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My First Library of Knowledge

Mini-Beasts

Orpheus

YCE bugs FINAL:YCE bugs FINAL 10/26/10 3:05 PM

BESIDES mammals,birds, reptiles and

amphibians, there areother kinds of animalsthat live on land.Theyare mostly very small.Some live in the soil,while others can fly. Stillothers live in our homes,and some even live on us!These are the amazingcreatures we call mini-beasts—insects, spiders,worms and many others.

CONTENTS INTRODUCTIONFirst published in 2006 by Orpheus Books Ltd.,

6 Church Green,Witney, Oxfordshire, OX28 4AW

Copyright © 2006 Orpheus Books Ltd.

Created and produced by Rachel Coombs,

Nicholas Harris and Sarah Hartley,

Orpheus Books Ltd.

Text Rachel Coombs and Nicholas Harris

Consultant RichardWalker

Illustrated by Fiammetta Dogi, Betti Ferrero,

Sauro Giampaio, Ray Grinaway,

Inklink Firenze, DavidWright

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be

reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted

in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,

photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior

written permission of the copyright owner.

ISBN 1 901323 XX X

A CIP record for this book is available from the

British Library.

Printed and bound in Singapore

4 THE WORLD OFMINI-BEASTS

6 WHAT IS AN INSECT?

8 CAMOUFLAGE ANDMARKINGS

10 BEETLES

12 ANTS, BEESAND WASPS

14 HOW HONEYBEESLIVE

16 INSIDE AN ANTS’ NEST

18 TERMITES

20 BUTTERFLIESAND MOTHS

22 THE LIFE OFA BUTTERFLY

24 FLIES ANDMOSQUITOES

26 INSECT GROUPS

28 SPIDERS ANDSCORPIONS

30 HOW A SPIDERSPINS ITS WEB

32 INDEX

YCE bugs FINAL:YCE bugs FINAL 10/26/10 3:05 PM

MICRO-BEASTSThe top part of the soil may beteeming with millions of mini-beasts. Most are far too tiny for usto see without a microscope.Micro-beasts like soil mites andspringtails (right) all play their partin turning rotting animal and plantmatter into nutrients that make thesoil more fertile for plants.

Earthworms burrowthrough the earth.Their tunnels allow air

to get to plant roots.Worms also mix up the soil,bringing rotting matterdown from the surface.This makes the soil betterfor growing plants. Slugsand snails often hide indamp dark places in orderto stay moist.

THE WORLD OF MINI-BEASTS

THERE ARE mini-beasts all around us.

In just a small area ofground, you may, on asummer’s day, come acrossbees and butterflies flittingfrom flower to flower.

Beetles, centipedes andspiders scuttle around onthe ground, while the soilis full of ants, worms andother small creatures.

DragonflyMayfly

Water stick insect

Pondskater

Water boatmanGreatdivingbeetle

Bee

Worm

Butterfly

Moth

Slug

Wood-lice

SpiderCaterpillar

Centipede

Millipede

Beetle

Fly

Ants

Ants’ nest

Snail

4 5

YCE bugs FINAL:YCE bugs FINAL 10/26/10 3:05 PM Page 4

COMPOUND EYESMost insects have compound eyes.They are madeup from hundreds of lenses.These allow the insectto see ahead, below and behind all at the sametime, giving them excellent vision. In some insectsthere are tiny bristles growing between the lenses.

BODY PARTSAll insects are made up of three main bodyparts: the head, the thorax and theabdomen.The eyes, jaws and antennaeare found on the head.The legsand wings are attached to thethorax.The abdomencontains the insect’sintestines.

Insectskeletons arefound on theoutside of theirbody—unlike ours,which are on the inside.Called exoskeletons, theyform a pretective armouraround the soft parts inside.The insect breathes throughtiny holes in the sides of its body

Like its legs, aninsect’s antennaeare made up ofjointed sections.They are highlysensitive tosmells, flavoursand touch. Theinsect uses themto detect its foodand to senseobjects. Ants, forexample, usetheir antennaeto pass on“messages”to eachother.

