On this page you’ll discover all our Insects, but first…
Interesting Facts about Insects
Creepy, crawly, and a whole lot of fun: Here are some ideas for drawing insects or incorporating them into crafts and educational activities.
- There are so many insects in the world. In the United States alone there are about 90,000 different species of insects. In the entire world, there are an estimated 10 quintillion insects living. There are even more kinds of just beetles than there are of different kinds of plants!
- If you have an easily accessible green patch, take the kids out with a friend, mom or dad, and see how many you can draw and identify just in your part of the world!
- Sure there are lots of accessible and easy-to-use field guides and apps but you might find that it’s also fun starting to make your own!
- The basics: insects have three body parts (thorax, abdomen, and head), two antennae, an exoskeleton, and three pairs of legs.
- This simplicity means that insects are easy to draw and label. Try drawing an insect and another creature and comparing the number of body parts that you can label and identify. It’ll probably be a pretty big difference!
- Bugs and insects are not exactly the same thing. Bugs are a specific type of insect-for instance, they suck juice from plants with a mouth that is shaped like a straw and called a stylet.
- So, when you’re done drawing your insects, do as the bugs do and indulge in some bug juice! Make your own recipe or try a simple one found online.
- Insects are resilient! Ants can lift 50 times their body weight. Cockroaches can live for 9 days without their head. They are basically superheroes! Children might be more interested and open to learning insect facts with this in mind.
- Challenge them to draw and design their own bug/insect superheroes! They might even be able to make a whole insect comic book.