In this post, you will read about some of the key traits of insects. Then, you will learn how to tell insects apart from similar animals like spiders. Scroll to the bottom for a vocab list for this article.
Before we dive in: If you’re an educator planning to teach insects, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! You can download a printable handout version of this article with reading comprehension activities and a vocab list! Or, you can also find these materials within my complete Insects Unit (plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase! ❤️)
You can download this article as a printable classroom handout – complete with a vocab list and reading comprehension activity
Insects are all around us! For every person on Earth, there are about 1.4 billion insects. There are many different kinds of insects, too. Scientists have discovered more than 1 million species, and they continue to find new ones. Insects live in all kinds of places. You can find ants building tunnels underground. You might spot a water strider walking across the surface of a pond. There is even a flightless midge that survives in frozen Antarctica.
The water strider, which uses surface tension to walk across the surface of water, is a great example of an insect that lives in a pond or other aquatic habitat. Photo by Tanguy Sauvin.
Traits of Insects
Want to know if an animal is an insect? All insects share a few important traits. Here’s what to look for:
Exoskeleton – insects have a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton. It protects their bodies and supports them, much like your bones support you.
Three main body segments – insects have three main body segments. The three body segments are the head, thorax, and abdomen. They can be different shapes and sizes, but every insect has all three.
Six legs – insects have six legs. Animals with a different number of legs, like spiders with eight, are not insects.
These are not an insect’s only traits. Insects also have two antennae on their heads. Antennae help insects touch, smell, and sometimes taste the world around them. Instead of teeth, insects have special mouthparts for eating. Many adult insects have wings for flying. Insects hatch from eggs, and most go through a special change called metamorphosis as they grow. This means they change from one body form to another, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.
Can you spot the three main body segments of these insects (head, thorax, and abdomen)? Count their legs. How many do they have?
Arthropods: Insects and their Cousins
You can tell if an animal is an insect by counting its legs and body segments and looking for an exoskeleton. However, many animals look a lot like insects but are not. Insects belong to a bigger group of animals called arthropods. All arthropods have exoskeletons, segmented bodies, and jointed legs.
Different arthropods have different numbers of legs and body segments. Insects are arthropods with 6 legs and 3 body segments. Arachnids, such as spiders, ticks, and scorpions, have 8 legs. Crustaceans, such as crabs and shrimp, usually have 10 legs. However, arachnids and crustaceans are not insects. You can think of these animals as insect cousins.
What are the differences between the insects and the non-insects? (Hint: count the legs and body segments!)
Download this Article As a Printable Handout
Includes a vocab list and reading comprehension worksheets – ideal for classroom use!
Or: Find these materials within my complete Insects Unit
There’s no need to scramble to put together the perfect insects lesson – I’ve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying insects.
Abdomen – The back section of an insect’s body. It contains many of the insect’s organs.
Antennae – Two feelers on an insect’s head that help it touch, smell, and sometimes taste.
Arachnid – An arthropod with eight legs, such as a spider, tick, or scorpion.
Arthropod – An animal with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Insects, arachnids like spiders, and crustaceans like crabs are all arthropods.
Crustacean – An arthropod that usually has ten legs, such as a crab or shrimp.
Exoskeleton – A hard outer covering that protects and supports an animal’s body.
Head – The front body segment of an insect. It holds the eyes, mouthparts, and antennae.
Metamorphosis – The process of changing from one body form to another as an animal grows, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.
Species – A group of living things that are alike and can have young together.
Thorax – The middle body segment of an insect. It is where the legs and wings are attached.
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If you enjoyed this post, I know you will love trying my other printable science and nature units in your classroom too!
Amphibians are some of the most fascinating creatures on Earth, bridging the gap between water and land with unique adaptations. Understanding amphibian traits can help students grasp key biological concepts like life cycles, metamorphosis, and environmental adaptations. Whether you’re teaching about frogs, salamanders, or caecilians, exploring what makes amphibians special is a great way to spark curiosity about the natural world.
📚A Note for Teachers 🍎: If you’re an educator planning to teach amphibians, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Amphibian Unit (plus you’ll support my blog with your purchase! ❤️)
Before we dive into the traits of amphibians, it helps to answer the question “what are amphibians?”. Amphibians are a group of vertebrates—animals with backbones—that share some key traits. There are seven classes of vertebrates on Earth: amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and three types of fish.
But how do scientists know which animals belong in each class? It all comes down to family trees! Each class of vertebrates shares a common ancestor from long ago. If you traced their lineage back far enough, you’d find that all amphibians—frogs, salamanders, and more—descend from the same ancient relative. That’s why a salamander is more closely related to a frog than to a reptile like a lizard.
Thanks to their shared lineage, amphibians share some characteristics. In this post, we’ll discover some key amphibian traits…
A Backbone
Like all vertebrates, amphibians must have a backbone. A backbone is actually made of many individual, smaller bones called vertebrae, all stacked up in a flexible column. Amphibians’ spines help us tell them apart from invertebrate (backbone-less) creatures like insects and mollusks.
Cold-Blooded
Ever wonder why you see a frog sitting out on a lily pad in the sun? Amphibians are cold-blooded or ectothermic animals, which means their body temperature depends on the temperature of the air or water around them. They must rely on external (outside of themselves) heat sources to stay warm rather than making their own body heat.
When amphibians need to warm up, they sun themselves. If they get too hot, they go into cool water, underground, or find shade. Because they rely on external heat sources, their temperature varies a lot. Amphibians, reptiles, and most fish are cold-blooded animals.
Moist, Permeable Skin
One of their most distinctive features is their moist, scale-free skin. Amphibians, even the ones that look bumpy, like toads, never have scales. This is one of the key differences between amphibians and reptiles.
To stay hydrated, amphibians usually live in damp environments or near water. Their skin contains special mucus glands to keep it moist. It’s also permeable, allowing water and gases to pass through. This means amphibians can absorb water and even breathe through their skin! However, most species also have lungs or gills for breathing.
Metamorphosis
Salamander Life Cycle Diagram
Another trait of amphibians is metamorphosis—a dramatic transformation during their life cycle. For example, a tadpole with gills and a tail changes into an adult frog with lungs and legs.
Most amphibians go through metamorphosis, but there are a few types of amphibians that are exceptions. Some species of caecilians, a group of legless amphibians, develop differently and don’t go through metamorphosis the way frogs and salamanders do.
Carnivorous
Finally, all adult amphibians are carnivores. Often, they hunt and eat small invertebrates – little animals without a backbone – like insects and worms. However, some large amphibians like bullfrogs will even hunt small vertebrates like smaller amphibians, reptiles, and even mammals like mice.
While adult amphibians are carnivores, larval amphibians often are not. This is because before going through metamorphosis, they are more suited to eating plant matter. For example, a tadpole lives in a pond and eats plant matter before it grows up into a frog that eats insects.
Study Amphibians with Wild Earth Lab!
There’s no need to scramble to put together the perfect amphibians lesson – I’ve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying amphibians.
If you enjoyed learning about amphibian traits in this post, I know you will love trying my other printable science and nature units in your classroom!
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Are you studying birds in your homeschool or classroom? Engaging your students with interactive bird activities can make learning about these unique animals memorable. Birds provide a great opportunity to explore animal biology concepts, from understanding bird adaptations and behaviors to investigating their diets and life cycles.
To support your bird study, I’ve curated eight fun and educational bird activity ideas that are perfect for homeschool parents and classroom teachers alike. Whether you’re teaching elementary science or simply looking for creative ways to bring nature into your lessons, these hands-on bird activities are sure to inspire!
Download this FREE bird anatomy worksheet that I created just for you! It features a heron and is perfect for learning about the different feathers and body parts of a bird. The set includes a labeled diagram and an unlabeled diagram for practice!
My newsletter subscribers can access my free resources page, where you’ll find this diagram and many other freebies.
It’s easy to observe wild birds in action when you set up a bird feeder. You can do this outside your classroom window or in another outdoor area. Bird feeders are a great way to observe the feeding habits of birds up close.
Before you set up your bird feeder, have students research the diets of common birds in your area, with a wildlife research project (free worksheets!). Birds eat a wide range of food – seeds, berries, insects, flower nectar, small animals, and more! Furthermore, they feed in different ways. Some crack nuts with strong beaks, while others drill into wood or catch flying insects from the air!
Since different birds have different diets and feeding habits, there are many different types of bird feeders to choose from. After researching the local birds and their feeding habits, students can help select the best type of bird feeder for your classroom. A few different bird feeder options include:
Tray feeders
Hummingbird feeders (e.g., these hand-made glass feeders)
Hopper feeders (e.g., this feeder made from recycled plastic!)