All insects havesix legs, which are

made up of severaljointed sections. Tinybristles on the legs andbody can feel vibrationscaused by sound ormovement. Some insects,such as crickets, haveears on their legs!

WHAT IS AN INSECT?

ANINSECT is aninvertebrate (an animal

without a backbone)with six jointed legsand a hard externalskeleton. Wings

Compoundeye

Antennae

Close-up of compound eye

Thorax

Head

Jaws

Abdomen

The endpart of the insect’s

leg, its foot, is called thetarsus. The claw is usedfor gripping surfaces.

Although it is only 2 mm long,this parasitic wasp has all thefeatures of a typical insect.

Claw

Jointed leg

6 7


CAMOUFLAGE AND MARKINGS

INSECTS use camouflageand markings to hidethemselves from prey. Stickinsects, for example, take onthe same colour andshape as the plants theylive amongst.They evensway in the breeze along withthe plant.

The colours of thisgrasshopper warnattackers that itwill give offa foul-smelling fluidif attacked.

The caterpillar of theHercules moth hasbrightly coloured

spikes to warnoff predators.

This hoverfly’smarkingsmake it looklike a bee. Thisscares offhungry birds.

LIKE A LEAFThe bush cricket lives in trees.When still, it looks like a deadleaf, so other creatures do notnotice it.When disturbed, it leapsto safety, flashing its fake eyes.

DEADLYFLOWERThis flowermantis, found in Africa and theFar East, blends in among pinkorchids. It waits very still for aninsect to come to collect nectarbefore launching its attack.

COLOURSome insects make noattempt to blend into thebackground. Instead theyhave bright colours.Thesemean: danger! Reds, yellowsand blacks warn predatorsthat they sting or arepoisonous. Some harmlessinsects use these colours to

pretend to bedangerous.

BUTTERFLY EYESMany butterflies, like this purpleemperor butterfly, have markings ontheir wings that look like eyes.Theseare usually hidden and only revealedwhen their wings open.They foolattackers into thinking that the eyesbelong to a much bigger creature.

Purpleemperorbutterfly

Hercules mothcaterpillar

Elegantgrasshopper

Hoverfly

Bushcricket

Flowermantis

Stickinsect

8 9


BEETLES make upthe largest group of

insects.There is a hugevariety in colours and shapes.Allbeetles have wings.When theyare not in flight, thewings are foldedaway under hardwing-cases forprotection.

BEETLES

The harlequinlonghorn has very

long front legs. Thesehelp it to move around

tree trunks.

BEETLES make upthe largest group of

insects.There is a hugevariety in colours and shapes.Allbeetles have wings.When theyare not in flight, thewings are foldedaway under hardwing-cases forprotection. The ladybird

helps farmersby eatingtroublesomepests likeaphids.

Thecockchaferspreads itsantennaewhen it flies.

This helps it sensethe direction ofthe wind.

The malerhinoceros beetleuses its horns to liftrivals out of the way. Infact, it can pick up over

850 times its ownweight!

DUNG BEETLESDung beetles live in grasslands.The adult beetles use theirtoothed legs to mould the dunginto balls.Then they roll the ballto their under-ground burrows.They lay their eggs in animaldung.Their larvae feed on itwhen they hatch out.

WATER BEETLESThe great diving beetlehas powerful backlegs lined withhairs. It uses them as oars as it swimsalong in search of insects, tadpoles and evensmall fish to catch.Although it spends most of its timein the water, it can also fly well.

Like its namesake, the tigerbeetle is a ferocious predator.It is one of the fastest insects

on the ground.

Cockchafer

Ladybird

Harlequinlonghorn

Tiger beetle

Great diving beetle

Dungbeetle

Rhinoceros beetle

10 11


ANTS, BEESAND WASPS

ANTS, bees and waspsare related.They all

have narrow “waists”between their thorax andabdomen. Some kinds liveclosely together, buildingnests, gathering food andraising their young inlarge “colonies”. Bees andsome kinds of waspprotect themselves withtheir sting.

