June Kids’ Corner
from the Gale River Cooperative Preschool
WHat’s the buzz?
While the return of sunny summer weather invites us outdoors, it invites the rest of the natural world to do the same. This of course, includes the insect community. Most of us know the defining characteristics of an insect which include a head, thorax, and abdomen as well as compound eyes, antennae, and six legs. But did you know that insects make up 80% of the land-dwelling species on earth? Despite some being better loved than others, insects play a huge role in the functioning of our ecosystem. Do you like eating fruits and nuts? You have many pollinating insects to thank for them! There is the classic honeybee, but also butterflies, hoverflies, and many species of solitary bees. How do fallen logs or animal manure decompose? With the help of insects! Termites may be seen as a pest, but they can digest the cellulose in wood that otherwise takes a very long time to break down. Many fly species, like the blow fly and house fly, lay their eggs in animal droppings and their larvae feed on the poop, using it as nutrients. Insects may be small, but they are mighty. Ants can carry 10-50 times their body weight, which is like an adult human carrying a full-grown cow! Insects are an important part of the food chain and are eaten by birds, bats, some fish, and even people. In fact, eating insect protein is more sustainable than eating animal protein like beef or pork. They produce less pollution, need little space, and breed much quicker. Whether you’re an insect super fan or still figuring out how to live with them for the summer, we can all agree that they are invaluable to our environment and have some pretty neat abilities!
Want tips on how to explore insects this June? Read below for ideas then head outside!
The first step is to get a net. Most nets we think of are air nets. These are designed to be swung through the air to catch butterflies, moths, dragonflies or other flighty insects. There are also ground nets which can be swept through tall grasses to catch grasshoppers, crickets, and beetles among others. The second step is to acquire a field guide. This could be a folding pocket guide or a full book. With these two things, you’re ready to explore!
Another less obvious way to explore insects is to explore your local stream or river. For many insects, the larval or nymph stage of their life cycle is spent in the water. They are called macroinvertebrates. Many cling to the undersides of rocks and prefer shallow fast moving water with lots of riffles. You can scour some rocks upstream of your net, then explore the contents in a bucket of water. This is a common way to examine the health of a stream! Some macroinvertebrates only live in very clean water such as mayfly nymphs or stonefly nymphs. If you find lots of these, your stream is doing very well.
It’s hard to beat a coffee filter butterfly. These are so much fun to make, I usually make one alongside my students at Gale River. All you need are coffee filters, markers, a spray bottle, and clothespins. Color your coffee filter so almost all of it has marker on it. Then, spray it down with water and let it dry. The colors will bleed into one another creating a tie dye effect. Once it’s dry, you can bunch it in the middle and clip it with the clothespin so you have a wing on either side. At this point, you can call it done, or add googly eyes, pipe cleaner antennae, and maybe a magnet to stick it to the fridge.
Silly insect building! This is a fun game that helps you practice the parts of an insect. You can either draw your insect or use natural materials for body parts such as stick antennae or leaf heads. The first step is to assign insect body parts to the numbers one through six. Then, roll a die and see what your number is. Whatever the number, add that body part. The best part? No real world insect is going to have four thoraxes, but yours might!
Insect comic strip! Not only does this activity help you show off an insect’s real (or imaginary) super power, but it helps with literacy by practicing story sequencing. Pick your insect superhero, and grab some paper and your drawing implement of choice. Hold your paper landscape style and draw two lines down and one across so you have six boxes. In these six boxes, create your story! It might be helpful to first identify the characters, the setting and a problem they’re trying to solve. Is Lucy ladybug stuck under a cup? Get super ant in there to save the day!
Thanks to our partner, the Gale River Cooperative Preschool in Bethlehem, for helping our area parents get kiddos outside for fun no matter the time of year.
We can't wait to share the family fun we're planning with you. Keep an eye out in the coming months for announcements.