Nyjer feeders
Window feeder – great for seeing birds up close! (example)
DIY bird feeders – gather your own materials or get a kit (example)
3. Try a fun bird beaks lab
A bird beaks lab is a hilarious and hands-on way to experience competition between species and learn about natural selection and animal adaptations. Students will experience first-hand how specialized beaks can help birds quickly gather the most food and outcompete other types of birds.
In my blog, I’ve created a guide for completing your own bird beaks lab! Check out my directions for setting up your own bird beaks lab in this post!
Raptors, or birds of prey, are top predators that can be found in almost any type of habitat, from coastal areas to mountains, wetlands to deserts, grasslands to forests. Some of these incredible birds can even adapt to live alongside humans in urban areas!
Raptor centers provide homes for injured birds of prey that can no longer survive in the wild, as well as raptor outreach and education for their local communities. You can learn all about raptors from the experts at your local raptor center or wildlife sanctuary while seeing these amazing birds up close! Many Raptor centers offer tours to school groups and homeschoolers, and some have outreach programs that will come to your school.
You can also find more raptor activity ideas and raptor information in my blog posts:
Building or decorating a birdhouse is a wonderful activity to go along with studying bird life cycles. Learn about the nesting habits of birds and create a little bird home where you can watch the bird life cycle take place!
There are many birdhouse options to choose from. You can get a birdhouse kit where you assemble the parts yourself (example) or pre-made birdhouses ready for kids to decorate (example)!
Birds have lots of special adaptations, and the most obvious ones are their wings! However, bird wings are not one size fits all – bird wings come in many specialized forms that are serve different functions and fit different lifestyles. Read my blog post about bird wings to take a look at a few different types of wings and what they do!
Nothing beats seeing birds in their natural habitat! Birds can be found in all sorts of different environments, from forests to grasslands, wetlands to deserts, coasts to mountains! They can even be found adapting to live in urban areas alongside humans, in some cases!
Don’t forget to bring all the right equipment when you go bird watching. You’ll need:
There’s no need to scramble to put together the perfect bird lesson plan – I’ve already done the work for you! Choose from seabirds & shorebirds, waterfowl & waterbirds, and birds of prey! You’ll find even more activities, printable learning materials, worksheets, and more in my bird units!
Can you tell the difference between a reptile and an amphibian? It can be challenging. After all, they are both ectothermic vertebrate animals. But there are a few key differences between reptiles and amphibians that you can use to tell them apart.
A note for educators: are you planning to teach reptiles and amphibians in your classroom? If so, I know you will love my complete Reptiles Unit and Amphibians Unit. They’re both packed with all the printable handouts, worksheets, and activity directions you’ll need – plus you’ll support this blog with your purchase! 💚(You can also find both of these units in my Vertebrates Bundle!)
First, reptiles always breathe air through lungs. Even aquatic reptiles never have gills and must go to the surface to breathe. But some amphibians have gills. Most amphibians live underwater for at least part of their lives. Many young amphibians live underwater and have gills. Some adult amphibians have gills too, but others develop lungs and live on land.
Life Cycles
Young amphibians look very different from adult amphibians. This is because they go through metamorphosis. An example of metamorphosis is a tadpole becoming a frog. Reptiles do not go through metamorphosis.
Amphibians and reptiles have different skin. Reptiles have dry, scaly skin, like snakes and lizards, or scutes like crocodiles. Instead, amphibians have moist skin that often looks smooth. Amphibians can also breathe through their skin!
Habitats
Reptiles and amphibians are both found on land and in freshwater. A few reptiles, like sea turtles, live in the ocean. But there are no amphibians living in the ocean.
Eggs
Reptile and amphibian eggs look very different. Amphibians lay soft, jelly-like eggs into water. Reptiles lay hard-shelled or leathery eggs on land. Some reptiles do not lay eggs at all and give birth to live young instead.
With the first signs of spring appearing, many of us are looking forward to spending more time enjoying our outdoor living spaces. Spring also means the beginning of yardwork season and time to start new projects in the yard or garden. Maybe you are looking to add more native plants, reduce your water usage, or just change things up to create a more enjoyable outdoor living space. No matter what your goal is or where you live, it is important to remember that we are not the only ones using our backyards. We share the outdoors with all kinds of animals and insects! Whether you are actively trying to attract more wildlife to your backyard, or just aiming to be a little more environmentally conscious, there are some steps that you can take to be more kind to the wildlife that visits and lives in your backyard! For me, I noticed a big difference in the wildlife I saw in my yard a few years ago when I moved to a rental house with a yard that was a bit more wildlife friendly. This spring, as I move into a new house again, I’m excited to use some of the things I learned to make my new yard a bit better for the animals and insects that live there!
My xeriscape backyard in early spring
A few years ago, I moved into a rental house near the edge of town with a yard that contained a variety of native bushes, trees, and flowers rather than being entirely grass. This type of yard is called a xeriscape, a style of landscaping designed to use little to no irrigation. Usually, xeriscapes involve a mixture of native or low water use plants, and non-living features such as rocks, gravel, pavers, and woodchips. While I knew xeriscaping was becoming more popular in my area for water saving purposes, I quickly learned about some other awesome benefits of having a xeriscape yard.
The first summer, I quickly became acquainted with the yard’s resident garter snake. I would often see this small snake on sunny afternoons, slithering through our vegetable garden, hiding amongst the rocks and shrubs, or prowling around the mint and raspberry bushes hunting grasshoppers. My scaly co inhabitant was not the only critter in my backyard. I also saw rabbits, squirrels, frogs, birds, and a variety of insects and invertebrates. From time to time, I would see hawks swoop over my house, returning from hunting at nearby farm fields to nest in the massive elm trees scattered throughout my neighborhood. Occasionally, I would see a hawk carrying a snake, and I would wait with anticipation until the next time I saw my garter snake pal.
My backyard garter snake pal
Prior to moving into my xeriscaped rental, I lived in several other houses, usually along busy roads, with bluegrass and dirt yards that had little variety. I imagine how these monotonous expanses must look to an animal. I would think they must feel very exposed out on a grass lawn – with no places to hide, build dens, or forage. Certainly, I had never seen a snake prowling through the short, uniform grass in my old backyard.
Comparatively, it seemed like there was a whole ecosystem in my new backyard. Through the seasons, I witnessed the small-scale ecosystem interactions happening in my own backyard, such as predation when my garter snake hunted insects (or when the local hawks hunted snakes!). I watched mutualism occur between my flower bushes and the visiting pollinators like hummingbirds and bees, who drank the sweet nectar in exchange for transporting the plants’ genetic material to other flowers. I observed competition too, mainly between the grasshoppers, the rabbits, and myself as we all competed for the limited amount of dwarf kale in my vegetable garden!
A northern goshawk – one of the many raptors you might see living near human-dominated areas
In addition to the joy of watching the day-to-day activity of my mini backyard ecosystem, I realized there might be other benefits to the presence of some of the animals that were attracted to my yard. After several months living in my house, I realized I almost never saw insects like ants and boxelder bugs inside of my house. It was also the only place I’ve lived where I’ve never seen a mouse inside or outside the house! I give credit to my snake friend – hunting its meals of insects and rodents while unknowingly defending the perimeter of my house from unwanted guests!
My lack of house pests was not the only perk of my mini-backyard ecosystem. The yard’s assortment of native flowering shrubs and plant species attracted a variety of hummingbirds, butterflies, bumblebees, and honeybees. In return, my summer vegetable garden reaped the benefits of these pollinators’ presence in my yard. I was grateful for an excellent harvest of squash, cucumbers, peppers, and tomatoes, thanks to the services these creatures provided.
As exciting as it is to witness the behaviors of my backyard wildlife, I sometimes feel a little guilty, knowing that many of these animals would have fared better decades ago, before my neighborhood was built and the land there was semi-arid shrublands. I think about how larger species like coyotes and pronghorn, which require larger swatches of land than snakes or honeybees, are pushed out of areas with humans. As we build roads and buildings, their natural habitat becomes fragmented, or divided into smaller, unusable units. My little backyard ecosystem is far from being like the natural habitat that occurred here long ago. Ultimately, any yard is going to be less desirable than an animal’s natural habitat. That said, there are things we can do to make our yards a little better for local wildlife:
1. Consider alternatives to chemicals
Using chemicals on the garden and lawn can help keep garden pests at bay and decrease the amount of time spent pulling weeds. But chemicals also have harmful impacts on backyard wildlife. Amphibians like frogs and salamanders are particularly sensitive to a variety of pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides, which may be contributing to their shrinking population sizes. Chemicals can also harm helpful garden insects like pollinators. If chemicals must be used, try to pick options that target specific pests and are not toxic to bees. Better yet, try chemical-free alternatives, like pulling weeds early and often before they get a chance to grow and spread. Or try using mesh netting to keep the grasshoppers out of the garden. These are just two examples – there are lots of ways to protect your garden from weeds and herbivores other than chemicals, although some methods may be more effective than others. Do some research, get creative, and find out what works best for your garden. For example, my great grandma insisted on painting pebbles with red nail polish and placing them around the bottom of her strawberry plants, as an unappetizing decoy for the birds and insects trying to eat the tasty berries!
