Send to a Friend

Your Personal Message:

Yes, I would like to receive National Wildlife Federation emails.

The Great Bug Hunt

Find out which creepy crawlies live in your yard and nearby parks.

What you need:

What you do:

Go hunting. Think about different places to find bugs: climbing on grass, flowers, and trees, and hiding under rocks, logs, or leaves. Pick one spot and search it well. A flowering plant can be a bug magnet, with several creatures visiting the flower and others hiding under its leaves or patrolling its stems.
Take notes. Record each bug you find in a “bug journal.” Note where you found the critter and what it was doing. Then describe the bug’s shape, color, number of legs, and distinctive features. If necessary, use a field guide to identify the creature.
Get a closer look. You and your child may want to gently place a bug you find in a jar and inspect it with the magnifying glass. Write down all the extra details your child can now tell you. Make sure you return the bug tow here you found it.
Try another location. The bugs you’ll find on a fruit tree or under a bunch of dead leaves can be different from those on a rose bush. Check out several locations.

What you talk about:

What’s in a word? Explain to your child that any people commonly use the term bug to refer to any small, creepy-crawly animal. But these animals are not all the same, and scientists have names for them based on their characteristics. Bees, grasshoppers, and ants, for example, all have three body parts, six legs, and two antennae. Scientists call animals with these features insects. Spiders, which have eight legs, are a kind of animal called an arachnid. Scientists use the term bug only when talking about specific kinds of insects that have needle-like mouths.
Bug hot spots. Ask your child to think about where they found the most bugs. Why do they think that is? What were the bugs doing?
Garden helpers. Tell your child that bugs can be helpful. Some bugs, such as ants and bees, help plants grow by moving pollen from one flower to another. Wasps and ladybugs help plants by eating insects that like to eat leaves.

Books

Extend your bug adventure by reading: