Insect Investigation
Discover what is an insect, why there are so many different kinds, and get outside to catch some of your own!
Then try the investigative project prompts to get into the mind of an insect. And enjoy the additional activities as well!
What is an insect? They need to have two things:
- Has three body segments (head, thorax, abdomen)
- Has six legs
Investigative Prompt
Bug Catching
On your next outing, find in a safe nature space, try to find a place with tall grass or undisturbed rocks. See if you can catch and insects or bugs!
Helpful tips:
- Use a pillow case for flying insects in a swooping motion
- Use tupperware to contain your bug while you investigate it
- Be gentle when closing the lid to avoid squishing any legs or antennae
What did you find?
Use some of the guides in the investigative folder to help you identify what you caught and see if you can tell if it is a true insect or not. You can also journal a description of the insect or draw a picture for further study.
Bonus challenge: see if you can find all four pieces to your bug’s habitat (food, water, shelter, and space).
Investigative resources
Project Prompt
Option 1: Buggy Skit
Pretend you are an insect. Now, act out the day in the life as “you”, the insect, for your family. You need to make sure you visit food, shelter, water, and explore whatever space you have throughout your skit. You might have other insects in your colony to interact with or you might be on an individual adventure. Create a story, get props and costumes if you can, and have fun with it! And who says flies can’t be funny?
Option 2: Create a new insect
You can use drawings, paper mache, salt dough, or even twigs to craft your creature. It has to have three body segments and six legs, but everything else is up to your imagination. Is it camouflaged and with what is it camouflaging into? Does it have large pincers or wings? Is it 2 inches or 20 feet long? Does it even live on earth? Get wild!
You can even give it an official scientific name!
