Ants are extremely strong and can lift things - Teaching Ideas · • Ants are extremely strong and can lift things ... • Although centipede means 100 legs, ... • The Signal Crayfish

Name Ant

Size (approximately) 3-5mm

Predatorsand Threats Worms, other insects and spiders.

Diet Small insects, fruit seeds, ripe fruit and anything sweet.

Habitat Gardens, under brick and stones.

Lifespan Workers 1-2 years, Queens up to 28 years.

Interesting Facts

• Ants are extremely strong and can lift things several times their own weight.• A colony will contain thousands of workers.• Scientists estimate that ants lived alongside the dinosaurs 130 million years ago, in the early Cretaceous period.

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Name Barnacle

Size (approximately) Up to 15mm

Predatorsand Threats Whelks, Sea slugs and other sea creatures.

Diet Plankton.

Habitat Rocky shores.

Lifespan Up to 8 years.

Interesting Facts

• Barnacles undergo metamorphosis, like a butterfly.• Larvae hatch from the egg, with three pairs of legs, one pair of antennae and one eye.• They go through six different moultings until they form a kind of cocoon, called a cypris.• The cypris finds a rock to attach to, near another barnacle, and the adult barnacle emerges.


Name Bee


Predatorsand Threats

Wasps and small mammals. Under threat from changes in the environment.

Diet Pollen and nectar from flowering plants.

Habitat Gardens and open areas with lots of flowering plants and hollow trees to nest in.

Lifespan Workers and Drones a few weeks, Queens 3-4 years.

Interesting Facts

• There are 3 castes of honeybee, the female workers and queens and the male drones. The workers and the queens have stingers, but the drones do not.• The queens' eggs develop into females, and the workers' eggs develop into males.• The eggs that are going to become queens are put into larger cells in the honeycomb and fed on royal jelly, produced by the workers.


Name Beetle

Size (approximately) 1-20cm

Predatorsand Threats Insects, birds, garden creatures.

Diet Insects, dust and dung.

Habitat Land and freshwater.

Lifespan A few weeks up to 3 years.

Interesting Facts

• Many species of beetle have horns.• Dung beetles live on dung.• One in every four animals on earth is a beetle.• There are at least 3,500 species of beetle and some scientists think there may be 3 million different species.• Beetles have been on earth for at least 270 million years.


Name Butterfly

Size (approximately) 6mm-30cm


Mammals, insects, birds. Under threat from loss of habitat and environmental change.

Diet Plants. The caterpillar eats leaves. Adult butterflies drink nectar.

Habitat Gardens, meadows, near flowering plants.

Lifespan 2 weeks to a year.

Interesting Facts

• Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet, so they taste the plants as they land on them.• They cannot chew food as their mouth parts, called a proboscis, work like a drinking straw.• Butterflies sip water from puddles to get minerals and salts they cannot get from nectar.


Name Centipede

Size (approximately) 5mm-30cm

Predatorsand Threats Small mammals, bird and toads.

Diet Insects, spiders and other small invertebrates.

Habitat Stones, bark and ground litter in gardens.

Lifespan 2-3 years.

Interesting Facts

• Although centipede means 100 legs, most centipedes have far fewer.• There are 44 species of centipede in the UK.• Centipedes can move backwards as quickly as they can move forwards.• Centipedes paralyse their prey with venom from their claws, before eating them.


Name Coral

Size (approximately)

Individual polyps are 3-56mm but reefs can be over 1,000 miles long.


Sea Fish. Under threat from human activities, such as fishing, as well as disease and changes in sea temperature.

Diet Plankton and small fish.

Habitat Tropical Waters.

Lifespan 2 years to hundreds of years.

Interesting Facts

• Coral reefs are formed from the skeletons of individual polyps.• Each Coral polyp is tiny, but they form massive structures.• The Great Barrier Reef can even be seen from space.• Coral Reefs cover less than 2% of the ocean floor but are home to about one quarter of all ocean species.


Name Crab


Predatorsand Threats Cod, other sea fish and large sea birds

Diet Shellfish, fish and other sea creatures.

Habitat Shoreline and estuaries.

Lifespan 6-10 years.

Interesting Facts

• The Common Shore Crab has to shed its shell and grow a new one once or twice a year.• During this time it is known as a "peeler" and is often used as bait by anglers.• The crab will eat pretty much any animal matter that it can find on the seabed, including other Common Shore Crabs!


Name Crayfish

Size (approximately) 16cm


Otters, salmon and eels. Native species under threat from Crayfish plague, carried by the Signal Crayfish.

Diet Fish, frogs, insects and plants.

Habitat Freshwater rivers and streams.


