The Bug Lab

Thank-you for inviting The Bug Lab to be part of your classroom’s education this year!  We are passionate about insect education, and eager to share our ideas and knowledge about bugs with you.  The following information may help you prepare your students.

Information on some of the bugs you will see in the museum

1. African Giant Millipede Archispirostreptus spp.

Millipedes are long tube-like animals that have four legs attached to every segment (line) along their body.  Look at all the lines along its body and you will realize that millipedes have many legs but never as many as 1000, which their name suggests.  Most millipedes have less than 300 legs. Millipedes don’t bite or sting and they are generally slow moving creatures.  To defend themselves, they will curl up tight into a ball, and look just like poop!  Yuck!  Animals do not like eating poop (except Dung Beetles, but that’s weird).  Millipedes will also ooze an irritating liquid from their armpits, and this liquid does not taste very good.   The African Giant Millipede is one of the largest millipede species in the world, and has grown up to 30 cm in length.  That’s the size of your school ruler!

2. Madagascar Hissing Cockroach Gramphadorhina portentosa

The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach lives in the jungles of Madagascar, the large island off the coast of southeastern Africa.  Living in dark places like caves, under the bark on a tree or in cracks in rocks this species protects itself by sounding like a snake.  In the jungle other animals know that snakes can be poisonous and are predators and thus avoid the sound of a snake.   Insects breathe through holes in the sides of their body called spiracles.  They don’t breathe through their mouth.  The cockroach makes its hissing noises by clenching its abdomen muscles and squishing air through these breathing holes.

3. Mexican Red-knee Tarantula  Brachypelma smithii

The Mexican Red-knee Tarantula lives throughout the southern United States and Mexico.  To defend itself, it will shed hairs onto your skin or kick hairs off its body and these hairs make your skin itch! This beautifully coloured tarantula is so popular as a pet that the Canadian government, along with other governments decided that it was necessary to place this species on the world endangered species list.  The protection for this species comes from the Convention on the International Trade of Exotic Species, and is the same law that protects other endangered species like the Panda Bear and the Tiger. 

4. Thorny Devil Eurycantha calcarata

Thorny Devils live in the rainforests of Papua New Guinea.  Also called Giant Spiny Stick Insects, they are primarily nocturnal (night active) and feed upon vegetation.  These animals are in the same group of invertebrates as leaf and walkingstick insects.   The Thorny Devil is named for the large spines that are located on the insect’s back legs.  Only the males have these spines, which are capable of inflicting a painful stab.  Males are quite aggressive and seem to have no fear.  Like most invertebrates, the females are larger than males.  The female lays numerous eggs continually throughout her adult life.  

5. Walkingstick Insects Phasmida spp.

Walkingsticks are the masters of insect camouflage.  These insects spend many hours in one position, looking like a stick and occasionally swaying if the wind blows.  They live in the bushes, shrubs and grasses of the tropical regions of the world.  A few live in the temperate climates.  Canada’s walkingsticks are resident in southern Ontario, one species is native and the other introduced. There are two different walkingstick species in this habitat.  The large bright green species is the girl of the Jerusalem Walkingstick, which is native to the Middle East.  The boy is very thin, smaller and brown.  The other species is the Indian Walkingstick, which is native to India.  This species has a short life cycle and if we are not careful to continually remove the eggs from their habitat, we will have hundreds of babies in a very short time.

Random Brainstorm Questions for Students

General

1. Name the body parts of an 
   • insect
   • spider
   • millipede
   • centipede
   • worm
   • snail
2. Name the four life stages of a butterfly
3. Name the four life stages of a beetle.
4. Name the life stages of a cockroach.
5. Name an insect that does the following:
   • flies
   • hops
   • slithers
   • crawls
   • burrows
   • buzzes
   • is quiet
   • chirps
6. Name an insect that has the following body parts:
   • no wings
   • wings
   • long antennae
   • short antennae
   • long back legs for jumping
   • red wing covers
   • hairy body
7. Name and insect that is the following colour:
   • red
   • orange and black
   • green
   • brown
   • black
8. Name some differences between:
   • invertebrates and vertebrates
   • insects and spiders
   • millipedes and centipedes
   • slugs and snails
   • earthworms and mealworms
   • butterflies and moths
   • beetles and woodbugs
   • scorpions and spiders

Arthropods and their habits

1. Name an insect that protects itself by:
   • camouflage
   • biting
   • stinging
   • curling into a ball
   • flying away fast
   • hopping away fast
2. Name an insect that is a 
   • predator
   • herbivore
   • omnivore
   • detritivore
   • parasite
3. Name an insect that is
   • nocturnal
   • diurnal
   • crepuscular
4. Name one insect that creates each of the following structures:
   • web
   • colony
   • nest
   • hive
   • cocoon
   • pupa
   • burrow
   • trapdoor
   • 'tent'

Arthropods and their habitats

1. Name an insect that lives on a cat or dog.
2. What is a host plant?
3. Name three types of bugs that live:
   • under the dirt
   • in shrubs
   • fly through the air
   • in freshwater
   • flower garden
   • your school grounds
4. Name an insect that lives in:
   • a grassland
   • a meadow
   • old growth coniferous forest
   • deciduous forest
   • tropical rainforest
   • desert
   • streambank
   • in a creek
   • in a pond