General Knowledge · Class 4 · Nature and animals
Insects and minibeasts
Is a spider an insect? Count its legs before you answer.
Small test at the end: scroll down to the end of this page for five short questions that check what you have learnt. Tap an answer, then press Check answer. Go to the questions ↓
Jump to: Read first · Try it away from the screen · Check it yourself · Check yourself · For teachers
Read first
5 facts. The questions below make you use them, not just remember them.
- An insect has six legs and a body in three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. Ants, bees, butterflies and beetles are insects.
- Spiders have eight legs and a body in two parts, so they are not insects. They belong to a group called arachnids, with scorpions.
- A butterfly's life has four stages: egg, caterpillar, pupa (chrysalis) and adult butterfly.
- A honeybee that finds flowers does a "waggle dance" in the hive. The dance tells other bees which way to fly and how far.
- Fireflies make their own light. A chemical reaction inside their body gives a cold glow, which they use to find a partner.
Offline
Try it away from the screen
Look under a stone, in a garden or near a light at night. Find three small creatures and count their legs. Which are insects? Put every stone back as you found it.
Make it on paper. Keep it with you. Nothing to upload.
Check it yourself
Many "insects" in photos online are not insects at all. Check one rule yourself: count the legs. Six means insect; eight means spider family.
Check yourself
Five questions about what this page teaches. Choose an answer and press Check answer, or open "See the answer and why". Nothing is saved or sent: your choices stay on this screen and disappear when you leave or reload the page.
How do you want to answer? You choose, and you can change at any time.
See the answer and why
- A. An ant Not this one. An ant has six legs and three body parts, so it is an insect.
- B. A housefly Not this one. A housefly has six legs. It is an insect.
- C. A butterfly Not this one. A butterfly has six legs. It is an insect.
- D. A spider Correct. Yes. A spider has eight legs and two body parts.
See the answer and why
- A. 6 legs Correct. Yes. Every adult insect has six legs.
- B. 10 legs Not this one. Crabs and prawns have ten legs. Insects have six.
- C. 8 legs Not this one. Eight legs is a spider or a scorpion, not an insect.
- D. 4 legs Not this one. Some butterflies seem to walk on four, but they still have six legs.
See the answer and why
- A. Egg, butterfly, caterpillar, pupa Not this one. The butterfly is the last stage, not the second.
- B. Caterpillar, egg, pupa, butterfly Not this one. Life starts with the egg; the caterpillar hatches from it.
- C. Egg, pupa, caterpillar, butterfly Not this one. The caterpillar comes before the pupa: it makes the pupa.
- D. Egg, caterpillar, pupa, butterfly Correct. Yes. The caterpillar becomes a pupa, and the butterfly comes out of the pupa.
See the answer and why
- A. 36 Correct. Yes. 3 × 8 = 24 and 2 × 6 = 12, so 24 + 12 = 36.
- B. 34 Not this one. That gives the spiders 6 legs and the beetles 8. Swap them back.
- C. 30 Not this one. That gives all five creatures 6 legs. Spiders have 8.
- D. 40 Not this one. That gives all five creatures 8 legs. Beetles have 6.
See the answer and why
- A. A chemical reaction inside its body Correct. Yes. Special chemicals in its body react and give off a cold light.
- B. It carries a tiny electric spark Not this one. Fireflies have no electricity in them. The light is chemical.
- C. It soaks up sunlight in the day and lets it out at night Not this one. Some toys glow that way, but fireflies make fresh light with chemicals.
- D. It reflects the light of the Moon Not this one. Fireflies glow even on dark nights with no Moon.
For teachers and grown-upsWhere the facts come from, and how to use this round.
Sources and notes
- Arachnids include spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. Some insects lose or fold legs, but all adult insects have six.
- Safety: look, do not touch; some caterpillars and ants sting or cause rashes.