The leopard frog, like many amphibians in impacted by pesticides and herbicides.
2. Reduce your pet’s impact
We all love our cats and dogs, but they are not a natural part of the ecosystem. Many pets will instinctually hunt or harass wildlife. Leaving a dog or cat outdoors unsupervised is like introducing an unnatural predator into an ecosystem – which can increase stress in wild animals and change their natural behavior. You can help by always supervising your pets when they are outside to make sure they do not bother wildlife. Cats especially may cause problems for wildlife. Outdoor domesticated cats kill a significant number of birds each year! Consider keeping your cat indoors to protect songbirds. If you must have an outdoor cat, add a jingle bell to its collar to increase the chance that birds will be able to hear your kitty sneaking up on them.
A ruby-throated hummingbird is one of many birds species impacted by outdoor cats
3. Create variety
Regardless of where you live, the natural environment in your area is likely not a monotonous expanse of grass, pebbles, or wood chips. Animals and insects are used to more complex environments that include places to hide. Adding a variety of trees, shrubs, groundcover plants, and rock features to your yard can provide critters with places to hide and build their nests. A more complex habitat allows for a greater diversity of species: simply put, a variety animals need a variety places in their environment to live, hide, and forage.
The swallowtail is a butterfly that overwinters as a chrysalis
4. Leave your yard waste
Raking leaves keeps lawns looking tidy. But leaves may actually provide important winter habitat for spiders and some insects. Spiders are a predator of many pest insects and can help decrease the number of insect invaders to your home. Additionally, yard waste like plant stalks and leaves may contain hibernating caterpillars or the cocoons and chrysalises of certain overwintering moth and butterfly species. Cocoons and chrysalises are the non-moving, intermediate life stages of moths and butterflies, respectively. In the spring, overwintering moth and butterfly species will emerge in their adult form, at which time they may pollinate plants in your garden! By removing yard waste, you may be unknowingly removing some of your pollinators! Raking leaves and cleaning up yard waste is a pain, so I know I am glad to hear there is a great excuse to put it off until after the spring!
Attracting pollinators to your yard is as easy as planting their favorite flowers! It is fun to watch butterflies and bees in your yard, and they can help pollinate your vegetable garden. It is important to select the right plants: choose native species that provide the necessary nutrients for the pollinators native to your local area. Visit a local plant nursery or research online to find out what native plant species can attract pollinators in your area!
A honeybee is one pollinator you might see in your yard!
This spring, I’m moving into a new house again. I’m looking forward to xeriscaping a few areas of my yard by adding native, pollinator-friendly plants – both to make my household more sustainable and to attract backyard wildlife. Maintaining xeriscape, especially a xeriscape with many plants and shrubs, can be hard work. I’m planning on writing another piece sometime soon weighing the pros and cons of xeriscape, as well as keeping everyone updated on my various sustainability projects in my yard and garden this summer.
If you enjoyed reading about my backyard wildlife experiences and learning about some of the ways you can make your backyard better wildlife habitat, please leave a comment below and subscribe to Wild Earth Lab for more posts like this one! You can also follow Wild Earth Lab using the links below, to get sneak previews of new learning resources in the works!
Finally, I created a free Backyard Wildlife Bingo game and a poster summarizing the tips in this post, linked below or available on the learning resources page! Check off the boxes in Backyard Wildlife Bingo while you and your family spend more time outside this spring!
Kawahara, A. Y., Reeves, L. E., Barber, J. R., & Black, S. H. (2021). Opinion: Eight simple actions that individuals can take to save insects from global declines. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(2). Available: https://www.pnas.org/content/118/2/e2002547117.short
