Bug Hunt

Bug hunts are easy and so much fun. We have listed some things you might need to have an amazing bug hunt!!

1. You’ll need a clear plastic tub or jam jar with air holes.
2. Tweezers for picking up creepy crawlies.
3. Camera or sketchbook and pencil for recording your findings, so you can search up what you found.
4. Hand wash gel/ sanitiser, in case you touch anything.
5. Magnifying glass. (optional)
6. Check under rocks and logs to find smaller bugs but make sure to be careful.

When you find a bug make sure to put it back in its natural habitat as it is happy there.

We went on a bug hunt and it was so much fun and we made sure not to hurt the bugs whilst picking them up.

What you can expect to find:

Ladybirds:

1. Ladybirds are identical on both sides of their wings.
2. You can’t tell a ladybird’s age by counting the spots on their wings.
3. They are commonly yellow, orange, or red with small black spots on their wing covers, with black legs, heads and antennae.
4. During flight, the wings of a ladybird will beat a staggering 85 times per second.
5. An adult ladybird may eat over 5,000 aphids during its lifetime (about a year).

Centipede:

1. Although centipede bites may be painful, they are rarely fatal.
2. Centipedes have one pair of legs on each body segment, while millipedes have two pairs.
3. Legs on the first body segment are not used for walking. They are modified into venomous fangs.
4. Centipedes can detach some of the legs to escape from the predators.
5. Centipedes are nocturnal creatures (active during the night).

Woodlouse:

1. Woodlice also known as slaters and pillbugs are terrestrial crustaceans.
2. Most species of woodlouse can reach 0.1 to 1.1 inches in length.
3. Their soft bodies are covered on the upper surface with a hard segmented shell.
4. Woodlouse has segmented body and 14 legs.
5. Most species of woodlouse are active during the night (nocturnal).

 

Caterpillar:

1. A caterpillar has just one job – to eat.
2. Caterpillars increase their body mass by as much as 1,000 times or more.
3. A caterpillar’s first meal is usually its eggshell.
4. A caterpillar has as many as 4,000 muscles in its body.
5. Caterpillars have 6 legs, just as adult butterflies or moths do.

 

Spider:

1. There are around 4000 different species of spider.
2. Spiders don’t have antennae while insets do.
3. Spiders are found on every continent of the world except Antarctica.
4. An abnormal fear of spiders is called ‘arachnophobia’.
5. Giant Huntsman spiders have leg-spans of around 30cm (12 in). These are not normally found in UK. A more common spider in UK is a Harvestman Spider. You may well find one in your hunt.