Insects of the world and their names. Insect names: species richness

Antennae, antennae, or cubs are paired structures that can include from two to more than 60 segments. They are very diverse in shape. In most orders of insects, the antennae are long, i.e. consist of four or more segments, but in homoptera and flies there are only three. In the latter case, on the third segment there may be a seta-like outgrowth consisting of several fused segments. Antennae are not just tactile “palps”: they carry sensory hairs and pits that, depending on the species, can perceive smell, sound, gravity, humidity and temperature. The structure of antennas is very diverse. In diurnal butterflies they are club-shaped (with widened last segments) or club-hooked (in the family of thickheads); in moths - tapering towards the end (chaetose) and covered with hairs and scales, pinnate with two opposite rows of long lateral processes, serrate or bilaterally serrate with short lateral processes; in bees and wasps - filamentous (with the same thickness along the entire length), serrated, bilaterally serrated, or with one or two long outgrowths on each segment; in beetles (in this group their shape is especially important for classification) - filamentous, club-shaped or lamellar, when the last segments are long plates connected at the bases that can open like a fan; in some forms the antennae are branched with long, diverging rays.

Oral apparatus There are two main types - primitive gnawing, for example in grasshoppers, and a derivative sucking, for example in butterflies. These types are divided into more specialized variants, in particular piercing-sucking in horseflies and mosquitoes, licking in houseflies, or licking-gnawing in bees and wasps. The oral apparatus consists of the upper lip, a pair of upper jaws called mandibles, or mandibles, a pair of lower jaws, a lower lip and a tongue-shaped subpharynx (hypopharynx), located between other appendages. Since the mouth of most insects is directed downward, the "tops" and "bottoms" can be considered front and back, respectively. On the lower jaws and lower lip of primitive insects there are sensory palps (palps) that help guide food into the mouth. In evolutionarily advanced forms they can be greatly reduced or absent altogether. The proboscis, adapted for sucking or licking liquid food and injecting saliva into foreign tissues, is formed by various oral appendages depending on the group of insects. In dipterans, for example, it is of two types - piercing and licking. In the first, characteristic of, say, mosquitoes, all the above parts are turned into piercing stilettos, except for the lower lip, which forms a case around them. In the housefly, on the contrary, the bulk of the proboscis is a derivative of the lower lip, ending in a wide disk of soft sucking lobes, or labella. Numerous grooves on the underside of each labella, like a sponge, absorb liquid food. In bugs, the proboscis is segmented, and in butterflies it is a soft tube, which at rest is curled into a flat spiral in the oral cavity, and in some hawk moths its length is several times greater than that of the rest of the body.

