Marvellous Mini-beasts

What is a mini-beast? What is a mini-beast? Can you name some mini-beasts? Examples include: spiders, ladybirds, worms, beetles, woodlice, butterflies, moths, slugs, snails, dragonflies, centipedes, scorpions, crabs.

What is a mini-beast? Invertebrates have an exoskeleton How many legs? Invertebrates have no backbone or internal skeleton 0, 6, 8 or lots! What is a mini-beast? Mini-beasts are also known as invertebrates, animals without a backbone or internal skeleton. Instead they have an exoskeleton, which acts to support their body from the outside – a bit like a suit of armour [this means that many mini-beasts have to moult (shed their skin) to grow as they get too big for their exoskeleton] They can take many shapes and forms. Some have lots of legs, some have none (0 – worm, snail, 6 – ants, butterflies, 8 – spiders, LOTS – centipede, millipede) Some have wings (butterflies, beetles) and some do not (spiders, snails) What features help mini-beasts to survive to live on LAND (terrestrial invertebrates)? [there are mini-beasts that live in water too – e.g. crabs, krill] Take many shapes and forms Some have wings, some don’t

“the way animals and plants become better at living in their habitat” What is adaptation? “the way animals and plants become better at living in their habitat” Adaptations allow animals and plants to live successfully in their habitat. Animals and plants that live in different habitats need different adaptations. Mini-beasts can be found in lots of different habitats (e.g. living in the soil or in trees) and they can do this because they have all become adapted to their habitat. What is adaptation? It is the way animals and plants become better at living in their habitat Adaptations allow them to live successfully in their habitat e.g. helps them to get the food they need, to communicate with each other, and to avoid predators Because habitats are different, animals living in different habitats need different adaptations

Movement Centipede Earthworm Dragonfly Snail Mini-beasts need to be adapted to move in their habitat. There are many adaptations to do this: Centipede (Amazonian giant centipede) - has many legs, adapted to move very quickly on the ground (one pair of legs per body segment) Earthworm – burrows through soil, very flexible and can change shape quite easily Snail – crawls/slides along on a muscular foot, covered in slimy mucus, moves slowly (so can’t run away from predators) but can retreat into shell if threatened Dragonfly – can fly, very small, light body Dragonfly Snail

Escaping predators Ladybird Monarch butterfly Pill millipede Mini-beasts may need to be adapted to escape predators and avoid being eaten! Ladybird – secretes a nasty tasting fluid when threatened by a predator and has brightly coloured wing cases to warn predators that it doesn’t taste very nice. Monarch butterfly – bright and colourful, advertises to potential predators that it tastes bad. Apollo butterfly – has eye spots on wings which deter predators, looks like a larger creature, red is also a colour that warns of danger. Pill millipede – curls up in a ball when threatened, hard ‘shell’ – physical protection against birds beak. Pill millipede Apollo butterfly

Camouflage Stick insect Peppered moth There are also other ways of escaping from predators – e.g. camouflage Camouflage is a way for animals to hide from other animals by blending in with their surroundings (Top left) Stick insects hide from predators by blending in with their habitat and by staying very still. They have also learned to sway like leaves in the wind. (Bottom right) Peppered moths are cleverly adapted to match the bark of a particular type of tree. Peppered moth

Effective hunting House spider Scorpion Trapdoor spider Some mini-beasts are predators, which means they need to be adapted to catch other animals. Examples include: House spider – spins web and eats prey once they get caught and tangled in the web Scorpion – sting in tail and claws called pincers at front which allow them to grab onto their prey and eat it Trapdoor spider – hidden burrow, ambush predator, jumps out and catches prey, uses sensory lines to detect movement (like a trip-wire) Scorpion Trapdoor spider

Swallowtail butterfly Not all mini-beasts hunt… Leaf-cutter ants Not all mini-beasts are predators though, some eat plants and are called herbivores. How are they adapted to do this? Leaf-cutter ants - very strong . They cut up leaves into small pieces and then carry them back to their colony and use them to grow a fungus which they eat. They don’t actually eat the leaves themselves. Swallowtail butterfly – drinks nectar using long flexible tongue Dung beetle (also known as the Dor beetle) – very strong, collects ‘dung’ to feed its larvae Dung beetle ...some are herbivores! Swallowtail butterfly

Male rhinoceros beetle Winning a mate Winning a mate is also very important for mini-beasts. What adaptations do they have for this? Rhinoceros beetle – the males have really large horns for fighting other males, and impressing females Male rhinoceros beetle

Design your own mini-beast! Activity

Things to think about… Where does it live? What does it eat? Is it brightly coloured or camouflaged? How does it move? Does it live with other members of the same species? Where does it live? E.g. trees? Burrows? Underground? How does it defend itself against predators?

Here’s one we made earlier…. “Flying leaf creeper” Here’s one we made earlier! Explain adaptations of mini-beast

Things to think about… Where does it live? What does it eat? Is it brightly coloured or camouflaged? How does it move? Does it live with other members of the same species? Where does it live? E.g. trees? Burrows? Underground? How does it attack / defend itself?