Topic: Zoology / Animals

friday
Recap yesterday
Objectives for today
 Learn the characteristics of insects and arachnids
 learn at that insects can be both harmful and helpful
 learn about reproduction in arachnids
 learn the insects and arachnids in Barbados
does anyone know what animal class, we are talking about today? Here is a hint

I have 3 parts and six legs

Sometimes I have wings or can lay many eggs

I am hard on the outside and soft within

Because of something called chitin

What am I ?

An insect

There are more types of insects than any other type of animal on the planet. The main categories
of insects are butterflies, moths, beetles, centipedes, flies, grasshoppers, and social insects. Insects
tend to be small, but can vary in size from nearly invisible to over 7 inches long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJlfBNyBKQA

Although there are many ways that insects are different, there are a few characteristics they all
have in common.

Insects are invertebrates, which means that they do not have a backbone.

Insects all have a hard external covering made of something called chitin.
this hard covering protects and supports the body. It is made up of two layers. The outer layer is
thin, waxy and water resistant. The inner layer is much thicker and is made of chitin. Depending on
the insect, the exoskeleton can be quite hard and rigid – like that of a cockroach – or less so when
the insect is in its larval (caterpillar) stage or if it has a soft body – like a blue blowfly.

The exoskeleton is non-living so it cannot grow with the insect when it is in its larval form or as an
adult. Insects shed their old exoskeletons, expand to a larger size and then wait for the new
exoskeleton to harden. This is called moulting, and it happens many times during an insect’s
lifespan. One of the most common signs of moulting comes in the spring when we find
exoskeletons on trees and fences.

Activity to show moulting- rubber glue on hands and allow to dry the peel it off

All insects have three parts to their bodies: the head, the abdomen, and the thorax.

Head: An insect has a small head that is a lot like your own head because
it holds the insect’s brain, eyes, and mouth. Insects also have special
feelers called antennae that stick out of the top of their heads. They use
their antennae to smell and feel because they do not have noses and
hands like we do.
Thorax: Right below the insect’s head is a middle section called the
thorax. The thorax of an insect is kind of like your chest, except insects
have six legs that come out of their thorax! Insect legs have special joints
(sort of like your knees) and tiny barbs on the ends instead of toes.
Some insects have wings connected to the thorax and can fly.

Many kinds of insects have one or two pairs of wings attached to their
thorax.
Thinking Scientifically: On insects, wings are always in pairs, just like on
airplanes. Most adult insects have two pairs of wings, but some only
have one pair, and some don’t have any wings at all! Can you think of
any insects that do not have wings? Can you think of some with two pairs
and some with only one pair? (Answers will vary, but here is an example:
walking sticks do not have wings, grasshoppers have two pairs, and flies
have only one pair of wings. There are more, can you think of any?)

Abdomen: The part below an insect’s thorax is called the abdomen. It is the largest part of the
insect’s body and contains its stomach, just like your abdomen does. It also contains the insect’s
reproductive system. Insects can reproduce (have babies) very quickly. Most insects reproduce by
laying eggs, like chickens do, only insect eggs are very tiny and have soft shells.

To be a true insect, a creature must have a head, thorax, and abdomen, six legs, two antennae
and an exoskeleton.

They have two antennae on their head and have six legs. Insects are cold-blooded, which means
that their body temperature changes depending on how warm or cold the air around them is.
Most insects hatch from eggs.

Create an Insect- allow children to draw a new insect of their own creation , name it and explain
the characteristics of an insect that it has

Insects can be either helpful or harmful. One of the greatest advantages of insects are as
pollinators

Insects as Pollinators
Does anyone know what pollination is? 
Pollination is very important to plant reproduction. Which I’m sure all of
you learnt about last week when you learnt about plants. Pollination is the
way pollen from the male part of a flower gets to the egg in the female
part of a flower to form a seed.
Pollinators are organisms which help move pollen from the male part of
the flower to the female part. Insects such as bees, butterflies, flies,
ants and wasps are all pollinators. 
Students will watch a video on pollination:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pnBoM4idf1k 
Questions:

 Do you remember the name of the body part that butterflies use to
get nectar from flowers?
 What body part do bats use to get nectar from flowers?
Another advantage is Biological control is the use of predators and
parasitoids to reduce the population of pests.   When pests are
threatening a crop, these beneficial insects can be released to eat the
pest and prevent further damage.   In some cases, insects that eat certain
weeds can be released to keep the weed from spreading.
Insects, or chemicals extracted from them have been used for thousands
of years to help us with medical issues.  This is called Entomotherapy.

