1 spiritual connection and the relationship that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have to Country. The Department works in partnership with the First Peoples of South Australia and supports their Nations to take a leading role in caring for their Country. January/February 2021 | Volume 1 – Issue 6 Creepy Critters Minibeasts are scientifically known as invertebrates. Invertebrates are animals without a backbone or an internal skeleton. There are many different kinds of invertebrates. They live all around us in many different habitats, many would live in your own backyard. There are more invertebrates on earth than any other type of animal. Let’s find out more about the invertebrate group of arthropods. What are Minibeasts? Inside this issue What are minibeasts? ............ 1 Amazing Arthropods.............. 2 Cross Word ................................ 3 How many legs does an insect have? ............................... 4 Scorpions don't have bones! ........................................................ 5 Is it a leaf? Is it an Insect?..... 5 Colour in page.......................... 6 Threatened Invertebrates ..... 7 FUN FACT Insects are the only invertebrates with wings! Acknowledgement to country The Department for Environment and Water acknowledges Aboriginal people as the First Peoples and Nations of the lands and waters we live and work upon and we pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging. We acknowledge and respect the deep Above Photo credits: Monarch butterfly, Caterpillar, Flinders Rangers scorpion, Debbie the Orb spider, European honey bee, Earthworm and Orchard Swallowtail butterfly taken by Cleland Wildlife Park - Snail photo credit Alex Raths ( Gettyimages/istockphoto).
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A female red- winged stick insect. Can you count her legs?
Photo Credit of insect body parts: JMG Junior
Master Gardener.
Did you know? Grasshoppers can jump
around 1 meter in length.
That’s like us jumping
about the length of a
football field, in one
bound!
How many legs does an
insect have? Insects are arthropods.
Insects have:
3 body segments- head thorax and abdomen.
6 (jointed) legs and a pair of antennae.
Animals such as flies, butterflies, termites, ants,
crickets, stick insects moths and many more are
all insects.
Did you know?
The female red-winged
stick insect can have
eggs without a male!
Did you know?
Entomology is the
study of insects.
Photo Credit: Taken by Ken
Sanderson
Can you see the stick insect?
Stick Insects
There are many species of stick insects.
Some species of stick insects sway from side to side
when they are walking, so that they look like a twig
or a leaf blowing in the breeze. This can protect
them from predators like birds.
If you're lucky enough to spot a stick insect, don't
try to pull it from its branch or it might drop one of
its legs. But certainly look with your eyes.
5
Scorpions don’t have bones!
Scorpions are Arachnids.
They don’t have bones like you and me.
Instead, they have a tough exoskeleton made
of chitin (like armor).
Scorpions have eight legs like spiders, mites
and ticks.
Scorpions don’t only use their stings to kill
their prey – they use it to defend themselves
against predators, such as snakes, lizards and
birds.
When there isn’t much food around, scorpions can slow down their metabolism (the process animals use to get energy from food) so much so that they are able to live off just
one insect per year!
Photo credit to Cleland Wildlife Park
Is it a leaf? Is it an insect?
I can’t tell!
A Spiny leaf insect is indeed an insect, they have 3 body
parts and 6 legs. Did you know these cool insects only eat
eucalyptus leaves and they look like one too. Camouflage
is their best trick to survival.
Fun Fact: Spiny leaf insect eggs look like a pepper corn. They have
a small knob called the ‘capitulum,’ which redheaded
ants eat.
The ants will carry the leaf insects eggs back to their
burrow, eat the capitulum and leave the egg protected in
the burrow.
After the egg hatches, the young spiny leaf insect looks
like an ant, which allows them to leave the ant burrow
safely. Until it finds a nice tree to climb and live its life.
Photo credit to Cleland Wildlife Park
6
Did you know?
Arthropods shed their skin, as they
grow bigger.
COLOUR ME IN: Make a pattern with colours if you dare!
Sourced from and page credit: https://www.justcolor.net/kids/coloring-pages-of-animals/insects/