Welcome to the Insect Quiz
1) Stag beetles
They could be fighting over mates, territory or food
They are unlikely to hurt each other. The weaker beetle will withdraw from the fight before getting hurt
They are using what look like a deer's antler. In fact, they are modified jaws
These are both male. The female beetles do not have the large "antlers"
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2) Parasitoid wasp
This tiny parasitoid wasp is laying its egg inside an aphid, (or greenfly)It might have used its eyes to look for the plant that the aphid likes to feed on, or look for
signs of aphid damage or look for the aphid itself. Smell is very important to insects so it might have smelt the plant
the insect likes to feed on, or smelt a different smell associated with aphid damage on plants or smelt the insects themselves
The hatchling will feed on the living body of the aphid-eating the non-essential parts first - yuk!
The aphid has little means of protection from attack. An attacked aphid may release a warning "pheromone" smell to warn other aphids of the danger so that they can escape or simply drop off the plant.
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3) Ladybird feeding
The ladybird is eating an aphid, also called a greenfly
The aphid is a pest to the gardeners, damaging his plants. The ladybirds helps the gardener by ridding him of these pests
The ladybird is bad-tasting to birds. The bright colours warn the birds of this fact
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4) Hoverfly
Wasps can hurt predators with a nasty sting. Predators might stay away from the hoverfly because they think this harmless insect is actually a wasp that can sting them.
Honeybees, bumblebees
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5) Peacock butterfly
Predators might think these were the eyes of animal larger and more ferocious than the butterfly
The adult butterfly feeds on nectar, a sugary liquid produced by flowers
This butterfly would have been a hairy caterpillar when it was growing up
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6) Slug
Not happy because slugs eat garden plants such as flowers and vegetables
Slime helps the slugs by preventing them from drying out, making the ground slippy and easier to move across and also by helping them shrug off poisons such as slug pellets
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7) Aphid
Aphids are the worst insect pests in this country. They feed in plants in the garden and on farmer's fields and sometimes cause huge amounts of damage. They can also spread plant diseases.They might spray on "pesticides," chemicals that kill the insects or they might plant flowery field margins to encourage aphid predators
Gardeners might use pesticides too. Sometimes they will use other methods such as washing the plant with soapy water!
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8) Thirsty honey bee
The bee laps the water up with a special bee "tongue" called a proboscis
The fur helps keep the bee warm just as fur keeps cats, dogs and other animals warm
The bee needs to find flowers to feed on. It also needs to find its way back to the bee hive
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9) Ground beetle
This beetle is a fierce predator eating small insects such as aphidsThe beetle catches the prey in its ferocious-looking jaws
Beetles like this have long legs to help them run fast
Under its hard outer wing covering beetles have soft membranous wings that enable them to fly
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10) Tiger moth
This lovely moth is nasty-tasting and poisonous to birdsThe moth is brightly coloured and striped in a similar way to a tiger (different colours though)
Animals that eat one of these moths will remember that it tasted bad and made them feel ill.
They will easily recognize another moth of the same type and avoid eating it the next time
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11) Pitfall trap
Scientist use pitfall traps to catch insects running around over the groundInsects that run fast will not stop in time, fall over the edge of the plastic cup and be unable to get out again
It is most likely to catch the ground beetle as this runs fast along the ground where the traps are
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12) Bees in a beehive
The bees are sitting on honeycomb inside the hive. The honey comb is made of hexagonal cells that "tessellate" or fit togetherBy choosing shapes that fit together the bees don't waste space and don't waste bees wax
The bees can keep food in the cells (pollen or honey) they also put eggs in and these develop into bee larvae
The queen bee is the most important one as she is the only one that can lay eggs. By her presence, she also controls how the other bees in the hive behave