Some examples:

1. Apitherapy.   More commonly known as bee venom therapy.   Bee

venom is a complex composition of enzymes, proteins and amino acids,
which simulates the release of cortisol (a hormone the body secretes
when stressed).  Studies suggest bee venom may improve symptoms of: 

      Rheumatoid Arthitis

      Gout

2. Surgical maggots (maggot therapy).  A wound to an animal or

person can lead to problem with infection.   If let untreated,
these wounds can attract certain types of blow flies that may lay
their eggs in the wound.  The maggots that hatch from the eggs
feed on the dead tissue in the wound and clean it.  
The beneficial effects of maggots upon the healing of infected
wounds have been recognized since the time of the Mayans, and
perhaps before that.   With humans, maggots found their way
into wounds when left untreated for too long.  This happened
frequently under battlefield conditions.  But surgeons observed
that wounds infested with maggots healed more quickly and
with fewer complications than comparable wounds that had not
become infested. 

The practice of eating insects, entomophagy, sounds gross to us but insects have served as a
food source for people for tens of thousands of years.  It is now rare in most countries, but
entomophagy is still practiced in parts of Central and South America, Africa, and Asia.

According to the insectsarefood.com website, there are more than 1,400 edible species of
insects, most popular are crickets and mealworms.   But what do they taste like?

An avid entomophagist, Dave Gracer, describes how some insect taste:

  Dry-toasted cricket tastes like sunflower seeds.
 Katydid like toasted avocado.
 Palm grub like bacon soup with a chewy, sweet finish.
 Weaver ant pupae have practically no flavor.
 Giant water bug is, astonishingly, like a salty, fruity, flowery Jolly Rancher.

Activity
Craft activity for students
Materials needed:

 Scissors
 Plasticine
 Card/ paper
 Pipe cleaners
 Glue
 Crayons

 It should look similar to the image below:

Harmful Insects
Although pollination is an important process, flowers are often negatively
affected by pollinators and other insects. Plant diseases are generally
caused by tiny organisms known as microorganisms. These include fungi,
bacteria and viruses. These organisms attach themselves to insects, then
the infected insects, when they attach themselves to flowers and plants,
can transmit these pests to the plant which they later infect. These pests
are largely responsible for the presence of plant diseases. 
Insertion of sucking mouthparts into plants increases potential for the
transmission of plant disease organisms. Sucking insects, such as
leafhoppers moving among plants can transmit mycoplasma-like
organisms that cause Peach X-disease and aster yellows. Aphids and
leafhoppers transmit viruses to plants.
Harmful Insects:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kf3AB04CtNI 

insects in Barbados

mosquitos

Mosquitoes are resident nuisances on the island of Barbados. Of particular threat to the
island is the Aedes aegypti mosquito which is a carrier of dengue and yellow fever.

Alder leaf beetle

Honey Bees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRGc7skekMQ

now that we have learnt all about the waggle dance , it’s time for us to try it

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NVYh6RyzWLA

Monarch butterfly

There are over 100,000 species of arachnids. The word arachnid comes from a Greek word
meaning spider. As a result, arachnids are commonly called spiders.

However, there are some non-spider like bugs such as scorpions and ticks that are included in
arachnids.

What makes an arachnid?

They have an exoskeleton and lay eggs.

They have two main body sections called the cephalothorax and the abdomen.
The cephalothorax is covered above by a hard cuticular plate called the carapace - much like the
hard 'shell' covering a crab.

The abdomen is usually covered with a thinner or more flexible cuticle - this allows for expansion
with feeding or when eggs are developing. The thin waist or pedicel separating it from the
cephalothorax allows movement of the abdomen, for example, during silk spinning and mating
displays.

They have eight legs.

They have simple eyes versus the insect's compound eyes. the simple eyes - usually eight
(sometimes six), are commonly arranged in two rows along the front of the carapace (although
eye arrangement and sizes vary).

Unlike insects they do not have antenna or wings.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6k-0yaLrJjI

Activity – puppet spider

A sock , pipe cleaner as legs or cut out legs from construction paper and stick on

Reproduction

Scorpions give birth to live young. Other arachnids lay eggs. Many simply deposit their
eggs in the soil or in a protected site and leave them to develop on their own. Some
tropical species guard the eggs by remaining with them during the period of
development.

Some spiders place their eggs in cocoons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Wo-mJJKuPE

Ticks and mites are born with only three pairs of legs while the others have four pairs.

Recap doing expr mamamlss

Ice – cream

Recap birds

Bird feeder

Recap fish

Jellyfish in a bottle