There are morethan 50,000 kindsof wasp. Those withblack and yellowstripes and a painful sting live incolonies. Their papery nests aremade from chewed-up woodfibres.

Ants willfight termites(see pages 16-17) orany other intruder thatthreatens to attack theirnest. They are equippedwith powerful jaws.They can alsosquirt acid atthe enemy.

This waspattackstarantulaspiders. Itlays an egg

on its prey. Theegg hatches out andfeeds on the spider.

Ant

Tarantulahawk wasp

Europeanwasp

12


HOW HONEYBEES L IVE

HONEYBEES live inhuge colonies of

thousands of bees.Thequeen is the only bee thatlays eggs. One of themale bees, called drones,will mate with the queen.The other female bees arecalled workers.They buildthe nest, clean it and

protect it from attackers.They gather nectar andpollen from flowers andbring it back to the nest.They “chew” nectaruntil it turns intosticky honeyand store it inthe nest asfood.

The queen bee lays her eggsinside small hexagonal cellsmade from wax (left), calledthe honeycomb. The workersuse other cells to store thehoney they have made.

The queen eventually leaves thecolony. She takes some workers withher. Most swarm around her whileothers go in search of a new nest site.

INSIDE THE NESTInside their wax cells, theeggs soon hatch into larvae

(below left).They are lookedafter by the workers and fedwith honey and pollen.

After nine days the workerscap the cells with wax. Inside,the larvae turn to pupae(above right).Eventually,they emergeas adult bees(right).

14 15


AN ANT’S LIFEAn ant begins life as a grub, or alarva. It hatches out of an egg laidby the queen. It does nothing buteat, and shed its skin as it grows.When it is large enough, it spins asilk coat around itself.This hardensinto a cocoon. Inside, the larva,now known as a pupa, changesinto an adult ant.

INSIDE AN ANTS’ NEST

ANANTS’ nest is amaze of tunnels and

chambers under theground. Here, the queenant lays her eggs.The firsteggs hatch into workerants.Workers are females

that cannot mate.Theykeep the nest clean andfind food. Later on,winged males and femaleshatch out.They fly out ofthe nest to mate.Thefemales become queens.

Queenant

Cocoon

Workerant

Eggs

Tunnel

Larva

Wingedmale

Adult breakingout of cocoon

16 17


TERMITES

TERMITES live in largecolonies. Each nest has

a single king and queen.They served by blindworkers and soldiers,who feed andprotect the colony.Termites live in hotclimates.They eatwood and otherdead plantmaterial.

THE ROYAL CHAMBERThe king termite is larger thanthe workers, but he is dwarfedby the queen. She has a massiveswollen abdomen up to 14 cmlong. In the royal chamber insidethe nest, she produces 30,000eggs a day.As she lays them, theworkers carry them away toother chambers to be hatched out.

SOLDIER TERMITESSoldier termites are rearedto protect the colony.Theyare bigger than workersand equipped with power-ful biting jaws. Some kindscan squirt poison at theirattackers. Soldiers rely onworkers to feed them.

Eventually,young flyingtermites are reared.They fly off to formnew colonies.

For their nests,some termitesbuild toweringearth moundsseveral metreshigh. Inside arechambersused forgrowingfungus.

The fungus, which helps the termites digest theirfood, grows well in the moist air inside the mound.There are chimneys to let the heat escape.

Cross-sectioninside termite

mound

Funguschambers

Royalchamber

Chimneys

18 19


BIRDWINGSBirdwing butterflies,from the rainforests ofsoutheast Asia, have thelargest wingspan of allbutterflies.The rareQueen Alexandrabirdwing is therecord-holder.Although themales aresmaller, thefemales canmeasure up to28 cm across.

