Insects

A Pictionary
 A for Ant
 Ants are one of the most
common insects in the
world.
 Ants are a very organized
species. They always live in
colonies.
 The head of the colony is
always a female ant and it is
called the queen ant. The
male ants are called workers
or soldier ants. They are
sometimes also called as
drones.
 B for Buckeye Butterfly
 The buckeye is a medium-sized
butterfly with two large multicolored
eyespots on hindwings and one large
eyespot on forewings. The
background color of the buckeye is
mostly brown.
 Male buckeyes perch during the day
on low plants or bare ground to watch
for females. They fly often to patrol
their territory or to chase other flying
insects.
 The buckeye is often seen perching on
protruding branches or resting on bare
ground. Females lay eggs one at a time
on leaf buds or on upperside of host
plant leaves.
 C for Cicadas
 The cicada is related to the harvest
fly.
 Some cicada's live underground for
seventeen years.
 The cicada grows up to three
inches.
 Cicadas suck juice from tree roots
when they are larva.
 Once the female cicada comes
above ground, she mates. Then she
lays her eggs and dies
 The cicada can lay four hundred to
six hundred eggs.
 A cicada can chirp so loud you can
hear it from half a mile away.
 A male cicada abdomen has two
drum like sound chambers.
 D for DragonFly
 It is characterized by large
multifaceted eyes, two pairs of
strong, transparent wings, and
an elongated body.
 Dragonflies typically eat
mosquitoes and other small
insects.
 They are therefore valued as
predators, since they help
control populations of harmful
insects.
 Dragonflies are usually found
around lakes, ponds, streams.
 Dragonflies do not bite or sting
humans.
 E for Earwigs
 The name originates from the
superstition that earwigs crawl
into the ears of sleeping
persons and bore into the
brain. Although earwigs
appear somewhat dangerous
due to their forceps, they are
practically harmless to man.
 They may be winged or
wingless. Only a few are good
fliers.
 The body terminates in a pair
of claw like structures. They
are called pincers and are used
in capturing prey and mating.
 F for FireFly
 "Firefly" is the common name for
the nocturnal (night-time)
luminous (glowing) insects
belonging to the beetle family .
 Some people call them "lightning
bugs".
 Female fireflies lay their eggs in
the soil. The eggs hatch about
four weeks later into larvae.
 The larvae sometimes glow, and
are commonly known as
"glowworms". Firefly eggs are
also reported to glow.
 It is believed that some adult
fireflies do not eat. Other kinds
feed on pollen and nectar.
 G for Grass Hopper
 Grasshoppers exist in a
variety of colors!
 In many places around the
world, grasshoppers are
eaten as a good source of
protein!
 In the movie A Bug's Life,
the heroes are the members
of an ant colony, and the
lead villain and his
henchmen are grasshoppers.
The lead villain is then
eaten by a bird.
 H for Honey Bee
 Honey bees (or honeybees) are
insects that store honey and they
construct their nests out of beeswax
 Honey is made when the nectar and
sweet deposits from plants and trees
are gathered, modified and stored in
the honeycomb by honey bees.
 Bees collect pollen in the pollen
basket and carry it back to the hive.
In the hive, pollen is used as a
protein source necessary during
brood-rearing.
 All honey bees live in colonies
where the worker bees will sting
intruders as a form of defense.
 Worker bees of a certain age will
secrete beeswax. They use the wax
to form the walls and caps of the
comb.
 I for Io Moth
 The Io moth, named for a
character in Greek mythology, has
a very obvious black eyespot on
each hindwing.
 Males are golden yellow in color,
but females are more brown.
 Both have one big black to bluish
eyespot with some white in the
center, on each hindwing, a
defense mechanism meant to
frighten off potential predators.
 Both sexes are attracted to lights
and fly.
 The number of male io moths is
more than the number of female
moths.
 J for Japanese Beetle
 The Japanese beetle is brilliantly
colored, oval, and less than half an
inch long. Wing colors are coppery
with fine lines that run the length of its
wing cases, and the body is a beautiful
metallic green.
 The five tufts of white hairs
projecting from under the wing covers
on each side and the two patches of
white hairs at the tip of the abdomen
are the distinguishing characteristics.
 Adults feed in the daytime from early
June to Labor Day. They devour
leaves as well as flowers. Leaf tissue
is eaten between the veins so that the
foliage looks somewhat like lace.
 K for Katydids
 Katydids get their name from the way
their songs sound.
 Their antennae which may be two or
three times the length of their body.
These antennae are covered with
sensory receptors that allow katydids
to find their way around in the dark,
when most of them are active.