Breast , or the middle section of the insect’s body, serves as the attachment point for the locomotor organs and consists of three segments - prothorax, mesothorax and metathorax. Each of them carries a pair of legs. The legs of insects are segmented, consisting of five main parts. Starting from the body, these are the coxa (basal segment), trochanter, femur, tibia and tarsus. The trochanter is usually short. Initially, it was free and, forming two joints, increased the mobility of the limb, but in modern insects, as a rule, it fuses with the thigh. The tarsus is formed by three to five segments, but their number in some insects is reduced to two or even one. This part corresponds functionally to the foot, almost always ends in one or two claws, and usually bears other appendages, such as a flat pad (pulvilla). Some insects have highly sensitive chemoreceptors on their paws, as well as sensory organs that can perceive surface vibrations, thereby warning of approaching danger. The primitive type of insect legs is walking with almost cylindrical segments, but during the process of evolution the limbs were often modified to perform new functions. Thus, in fleas and grasshoppers, the hind legs are greatly elongated and adapted for high jumps; in predatory insects, the forelegs are sometimes transformed into grasping devices, and in burrowing forms, such as scarab beetles and mole crickets, they are expanded into serrated scrapers. In some species living under the bark (root bugs), the legs are widely spaced from one another and extend from the body not downwards, but to the sides, which allows the insect to move in very tight spaces. Sometimes the legs serve to deceive predators; for example, in a number of bugs they are enlarged and covered with spines: this can both scare off the enemy and serve as camouflage, making the general outline of the animal difficult to distinguish. Many flies have brightly colored forelegs and, extended forward, resemble the antennae of bees and wasps on top. Flies have widespread and complex leg ornamentation: it usually serves as a secondary sexual characteristic used to attract a female (courtship). Insects usually have two pairs of wings - on the mesothorax and metathorax. They extend from the upper part of the lateral wall of these sections and represent its protrusions. The wings are permeated with veins (their number and location are systematic features) along which hemolymph ("blood") flows. It nourishes the wings, delivering nutrients to them, and in addition, its pressure allows these structures to straighten when they complete their formation in an adult insect. The veins also play the role of a rigid frame. The wings are bare (transparent) or covered with hairs and their derivatives. These hairs are often microscopic, but in butterflies (order Lepidoptera) they are transformed into large scales of various types, which either contain pigment or, thanks to a specially striated surface, reflect light so that the insect shimmers with all the colors of the rainbow (for example, in the genus Morpho). Scales are also present on the body and wings of other insects, in particular beetles and mosquitoes. The wings are modified in various ways. Usually the front ones are larger than the back ones and serve both for flight and for protecting the lower ones, however, in beetles (order Coleoptera) they are turned into hard elytra, which perform a mainly protective function, and in swimming beetles they form an air chamber on the back, allowing these insects to stay for a long time be underwater. In dipterans, the hind wings are transformed into short club-shaped outgrowths - the so-called. halteres, which serve as organs of balance and work on the principle of a gyroscope, although in flight they perform oscillatory rather than rotational movements. If even one haltere is removed, the insect loses its ability to fly. In 1945 and 1946, Curran and Lester photographed the honeybee fly in flight at 3000 frames per second, demonstrating that the wings and halteres always move out of phase. In four-winged insects, the front and hind wings are usually connected to each other in flight with the help of certain devices, so they work as a single flapping surface. In some insects, the wings serve as sound-producing organs. The sound occurs when they rub against each other or the hind thighs on special areas of the front wings. In many groups of insects, along with winged species, there are forms in which wings are reduced and non-functional or are completely absent due to the fact that during evolution the need for them has disappeared. In some dipterans and butterflies, only the females are wingless or incapable of flight. In ants and termites, wings develop only in sexual individuals, which shed them after a short mating flight. The Criddleria fly breaks off its wings after the dispersal summer, leaving only the base and a hard anterior vein. Many species of diurnal butterflies (usually only males) have specialized sensory or odorous areas on their wings. In some flies with complex courtship rituals, the wings can change color and even shape: the male bends them in waves or vibrates them in front of the female, usually sitting in the bright sun, where their distinctive features are clearly visible. In most flies from the families Tephritidae, Otitidae and Sepsidae, the wave-like bending of the wings is also considered a protective device, since it is not only characteristic of males.

Abdomen consists of ten or eleven segments. In adult insects, their visible number may not exceed three, since some merge with each other, while others turn into a copulatory apparatus, but most often five to eight segments are clearly visible. They are divided into upper and lower parts, connected by a thin membrane, which is also located between the individual segments: this allows the abdomen to stretch when eggs mature in it or the intestines become full of food. In most insects, the abdomen is cylindrical or convex at the top and almost flat at the bottom, and tapers towards the end, but its shape can be very diverse: flat, almost round in outline, triangular in cross section, club-shaped, etc. In ants it is connected to the chest by a thin stalk of one or two segments, and in bees and wasps it is separated from it by a narrow constriction. Many primitive insects have a pair of tail-like segmented appendages (cerci) at the end of their abdomens, sometimes with a third “tail” between them.
INTERNAL STRUCTURE
The internal structure of insects is relatively simple, but although the general functions of the various organs are more or less known, many details of their work still require clarification.

