More kinds of insects than anything else

Science · Insects & Minibeasts · ages 9-11

Name ______________________ Date ____________

Which group of animals has the most known species?
- Insects
- Mammals
- Birds
About how many insect species have scientists found and named?
- About one thousand
- About one million
- About one billion
There are more known insect species than known bird and mammal species combined.
Circle one: True False
How does having a small body help insects succeed?
- They need less food to survive, so more of them can live in one place
- They can grow bigger than other animals
- They cannot be eaten by predators
Which of these is a reason insects have so many species?
- They are all the same size
- They reproduce quickly and lay many eggs
- They cannot fly
Scientists know about 1,000,000 insect species and about 6,000 mammal species. Which best describes the difference?
- Insects have about the same number of species as mammals
- Insects have roughly 150 times more species than mammals
- Mammals have more species than insects
Since scientists have already described about one million insect species, there are no more insect species left to discover.
Circle one: True False
Ben says insects are successful only because they can fly. Priya says it is because of several reasons together. Who is right?
- Neither, insect success is just luck
- Ben, flight is the only reason
- Priya, insects succeed because of size, reproduction, flight, and their exoskeleton together

Answer key

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

Insects · Insects beat every other animal group, including mammals and birds, by a huge margin.
About one million · Scientists have described roughly one million insect species so far.
True · Insects have about 1,000,000 known species, while birds and mammals together have only about 17,000.
They need less food to survive, so more of them can live in one place · Small insects need only tiny amounts of food, so many more can live in the same space.
They reproduce quickly and lay many eggs · Fast reproduction means insect populations can grow quickly and fill many habitats.
Insects have roughly 150 times more species than mammals · 1,000,000 divided by 6,000 is roughly 150, so insects vastly outnumber mammals in species.
False · Scientists think there could be five to ten million insect species in total, most not yet found and named.
Priya, insects succeed because of size, reproduction, flight, and their exoskeleton together · Insects owe their success to several traits working together, not just one: small size, fast reproduction, flight, and a versatile exoskeleton.