In this post, you’ll read about 9 amazing and real superpowers of insects that you might not have known about. Plus, scroll to the bottom for a classroom writing prompt inspired by insects’ incredible abilities.
A note for educators: If youโre an educator planning to teach insects, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Insects Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Insects may be small, but they make up for it with incredible superpowers. Just look at what these cool critters can doโyou’ll see that insects are like tiny superheroes living all around us!
1. Super Strength
An ant can carry 50x its own weight. A dung beetle can drag over 1,000x its own weight!
Leaf cutter ants. Photo by Kirsten C. Staring on Pexels.com
2. Super Vision
Some insects can see types of light that humans cannot see. These include ultraviolet and infrared light, which are invisible to our eyes. Butterflies and bees can see ultraviolet light, while mosquitoes can see infrared light.
Mosquitoes’ infrared-sensitive vision helps them detect body heat and find someone to bite! Photo by Anuj on Pexels.com
3. Super Tasters
Houseflies and butterflies can taste with the bottoms of their feet. Housefly feet are even more sensitive to sugar than the taste buds on your tongue!
4. Super Builders
Some types of termites build giant homes called mounds that can be twice as tall as an adult man. They are built to last too โ some termite mounds are about 4,000 years old and are still in use. Thatโs nearly as old as the Great Pyramids of Egypt!
Through teamwork, tiny termites build giant homes.
5. Super Jumpers
A grasshopper can jump up to 20x its own body length!
6. Super Fliers
Every year, monarch butterflies fly up to 3,000 miles from their summer homes in the United States to their winter homes in Mexico. This long, yearly trip is called a migration.
This monarch has a long migration ahead of it. Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com
7. Super Pollinators
Bees help pollinate 80% of the flowering plants on Earth! About one third of all our food comes from plants pollinated by bees โ including almonds, squash, and apples!
8. Space Explorers
Fruit flies were the first animals to be sent into space!
Dragonflies have been on Earth for about 300 million years. In contrast, humans have only been around for about 300 thousand years. That means dragonflies have been around 1,000x longer than humans!
Classroom Writing Activity
After you read about the superpowers of insects, try your hand at some insect-inspired creative writing:
Writing Prompt: Write a story about a superhero insect. What insect-inspired superpower does your hero have? How do they use it? Who or what do they help?
Find this activity and more in my complete Insects Unit
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect insects lesson โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying insects.
In this post, you will learn about pollination: the process of pollen transfer between flower parts. Then, you will read about the important role that insect pollinators like honeybees play in this process.
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach pollinators and pollination, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! You can download a printable handout version of this article with a vocab list and review activity! Or, you can also find these materials within my complete Insects Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
You can download this article as a printable classroom handout – complete with a vocab list and reading comprehension activity
Pollination is the movement of pollen from one flower part to another. Specifically, pollen is moved from the stamen (male flower part) to the carpel (female flower part) of a flower. After a flower is pollinated, a fruit begins to grow. Fruits contain seeds, which will grow into new plants.
The stamen and carpel of a flower. Pollen moves from the stamen to the carpel during pollination.
What are Pollinators?
Plants cannot move. So how do they get their pollen from the stamen of one flower to the carpel of another? Many plants rely on animals called pollinators to help with pollination. Pollinators are animals that carry pollen from flower to flower. Many pollinators are insects, such as bees. However, birds, mammals, and other animals can also be pollinators!
Pollinators visit flowers to feed on flower nectar or pollen. When they do this, they help carry pollen from one plant to another. Pollen from the stamen attaches to the body of a pollinator. As the pollinator visits other flowers, some of the pollen rubs off onto their carpels.
When this butterfly drinks nectar, it brushes against flowersโ stamens and carpels. As it flies from flower to flower, it carries pollen from one plant to another.
Working Together: Pollinators and Plants
Plants and pollinators have a symbiotic relationshipโ a close relationship between two living things. Both the plant and pollinator benefit from this close relationship. The pollinator gets a tasty meal of nectar. The plant gets pollinated so it can make seeds and reproduce. Itโs a win-win!
Pollinators are very important in their ecosystems because they help plants make fruits and reproduce. Many pollinated plants produce fruits, seeds, and leaves that other animals eat. Pollinators also help humans because they pollinate many of our food crops. For example, a tomato could not form from a tomato plantโs flower without being pollinated by a bee!