Incomplete metamorphosis. With incomplete, or gradual, metamorphosis, the life cycle usually includes three stages - egg, larva (nymph) and adult. Whether the nymph resembles an adult or not, the adult insect is born immediately after the next molt of this active instar. The larva may differ from the imago only in the underdevelopment of the wings and genitals - mouthparts, their diet and habitat are almost the same. This development is called pavrometaboli. It is characteristic, for example, of Orthoptera and bedbugs. On the other hand, adult dragonflies and mayflies are land-dwelling flying animals, and their nymphs (called naiads) live in water and are equipped with special larval organs that greatly distinguish them from adults. This development is called hemimetabolism.

Complete metamorphosis. In this case, called holometabolism, there are four stages in the life cycle - egg (virtually absent in ovoviviparity), larva, pupa and adult. The larva actively feeds. The pupa is outwardly passive, but at this stage a radical transformation of larval structures into imaginal structures occurs. An adult insect never looks like a larva; the pupa also almost always bears little resemblance to it (their closest resemblance is observed in a number of flies). In many cases, the reserves accumulated by the larva last the imago for the rest of its life. In higher flies, pupation occurs within the larval membrane and the resulting structure is known as the puparium. Sometimes the pupa is surrounded by a special protective cover - a cocoon; it can be located underground or inside a food plant in a specially arranged pupal chamber. Most pupae are inactive, but many of them, just before the imago emerges, use spines moving during body contractions to make an exit from the pupal chamber and sometimes even partially protrude from it. Usually cocoons are very strong, but at one end there is a “weak” ring in their wall. The insect emerging from the pupa secretes a liquid that dissolves this ring and opens the resulting round door. Young higher flies have a special fluid-filled bladder-like organ located above the antennae. It is used to push out the “door” of the puparium, and also helps the animal dig its way to the surface of the soil.

Collier's Encyclopedia. - Open Society. 2000 .

Many people, maybe most of them, are afraid of insects. Crawling, flying, jumping - anything. And not because they are terribly scary or all very dangerous, but simply because they are small, multi-legged and generally disgusting. This ranking presents the largest representatives of this class. And if you really don’t like these small creatures, then it’s better not to look at the big ones at all. :)

13

Our list of the largest insects in the world opens with the largest cockroach - the Giant Burrowing Cockroach, which lives in the Australian state of North Queensland. This is the largest and heaviest of all cockroach species on the planet. The length of its body can reach 8 centimeters, and the entire weight is 30 grams. It was called a burrower because it can dig long and deep tunnels, and is the only cockroach that can build itself a home underground. Due to the fact that these cockroaches cannot fly and do not have wings, they are not considered pests. Representatives of this species live up to 10 years, and mostly in bushes. Some insect lovers prefer to have this cockroach as a pet, as this insect loves cleanliness very much, does not have an unpleasant odor and does not try to escape from the aquarium.

12

Due to the drying out of Australia's wetlands, the Giant Dragonfly is listed as a critically endangered insect. Like a true predator, the giant dragonfly hunts other insects, and it does this on the fly. Females of this insect are usually larger than males. Their wingspan reaches fifteen centimeters. During the mating season, females go about their usual business, fluttering over the swamps, and males fly around them, choosing a mate. If the female giant dragonfly does not like the male, she turns the back of the body inward, and if she likes the suitor, she allows the male to approach and attach to her. The male has two pairs of genital organs and literally before fertilization, the male’s sperm comes from his first genital organs to the second! And later, the fertilized female lays eggs in peat moss in the swamp.

11

The Chinese mantis is a species of the largest mantis, originally living in China and leading a predatory lifestyle at night. They feed on other insects. In 1895, these insects were brought to North America to control pests in fields. Today, Chinese praying mantises play a significant role in US farming. They reach 15 centimeters in length, weigh about 64 grams and live 5-6 months. It was believed that a potion could be prepared from this amazing insect that could cure impotence and incontinence.

While male Chinese mantises hunt insects that are significantly smaller than them, females attack reptiles, amphibians and even hummingbirds. Mating is a very unsafe process for males. In 50% of cases, the female Chinese mantis eats her partner during or after mating. This occurs due to the fact that early stage she needs egg development a large number of proteins that are abundant in her partner’s body. Chinese mantises are the second insects, after stick insects, that people keep at home as pets. People who dare to tame these unusual insects claim that their pets are perfect in everything and no dog or cat can simply compare with them.