BUTTERFLIESAND MOTHS

BUTTERFLIES flyduring the daytime.

They usually haveantennae shaped likethin clubs. Most mothsare night-flyers.Theirantennae are usuallyfeathery in shape. Passion vine butterflies

are named after the plantsthey eat while they are

caterpillars. Thepassion vine makesthe adult butterflypoisonous toother animals.

The luna moth’swingspan canmeasure more than12 cm. It gets itsname from themarkings on itswings, which looklike crescent moons.

The cecropia moth is akind of silkmoth. Its feathery antennae giveit a good sense of smell. Like many moths,the caterpillars (called “silkworms”) producesilk to make their cocoons. They are bred inspecial farms to produce silk for cloth.

This hawkmoth sucksnectar from a flowerthrough its proboscis, along, tube-like tongue.

The swallowtail butterflyhas one of the slowestwingbeats of all insects:just five times a second.

WINGS

A butterfly’s wings arecovered in tiny,overlapping scales(below).Their differentcolours produce thefamiliar wingpatterns.

Morgan’ssphinx

hawkmoth

Lunamoth

Cecropiamoth

QueenAlexandrabirdwingbutterfly

Passion vinebutterfly

Swallowtailbutterfly

20


Like all butterflies, the femalemonarch lays her eggs, then fliesaway, never to

return.A caterpillar hatches out. It feeds on themilkweed plant only, devouring its leaves, flowers andstem.As it grows, it sheds its skin four times.After a fewweeks, it weaves a cocoon of silk around its body. It isnow a chrysalis. Inside, its body starts to change.

THE L IFE OF ABUTTERFLY

THE monarchbutterfly is one

of the most amazinginsects in the world.Every year, millionsof monarchs flysouth thousands ofkilometres acrossAmerica to spendwinter in Mexicanforests.

CATERPILLAR TO CHRYSALIS

The monarch caterpillarfeeds on milkweed.

The caterpillarsheds its skin.

Thechrysalisin itscocoon.

After a few weeks, the adult monarch butterflyclimbs out of its silk cocoon. Most kinds ofbutterflies live quite close to the area wherethey were born.The female finds a mate, laysher eggs, and more caterpillars are born. Butfor monarchs, when winter comes, they set outon a journey that takes them south across theUnited States to the mountains of Mexico.

AN ADULT EMERGES

ASLEEP ON THE TREESThe monarch butterflies spendwinter resting huddled togetherin their millions on tree trunks.They wake up in the spring,when they begin their longjourney home.As they fly,the adults mate. Newbutterflies are born andcontinue the story.

The monarchs rest on treetrunks for most of thewinter. They are savingenergy which theywill need forthe longjourneyhome.

The adult monarchemerges from itscocoon.

The monarch butterflyis about 12 cm across.

22 23


FLIES AND MOSQUITOES A DEADLY INSECTThe mosquito can be extremelydangerous to humans.The femalesucks the blood using a sharp tube

called a proboscis to pierce theskin. In some parts of the world,mosquitoes carry the germs thatcause malaria, a disease that killsmore than a million people eachyear.They may inject the germsalong with their saliva when theysuck human blood.

Only the female mosquito bites.She needs substances containedin blood to nourish her eggs. Asshe sucks, she pumps in saliva tostop the blood clotting.

TSETSE FLYThe tiny tsetse fly, only 5 mm long, isa serious pest.This illustration showsonly its head and mouthparts, greatlymagnified.The long mouthpart, whichhas “teeth” at its tip, is used to piercethe skin of animals and suck up itsblood.The tsetse fly can pass on fatalsleeping sickness to cattle and humans.

FLIES have only one pair ofwings, unlike all other insectswhich have two. Instead ofbiting jaws, they have mouth-parts that suck up food.We oftensee flies as a nuisance becausethey spread diseases. But theyare essential to the processof decomposing dead animalsand plants, and waste. Manykinds also spread pollen or arefood for other animals.