Download this Article As a Printable Handout
Includes a vocab list and review activity worksheets – ideal for classroom use!
You can download this article as a printable classroom handout – complete with a vocab list and reading comprehension activity
Or: Find these materials within my complete Insects Unit
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect insects lesson โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying insects.
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 youโre 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 youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
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. Hereโs what to look for:
Exoskeleton โ 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 โ 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 โ 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
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect insects lesson โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying insects.
Abdomen โ The back section of an insect’s body. It contains many of the insect’s organs.
Antennae โ Two feelers on an insect’s head that help it touch, smell, and sometimes taste.
Arachnid โ An arthropod with eight legs, such as a spider, tick, or scorpion.
Arthropod โ An animal with an exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Insects, arachnids like spiders, and crustaceans like crabs are all arthropods.
Crustacean โ An arthropod that usually has ten legs, such as a crab or shrimp.
Exoskeleton โ A hard outer covering that protects and supports an animal’s body.
Head โ The front body segment of an insect. It holds the eyes, mouthparts, and antennae.
Metamorphosis โ The process of changing from one body form to another as an animal grows, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.
Species โ A group of living things that are alike and can have young together.
Thorax โ The middle body segment of an insect. It is where the legs and wings are attached.
Explore more lessons from Wild Earth Lab:
If you enjoyed this post, I know you will love trying my other printable science and nature units in your classroom too!
Vertebrates are a category of animals that share one important trait – they have a backbone. There are seven different groups, or classes, of vertebrates on Earth. These include amphibians, birds, mammals, reptiles, and three kinds of fish. In this post, we’ll explore these groups and find out what makes each one unique.
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach vertebrates, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my 5 units on vertebrate classes, which you can also find within my complete Vertebrates Bundle (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Fish are a large and diverse group of vertebrates. Technically, they’re actually three groups of vertebrates. The three main types of fish are jawless fish, cartilaginous fish, and bony fish. Many animals that we might not always think of as fish belong to these groups. For example, sharks, skates, and rays are all types of cartilaginous fish. The bony fish group includes fish that follow the classic body plan, like salmon, tuna, and sturgeons. But this group also includes some unique fish whose bodies look quite different from their relatives – like eels and seahorses.
Fish live almost everywhere there is waterโfrom icy mountain streams to warm coral reefs and from shallow wetlands to the deepest parts of the ocean. They range in size from tiny guppies to giant sharks and manta rays. Some fish, like tuna, are streamlined for fast swimming across the open ocean. Others, like pufferfish or seahorses, have unusual body shapes and move slowly among reefs and seaweed.
Their diets and lifestyles vary, too. Some fish, like sharks and tuna, are predators that hunt other animals. Others filter feed tiny plankton from the water or graze on aquatic plants and coral. Some fish, like salmon, migrate long distances between freshwater and the ocean, while others spend their entire lives in one small pond. Regardless of size, shape, or habitat, fish show an incredible range of adaptations that allow them to survive in aquatic habitats all around the globe!
Fish Traits
Spine
Typically cold-blooded (some exceptions)
Gills
Fins
Lateral line (sensory organ)
Found in water
Examples of Fish
Trout
Tuna
Seahorse
Eel
Coelacanth
Shark
Stingray
Lamprey
Amphibians
Photo by ะะณะพัั ะัะบัะธะฝัะบะธะน on Pexels.com
Amphibians come in many shapes and sizesโfrom long-tailed salamanders to tailless frogs and even legless caecilians! Some are huge, like giant salamanders that grow to nearly six feet (two meters) long, while others are so tiny they could sit on your pinky finger. Amphibians also display striking colors, like the brightly patterned fire salamander or the brilliantly huedโbut toxicโpoison dart frog.
Amphibians all share a few key traits. One of their most distinctive features is their moist, scale-free skin. To stay hydrated, amphibians usually live in damp environments or near water. Their skin contains special mucus glands to keep it moist. Itโs 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.
Another trait of amphibians is metamorphosisโa dramatic transformation during their life cycle. For example, a tadpole with gills and a tail changes into an adult frog with lungs and legs. Finally, adult amphibians are carnivores, feeding on insects and other small animals.