10

The giant water bug lives in Japan and is listed as an endangered species. They grow up to 15 centimeters and are considered the most biting of all insect species. Its bite is very painful, so anyone who dives under water in the water beetle’s habitat runs the risk of experiencing it themselves. These beetles live mainly in rice fields, feeding on fish, small amphibians and crustaceans. Having previously paralyzed the victim with their poison, they suck out its liquid remains. When a beetle encounters prey that is too tough for it, or when it itself becomes an object of hunting, the insect pretends to be dead. At the same time, an unpleasant-smelling liquid begins to flow from his anus.

These beetles reproduce in a rather unusual way. Females lay their eggs directly on the males, who move with them, as the eggs need air to prevent mold from growing on them. After three weeks, the eggs turn into larvae. Despite its not very appetizing appearance, this insect is considered very an exquisite delicacy in Thailand.

9

The Theraphosa Blond spider or Goliath tarantula is the largest spider in the world, thanks to which it can hunt frogs, toads, lizards, mice and even small snakes and birds. The largest representative of this species was found in 1965 in Venezuela, its leg span reached 28 centimeters. The size of the body of the female Theraphosa Blonda reaches 9 centimeters, and the male - 8.5 centimeters. The size of the dorsal shield is the same in both length and width. The body is dark brown. The legs are covered with a mass of reddish-brown hairs. Females live about 15-25 years, and sometimes up to 30, and males are much shorter, on average 3-6 years.

Theraphosa Blonda lives in the tropical forests of South America. It is rarely seen in captivity; this is due to the ban on the export of these arthropods from the countries where they live. He lives in holes, but does not dig them himself. Having killed a mouse, the tarantula spider does two things at once: eats food and acquires housing. Teraphosis Blonde weighs about 120g, so he has enough weight to attack such animals. Scientists have proven that the venom of these spiders can be compared to a painkiller or sleeping pill. This spider's fangs are powerful enough to bite through human skin, but it only bites in self-defense. The effect of this poison on humans is comparable to a bee sting. Among the Indians, the tarantula has always been considered a delicacy. It is also believed that spider eggs are incredibly tasty.

8

The Hercules beetle is considered one of the largest beetles on Earth. The body length of the male reaches 16 centimeters, the female up to 8 centimeters. The wingspan of males is up to 22 centimeters. The body is covered with sparse red hairs. The color of the male elytra depends on humidity environment and may vary. On the head of the male there is a large horn with several teeth, directed forward. On the front back there is a second large horn, directed forward and slightly curved downwards. The female is without horns, matte, black, the elytra are tuberculate, covered with brown hairs.
After mating, females lay eggs in small cavities in rotten wood - the future food substrate of the larvae. One female can lay up to 100 eggs.

The first stage larvae feed exclusively on small wood fibers. As they grow and develop, they begin to eat harder, rotten wood. At the end of its development, the larva reaches a length of up to 18 centimeters and can weigh up to 100 grams. These beetles are native to the tropical forests of Central and South America, as well as the islands of the Caribbean. They feed on overripe fruits. They spend most of their time on the ground, although, thanks to the sharp claws on their long legs, they are excellent tree climbers.

7 Moth "Atlas"

The Atlas moth is a butterfly of the Peacock-eye family that lives in tropical and subtropical forests in southeast Asia and reaches enormous sizes. The females of these moths are much larger than the males and their wingspan reaches 28 cm. The open wings of the butterfly with a pattern on them give the impression of a large, angry snake's muzzle. According to experts, this is a kind of protection from enemies, and the butterfly itself is completely harmless and non-toxic. She doesn't even have a mouth. Throughout its short life, which lasts only two weeks from the moment the pupa turns into a butterfly, this creature does only one thing - lays as many eggs as possible. Atlases do not drink or eat. They live off the nutrients they received at the caterpillar stage.

