---
title: "Rainforest Insects"
description: "Name rainforest insects such as leaf-cutter ants, beetles, morpho butterflies and stick insects. Distinguish six-legged insects from spiders. Describe how leaf-cutter ants use leaf pieces to grow fung"
canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/rainforest-insects-mt_XL2gqdKJfu
source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/rainforest-insects-mt_XL2gqdKJfu.md
retrieved: 2026-11-12
---

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# Rainforest Insects

Name rainforest insects such as leaf-cutter ants, beetles, morpho butterflies and stick insects. Distinguish six-legged insects from spiders. Describe how leaf-cutter ants use leaf pieces to grow fungus for food.

Subject: Science · Area: Rainforests · Ages 5 to 7
Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/rainforest-insects-mt_XL2gqdKJfu

## Ready when they can

- Name rainforest insects and explain that insects have six legs while spiders have eight
- Explain that insects are very numerous in tropical rainforests, while individual local counts can differ
- Describe how leaf-cutter ants carry leaf pieces to grow fungus for food

## Lesson: Insects Rule the Rainforest

You have learned about rainforest layers. Leaf-cutter ants, beetles, morpho butterflies and stick insects live in tropical rainforests. Insects have six legs. Spiders have eight legs, so they are not insects.

*(drawing: Follow how leaf pieces help ants grow their food.)*

Leaf-cutter ants carry cut leaf pieces to their nest. They use the pieces to grow fungus for food. Fungus is living. It is not a plant or animal.

Many morpho butterflies have blue wings. Stick insects look like twigs to hide. Beetles have a hard outer covering. Size and colour alone cannot identify an insect.

Insects are very numerous in tropical rainforests. They usually outnumber birds and large mammals. A count in one small spot can differ from this wider pattern.

**Recap.** Rainforests have many insects. Leaf-cutter ants grow fungus for food. Stick insects can hide by looking like twigs.

*Lesson, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.*

## Practice

8 questions on this page, each with its working shown.

## Needs first

- [Rainforest Layers](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/rainforest-layers-mt_-0cjwyYhce)

## Optional connections

- [What is a minibeast?](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/what-is-a-minibeast-mt_BI6oGIO-xM)
- [Iconic Rainforest Animals](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/iconic-rainforest-animals-mt_xVW5U41tbp)