Amphibian Traits
Spine
Cold-blooded
Moist skin with no scales
Skin surface breathing (may also have lungs and/or gills)
While reptiles and amphibians may look similar, they each represent a distinct vertebrate group. Reptiles can’t breathe through their skin like amphibians. Instead, reptiles always breathe through 1 or 2 lungs, and their skin is dry and scaly. Reptiles also never go through metamorphosis the way many amphibians do.
Reptiles are not the easiest group to define. There is a lot of diversity within this group. From legless snakes to shelled turtles and armored crocodiles, the reptile group has some incredible creatures. Unlike other classes of vertebrates, scientists now know that the group we call reptiles is not an isolated evolutionary lineage. This means that despite their many similarities, some members of the reptile group are not quite as closely related as people once thought they were. Additionally, we now know that birds descended from a reptile ancestor โ so in a way, birds and reptiles are relatives!
Turtles, tortoises, crocodilians, lizards, snakes, and tuataras are all types of reptiles. They live in freshwater, oceans, and on land. They come in all sizes: from the tiny Brookesia nana chameleon at less than an inch (~2 cm) in length, to giants like Komodo dragons and crocodiles.
The saltwater crocodile is the largest reptile on earth today, measuring over 20 feet (6 meters) long! In the past, even larger reptiles roamed the Earth (dinosaurs) but today they are extinct. All in all, there are over 10,000 amazing species of reptiles alive on Earth today.
Birds are a group of egg-laying, warm-blooded vertebrates with feathers, wings, and beaks. If you traced that family tree back far enough, youโd discover that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs. Because of this shared ancestry, a sparrow is actually more closely related to a dinosaur than to a mammal, amphibian, or any other living vertebrate class. Scientists use these evolutionary relationships to decide which animals belong in the bird group.
Birds live on every continent, including Antarctica, and can be found in nearly every habitatโfrom forests and deserts to wetlands and open oceans. There are over 10,000 species of birds, and they range in size from tiny hummingbirds to towering ostriches. Birds also show remarkable diversity in behavior. Some migrate thousands of miles each year, while others stay in the same place their entire lives. Their colors, calls, and nesting styles vary just as much as their sizes and shapes.
Like birds, mammals are warm-blooded vertebrates. Mammals are unique because they have hair/fur and nurse their babies with milk. There are over 5,000 different species of mammals alive today. They live in freshwater, oceans, on land, and even take to the skies! They come in all sizes, from tiny creatures like the bumblebee bat to giants like whales. The blue whale is not only the largest mammal, but also the largest animal on earth!
Mammal Traits
Spine
Warm-blooded
Breathe air with lungs
Fur, hair, or whiskers (on all or part of the body, for at least part of its life)
Produce milk (in females)
Single lower jawbone
3 tiny earbones
Examples of Mammals
Mouse
Deer
Tiger
Whale
Otter
Bat
Armadillo
Kangaroo
Human
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Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lessons on vertebrates โ Iโve already created them for you! These sets include all the printable materials you need for studying vertebrate groups.
In this post, we’ll dive into the stages of the bird life cycle: egg, hatchling, nestling, fledgling, and adult. At the bottom of this post, you’ll find links to bird life cycle learning materials and more educational posts and activities related to birds. Get ready to take flight into the world of birds with your classroom!
Before we dive in:ย If youโre an educator planning toย teach bird life cycles, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love myย bird life cycle mini study, which you can also find within my complete Bird Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Life Begins in an Egg
Baby birds hatch from eggs. Inside an egg, a chick develops while protected by a hard eggshell. The unborn chick is nourished by a yolk, which provides food as it grows.
Most birds lay their eggs in nests, which they build in trees, on the ground, on cliffs, or even on buildings. Nests come in several shapes and sizes. Some are tiny woven cups made of dried grass, while others are huge platforms constructed from sticks. Parent birds sit on the nest to keep the eggs warm, an act called incubation.
Hatching
When chicks hatch, they use a special bump on their bill called an egg tooth to crack open the eggshell.ย Newly hatched chicks are small, weak, and cannot care for themselves. They are sometimes called hatchlings. Many are born with their eyes sealed closed. They have only a few soft feathers called down to help keep them warm.