Females are sexually passive and attract males by emitting special pheromones, which they pick up thanks to chemoreceptors located on their antennae. A male intoxicated by pheromones, caught by air currents, can fly several kilometers in search of his beloved. Due to the enormous size of their wings, representatives of this species fly very poorly, so the only way for the male to get to the female is to catch a tailwind. Unlike males, females lead a sedentary lifestyle and do not move very far from the cocoon from which they were born.

6

Weta is the collective name for more than 100 species found in New Zealand. The giant weta is the heaviest insect in the world. Females of this species, reaching a length of 8.5 centimeters, can weigh up to 71 grams during pregnancy. Usually they weigh about 30 grams. Almost all of them are wingless. Outwardly, they somewhat resemble a large brown grasshopper, but the hind legs are enlarged and covered with large spines. During defense, the insect forcefully throws them in front of itself and tries to injure the attacker.

Hueta are perfectly adapted to living in any habitat, be it forest, field, caves, land or city parks. They are nocturnal and feed on lichens, leaves, flowers and fruits. These insects bring considerable benefits to the development of the flora of New Zealand - they take an active part in distributing the seeds of local plants, feeding on their fruits. The giant weta reaches sexual maturity only at one and a half years of age. At a time, the female lays about 200-300 eggs in the ground, after which she dies after some time. There is now a decline in the number of these insects. The main reason for this is the destruction of giant weta by small mammals and rodents.

5

Goliath beetles are a genus of very large beetles from the Bronzovka subfamily within the Lamellaridae family, common in the Central and South East Africa. These beetles are considered one of the heaviest beetles in the world - individual males can weigh up to 70 grams. The body length of males is from 8 to 11 centimeters, and females from 50 to 80. Goliaths, like other representatives of the group of bronze beetles, differ from other beetles in that their elytra have a notch on the front lateral edge through which the wings are released during flight, and the elytra remain folded. During the daytime, beetles fly actively and spend most of their time in the crowns of trees. They rarely descend to the ground. They feed on flowing tree sap and overripe fruits.

The lifespan of a beetle is about 6 months. In many insects, including goliaths, the onset of the active period requires an immediate rise in body temperature to the point at which flight is possible. After mating, the female burrows into the ground, where she lays eggs in small natural cavities. There the larvae feed on rotted leaves and humus, but they do not stop there and willingly resort to cannibalism of their own relatives - older larvae can eat younger ones. By the end of their development, the larvae reach a length of 15 centimeters and weigh 100-110 grams.

4

The titan woodcutter is a species of beetle from the longhorned beetle family, one of the largest insects. Distributed throughout the Amazon - from Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Suriname and Guyana to Bolivia and central Brazil. The largest beetle species in the world. The maximum length of the beetle can reach 17 centimeters. Only a few specimens reach larger sizes. The cost of dried specimens of the maximum possible size for entomological collections can reach 680-1000 US dollars. Females are larger and more voluminous than males. The color is pitch-brown or brownish-brown.

It is nocturnal, which is typical for most closely related species. At dusk, the activity of the beetles increases; they crawl out of their daytime hiding places, rise to heights and take off. Males are very sensitive to light, since females rarely fall into the light traps of entomologists. Life expectancy is from 3 to 5 weeks, during which the beetles do not feed and live off fat reserves accumulated during the larval stage. Despite its calm nature, catching it with your bare hands is quite a risky endeavor. Its jaws can easily bite through a pencil, so you have to be extremely careful when catching it.

3

Giant scolopendra reaches a length of 26 cm, is found on the islands of Jamaica and Trinidad, in the north and west of South America. There are known cases of giant scolopendra attacking birds, lizards, mice and toads. Females are especially poisonous. The body consists of 21-23 copper-red or brown segments, each with a pair of brightly colored legs. yellow color. One pair of legs turned into jaws with claws connected to poisonous glands. And the back pair has special large dragging legs that help the animal cling to lumps of soil in earthen passages.