Mosquito

Tsetse fly

24 25


TYPES OFINSECT

THERE are probablymore than 10 million

types of insect.They aredivided into a number ofmajor groups: ants, flies,bugs, cockroaches etc..Afew different typesare illustrated onthis page.

The hissing cockroachprotects itself bypuffing up with air tolook bigger. When theair is forced out, itsounds like hissing.

Shield bugs are so-called because oftheir distinctiveshape. Ifattacked, theysquirt out a foul-smelling liquid.

The femalemantis lays hereggs as a frothymass (above).The nymphsemerge (below).

Dragonfliesare oftenfound aroundponds. They feed on otherflying insects. They can fly atgreat speed, hover, and evenfly backwards.

Theheadlousefeeds onhuman

blood. Its huge clawsgrasp tightly tostrands of our hair.

Fleas can jumpover 500 times theirown length. They feedon the blood of largeranimals such as rats.

The common earwig uses itspincers to capture prey. Theyare far too small to hurt humans.

PRAYING MANTIS

The praying mantis is aterrifying predator. It sitswith its front legs up, as ifpraying, waiting to feed.When it spies its victim, itflicks out its spiny frontlegs to trap it.The mantis reproducesin a different way to abutterfly (see pages 22-23).When the eggs hatchout, tiny versions of theadult, called nymphs,emerge.As the nymphsgrow in size, they shedtheir skin many times.European

praying mantisHeadlouse

Commonearwig

Hawthornshield bug

Hissingcockroach

Dog flea

Dragonfly

26 27


SPIDERS AND SCORPIONS

SPIDERS, scorpionsand mites are notinsects but arachnids.They have eight legs andtwo grasping “limbs”called pedipalps. Spidershave two body parts andmany pairs of eyes.Allspiders can produce silk,but only some kinds useit for making webs.

INSIDE A SPIDERThis is a cross-section inside aspider’s body.The head containsthe brain (purple) and stomach(yellow).The other digestiveorgans (also yellow) heart (red)silk glands (green), ovary (pink)are in its abdomen.

CENTIPEDESCentipedes prey on other creatures.They can run quickly, their bodieswaving from side to side as theyscuttle along on their long legs.Theyuse the venom glands on their headsto paralyse their prey.

MILLIPEDES

Millipedes and centipedes are typesof as myriapod, a name meaning“many legs”. Millipedes eat mainlyplants and move very slowly.Theirtube-like bodies and short legs allowthem to squeeze into tiny spaces.

jumping spiders capturetheir prey by leaping at itwith fangs ready to strike.

Bird-eating spiders livein the rainforests ofSouth America.Their leg spanmay be as wide as adinner plate!Despite theirname, they feedmainly on otherinsects. They will alsoeat small lizards.

Scorpions have manysegments in their bodies.At the rear end, there is asting used both in self-defence and to kill prey

held in theirpincers.

Many kinds of mite areless than 1 mm long. Dustmites feed on skin flakes.

Many spidersproduce poisonto paralyse theirprey. Most are

completely harmlessto humans, but the

bite of somespecies, such asthe black widow,

can be fatal.

Bird-eatingspider

AbdomenHead

Jumpingspider

Dust mite

Scorpion

Centipede

Millipede

28 29


SPIDER SILKA spider makes silk from aliquid produced by silk glandsinside its abdomen.As the silk isdrawn out of the spider’s bodythrough the spinnerets, itbecomes a solid thread. It pullsout the silk using the claws onits back leg. Spiders use theirsilk for other purposes, too. Itcan be used to wrap up theirprey when captured, to cocoontheir eggs, as a safety line—or even as a parachute tofloat in the wind! Spidersilk is as strong as steelthread of the samethickness, but muchlighter and bendier.

HOW A SPIDER SPINS ITS WEB

The orb spider, oftenfound in gardens, spinswebs like these. Theyusually only last around aday before being brokenby wind or rain. It cantake as little as anhour for the spiderto make a new one.