Interesting Facts

• Crayfish are nocturnal.• They move by walking along the river bed and, if it needs to, a crayfish can walk overland to get to a new waterway.• The Signal Crayfish gets its name because of its bright red claws. Signal Crayfish were imported from America for farming, but have escaped into the wild and taken over from the native Crayfish because they are bigger and more ferocious.


Name Cricket


Predatorsand Threats Birds, reptiles and small mammals

Diet Decaying plant materials, fungi and seedlings.

Habitat Under rocks in fields and meadows.

Lifespan A year.

Interesting Facts

• Male crickets make chirping sounds by rubbing their wings together.• Crickets chirp faster in warmer temperatures.• You can work out the temperature in centigrade by counting the number of chirps in 25 seconds, dividing that by 3 and then adding 4.


Name Daddy long-legs (Harvestman)

Size (approximately) 16mm

Predatorsand Threats Birds and spiders.

Diet Plants.

Habitat Farmland, grassland, gardens and houses.

Lifespan About a year.

Interesting Facts

• Gardeners don't like Daddy long-legs much, as the larvae live underground and eat the roots and stems of plants.• Although they look similar to spiders and are from the same family, the arachnid family, Daddy Long Legs are not spiders.• They do not spin webs and they have three body segments, while spiders have two.


Name Dragonfly

Size (approximately) 50mm - 85mm in the UK

Predatorsand Threats Fish and birds.

Diet Flying insects,and even smaller dragonflies.

Habitat Birds, spiders and frogs.

Lifespan 6 months to 7 years, but probably only a couple of weeks as an adult.

Interesting Facts

• In prehistoric times, dragonflies were much bigger and were actually the largest flying insects ever.• Dragonflies do not live very long once they become adults. Most of their lifespan is spent as larvae under the water.• Many dragonflies die from starvation if the weather is bad because they cannot fly and neither can the smaller insects they feed on.


Name Earthworm

Size (approximately) Up to 15cm

Predatorsand Threats Birds.

Diet Organic matter and rotting plants.

Habitat Soil.


Interesting Facts

• Gardeners like earthworms because they eat lots of dead plant material and their burrows aerate the soil and allow water to flow through it.• Earthworms breathe through their skin so they have to come to the surface when it is raining or they might drown.• Earthworms are both male and female.• If an earthworm is cut in half, the half with the saddle will survive.


Name Grasshopper


Predatorsand Threats Birds, frogs, spiders and snakes.

Diet Grass.

Habitat Grass.

Lifespan Up to 10 months.

Interesting Facts

• Grasshopper's ears are in their bottoms!• Grasshoppers "sing" by rubbing their legs against their wings.• The meadow grasshopper cannot fly.• In some parts of the world grasshoppers are eaten by humans.• Grasshoppers have very strong back legs, which act like a catapult to fling them into the air.


Name Hermit Crab


Predatorsand Threats Sea fish, starfish, octopuses, and other sea creatures.

Diet Dead and dying marine life and plankton.

Habitat Rocky and sandy shores and sea grass beds.

Lifespan 3-5 years.

Interesting Facts

• Hermit crabs do not have a shell of their own, so they have to use the empty shells of other animals, usually snails, whelks or periwinkles.• They have to find a new shell when they grow out of their old one.• Sometimes, if two hermit crabs meet, one will try to steal the other one's shell.


Name Jellyfish


Predatorsand Threats Sea Turtles and large fish.

Diet Molluscs, crustaceans and worms.

Habitat Coastal waters.

Lifespan 6 months.

Interesting Facts

• Jellyfish can sting, so never touch them with bare hands.• They feed by stinging their prey and trapping them in mucus.• Jellyfish can only travel upwards on their own and rely on the tides and currents to move horizontally or to stay suspended.


Name Krill



Whales, birds, fish. Under threat from human activity such as fishing and rising sea temperatures.

Diet Plankton.

Habitat Oceans.

Lifespan 2-6 years.

Interesting Facts

• There are thought to be more Krill than any other species on earth.• They are the main part of the diet of hundreds of different animals and are a crucial part of the food chain in the oceans.


Name Ladybird



Birds, spiders and some beetles. Native species under threat from invading foreign species.

Diet Aphids and other small insects.

Habitat Hedges, trees, gardens.

Lifespan Up to a year.

Interesting Facts• Ladybirds are brightly coloured to warn predators that they taste terrible.• When they are attacked they produce a substance called ‘reflex blood’ which is toxic.


Name Leech

Size (approximately) 7mm-300mm

Predatorsand Threats Fish and birds.

Diet Blood and small aquatic animals.

Habitat Freshwater, although a small number of species live in the sea or on land.

