Marvellous Mini Beasts - classroom presentation

Marvellous Mini-beasts Design a Species

www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar

What is a mini-beast?

What is a mini-beast?

Scorpions

Dragonflies & damselflies

Butterflies & moths

Slugs & snails

Spiders

Beetles

Invertebrates have an exoskeleton Invertebrates have no backbone or internal skeleton

What is a mini-beast?

Take many shapes and forms

How many legs?

0, 6, 8 or lots!

Some have wings, some don’t

What is adaptation? “the way animals and plants become better at living in their habitat”

• Adaptations allow animals and plants to live successfully in their habitat.

• Animals and plants that live in different habitats need different adaptations.

Movement

Centipede

Earthworm

Snail

Dragonfly

Escaping predators

Ladybird

Monarch butterfly

Apollo butterfly

Pill millipede

Camouflage

Stick insect

Peppered moth

Effective hunting

House spider

Scorpion

Trapdoor spider

Not all mini-beasts hunt‌

Leaf-cutter ants

Dung beetle

...some are herbivores!

Swallowtail butterfly

Winning a mate

Male rhinoceros beetle

Design your own mini-beast!

Things to think about…

• How does it move?

• How does it defend itself against predators?

• Is it brightly coloured or camouflaged?

• What does it eat?

• How does it attract mates?

• Does it live with other members of the same species?

• Where does it live? E.g. trees? Burrows? Underground?

Introducing the “flying leaf creeper”

Things to think about as you design your mini-beast…

• How does it move?

• How does it defend itself against predators?

• Is it brightly coloured or camouflaged?

• What does it eat?

• How does it attract mates?

• Does it live with other members of the same species?

• Where does it live? E.g. trees? Burrows? Underground?

This activity is accredited by the British Science Association and can count towards the CREST ď‚Ť Investigators SuperStar Award

www.britishscienceassociation.org/creststar