After trapping itsvictim, the spider maywrap it, dead or alivein a cocoon of silk. Itcan then be stored tobe eaten later.

First, the spider joins twobranches with a line of silk.

A vertical line anchors theweb at the bottom.

Radiating lines are linkedtogether at the central hub.

The spider waits for its firstvictim in the dry centre.

Finally, the spider lays downthe sticky spiral strands.

MANY spiders catchtheir prey by

spinning webs.These canbe of a great variety ofshapes, including delicatespirals, irregular cobwebsor thick funnels.

Once an insect iscaught in the web, thespider can tell exactlywhere it is by feeling thevibrations using the hairson their legs. It thenhurries to claim its victim.

Orb spider

Spinnerets

30 31


INDEXAabdomen 6, 12, 19, 28,31

antennae 6-7, 10, 20ants 4-5, 12-13, 16-17,

26nests of 5, 12-13,

16-17worker 16

aphids 10arachnids 28

Bbees 4-5, 8, 12, 14-15nests of 12, 14-15swarm of 15worker 14-15

beetles 4-5, 10-11bird-eating spiders28-29

birdwing butterflies 21black widow spider 29bugs 26bush cricket 8butterflies 4-5, 9,

20-21, 22-23life cycle of 22-23,

27

Ccamouflage 8-9caterpillars 5, 20-21,22-23

cecropia moth 20centipedes 4-5, 29chrysalis 22cockchafer 10cockroaches 26cocoon 17, 20, 22-23,31

colonies 12, 14-15,18-19

compound eyes 7

Ddog flea 26dragonflies 4, 27

drones 14dung beetle 11dust mite 29

Eearthworms 4-5earwigs 26elegant grasshopper 9exoskeletons 7eye markings 8-9

FGfleas 26flies 5, 24-25, 26flower mantis 8grasshoppers 9great diving beetle 4, 11

Hharlequin longhornbeetle 10

hawkmoth 20hawthorn shield bug 26headlouse 26hercules mothcaterpillar 9

hissing cockroach 26honey 14-15honeybees 14-15hoverfly 9

IJKinsects 4-27and humans 24-25,

26body parts of 6-7, 24colours of 8-9, 10, 21disease-spreading

24-25eggs of 11, 12, 14-15,

16-17, 19, 22-23,27

flight in 10-11, 16,19, 20, 22-23, 27

groups of 10, 26-27markings of 8-9, 20pollen-spreading 24

predators 8-9, 11, 27senses of 7, 10

invertebrates 6jumping spiders 28king termite 18-19

Lladybird 10larvae 11, 15, 16-17luna moth 20

Mmalaria 25mayfly 4microscopic creatures 4milkweed 22millipedes 5, 29mites 28-29monarch butterfly22-23

Morgan’s sphinxhawkmoth 20

mosquitoes 24-25moths 5, 20-21myriapods 29

NOnectar 8, 14, 20nutrients 4nymphs 27orb spider 30-31

Pparasitic wasp 6passion vine butterfly21

pedipalps 28pests 10poison 18, 21, 29pollen 14-15, 24pondskater 4praying mantis 27proboscis 20, 25pupae 15, 17purple emperorbutterfly 9

QRQueen Alexandrabirdwing butterfly

21queen ant 16-17queen bee 14-15queen termite 18-19rhinoceros beetle 10

Sscorpions 28-29shield bugs 26silk 17, 20, 28, 30-31silkmoth 20slugs 5snails 5soil 4-5soil mites 4soldier termites 18spiders 4-5, 28-31and humans 29body parts of 28webs of 28, 30-31

spinnerets 31springtails 4stick insects 8stings 12, 29swallowtail butterfly 21

Ttarantula hawk wasp12

tarantula spiders 12tarsus 6termites 13, 18-19nests of 18-19worker 18-19

thorax 6-7, 12tiger beetle 11tsetse fly 24

Wwasps 6, 12nests of 12

water boatman 4water stick insect 4wax 14-15woodlice 5

32


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