En anglais

The hidden tools in an insect's body

Science · Insects & Minibeasts · ages 9-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

How is a compound eye built?
- One large lens that receives all the light
- Many visual units, each containing a lens
- One dark spot without a lens
What do spiracles help an insect do?
- Take in air for breathing
- Detect light for seeing
- Take up liquid food
Every adult insect chews its food with mandibles.
Circle one: True False
A house fly lands on spilled juice. How does it feed?
- It takes up juice with a sponging mouthpart
- It cuts the juice into pieces with hard jaws
- It scrapes the juice away using its antennae
Which mouthpart lets a leaf-eating beetle cut through a tough leaf?
- A coiled tube that draws in liquid
- A soft pad that soaks up food
- Hard jaws that cut and chew food
Which proposed camera design uses the compound-eye example of biomimicry?
- A camera with one lens on a flexible tube
- A camera with many lenses facing different ways
- A camera with a spongy pad around its lens
During a moult, a growing insect's new covering hardens before the insect expands.
Circle one: True False
A growing insect becomes trapped in its old exoskeleton during a moult. What may happen?
- It grows without shedding its shell
- Its hardened shell keeps stretching
- It cannot grow normally and may die

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Many visual units, each containing a lens · A compound eye contains many ommatidia. Each visual unit contains a lens and light-sensitive cells.
Take in air for breathing · Spiracles let air enter the insect's breathing tubes.
False · A nectar-feeding adult butterfly draws liquid through a proboscis instead of chewing.
It takes up juice with a sponging mouthpart · The house fly takes up liquid using the spongy tip of its proboscis.
Hard jaws that cut and chew food · Mandibles are hard chewing jaws suited to cutting solid food.
A camera with many lenses facing different ways · A compound eye has many visual units facing different directions. A camera with many lenses facing different ways borrows that structure.
False · The insect expands while the new covering is soft. Hardening follows expansion.
It cannot grow normally and may die · The insect needs to shed its old covering and expand while its new covering is soft. A failed moult can be fatal.