Growing and Fledging
Parent birds play a critical role in caring for their young chicks in the nest, sometimes called nestlings. They bring food, protect the nest, and keep chicks warm. As the chicks grow, they develop flying feathers and stronger muscles. Eventually, they leave the nest for the first time. This stage is called fledging. Young birds at this stage are known as fledglings. Even after leaving the nest, fledglings may still rely on their parents until they learn to find food and fly longer distances. As adults, birds may migrate, build their own nests, and establish territories.
More Bird Posts & Classroom Activities:
Continue learning about birds in your classroom with these educational posts and activities for kids:
Study birds and their life cycles with Wild Earth Lab!
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lesson on birds and their life cycles. Iโve already created it for you! This bird unit includes all the printable materials you need for studying bird life cycles, adaptations, anatomy, types of birds, and much more!
Salmon have one of the most incredible life cycles among fish. Unlike most fish, salmon live in two very different habitatsโfreshwater and saltwater. They begin their lives in cool, clear mountain streams, but migrate to the ocean where they spend much of their adulthood. Later, they make an epic journey back upstream to where they were born to lay eggs and start the cycle all over again.
Before we dive in:ย If youโre an educator planning toย teach salmon or fish life cycles, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love myย salmon mini study, which you can also find within my complete Fish Unit (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Life Begins in a Stream
A female salmon lays her eggs in a gravel nest in a freshwater stream. When the eggs hatch, the tiny fish are called alevins. They stay hidden among the gravel, sustained by the nutrients in their yolk sacs. Once the yolk sac is gone, they become fry and begin to feed and swim freely. As they grow, faint markings appear on their sidesโthese young fish are now called parr. They feed and begin defending small territories within the stream.
Salmon development – from egg to fry.
Journey to the Ocean
When the salmon are large and strong enough, they go through changes that prepare them for saltwater life. At this stage, they are called smolts. The smolts migrate downstream, swimming with the current, to the ocean. In the ocean, they will spend several years feeding on ocean prey and growing into adult salmon.
Returning Home
After maturing in the ocean, adult salmon return to the same stream where they were bornโa journey that can cover hundreds of miles! This journey is especially challenging because the fish are swimming into the current. They must navigate around obstacles like fast-flowing water, log jams, and even waterfalls!
Once they reach their birthplace, the spawning adults lay and fertilize eggs. Female salmon lay their eggs in gravel nests, where they will hatch and begin the next generation of salmon. After spawning, most salmon die, but their bodies provide nutrients that enrich the stream ecosystem.
Examples of female and male adult spawning salmon.
The role of salmon
Salmon are a key part of both ocean and land ecosystems. In the ocean, they serve as food for animals like sharks and seals. When they return to freshwater, they feed predators such as bears, eagles, and otters. Even after death, their bodies nourish the soil and plants near the streams, making salmon vital to the health of the whole ecosystem.
Salmon in a stream. Photo by Line Knipst on Pexels.com
Salmon face many challenges throughout their long journey. Dams can block their migration routes, making it hard for them to reach their spawning grounds. Competition with invasive fish species can also reduce the number of young salmon that survive to adulthood. Human activitiesโlike building cities and roads, farming, and miningโcan damage salmon habitats by changing stream flow, increasing pollution, and removing trees that shade and cool the water. Climate change adds even more stress, warming rivers and oceans, altering streamflow patterns, and shifting ocean currents that salmon depend on for food and navigation.
To help, people are taking action. Fish ladders and fish-friendly dams allow salmon to swim upstream more easily. Habitat restoration projects work to clean up streams and remove barriers to migration. Scientists are also studying how to protect salmon as the climate changes, ensuring these remarkable fish can continue their journey for generations to come.
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Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lesson on salmon or fish life cycles ย โ Iโve already created it for you! This fish unit includes all the printable materials you need for studying fish life cycles, salmon, and more.
Fish come in all shapes, sizes, and surprising formsโand some of them donโt look โfish-likeโ at all. Whether you’re exploring ocean habitats or animal adaptations, these wonderfully weird species deviate from the typical body form and appearance of other fish. Here are seven animals you might not realize are actually fish!
