insect-world.com

Here be stanza the first,
of a buggy little verse,
this alpahabetical sort of rhyme
is about some insect words you'll find.

A is for Antennae, thats what you call the feelers that are on an insects head,
though they can be used to touch the ground or smell the air instead.

B is for Brood that's a collective sort of noun for all the eggs and young,
of Ants and Bees and Wasps, they're mostly pretty social insects which is really rather fun.

C is for Caterpillar this is the name for young of a Moth or Butterfly,
they're really very friendly so when you see them do say HI!

D is for Drone He is a male honey Bee and he doesn't like to work at all,
except he comes a flying when he hears a Queen Bees mating call.

E is for Elytra that tough and solid armour that is on a Beetles back,
they're made out of his forewings and protect him from attack.

F is for Femur the large part of an insects leg
I haven't got a rhyme for this so I guess I'll have to beg.

G is for Grub another name for a baby sort of bug,
this time its a beetle which is much to small to hug.

H is for Halteres; that's a fancy word for the backwings of a fly,
that help him keep his balance when he's racing though the sky.

I is for Instar; for a baby insect this is the time between one moult and the next,
you will see they're always labled 1st, 2nd and 3rd etc in the best of buggy texts.

J is for Juvenile which means being young for an insect just as it does for me and you,
and all the other bigger beasts you can find down in the zoo.

K is for King. A male termite, he's the one who rules the termite nest.
Well actually he does it with his Queen if he wants to do it best.

L is for Larva; thats a simple word for the young insect of the holometabolous kind,
the sort whose life cycle involves a pupa is what I had in mind.

M is for Mandible the main part of a biting insects jaws,
which work from side to side instead of up and down like mine and yours.

N is for Nymph now thats a baby insect of the hemimetabolous kind,
thats one without a pupa, at least I think that's what you'll find.

O is for Ocelli this is a name for a kind of simple insect eye,
they are really only good for seeing big things like the sky.

P is for Pupa the magic stage of a fully metamorphic insect life,
the bit between the adult, and the larva whose eating causes so much strife.

Q is for Queen she's the boss female in a social insect nest.
she's the one who lays the eggs so she has to be the best.

R is for Rake a special sort of something on the legs of Honey Bees,
that they use to pack the pollen into the hairs around their knees.

S is for Spiracle a funny set of holes along an insects abdomen.
Now I know it may sound silly but the truth is insects breathe through them.

T is for Thorax the hard working bit of an insects frame,
that's the middle section, for now thats all I can explain.

U is for Univoltine a long word that means its only once a year,
when the eggs, larvae or adults of this insect will appear.

V is for Viviporous I am sorry but I do not know that many 'V' words so I had to use the one I could.
this means giving birth to live young like a mammal and not laying eggs lik a normal insect would.

W is for Worker this is word to describe a common Ant or Wasp or Bee,
and the truth is that it is nearly always 'workers' that are seen by you and me.

X is for Xylophage which like all the other '-phage' words describes an insect by what it likes to eat.
in this case 'xylo' means that it is wood that this insect thinks of as a tasty kind of treat.

Z is for Zoraptera which is smallish kind of insect that lives in rotton wood,
they do not occur in England but I would love to see one if I could.

Blue Magpies Nest: Blue Magpies Nest is a collection of essays and poetry suitable for all the family to read, quarranteed to amuse and stimulate you.