Lifespan Up to 10 years

Interesting Facts

• Leeches have been used in medicine for thousands of years.• People believed that letting the leech suck your blood could cure many illnesses.• Today they are used in surgery, not because they suck blood, but because an enzyme in their saliva helps blood flow and skin heal more easily.


Name Lobster

Size (approximately) Up to 1 metre


Large fish and humans. Under threat from fishing and pollution.

Diet Fish, molluscs, algae and even other lobsters.

Habitat Oceans.

Lifespan 50 years.

Interesting Facts

• The largest lobster ever recorded was caught off the coast of Canada in 1977 and weighed over 20kg. It was about 1 metre long and possibly 100 years old.• Because they live on the bottom of the ocean, lobsters rely on touch and vibration rather than vision.


Name Mayfly

Size (approximately) 2.5mm to 32mm

Predatorsand Threats Birds, bats. frogs and fish.

Diet Larvae eat algae. The adults do not eat.

Habitat Ponds, rivers and streams.

Lifespan Up to one year under the water as a nymph, up to two days as an adult.

Interesting Facts

• A mayfly spends most of its life as a nymph.• It only lives as an adult for two days or less. During this time it must find a mate and breed.• In many species, the adult mayfly does not have a mouth.


Name Millipede

Size (approximately) 2cm - 6cm

Predatorsand Threats Birds, badgers, rats and shrews.

Diet Decaying wood and vegetation.

Habitat Woodlands, hedgerows and gardens.


Interesting Facts

• Millipedes are only born with a few pairs of legs.• Each time they moult (shed their skin) they gain more body segments and legs.• Although millipede means 1000 legs, none have that many!• One species has up to 750 legs, the most of any animal in the world.


Name Mite

Size (approximately) 0.3mm

Predatorsand Threats Larger mites.

Diet Pollen, skin, bacteria and their own dung.

Habitat Houses.

Lifespan 10-12 weeks.

Interesting Facts

• Many people are allergic to House Dust Mite droppings. The droppings are microscopic and hang in the air.• A house dust mite eats its own droppings. It may eat them up to 3 times over, by eating them, then excreting them and eating them again.


Name Moth

Size (approximately) 0.6-30cm

Predatorsand Threats Birds, bats, lizards, spiders.

Diet Nectar, fruit and natural fabrics.

Habitat Gardens, fields, forests.

Lifespan 40 days .

Interesting Facts• A male Giant Silkworm Moth can smell a female more than seven miles away.• They use their antennae to detect odour molecules, instead of having nostrils.


Name Mussel


Predatorsand Threats Fish, whelks, other sea creatures and humans.

Diet Bacteria and plankton.


Lifespan 2-3 years.

Interesting Facts

• Mussels live together in large mussel beds.• They are bonded together by threads of a substance called byssus, also known as beards.• If a mussel is attacked by a whelk, it can sometimes use the byssus to bind the whelk to its shell.• Although the whelk eats the mussel, it then starves to death because it is stuck to the empty shell.


Name Octopus


Predatorsand Threats Sharks and large fish.

Diet Fish and crustaceans.

Habitat Oceans.

Lifespan 1-2 years.

Interesting Facts

• Most species of octopus use ink to get away from predators. They spray ink into the water so that the predator cannot see. They are then able to escape.• They also sometimes use the ink to confuse their prey before attacking.• Common Octopuses collect shells to build fortresses around their lairs.• Octopuses are considered the most intelligent invertebrates.


Name Prawn



Birds, crustaceans, fish and humans. Under threat from intensive farming.

Diet Molluscs and crustaceans.

Habitat Oceans.

Lifespan 2-3 years.

Interesting Facts

• Tiger prawns burrow into the ocean bed during the day and come out to feed at night.• Although they are nocturnal, they can also see well in daylight, because their eye stalks can change to adapt to the light conditions.


Name Scorpion


Predatorsand Threats Snakes, lizards, rodents and birds.

Diet Insects.

Habitat Soil.

Lifespan 3-8 years.

Interesting Facts

• There are over 1200 species of scorpion, but only about 40 have strong enough poison to kill a human.• When food is scarce, scorpions can slow their metabolism so that they use less oxygen and do not need so much food.• Scorpions can survive being frozen overnight.• They do not drink, they get all the water they need from their prey.


Name Sea Anemone

Size (approximately) 1.25cm to 1.8m

Predatorsand Threats Snails, Sea Slugs, fish and Sea Turtles

Diet Fish and crustaceans.

Habitat Oceans.


Interesting Facts

• There are 6500 different species of Sea Anemone.• Some species live with Clownfish.• The Clownfish is protected from predators by the Sea Anemone's sting, and the Clownfish chases away predators that might want to eat the Sea Anemone.


