ParkPack



|ParkPack

Activities

Insect Safari |“Take a

Hike”

Activity |Quiet

Time

Activity |Read

A

Book |Art

N’

Nature |Needs

Items Not in pack |Can be Done

Inside – Rainy Day |Activity Bag included in Park Parck |Group Activity | | |Book:

The Very Quiet Cricket | | |

λ | | | | | | | |Book:

The Icky Bug Counting Book | | |

λ | | | | | | | |Book:

The Icky Bug Alphabet | | |λ | | | | | | | |Book:

Where Butterflies Grow | | |λ | | | | | | | |Book: Are You a Ladybug? | | |λ | | | | | | | |Book: Starting with Nature Bug Book | | |

λ | | | | | | | |Incredible Insect & Spiders Card Game | |

λ | | | | |

λ | | | |Insect Songs & Create your own songs | |

λ | | | | |

λ | | | |Insect Safari Hunt |

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λ | | | |Build A Bug | | | | λ | | | λ | | | |Bug Lace and Trace | | | | λ | | | λ | | | |Ant Hill Experiment | λ | | | | | | | | | |Bee Dance | | | | | | λ | λ | | | |Insect Stamps | | | | | | λ | λ | | | |Make your own bug net | | | | | λ | | | | | |Firefly talk | | | | | | | λ | | |Park Packs created by Lori Foresman-Kirpes, Naturalist [pic] [pic]

lforesm@co.polk.ia.us 515-323-5380

Items in Insect Safari Park Pack

Books:

1. The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle ($21.99) isbn: 0-399-21885-8

2. The Icky Bug Counting Book by Jerry Pallota ($6.95) isbn:0-88106-496-3

3. The Icky Bug Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallota ($6.95) isbn:0-88106-450-5

4. Are You a Ladybug , Backyard Books by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries ($4.95) isbn: 0-7534-5603-6

5. Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder ($6.99) isbn: 0-14-055858-6

6. Starting with Nature, Bug Book by Pamela Hickman ($5.95) ac #inv-8374

7. National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spider ($19.95) ac #FG-2368 isbn: 0-394-50763

8. Pocket Naturalist, Butterflies & Moths ($5.95) ()

9. Insects, a Golden Guide ($6.95) isbn: 1-58238-129-1 ()

10. The Ants Go Marching ($3.25) isbn: 0-439-26712-9

Insect Investigation Materials/not in activity bags:

Activity Kits:

1. Insects and Spiders Card Game, Professor Noggin’s ($10.95) ()

2. Insect Songs and Create your own – cassette player w/ headphones($6.00), Insects, bugs & Squiggly Things tape by Jane Murphy ($9.95) isbn:1-56346-033-5, Book: The Ants Go Marching by Jeffrey Scherer ($3.25) isbn 0-439-26712-9, song sheet (NC)

3. Insect Safari Hunt – 1 small green fish net (1.25) wm, 2 large insect nets ($ 4.00) lp, 1 magnifying glass ($4.95)wm, 4 bug cubes ($1.59 each) ac

4. Create a Bug – Instructions (nc), 2 Glue Stick ($1.00), 1 bottle elmer’s glue ($1.00) 2 Friskar Scissors ($2.49 each), Construction paper (nc), pompom balls(nc), pipecleaners (nc), misc fabric (nc)

5. Bug Lace and Trace – 6 insect cards/string ($6.95)

6. Bee Dance – Instruction sheet (nc), 2 sample bee headbands ($1.00 each), 1 bee headband photo copy sheet (nc)

7. Insect stamps- 10 stamps ($6.95), 1 stamp pads ($5.95 each)

8. Firefly talk – 2 pen lights ($5.95 each)wm

Items you can keep from pack:

1. The bug you made from the create a bug kit

2. Polk County Conservation Board Brochures

Please be sure to fill out the evaluation. Thank you Polk County Conservation Board.

