Growing With Science Blog

Category: Bug of the Week (Page 190 of 219)

Bug of the Week: Fireflies

June 17, 2009 / / 1 Comment

Our family just got back from an awesome trip to Upstate New York and Pennsylvania, where we got to see many incredible insects. Our favorite is the Pennsylvania state insect, the firefly.

Fireflies or lightning bugs are actually beetles.

firefly beetle

There are many different species of fireflies.  This is a common one in upstate New York. Others may be brown, or brown with red markings. The fireflies in Arizona don’t flash, but are similar in appearance to this one.

I had always wanted to take a picture of fireflies flashing at night. This time I was able to take some long exposure photos (thus the blurriness) of fireflies in flight. See if you can spot them.

firefly flight

firefly flight

I can’t wait until next year. I’m going to try it with a tripod in a better spot.

Do you have any photographs of fireflies? We’d love to see them.

For more information, see:
Absolutely stunning photographs of firefly beetles at Firefly Forest

In a previous post, I answered some questions about fireflies, including what they eat.

Most of you probably already know about the Firefly Watch project, first brought to our attention by DNLee at Urban Science Adventures.

On a similar topic, see:  How Many Fireflies Can You Count in 10 Seconds? at On Living By Learning Blog
http://www.onlivingbylearning.com/2009/06/15/how-many-fireflies-can-you-count-in-10-seconds/

Bug of the Week: Bee in Flight

June 10, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Check out this unique slow motion video of a bee flying. Although the title says it is a bumble bee, it is actually a carpenter bee. Also, if an ad pops up the first time you view, simply close it and it shouldn’t show again.

Isn’t that incredible? Bees actually have four wings, but their wings hook together in flight, giving the appearance of only having 2. When the carpenter bee starts to turn, notice its wings separate on the right side.

Weekend Science Fun: Spider Webs

June 6, 2009 / / 0 Comments

Summer is a great time to study spider webs. Some webs, such as those of the orb weaver spiders, are incredibly complex and beautiful.

The spider uses its spinnerets to produce the silk. In this video, they suggest that the spider rests so it can switch between non-silky silk and sticky silk production. Note: It has captions, so you can turn off the sound.

Activity:  Make a Spider Web

Gather:

  • Cardstock, poster board or a file folder
  • Yarn
  • Hole punch
  • Small spider clip art (optional)

Next, cut a square out of the cardstock. Make the size appropriate for the age of the children you are working with. Cut out the center of the square, leaving a frame about one inch wide. Cut holes in the frame with a hole punch. Now have the child weave a web by placing yarn through the holes.

For young children, this may be simply a lacing exercise. Encourage older children to create an art project. When they are done, leave a tail of yarn and tie or glue on a spider picture.

spider web activity for kids

For giant fun, place some kitchen chairs in a circle in an open area, hand the kids some skeins of yarn and let them connect the chairs with their own human-sized web. Note:  This project is loads of fun for the kids, but not always that fun to clean up. Be prepared with some scissors.

For more information about spiders, check the spiders category of this blog.

« Older posts Newer posts »

© 2026 Growing With Science Blog

Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