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach fish life cycles, ocean ecology, or vertebrate groups, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Fish Unit. It’s full of fun activities, printable handouts, worksheets, and more (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
With their long, ribbon-like bodies and reduced fins, eels can look more like snakes than fish. But eels are actually bony fish, members of the group Osteichthyes. That means an eel is more closely related to salmon, tuna, or even your pet goldfish than to any reptile!
Eels swim using wavelike movements along their bodies and use small pectoral fins to help them steer. Some species, like the electric eel, can even generate electric currents to stun preyโan adaptation very different from what we see in most fish.
Most fish swim horizontally, powered by the caudal (tail) fin. Seahorses and sea dragons break that rule completely. These unusual fish swim upright, using a small dorsal fin along their back for propulsion. Their long, flexible tails act like anchors, gripping seagrass or seaweed so they donโt drift away in the current.
These animals are wonderful examples of how the โbasic fish body planโ can be reshaped for a very different lifestyle.
When we picture fish, we imagine animals that must stay in the water to survive. Mudskippers challenge that idea! These remarkable fish live in tidal areas and regularly climb out onto mudflats.
Mudskippers can breathe air through their moist skinโsimilar to how amphibians like frogs breathe. And when theyโre on land, they โwalkโ using their powerful pectoral fins. In most fish, these fins are only strong enough for steering in water, but mudskippers can support their weight on land. This unique ability gives scientists clues about how ancient fish may have taken the first steps toward life on land millions of years ago.
Mudskippers. Photo by ะะฐะฝะฝะฐ ะะปะธะผะบัะปะพะฒะฐ on Pexels.com
Sharks
Many students are surprised to learn that sharks are fish! Modern fish fall into three main groups: jawless fish, cartilaginous fish, and bony fish. Sharks belong to the cartilaginous fish group, meaning their skeletons are made of flexible cartilage instead of bone. Rays and skates are part of this group, too.
Sharks come in an incredible range of shapes and sizesโfrom 40-foot whale sharks to tiny lanternsharks. Some have unusual adaptations, like the hammerheadโs wide head that gives it nearly 360ยฐ vision, or the goblin sharkโs extendable jaw. Diets vary widely as well: great whites hunt large prey, while whale sharks filter plankton from the water. Sharks live throughout the ocean, from deep-sea habitats to shallow coastlines.
Hammerhead shark. Photo by Ben Phillips on Pexels.com
Skates & Rays
Skates and rays look nothing like the โtypical fishโ silhouette. Their flattened bodies are perfectly suited for life along the seafloor, where they glide by flapping their broad, wing-like pectoral fins.
Although they look similar, skates and rays are not the same. Stingrays have a venomous barb on their tailโskates do not. In addition, skates tend to have thicker tails with small fins along them. Both are cartilaginous fish and excellent examples of body shapes adapted to a specialized habitat.
Fish were among the earliest vertebrates to evolve, and some ancient fish lived long before jaws existed. Today, the descendants of those early jawless vertebrates survive as lampreys and hagfish.
Lampreys lack jaws entirely. Instead of biting, they use a round, suction-like mouth with rasping teeth. Some species, like the sea lamprey, are parasites that attach to other fish and feed on their blood and body fluids. Their unusual anatomy makes them an important group for studying early vertebrate evolution.
Lamprey mouths.
Hagfish
Like lampreys, hagfish belong to the jawless fish group. Theyโre among the least โfish-likeโ fish, with long, slender bodies, soft pinkish skin, and no true eyes. At first glance, you might mistake a hagfish for a wormโuntil you learn that they have gills and other features that firmly place them within the fish lineage.
Hagfish are famous for one wild adaptation: they produce enormous amounts of sticky slime when threatened. This slime can clog the gills of predators, giving hagfish a unique way to escape danger.
Illustration of a hagfish.
Study fish with Wild Earth Lab!
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lesson for teaching fish โ Iโve already created it for you! This set includes all the printable materials you need for studying fish in your classroom:
Fish are one of the most diverse groups of vertebrates on Earth, but not all fish are built the same way. In fact, every speciesโwhether itโs a tiny goby or a massive whale sharkโbelongs to one of three major groups: jawless fish, cartilaginous fish, or bony fish. Understanding these groups can help students make sense of fish anatomy, evolution, and the incredible variety they see in todayโs oceans. Hereโs a quick, classroom-friendly guide to what makes each group unique.