Key: ac=Acorn Naturalist, wm=WalMart, lp=Learning Post, nc=no charge

Insect Safari

Where to Begin…

Read through the descriptions on this page. Check out the chart for a quick overview of activities and choose activities that appeal to your group. Enjoy….

Note: An * indicates an activity bag in the park pack for that activity

Books & Reference Guides:

The Very Quiet Cricket by Eric Carle

The Icky Bug Counting Book by Jerry Pallota

The Icky Bug Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta

Where Butterflies Grow by Joanne Ryder

Are You a Ladybug? by Judy Allen and Tudor Humphries

Starting with Nature Bug Book by Pamela Hickman

National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Insects and Spiders

Pocket Naturalist: Butterflies and Moths

Activities:

*Incredible Insect and spiders card game Age Range: 7 & up

Professor Noggin’s Card game is for 2 to 8 players. It is educational, informative and fun card game!

*Insect Songs & Create Your Own Song Age Range: All Ages

Sing a song about ants, butterflies or sing and act out the insect song. Listen to the insect tape and then make your own “buggy” song.

*Insect Safari/Hunt: Age Range: All ages

Use the bug nets and cubes to catch and discover the variety of insects in your backyard or local park. Use the field guide to identify the bugs name and interesting information about the critter. Remember to release all critters when done studying them.

*Build a Bug Age Range: 5 & up

Use miscellaneous craft items from around your house and build your very own bug. Include three body parts, two antennae and six legs.

*Bug Lace and Trace: Age Range: 3 to 5yrs

Push and pull the laces through the holes of 6 different shaped bugs. Or trace the shapes of the bugs and color your own.

Ant Hill Experiment Age Range: 5 yrs and up

Find an ant hill. Place around the ant hill a variety of different foods, i.e. flour, sugar, salt, syrup or marshmallow. Put these samples about 1 yard from the ant hill. Take a prediction of which sample the ants will congregate around and a prediction of how long it will take the ants to find the food. Notice how the ants tell one and another about the food.

*Bee Dance Age Range: 4 yrs & up

One way bees communicate is by dancing. Bees do two different dances the circular dance and the wag-tail dance. The circular dance tells the bees that food is close to the hive. For the circular dance, the scout bee dances in a circle, while the other bees watch to learn the direction of the food source. The wag-tail dance is done when the food is a long distance away. When the scout bee does the wag-tail dance they trace a figure eight and then wag their abdomen in the directions of the food source. Dance and “talk” like a bee to tell others in your hive where the food is.

*Insect Stamps Age Range: 3yrs & up

Have fun stamping insects and making your own insect habitat and insect designs. Go on a bug hunt and see if you can find any of the bugs on your stamp sheet.

Make your own bug Net Age Range: Age 5 & up

Gather a clothes hanger, grocery sack and duct tape and you have the makings for your very own bug catchin’ net. See the sample in the park pack. Have fun catchin’ critters!

Cricket Math Age Range: Age 8 & up

The temperature can be calculated by listening to the chirp of one cricket. Count the number of chirps in 14 seconds and add 40. Now check the temperature gauge and see if the formula worked.

*Firefly Talk

Age Range: Age 8 & up

Use the flashlight and attract a firefly. See the activity packet.

Insect Songs & Create Your Own Song

Age Range: All Ages

Sing a song about ants, butterflies or sing and act out the insect song. Listen to the insect tape and then make your “buggy” song.

Read/Sing the book: The Ants go Marching by Jeffrey Scherer

Then go off on an ant hunt/safari.

BEE SONGS/FINGER PLAYS

Finger Play; Five Little Bees

One little bee flew and flew

He met a friend, and that made two

Two little bees, busy as could be

Along came another and that made three

Three little bees wanted one more

Found one soon and that made four

Four little bees going to the hive

Spied their little brother and that made five

Five little bees working every hour

Busy away, bees and find a flower.

