you think of any insects that do not have wings( 9an you think of some
with two pairs and some with only one pair( %Answers will vary, but here is an e"ample6
walking sticks do not have wings, grasshoppers have two pairs, and flies have only one pair
of wings. There are more, can you think of any(&
Abdomen6 The part below an insect*s thora" is called the abdomen. It is the largest part of the
insect*s body and contains its stomach, )ust like your abdomen does. It also contains the
insect*s reproductive system. Insects can reproduce %have babies& very :uickly. <ost insects
reproduce by laying eggs, like chickens do, only insect eggs are very tiny and have soft
shells.

Thinking +cientifically6 To be a true insect, a creature must have a head, thora", and
abdomen, si" legs, two antennae and an e"oskeleton. Anything that does not have at least
those characteristics is not an insect. +piders have eight legs and two main body parts. Are
they insects( =o, they sure aren*t# +piders belong to a class called arachnids. 7e do
sometimes clump insects, spiders, centipedes, ticks, and others together and call them *bugs.*
You can print out a worksheet for your kids to color and label the basic insect body parts
here6 Insect Printout at 'nchanted >earning
%Please note that this site is subscription based, but they offer many other coloring and work
sheets about insects for free.&
Where do insects live?
Insects can be found almost everywhere on the 'arth. They live in the ground, on top of the
ground, in the air, under logs and rock, inside and outside of plants, flowers, and trees, and
even on other animals# 5id you know that some bugs can even survive in the e"tremely cold
temperatures of Antarctica( %Ask older kids to tell you what they know about Antarctica and
point it out on a globe or map. Ask them how different temperatures affect life.& +tarting with
your backyard, help your kids identify different areas where different types of insects might
live. ?or e"ample, in tall grass or weeds, in trees, flower gardens, vegetable gardens, etc.
Then think of forest areas %inside of rotting logs, on healthy trees, under rocks, etc.& and areas
along the banks of ponds, stream, lakes, rivers, and oceans. $ave your kids try to guess what
kinds of special characteristics certain insects might need to live in these different areas. Try
to have them make distinctions between insects that live in wet places versus dry places and
cool climates versus hot ones, etc.
What do you think insects need to live? @rainstorm about ways insects can get the things
they need. 9ompare these things to what humans and other animals need for life.
The things insects need to survive are6 food %protein&, water, warmth during cold winter
months, and shelter %from weather and predators&. 5ifferent types of insects need different
amounts of these elements and they obtain them in different ways. 9an you think of how an
insect that lives in your backyard might need different things than an insect that lives in a
pond(

Review questions6 7hat kinds of insects have you seen recently( 7here did they live( 7hat
types of insects do you think you might find in your backyard( 7hat about if you were in a
forest or near a pond(
Classification
There are over 0 million known species of insects %and only around 4,A88 species of
mammals&, and many more that have not even been discovered yet# As you can imagine, it
must be hard for scientists to keep track of that many different insects. To help them out with
such a big )ob, they came up with a system to sort all insects into different groups. This is
called classifying. 9lassification is used for all kinds of animals, such as cats, dogs, pigs,
salamanders, fish, and turtles.
We use classification for many other things too; can you think of any? %'"ample6 books,
food, clothes, families, and )obs.& Insects are classified by their various characteristics.
%'"ample6 >adybugs have si" legs and hard outer wings. .rasshoppers have si" legs and
leathery wings. +piders have eight legs and only two main body parts, so they are not
classified as insects.&
To teach your kids more about how classification works, make a set of classification cards.
@elow is one idea, but these cards can be used in many different ways to correlate with your
lesson planning, or )ust for fun#
1. Print pictures (from the internet) on cardstock, or glue pictures from magazines onto
index cards.
. !ake se"eral statement cards #ith one insect characteristic on each, such as
'$nsects ha"e six legs' or '$nsects #ith #ings,' on each card. !ake sure you ha"e
enough picture cards to classify at least t#o insects under each statement card. (%or
kids #ho aren't reading yet, try using colored construction paper and practice
matching instead.)
&. 'pread out the picture cards (face up) on a ta(le or the floor and pile the statement
cards face do#n.
). *ake turns dra#ing one statement card and then choosing one picture card that goes
#ith the statement. Place the statement card (#riting side up) #ith the picture card
(elo# it. *he next person can either place another picture card under the same
statement, or choose a ne# statement and picture.