The scolopendra grabs the victim with its front legs, plunges its poisonous jaws into it and begins to chew it. The scolopendra eats quite slowly and for a long time, taking short breaks. In humans, a scolopendra bite causes local swelling and pain, usually lasting 1-2 hours. The giant scolopendra is very agile. It moves along the ground with quick, serpentine movements and climbs trees in search of prey. He is not at all afraid of people, so on occasion he visits tourists. It will not be the first to attack a person, but if it is accidentally pinned down or touched, it will behave quite aggressively.

It hunts at night and prefers to stay underground during the day, where the risk of dehydration is minimized. The fact is that its spiracles are located on nine segments, so it quickly loses moisture and can die in the sun. In burrows dug by other animals, it feels very comfortable, relying on its sense of touch, because scolopendras’ vision is not developed - they are only able to distinguish light from darkness. Reproduction occurs in mid-spring. The male scatters the partially frozen sexual secretion on the ground, and the female picks it up and lays eggs. Giant centipedes live for about 7 years.

2

The giant long-legged grasshopper is the largest and most well-camouflaged green grasshopper on the planet, although they have more in common with crickets. Their wings sometimes look almost the same as their leaves, embossed with spots and even holes. This species of grasshopper is native to the tropical forests of Malaysia. Despite the very long legs, this grasshopper cannot jump well, but prefers to move slowly and rarely fly. These grasshoppers grow up to 15 centimeters. These creatures may look a little scary, but in reality they are more afraid of you than you are of them.

The giant long-legged grasshopper is not well studied, but it is known that they use their long antennae to find food and attract mates for reproduction. During the day they practically do not move, but sit peacefully among the leaves and bushes. They primarily eat plants, but some may also feed on small insects. Males of this species have organs that produce high-pitched sounds, which they also use to attract females. It is believed that these insects are the “loudest” in the world.

1

And now we come to the first place and the largest insect in the world. Chan's megastick insect is a species of insect from the stick insect family reaching a length of about 57 centimeters. Chan's stick insect was classified only in 2008, named after Datuk Chan-Chu-Lun, who was the first to study this species. Only a few specimens of this species were found, all in the jungles of the Malaysian state of Sabah; the species’ lifestyle has not been studied at all.

Class Insects- this is the most highly organized, numerous, diverse class of arthropods, distributed in all environments of life, and secondarily in aquatic environments. Most representatives are capable of flight. Insects belong to the phylum Arthropods.

Meaning of insects:

1. Participation in the cycle of substances

2. Important role in food chains

3. Flower pollination and seed dispersal

4. Obtaining food, medicines, silk

5. Agricultural pests

6. Predatory insects exterminate agricultural pests

7. Damage to fabrics, wood, books, mechanisms

Class Insects

Body parts

Head, chest, abdomen

Structural features

There are wings

Habitat

In all environments

Number of walking legs

U different types-different food and different mouthparts

Respiratory system

Tracheal bundles opening on abdominal segments

Circulatory system

OPEN; blood vessels open into the body cavity, on the lower side of the body blood collects in other vessels; there is a heart (two chambers - one atrium and one ventricle)

Excretory system

Malpighian vessels and fat body

Nervous system

Peripharyngeal nerve ring and ventral nerve cord

In insects, the brain is the result of the fusion of clusters of nerve cells (thus more complex behavior)

Sense organs

Vision (mosaic), smell, touch, hearing

Representatives

Orders Coleoptera, Scale-wing, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Orectoptera

