Did you know that there are more insects in the world than all the other animals in the world? Students in this lesson will learn about the body parts and life cycle of insects while also learning how insects can be helpful but also harmful for humans. Enjoy a fun activity outside looking for insects and their current life cycle.
In nature, springtime is known for being when babies are born. During April and May deer, raccoons, possums, coyotes and many more wild animals are having babies. Fish and frogs are laying eggs. Many insects are laying eggs too!
Have you ever noticed all the insects on a warm spring day? Bees, flies, butterflies and many more. That’s because they have a lot of work to do to survive and to make more insects.
Did you know that there are more insects in the world than any other animals? Way more!!! The human population is over 7 billion. That’s a seven followed by nine zeros. But there are over 10 quintillion insects on earth. That’s a 10 followed by 18 zeros! The weight of all the ants in the world is equal to the weight of all of the people in the world.
Insects can come in many shapes and sizes, but most insects have three major body parts: Head, thorax and abdomen. Like us, the brain, mouth, eyes and other parts are located on the head. The thorax is where the legs and wings are attached. All insects have six legs. The heart, digestive organs and many other organs are located in the abdomen.
Insects have different types of life cycles but the most common one is complete metamorphosis. Below is a diagram of this:
Many insects spend the winter as a pupa. When it warms up, the pupa comes out of hibernation and the adult emerges to start the lifecycle.
Insects affect our lives every day. They have a huge impact on the production of our food. Farmers try to control the insects to keep them from harming our food supply and they do their best to avoid hurting the insects that are helpful. Understand that insects may bug us but our planet depends on them for life!
Go outside and see how many different types of insects that you can find. Turn over rocks, get on your knees and look in the grass, and look at the bottom of leaves. See if you can find all stages of complete metamorphosis: egg, lava, Pupae and adult!
Complete the Insect Worksheet to test your knowledge about insects.
How a Caterpillar Becomes a Butterfly Provided by SciShow Kids
Butterfly: A Life Provided by National Geographic
The Bugs of the World Could Squish Us All provided by FiveThirtyEight
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As the need to produce more food with less resources grows, it is important that future generations have a better understanding of agriculture and how corn farming and agriculture fit into our daily lives. That’s why the Kansas Corn STEM program provides lessons to teach science through the lens of corn. We are committed to providing free materials and training to support educators.