Name Sea Urchin



Crabs, snails, sea birds and other sea creatures. Under threat from changes in sea temperature

Diet Sea plants and dead animal matter.

Habitat Oceans.


Interesting Facts

• The Red Sea Urchin is one of the longest living creatures on earth and can live up to 200 years.• Sea Urchins are sometimes called the ‘hedgehog of the sea’ because of their spines.• Some Sea Urchins can use their feet to pick up small objects from the ocean floor and cover their bodies so that they can hide from predators.


Name Shrimp


Predatorsand Threats Cod, other fish and humans.

Diet Worms, molluscs and crustaceans.


Lifespan 3 years.

Interesting Facts

• Common Shrimp eggs take between 3 and 10 weeks to develop. This depends on the temperature of the water.• They swim backwards by flexing their abdomen and tail.• They can change the brightness of their colouring to blend in with their surroundings.


Name Slug

Size (approximately) Up to 45mm

Predatorsand Threats Frogs, toads, birds, and other garden creatures.

Diet Garden plants.

Habitat Forest, fields and gardens.


Interesting Facts

• A slug has green blood.• A cubic metre of garden will on average contain up to 200 slugs.• Slugs can stretch up to 20 times their normal length so that they can squeeze through small openings to get to food.


Name Snail


Predatorsand Threats Birds, hedgehogs, mice, toads and centipedes.

Diet Rotting plant material and plants.

Habitat Parks, gardens and forest.


Interesting Facts

• The largest land snail is the Ghana Tiger Snail which can grow up to 30cm long.• Most snails have thousands of microscopic teeth on a tongue-like structure called a radula. This scrapes or tears food.


Name Spider


Predatorsand Threats Birds, bats, small rodents.

Diet Flies, beetles, earwigs and cockroaches.

Habitat Houses and garden sheds.

Lifespan Males a few months, Females 1-2 years.

Interesting Facts

• House spiders can survive for months without food or water.• If you find a spider in your bath, it is most likely a male who fell in while looking for a female and can't get out.• Most House spider species were originally imported into the UK from the Mediterranean in ships’ cargo.


Name Squid


Predatorsand Threats Whales, sea creatures, birds and humans.

Diet Small fish, crabs and shrimp.

Habitat Oceans.

Lifespan About a year.

Interesting Facts• Although most species of squid only grow to about 60cm, Giant Squid are the largest invertebrates on earth and can grow up to 13 metres long.• A Giant Squid's eye can be as big as a beach ball.


Name Starfish


Predatorsand Threats Manta Rays, sharks and other large fish.

Diet Shellfish.

Habitat Oceans.


Interesting Facts

• Starfish can regrow damaged arms or shed arms as means of defence.• Starfish do not have any blood, instead they pump nutrients around their bodies in seawater!• Starfish have an eye spot on the end of each arm, which can sense light and dark.


Name Tarantula

Size (approximately) Body 12cm, Leg up to 28cm


Peptic wasps (The wasps lay eggs in the spider's body. The larvae then eat the still living tarantula from the inside).

Diet Insects.

Habitat Warm environments, such as rain-forest and desert.


Interesting Facts

• A tarantula does not spin webs like other spiders, but it may spin a trip wire to let it know when something comes near its burrow.• It injects its prey with paralysing venom.• It secretes an enzyme that turns the body of the prey to liquid so that the tarantula can suck it up with its straw-like mouth.


Name Tick


Predatorsand Threats Birds.

Diet The blood of mammals, birds and reptiles.

Habitat Fields, woods and houses.


Interesting Facts

• Ticks are parasites and have to feed on another animal, called a host.• They become engorged (swell up) with blood when they feed.• They are also disease vectors, which means that they carry disease from one animal to another.


Name Wasp

Size (approximately) Workers 12-17mm Queen 2cm

Predatorsand Threats Dragonflies, birds, badgers and other small mammals.

Diet Nectar, sweet fruit, and insects.

Habitat Gardens, woodland and meadows.

Lifespan Workers 12-22 days, Queen up to a year.

Interesting Facts• Wasps do not make their own burrows, they use one that already exists.• This could be an abandoned animal burrow, or a corner of a shed or a space under a roof.


Name Woodlice


Predatorsand Threats Toads, centipedes and spiders.

Diet Rotting organic matter.

Habitat Under stones and logs and in leaf litter.

Lifespan 2 years.

Interesting Facts

• Woodlice are crustaceans, not insects, and are more closely related to crabs than insects.• Woodlice can reproduce in two different ways. The females can have babies without a male, this is called parthenogenesis. They also reproduce by mating.


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Ants are extremely strong and can lift things - Teaching Ideas · • Ants are extremely strong and can lift things ... • Although centipede means 100 legs, ... • The Signal Crayfish