Before we dive in: If youโre an educator planning to teach vertebrate groups, fish life cycles, or ocean biomes, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! I think you and your students will love my complete Fish Unit. It’s full of fun activities, printable handouts, worksheets, and more (plus youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
The sucker-like mouths of lampreys, a jawless fish.
Fish were among the earliest vertebrates to evolve, and some ancient fish lived long before jaws existed. Today, the descendants of those early jawless vertebrates survive as lampreys and hagfish.
Jawless fish share the following traits:
Gills
Live in water
Fins (various shapes, sizes, and numbers)
Skeletons made of cartilage, not bone
No jaws
A spine
Since they have no jaws, lampreys and hagfish must feed in some creative ways. For example, lampreys use a round, suction-like mouth with rasping teeth. Some species, like the sea lamprey, are parasites that attach to other fish and feed on their blood and body fluids. Their unusual anatomy makes them an important group for studying early vertebrate evolution.
Cartilaginous Fish (Chondrichthyes)
Like all cartilaginous fish, a hammerhead shark has a skeleton made of soft cartilage. Photo by Ben Phillips on Pexels.com
Unlike jawless fish, cartilaginous fish have a jaw. Jaws allow some fish to hunt and eat larger prey animals. For example, sharks are among the most fearsome predators of the ocean and hunt other fish with their jawed mouth filled with sharp, pointy teeth. Cartilaginous fish are named for their skeletons, which are made of soft cartilage – the material in your nose and ears – instead of hard bone.
Cartilaginous fish share the following traits:
Gills
Live in water
Fins (various shapes, sizes, and numbers)
Skeletons made of cartilage, not bone
Jaws
A spine
There are three main types of cartilaginous fish: sharks, skates, and rays. Though skates and rays don’t look much like other fish, they share a common ancestry and have traits that all fish share, like gills and fins.
Here are some examples of cartilaginous fish:
Great white shark
Leopard shark
Whale shark
Goblin shark
Manta ray
Common stingray
Common skate
Bony Fish (Osteichthyes)
Bony fish are found in many different habitats: from coral reefs in the ocean to flowing freshwater rivers. Photo by Francesco Ungaro on Pexels.com
What do salmon, seahorses, eels, and even your pet beta all have in common? They are all bony fish! This is a vast and diverse group of fish, with many deviations from the classic fish body plan that allow different fish to adapt to their unique habitats.
Bony fish share the following traits:
Gills
Live in water
Fins (various shapes, sizes, and numbers)
Skeletons made of bone, not cartilage
Jaws
A spine
There are two main subgroups within the bony fish group. They are lobe-finned fish and ray-finned fish. Lobe-finned fish have fins with internal bones that move more similarly to the limbs of tetrapods. Meanwhile, ray-finned fish have fins supported by many thin, bony filaments called rays.
There are tons of examples of bony fish. Here are a few:
Lobe-finned fish:
African lungfish
Australian lungfish
African coelacanth
Ray-finned fish:
Gar
Sturgeon
Salmon
Tuna
Clownfish
Seahorse
Pufferfish
Eel
Study vertebrates with Wild Earth Lab!
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect lessons for teaching fish and other vertebrate groups โ Iโve already created them for you! These sets include all the printable materials you need for studying fish and other vertebrate groups in your classroom:
From tadpoles turning into frogs to caterpillars transforming into butterflies, metamorphosis is one of natureโs most incredible processes. Understanding metamorphosis helps students see how organisms grow, adapt, and survive in their environments. Whether you’re exploring amphibians, insects, or life cycles in general, this fascinating transformation is a perfect way to bring nature and science to life in your classroom.
๐A Note for Teachers ๐: If youโre an educator planning to teach metamorphosis and animal life cycles in your classroom, great learning resources are key to deepening understanding! You can find materials for teaching metamorphosis in my Amphibians Unit and Insects Unit, as well as my Aquatic Macroinvertebrates Unit – plus tons of other materials and activities for these fun topics! (And youโll support this blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Metamorphosis is a process where an animalโs body changes form at different stages of its life cycle. Many insects and amphibians go through metamorphosis, developing in two or more distinct stages, like a legless tadpole becoming a frog or a wingless caterpillar transforming into a butterfly.