The main orders of insects

	Representatives		Oral apparatus	Transformation type
Rigid-winged	Zhuzhe-faces, May Khrushchev, lady cow	The upper ones are rigid (elytra), the lower ones are flying ones.	Gnawing type; there are carnivores and plant-eaters	↓ Larva (worm with three pairs of legs - caterpillar) pupa (resting stage) Adult
Scale-wings	Swallowtail, pigeon, nettle	Two pairs, covered with scales	Sucking type (hobo-current); feed on plant nectar; larvae (caterpillars) have gnawing mouthparts
Two-winged	Flies, mosquitoes, gadflies, horseflies	A pair; the second pair of wings is modified into halteres	Piercing-sucking type; feed on the blood of humans and animals
Hymenoptera	Bees, wasps, ants	Two pairs, with clearly defined veins	Gnawing or licking mouthparts, feed on nectar and pollen of flowers
Straight-winged	Saran-cha, blacksmiths, bear-ka	Front - with longitudinal veining, rear - fan-shaped	Gnawing mouthparts (feed on plant matter)	INCOMPLETE (larva similar to adult; growth during molt)
Bugs (hemiptera)	Forest bug, berry bug, bed bug	Two pairs of wings	Piercing-sucking mouthparts
Homoptera	Aphids	Two pairs of transparent wings	oral organs - piercing-sucking proboscis

Insects with incomplete metamorphosis

Lice, about 150		Human louse (head and body louse)
Bedbugs, more than 30,000	2 pairs of wings (front - half-elytra, rear - membranous) are folded flat when at rest on the back. Mouthparts - piercing-sucking	Bedbug, water strider, harmful turtle
Orthoptera, more than 20,000	2 pairs of wings (front ones - elytra with straight veins, rear ones - fan-like membranous wings). The mouthparts are gnawing. The hind legs are usually hopping	Common grasshopper, house cricket, locust
Dragonflies, about 4500	2 pairs of mesh wings. The body is usually elongated. The head is mobile, the eyes are very large. Mouthparts - gnawing	Rocker, lute, beauty
Cockroaches, 2500	2 pairs of wings (front - leathery elytra, rear - fan membranous). The mouthparts are gnawing. Eggs are laid in a shell	Black cockroach, red cockroach, or Prussian

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A source of information: Biology in tables and diagrams./ Edition 2, - St. Petersburg: 2004.

What types do you know?

Before you start, you can talk to your child about house insects. The guys know much more about them than about wild ones. Domestic insects surround us everywhere: in the apartment, in the house, in the apiary. Bees are also domestic animals, as they are domesticated by people and used for purposes beneficial to humanity. Ask what insects can live in your baby’s apartment. These do not necessarily have to be cockroaches (the most expected answer): they are now being actively removed, and they practically do not settle in new well-kept houses. Spiders can also live in the apartment, which often descend on their webs. You can see what insects living in an apartment look like in the photo on our website.

Tasks for children

To introduce your child to the types of insects, I suggest printing out cards and a poster with photos on the topic of insects for children. Among them there are both familiar and rare, endangered species.

Poster

Your child will get acquainted with insects such as butterfly, fly, grasshopper, mantis, dragonfly, spider (not an insect), locust, caterpillar (an insect larva, you cannot call it a full-fledged insect), beetle, bee, ant, ladybug, bumblebee, worm, woodlice, centipede, wasp, rhinoceros beetle, big black beetle and others.

You can print out a poster with a photo of insects, hang it in a visible place for the child, go up to it from time to time and introduce the child to various types insects

The baby will get acquainted with various types of insects, expand his horizons, memory, attentiveness, and develop fine motor skills of his fingers.

Games with cards and photos of insect species will help your child remember the main insects and will bring many positive moments. With their help you can train your visual memory. Learn the names of insects with your child, and then select several cards and arrange them in random order. Ask your child to try to remember in what order the images are located. Then turn the cards over and ask the baby to name which card has which insect. This exercise perfectly develops visual memory. In addition, the baby will quickly learn the names of fauna representatives.

Educational materials

Endangered insect species for children
Insects with names English language.
Pictures with insects (black and white version).
Insects and spiders for children. Types of insects in the house.
Types of stinging insects.

How to play with them?

1. Print the file and cut it into cards.
2. Show the child the card and say the name of this or that insect. You can tell your child a few words about the insect.
3. When the child learns the names of all insects, ask him to choose from 2 options. For example, show 2 cards - a butterfly and a fly and ask where the butterfly is; if the child does not know how to talk, let him point with his finger.
4. Next is a more complex option - we add more cards and offer to find, for example, a ladybug.
5. Memory development game - print out 2 copies of cards with insects. Turn them over reverse side and look for pairs for each insect in turn. Start with a small number of pairs of insect species, then add more.

