Insect communication and behaviour · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

How insects talk without words

Science · Insects & Minibeasts · ages 9-11
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Ants leave invisible chemical trails, called pheromones, for other ants to follow.

    Circle one:   True   False

  2. An ant finds a crumb and walks home. Soon a line of ants walks the same path straight to the crumb. How did the other ants find it?

    • They followed the scent trail the first ant left behind
    • They heard the first ant call out the news
    • They watched the first ant dance the way

  3. In a bee's waggle dance, what does the length of the waggle tell other bees?

    • What color the flowers are
    • How far away the flowers are
    • How many bees are needed

  4. A bee waggles for 2 seconds to point to one flower patch, then waggles for only 1 second to point to a new patch. What does the shorter waggle tell the other bees?

    • The new patch is closer to the hive
    • The new patch is farther from the hive
    • The new patch has no flowers

  5. Which insect flashes patterns of light to find a mate?

    • Ant
    • Cricket
    • Firefly

  6. What makes the monarch butterfly migration so remarkable?

    • It only lasts one day
    • It covers thousands of miles, even though no single butterfly makes the whole round trip
    • Monarchs travel by following an ant trail

  7. A bee dances straight up on the honeycomb to mean 'fly toward the sun.' Today she dances at an angle 45 degrees to the right of straight up. What is she telling the other bees?

    • Fly at a 45 degree angle to the right of the sun's direction
    • The angle does not mean anything by itself
    • Fly 45 degrees away from the hive entrance

  8. A monarch born in Mexico this spring will not be the one flying south again next fall. Why can the migration still succeed?

    • Each butterfly remembers the trip from its own parents
    • Butterflies follow a pheromone trail like ants do
    • New generations use the sun and an internal compass to find the way, even though they've never flown the route before
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Answer key

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

How insects talk without words W1-mt_a9VnPBhoYs-s1

  1. True · Ants can't see these trails, but they smell them with their antennae and follow them to food.
  2. They followed the scent trail the first ant left behind · The first ant left a scent trail on its way home, and the other ants smelled it and followed it to the crumb.
  3. How far away the flowers are · A longer waggle run means the flowers are farther from the hive.
  4. The new patch is closer to the hive · Waggle time shows distance. A shorter waggle means a shorter flight to reach the flowers.
  5. Firefly · Fireflies flash light patterns. Ants use scent trails, and crickets chirp by rubbing their wings.
  6. It covers thousands of miles, even though no single butterfly makes the whole round trip · Monarchs travel thousands of miles across several generations, and still find the same winter forests.
  7. Fly at a 45 degree angle to the right of the sun's direction · The angle of the waggle run compared to straight up shows the angle between the sun and the flowers.
  8. New generations use the sun and an internal compass to find the way, even though they've never flown the route before · Monarchs are born already able to use the sun and an internal compass, so each new generation can still find the way.
Worksheet · LightMySky