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