LER 0789
ages años ans jahre
3 +
grades PreK+
Jumbo Insects
Animales de la jungla jumbo • Animaux de la jungle géants
Jumbo Dschungeltiere
Activity Guide
Guía de actividades • Guide d’activités
Spielvorschläge
Insect Facts
Ant
• People often confuse ants with termites because of their similar appearances. Carpenter ants do share one characteristic with termites: they nest in wood and can damage buildings over time.
• Ants work together very well. They communicate by secreting chemicals that alert others to danger or direct them to food.
• Ants can build nests in many places, not just in mounds on the ground. These resourceful creatures use soil and plant matter to create homes inside and under logs, in trees—even in acorns!
• Ants can lift 50 times their own body weight with their jaws. An average person with this kind of strength would be able to lift a small car!
• Ants existed 130 million years ago, at the same time dinosaurs roamed Earth.
Fly
• There are more than 16,000 fly species in North America alone.
• Although flies have 4,000 lenses in each eye, their vision is poor.
• Houseflies can fly at speeds of up to 5 miles per hour (8 kph) and beat their wings 200 times per second.
• Houseflies have a unique way of eating. They turn solid food into liquid using their sponge-like mouths.
• Flies can smell a scent in the air from over 750 yards (685 m) away—that’s bigger than seven football fields!
Bee
• Honeybee hives provide humans with honey and beeswax. There are three kinds of bees in a hive: worker bees, all of which are female; drone bees, the males; and a single queen.
• The worker bee is the only kind of bee that most people see. It gathers pollen and nectar from flowers, builds and protects the hive, and creates air flow in the hive by beating its wings.
• The queen has one job: to lay eggs to create a new generation of bees.
• During the winter, bees live on honey and pollen while they huddle together to stay warm.
• Did you know that bees are the only insect in the world that makes food (honey) for humans to eat?
Ladybug
• Ladybugs are best known for their beautiful spots, but they also help farmers by protecting crops from plant-eating insects such as aphids.
• Ladybugs’ spots, while attractive to humans, are meant to keep predators away. Ladybugs also play dead to protect themselves.
• There are about 5,000 different species of ladybugs, which come in many colors—some ladybugs don’t even have spots!
• Ladybugs are beetles. There is one main difference between beetles and bugs: beetles are insects that have domed shells; bugs are insects that have front wings.
• During the fall and winter, ladybugs hibernate in large groups under leaves and behind tree bark.
Grasshopper
• Grasshoppers have powerful hind legs that can propel them to distances over 20 times their own body length!
• Grasshoppers live in grass habitats, caves, deserts, and seashores.
• Because grasshoppers do not breathe oxygen, their blood is green!
• Because of their enormous appetites, grasshoppers are a threat to farming.
Grasshoppers will feed on crops of cotton, clover, wheat, and barley.
• Grasshoppers make noises that sound like singing by rubbing their hind legs together, or by clattering their wings while in flight.
Butterfly
• Monarch butterflies migrate by the millions to California and Mexico each winter. The insects begin this journey each fall ahead of cold weather that can harm them if they remain in it too long.
• Butterflies begin life as larvae. Then, in the pupa stage, they rest in a protective skin called a chrysalis. Eventually, they emerge from the chrysalis in the familiar form of winged black-and-orange butterflies.
• Butterflies are part of an insect species whose name means “scaly wings” in Greek.
• Butterflies are not able to fly if their body temperatures dip below 86°F (30°C).
• Monarch butterflies can fly 1,000 miles (1609 km) without stopping to rest!
Dragonfly
• Dragonflies belong to a different insect order than common houseflies. Dragonflies have longer bodies than flies, as well as thinner, almost transparent wings, and small antennae.
• Dragonflies have a unique sense of sight. Their eyes contain 30,000 individual lenses and they have a 360° field of vision.
• Dragonflies are mobile flyers, often compared to helicopters. Dragonflies can also hover for a minute at a time.
• Dragonflies frequently gather around clean water sources to spend the majority of their lives underwater in the larval stage.
• Dragonflies are very beneficial to humans in controlling the mosquito population. An adult dragonfly eats 50 mosquitoes a day!
Discussion Starters
In addition to providing great opportunities for pretend play, Jumbo Insects are helpful early science discussion starters. Ask questions, such as the following, to help students understand the similarities and the differences between the insects.
Does the coloring of any of the insects help it blend into its natural habitat?
Which characteristics helped ants outlive dinosaurs?
Imagine you are as strong as an ant. Which objects would you try to lift?
Which insect is a beetle?
Which insect spends most of its life near water?
Which insects can be harmful to farming?
Questions like these help students develop early classification skills based on the characteristics of the insects.
Design a Habitat
Challenge students to use crayons and paper to design one of the insects in its natural habitat. Make sure the students consider the basic needs of the insects including food and shelter.
Care Instructions
To clean, wipe the surfaces of the insects with a damp cloth. Dry immediately. To prevent water from trapping inside the insects, do not immerse them in water. Pieces are not dishwasher safe.
ES
Diseña un hábitat
Reta a los alumnos a utilizar papel y ceras para dibujar uno de los insectos en su hábitat natural. Asegúrate de que los alumnos reflexionan sobre las necesidades básicas de los insectos, como comida y refugio.
Instrucciones para su cuidado
Para limpiarlos, pasa un paño húmedo por la superficie de cada insecto. Sécalos de inmediato. Para evitar que entre agua en los insectos, no los sumerjas. Las piezas no son aptas para lavavajillas.
FR
Créer un habitat
Demandez aux élèves de dessiner, avec des crayons et du papier, l’un de ces insectes dans son habitat naturel.
Veillez à ce qu’ils prennent en compte les besoins élémentaires des insectes, comme la nourriture et un abri.
Instructions concernant l’entretien
Nettoyer la surface des insectes avec un chiffon humide. Essuyer immédiatement. Ne pas les immerger dans l’eau afin d’éviter qu’ils ne se remplissent d’eau. Ne pas mettre les pièces au lave-vaisselle.
DE
Einen Lebensraum gestalten
Lassen Sie die Schüler mit Buntstiften und Papier eines der Insekten in seinem natürlichen Lebensraum malen.
Achten Sie darauf, dass die Schüler auch die Grundbedürfnisse der Insekten wie Nahrung und einen Schlafplatz berücksichtigen.
Aufbewahrung und Pflege
Zum Reinigen die Insekten außen mit einem feuchten Tuch abwischen. Sofort abtrocknen. Nicht in Wasser tauchen, da sonst Wasser in der Insekten-Form verbleiben kann. Die Artikel sind nicht spülmaschinengeeignet.
Jumbo Insects
Animales de la jungla jumbo • Animaux de la jungle géants
Jumbo Dschungeltiere
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Made in China. LRM0789-GUD
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