 Few other groups in the insect world
have as wide a range of survival
tactics as katydids. Katydids do
everything from posing as remarkably
life-like leaves to mimicking other
insects in their attempts to make it
through the day without being eaten.
 L for Lady bird
 Ladybirds are generally
considered useful insects
 They feed on scale insects
which are pests in gardens,
agricultural fields, and
orchards.
 Some people consider
seeing them or having them
land on one's body to be a
sign of good luck to come,
and that killing them is bad
luck.
 M for Mosquito
 The average life span of the
female mosquito is 3 to 100
days; the male's is 10 to 20
days.
 Mosquito adults feed on flower
nectar and juices of fruits for
flight energy.
 The female requires a blood
meal for egg development
 Female Mosquitoes are
attracted to carbon-dioxide and
will pierce the skin of people
and other warm-blooded
animals to suck blood, causing a
painful swelling.
 They are carriers of the
dangerous virus that causes
malaria.
 N for Nephila Clavata
 Nephila clavata, is a type of
spider.
 It can be found throughout
Japan,Taiwan and China.
 Due to the large size as well
as the bright, unique colors of
the species of the female
Nephila, the spider is well-
favored in Japan.
 The web of female Nephila
can reach one meter in width;
the yellow threads appear rich
gold in sunlight. The adult
female individual has stripes
of yellow and dark blur blue,
and adds red around the
spinneret.
 O for Orb Weaver Spider
 The orb-weaver spiders are the
builders of spiral wheel-shaped
webs often found in gardens,
fields and forests.
 Characteristically, the prey
insect that blunders into the
sticky lines is stunned by a
quick bite and then wrapped in
silk. If the prey is a venomous
insect, such as a wasp,
wrapping may precede biting.
 P for Paper Wasp
 Taking a drink from the
moisture that gathered on the
surface of this tropical plant,
this paper wasp builds clusters
of hexagonal paper cells.
 Mixing masticated wood pulp
with adhesive saliva, these
paper nest cells act as larval
nesting chambers for the young
wasps.
 The Chinese inventor of paper
was legend to have been
inspired by observing these
wasps chewing bark.
 R for Red Pierrot
 The Red Pierrot is a small
but striking butterfly found
in South Asia.
 Red Pierrots, flying weakly
around and perching on the
Kalanchoe plant, are
usually noticed by excited
children in gardens due to
their beautiful striking
patterns and colours.
 S for Stick Insect
 A stick insect looks just
like a stick.
 Since it looks like a twig it
is very difficult to find
them.
 Many stick insects are
easy to care for, and make
good pets mainly the
Indian stick insect.
 T for Termites
 A queen termite can lay thirty
thousand eggs a day.
 Termites have been called the
white ant.
 Like ants, termites live in
colonies.
 The most common termite is the
black mound termite.
 Each termite has there own job.
 The termites build their homes in
the ground.
 There are twenty-one hundred
species of termites.
 Some workers have no eyes.
 Common termite mounds can be
up to 2 feet high!
 V for Velvet Ant
 It's easy to see why this insect is
called a velvet ant, but
surprisingly, it's not an ant at all!
This is a wingless female wasp.
 Its body shape is like that of an
ant, so wingless females are often
mistaken for large ants.
 Male velvet ants have wings, are
usually bigger than the female,
but are rarely seen by people.
 They are sometimes seen flying
low to the ground looking for
females to mate with.
 W for Wasp
 Wasps are prolific
caterpillar hunters.
 Paralyzed caterpillars are
used as food for their
young while they develop
in sand burrows.
 Wasp females are
dangerous just like their
counterpart mosquitoes.
The Females sting with
their modified egg laying
apparatus when they are
‘bug’-ged
 X for Xysticus
 Xysticus is a type of crab
spiders.
 Xysticus are the dark brown
or reddish-brown crab
spiders often encountered
on weeds or trees.
 They have shorter, sturdier
legs and more patterned
abdomens.
 They move slowly, and tend
to hunt by stationing
themselves in a high-traffic
area and grabbing whatever
insect passes close enough.
 Y for Yellow Crazy Ant
 The yellow crazy ant is
a species of ant
introduced accidentally
to northern Australia
 It is a pest.
 It is colloquially called
"crazy" because of its
erratic movements when
disturbed, is one of the
largest invasive ants
species in the world. .
Z for Zebra Long Wing Butterfly
 The Zebra long wing
butterfly, as it name
indicates has long wings
with zebra like stripes.
 They are most common in
North America and certain
parts of South America such
as Venezuela
 They are the official
butterfly of Florida (USA)