These games are suitable for children aged 1 year and older.

Why does a child need this?

Man is a part of nature. But nature also belongs to insects. Today, a person spends most of his time in an apartment, strives to restore order there, and perceives insects as unwanted visitors to his home. Hence the hostility that arises in us, which we experience when looking at these small inhabitants of the planet. Even if we are asked to look at a photo of an insect, unpleasant shivers will probably run down our spine.

Of course, not all insects may be acceptable to us, but children must understand that there are rare species, listed in the Red Book. They cannot be destroyed. Show the children photos of these insects so that preschoolers can imagine what they look like. Perhaps children will never meet these representatives of the fauna in their lives, but they will remain aware that nature must be protected.

The tasks with photos presented on our website are very colorful and bright. They will interest the child, which gives you a convenient opportunity to develop the children’s creative abilities, memory and thinking.

Video presentations

conclusions

So, insects can be rare, wild, living in an apartment or house. Thanks to cards, a poster and photos, children will be able to get to know them. The guys must understand that they do not need to be afraid. If you encounter an insect in your apartment, you do not need to try to kill them. Let him go, let him fly on his way. The tasks that are on our website will help develop memory and creativity. Thanks to them, children will understand that insects are inhabitants of the planet just like ourselves.

There are many more insects on the planet than all other animal species. They were around long before dinosaurs and some of them have every chance of outliving humans. Insects are surprisingly flexible and able to adapt to the most unexpected conditions. Even today scientists are not sure. That all types of insects were described and their life cycle was accurately established. It is the most interesting insects – familiar and not so familiar – that became the subject of our article.

1. Dragonflies fly the fastest among insects, reaching an insane speed of 57 km/h.

2. There are interesting beetles - bombardiers. They have developed a unique defense mechanism. The beetle shoots a stream of chemicals at the enemy that heat up to 100C. The shot is also so loud that the beetle fully lives up to its name.

3. It is difficult to imagine the development of entire regions without dung beetles. They consume manure and process it. There are beetles that specialize in a certain type of dung. In some regions, these bugs account for up to 80% of cattle manure processing. Scientists say that pastures exist only thanks to dung beetles. They also inhibit the development of flies that lay eggs in manure. The beetles damage the larvae during their activity and prevent the flies from multiplying too much.

4. The most powerful organic toxin is the caterpillar of the Lonomia butterfly. She lives in the forests of South America, but sometimes the 7-centimeter caterpillar wanders into residential areas. A light touch on the caterpillar is enough to cause severe burning and bleeding in the affected area over time. Lada may develop stomach bleeding or kidney failure. In total, lonomia accounts for 1.7% of deaths, while rattlesnake– 1.8%. But it should be noted that the lonomy releases only 0.001 of the volume of venom injected by the snake. It is clear then how much more toxic the poison of the small caterpillar is.

5. Bullet ants attack enemies from trees. Their sharp sting (for which Paraponera clavata gets its name) is strong and sharp, penetrating the toughest surfaces. Just 10-20 bites can kill a person, and these ants also scream...

6. The New Zealand giant weta weighs the most of all insects on Earth - up to 71 grams!

7. It is believed that flies, ordinary house flies, do not fly far from their breeding sites. But scientists have found that thanks to the action of the wind, these insects are able to travel up to 45 km.

8. The largest nocturnal butterfly, Attacus Altas, is even hunted with a bow and arrow. In flight, it resembles a bird with an elegant wingspan of up to 30 cm.

9. Crickets' ears have an unusual location - on the front legs. In addition, crickets make it easy to find out the current air temperature. The temperature is calculated using the following formula (number of chirps per minute/2+9)/2.

10. Cicadas, relatives of crickets, hold the record for the loudest sounds produced. But the most interesting thing is. that only male cicadas make sounds; their females are mute.