Bee Hive (Make a fist.)

Here is the beehive

But where are the bees?

They’re all hidden away

Where nobody sees.

Here they come,

Creeping out of their hive,

1-2-3-4-5 Buzzz Buzzz!

Song:

Butterfly Boogie (Tune-Hokey Pokey)

You fly your butterfly in.

You fly your butterfly out.

You fly your butterfly in,

And you flutter all about.

You do the butterfly boogie,

And you flutter all around....

That’s what it’s all about.

Caterpillar Finger Play from Nature Scope

Words Action

Ten little eggs, Hold hands up, fingers straight.

All in a mound. Join hands together in a ball.

Out come caterpillars, Extend and wiggle fingers.

Crawling all around.

Next they will sleep Lay head to one side on hands.

And know why.

Soon they’ll come out

as butterflies. Holds hands up, fingers straight, Wave fingers.

Song:

Quiet Cricket

(to the tune of “Frere Jacques”)

Quiet cricket, quiet cricket

Hiding in the grass, hiding in the grass

Won’t you sing tonight?

Won’t you sing tonight?

Rub your wings so fast, rub your wings so fast.

What makes an Insect?

Act out these Insect parts

Insect have three body parts

1. Head, with two antennae

2 Thorax

3. Abdomen

Insects have 6 legs.

How do fireflies communicate to their mates and prey?[pic]

Fireflies engage in complex visual communication through self-generated bioluminescent flashes in various patterns.  The males search for the females by flying near the leaves of bushes where females likely are to be found.  They emit a flash about every six seconds.  A female chooses her mate.  She responds by emitting a flash about two or three seconds after his flash.  These bioluminescent signals can take the form of anything from a continuous glow, to discrete single flashes, to “flash-trains” composed of multi-pulsed flashes.  Aspects of male flash patterns are also thought to be affected by sexual selection.  Female fireflies have been shown to prefer certain characteristics of a male’s photic signal (such as increased flash rate) and respond preferentially to males that possess these “sexy” signal components (Branham and Greenfield, 1996).

Prior to mating, the females will only react to signals from males of the same species.  Two days after mating, however, they start attracting males from the second species, by sending this species’ flash pattern.  If a male approaches, it is attacked and usually eaten.  Females from the genus Photuris are the fireflies that usually engage in this process.  The females from this genus do not want to mate with the males; they want to eat them.  Females of other species are able to mimic their light flash pattern.  The alluring flashes draw males who are looking for mates.  If a male cannot detect the deception, he is devoured.

Dr. J. Lloyd, who studied firefly communication and deception, found that under conditions of intense predation by mimics, some male fireflies would change their flashing patterns or their approach tactics.  For example, they would land far enough away from the responding female to escape attack if she turns out to be a predator.  He also found that during mating with a female, the males would mimic the flashing of predatory fireflies in order to deter rival males from approaching.

Because of these dangerous predator female fireflies, males learn ways to avoid them.  If they cannot detect their tricky deceptions, they are eaten and killed.  Males with better discrimination skills are able to escape to reproduce with a female of his own species.  This causes rapid selection for ability to detect such deceptions, which, in turn, causes strong selection for the ability of the predatory fireflies to deceive still better.  Because of this, there really is no winning, and it is almost inevitable

that a male firefly will get eaten sooner or later. 

Therefore, fireflies communicate to their mates in two different ways.  They use their bioluminescent lights to attract males of their own species for mating.  They also use their lights to attract prey.  Females use their light to attract males of other species, which she devours.

Firefly talk Age Range: 6 yrs & up

Talk like a firefly by using the flashlights in this activity bag. How many can you get to come close to your light?

There are many places where you'll see fireflies (also called "lightnin' bugs"). You can get one to come to you by watching for its flash, counting 2 seconds, and then blinking a penlight for a half-second. No, really, it works. You need to be consistent, since any error will scare off your bug. They speak "light" fluently.

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