In contrast, reptiles, birds, and mammals (including humans) do not undergo metamorphosis. Consider human babiesโas we grow, we get bigger and taller, but our basic body shape stays the same. We donโt develop wings, extra limbs, or entirely new body parts like a butterfly or frog.
Amphibians and Metamorphosis
The word โamphibianโ means โdouble lifeโ, referring to how most amphibians begin their lives in water before transitioning to land. This transformation happens through metamorphosis. Take frogs, for example โ tadpoles swim using their tails and breathe underwater through gills. During metamorphosis, they grow limbs and lungs, allowing them to live on land as adults. Just like tadpoles transform into frogs, most salamanders start as aquatic, legless larvae before developing their adult forms.
Salamander Life Cycle Diagram
Most amphibians go through metamorphosis, but there are a few exceptions. Some species of caecilians, a group of legless amphibians, develop differently and donโt go through metamorphosis the way frogs and salamanders do.
Insects and Metamorphosis
Amphibians are not the only animals that go through metamorphosis. Many (though not all) insects go through metamorphosis too. One of the most classic examples is a butterfly. A butterfly starts life as a wingless larva called a caterpillar, a life stage in which the main goal is to eat and grow! After some time, the caterpillar stops munching and forms a chrysalis. During this stage, called the pupa stage, it doesn’t eat, but continues to develop. Finally, the winged butterfly emerges from its chrysalis – now it is an adult.
However, butterflies are far from the only insect to go through metamorphosis. Caddisflies, ladybugs, beetles, and ants are a few other examples of insects whose lives take place in three stages: larva, pupa, and adult. Insects like these with three distinct life stages go through what scientists call “complete metamorphosis“. In contrast, some other insects, like dragonflies and mayflies, go through “incomplete metamorphosis“. These insects only have two life stages: nymph and adult.
Why Metamorphosis?
Why change forms at all? Metamorphosis helps animals use different habitats and resources at each stage of life. For example, tadpoles live in aquatic habitats like ponds and eat plants, so they have gills, a small mouth, and a tail for swimming. But as they grow into adult frogs that hunt insects on land, they develop lungs, strong legs, and a wide mouth with a sticky tongue for catching prey.
Similarly, caddisflies, mayflies, dragonflies, and other aquatic insects begin their lives in water as larvae or nymphs. This allows them to feed on aquatic plant matter, detritus, or small organisms found in habitats at the bottoms of streams and ponds. As they go through metamorphosis, these insects emerge from the surface of the water as winged adults. After this, they use their wings to take advantage of a new habitat above the surface. For example, adult dragonflies are ferocious aerial predators of other insects. Contrastingly, adult mayflies do not eat at all, but simply use their short adult life stage to fly around and find a mate.
Finally, consider butterflies. Unlike frogs and aquatic insects, a butterfly lives on land for its whole life. However, butterflies use different food sources at different stages. For example, the monarch butterfly is in a close symbiotic relationship with the milkweed plant. As a caterpillar, the monarch eats the milkweed leaves. After metamorphosis, the adult butterfly eats a different part of the milkweed plant – the nectar of the milkweed flowers. As an added benefit, when the adult butterfly drinks flower nectar, it pollinates milkweed plants, which helps the plants reproduce. Thanks to the butterfly’s pollination services, a new generation of milkweed plants will grow, providing leaves for future caterpillars to eat!
A monarch butterfly caterpillar munches on milkweed.
Study Metamorphosis with Wild Earth Lab!
Whether you’re teaching your students about the metamorphosis of amphibians or insects, I’ve got the perfect learning resources for you! These sets include all the printable materials you need for studying amphibians and aquatic insects – including life cycle diagrams and much, much more!
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.
๐A Note for Teachers ๐: If youโre 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 youโll support my blog with your purchase! โค๏ธ)
Before we dive into the traits of amphibians, it helps to answer the question “what are amphibians?”. Amphibians are a group of vertebratesโanimals with backbonesโthat 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, youโd find that all amphibiansโfrogs, salamanders, and moreโdescend from the same ancient relative. Thatโs 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. Amphibiansโ 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. Itโs 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 metamorphosisโa 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 donโt 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!
Thereโs no need to scramble to put together the perfect amphibians lesson โ Iโve 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!
