Uncle Milton Bug Jug - Manual (Page 9)

Caterpillars move slowly on their short legs, so they need to protect themselves by hiding all day. They hide in
the ground or tie leaves together and wrap them all around their bodies. One kind of caterpillar moves by
arching its back and then stretching out its body, moving about an inch at a time. This is why they are called inchworms.
Caterpillars turn into moths or butterflies by metamorphosis .
Butterflies have large wings so they can move them very slowly and still fly. They alternate flapping and gliding,
so they can fly a hundred miles without resting! Their wings are covered with a kind of dust that comes off on your
fingers. But the “dust” is actually a lot of tiny scales that cover their bodies and wings. Butterflies don’t walk. They use
their legs for holding onto surfaces. They hold their wings straight up when they are resting.
Moths can run — unlike butterflies. They also can fold back their wings against their bodies. The sphinx moth is large with narrow
wings and is one of the fastest insects known. Its wings move so fast it can hover like a helicopter in front of a flower while sipping
its nectar. Early in life, when it’s still a caterpillar, it raises up the front part of its body when it’s upset. That’s when it looks something
like a sphinx — a half-human, half-lion creature of mythology.
Butterflies and moths both have very delicate wings. If touched, their wings can be greatly damaged. So please don’t try to catch a
butterfly or moth for viewing in your Bug Jug.
Beetles live in out-of-the-way places like under rocks or bark. There must be lots of out-of-the-way places in the world,
because there are more kinds of beetles than any other kind of animal. Throughout history, many people have enjoyed
collecting different kinds of beetles. When you look at a beetle walking around, it’s easy to forget that it can fly, because its
wings are folded against its body. If you put a click beetle on its back, it pretends to be dead, then suddenly flips over onto its feet,
like a gymnast. The ladybird beetle or ladybug is considered a good friend to humans because it eats some of the
insects that destroy our fruits, vegetables and flowers. Ladybugs are small and round, bright red or yellow, with black
spots on their backs.
The cockroach is a close relative of the grasshopper and cricket, but it isn’t nearly as popular. Why? Because some cockroaches like
to live indoors, including people’s houses. They can easily slip their flat bodies into cracks in the walls and floor where they sleep
during the day, waiting for nighttime when they slip back out in search of food. Cockroaches run very fast. They have been around
for more than 350 million years. The species has survived longer than most other animals we know about.
Spiders are found in most of the places where you find other bugs. Many people think they are insects, but they are
actually arachnids. They are different from insects in many ways. They have eight legs instead of six. They have two
body sections instead of three. And they don’t have wings or antennae. Some weave elaborate webs that can trap small
insects for food. The wolf spider got its name because it hunts for insects instead of trapping them in a web.