1. Marvellous Mini-beasts Design a Species www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar

2. What is a mini-beast?

3. ScorpionsButterflies & mothsSlugs & snails Dragonflies & damselfliesSpiders Beetles

4. What is a mini-beast? Invertebrates have no backbone or internal skeleton Invertebrates have an exoskeleton How many legs? 0, 6, 8 or lots! Some have wings, some don’t Take many shapes and forms

5. 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.

6. Movement Centipede Snail Earthworm Dragonfly

7. Escaping predators LadybirdMonarch butterfly Apollo butterfly Pill millipede

8. Camouflage Stick insect Peppered moth

9. Effective hunting House spider Scorpion Trapdoor spider

10. Not all mini-beasts hunt…...some are herbivores! Leaf-cutter ants Swallowtail butterfly Dung beetle

11. Winning a mate Male rhinoceros beetle

12. Design your own mini-beast!

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

14. Introducing the “flying leaf creeper”

15. Things to think about as you design your mini-beast… How does it move? How does it defend itself against predators? Is it brightly coloured or camouflaged? What does it eat? How does it attract mates? Does it live with other members of the same species? Where does it live? E.g. trees? Burrows? Underground?

16. This activity is accredited by the British Science Association and can count towards the CREST  Investigators SuperStar Award www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar