The Bug Lab Invertebrate Museum

The Buzz Newsletter will soon be available online!

Check back here later or sign up for the email newsletter by sending us your email!

Here are some bits from our last newsletter...

The Buzz Newsletter

Greetings Junior Entomologists! You are receiving “The Buzz” newsletter because you expressed interest in receiving information from The Bug Lab. Feel free to forward this letter to aspiring bug scientists who would like to learn more about these fascinating creatures. Enjoy!

Spotlight on a Bug Lab bug

Come down to the Bug Lab and see our newly hatched Preying Mantids. Preying mantids get their name from the way they hold their front legs. These insects are voracious ambush predators, staying very still before pouncing on an unsuspecting cricket. Their front legs are specialized entirely for hunting and mantids don’t really use these legs for movement. They can pivot their triangular heads and look over their shoulders. Although they are predators, they are actually very slow moving and fly sluggishly and awkwardly. They rely on camouflage to protect themselves from being eaten by birds, lizards or amphibians. Preying mantids are in the same group of insects as the Cockroaches.

Bug Trivia

· There are over ONE MILLION species of insects in the world.

· The longest insect is the Indonesian stick insect who reaches lengths of 13 inches!

· The loudest insect is the cicada who can be heard up to a quarter mile away

· What’s the deadliest insect? The answer may surprise you, but the insect responsible for HALF of all human deaths (excluding war) since the Stone Age is actually the mosquito!

Bug Jokes

Q: What do moths study?

A: Mothmatics

Q: What is the biggest moth in the world?

A: A mammoth

Q: Who is the king of the insects?

A: The Monarch.

Cool Bug Websites

Kool Kids Amazing Insects

http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/kkhp/1insects/bugmenu.html

View some incredible photos of insects and improve your bug knowledge by reading informative fact sheets.

Bee Sight

http://cvs.anu.edu.au/andy/beye/beyehome.html

View the world through the eyes of a bee! Amazing – check it out!

Bug Word Puzzle

Find the bug themed words hidden in the puzzle, and circle each letter. When you’ve finished, write the hidden message revealed by the remaining letters in the space provided below and bring your completed sheet into The Bug Lab to receive one dollar off admission.

L A N B E A S N N T G E C E T

O E E M O L P H O H R D R D L

O E G G I U I A I O A E I E S

S Y T S I T D B P R S P C P S

A L S C I N E I R A S I K I E

C F E N T A R T O X H T E L C

H C O C K R O A C H O N T L N

R B E S I A S T S S P E S I E

Y E T A G T R T W H P C O M I

S E S T N U U A C D E I E S C

A T B U T N B G C E R S X H S

L L G N K O E I J H S P T S T

I E A L O N Y T B E N N K E S

S S M D I L R K N J J I I G Z

I N V E R T E B R A T E D U Q

ANT

ANTENNAE

ARACHNID

BEES

BEETLES

BUGS

CENTIPEDE

CHRYSALIS

COCKROACH

CRICKETS

FLY

GRASSHOPPERS

HABITAT

INSECTS

INVERTEBRATE

LEGS

MILLIPEDE

SCIENCE

SCORPION

SPIDER

TARANTULA

THORAX

Website design and materials (c) The Bug Lab.