Bugs in our Backyard

Coloring Book

Illustrated by
Rowan Graham Angelini,
with Serena Graham
Text by Dave Angelini

bugsinourbackyard.org
Biology in our own backyard
Bugs In Our Backyard is an educational outreach
and collaborative research program, providing
project-based learning opportunities for K-12
students– or anyone! Students of any age can
become citizen-scientists by surveying the
diversity of local insects and plants.
This coloring book is designed to introduce younger children to
insects. We encourage teachers to present insects as interesting
and beautiful animals, not creatures to be feared. The next pages
provide some information on insects for teachers. Each coloring
book page has some text for beginning readers. At the bottom of
each page is more detail for older students and teachers interested
in sharing some facts with their students.
Teaching ideas
- Look for insects in a park, garden or by using an Internet search.
Then ask students to color patterns they saw in person.
- Encourage students to draw the surroundings on each page.
Where does each insect live? What does it eat? What might eat it?
- Talk about animal behaviors or
natural history, and ask
students to cartoon those
ideas. The example here shows
the conflict between ladybugs,
which eat aphids, and the ants
who protect them.
- For more ideas visit Bugs in our Backyard on-line
bugsinourbackyard.org
 What is an insect?
Insects are the most common animals most people will encounter. They are
critically important to the ecosystem. Insect are arthropods, animals with a rigid
external skeleton, and a body with repeating segments. Some of these body
segments have jointed appendages that serve many different functions, including
detecting chemicals (smell), sound (hearing) and movement. Other appendages
help in feeding (mouthparts), walking (legs), and flight (wings).

Head Thorax Abdomen

dorsal
anterior posterior
forewings
ventral

hindwings
eye
antennae

cerci

mouthparts ovipositor

Image credit: Wikipedian Prolific, CC BY-SA 3.0, modified for use in this publication

legs

The bodies of all insects have three distinct body regions: a head, thorax and
abdomen. The head has eyes and antennae for sensing the world and mouthparts
for eating. The thorax has appendages used for moving around, such as legs and
wings. Most adult insects have two pairs of wings. The abdomen contains most of
the insect’s organs. The abdomen often has no appendages, but there may be
sensory cerci at the posterior. In some species, females have an appendage on the
abdomen for laying eggs, called an ovipositor. Males of some species have
claspers used to hang on to females during mating. In many insect groups, the
wings fold back to cover the abdomen when the insect isn’t flying.

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Insect life cycles
Some insects have a complete metamorphosis, while others do not

Some insects have evolved a dramatic metamorphosis. In these holometabolous

insect species, juveniles looks very different from adults. Caterpillars, grubs and mag-
gots are juvenile butterflies, beetles and flies. They may look wormy, but they still
have a distinct head, thorax and abdomen. During their metamorphosis, these insects
form a resting pupa, also known as a cocoon,or chrysalis, which is often hidden or
camouflaged. In other insect groups, juveniles resemble adults, but are smaller and
have rudimentary, non-functional wings.
The holometabolous
The hemimetabolous life cycle phosis life cycle of a beetle
of a true bug mor
ta

e
m

fifth pupa adult

instar adult

fourth third
instar instar eggs
eggs

third first second first

instar second instar instar instar
instar

Each juvenile stage is known as an instar. During these periods, an insect eats and
saves energy as fat and protein. While a growing insect can expand a little, it is limited
by its rigid external skeleton. Therefore, insects must shed their exoskeleton in order
to significantly increase their size. Each instar ends with a molt, the process where the
insect sheds its skin and exoskeleton. The series of pictures below show a dragonfly
juvenile (far left) molting to become an adult (far right). Adult insects never molt again!

Image credit: Böhringer Friedrich, CC BY-SA 2.5, modified

bugsinourbackyard.org
 Things that are not insects
Some other arthropods in our backyard

Insects are just one group of arthropods that have colonized the land. Many other
animals, like spiders, millipedes and isopods can be found alongside insects. These
animals can be worth exploring too! However, it useful to know how to distinguish
these creatures from one another. Here are some animals that are sometimes con-
fused with insects. Notice the characteristics that make them unique.

Spiders are arthropods with two body regions, a prosoma

opisthosoma (sort of a combined head and thorax) and opisthosoma (or
pedipalps abdomen). Spiders can also be distinguished from insects
because they have 8 legs and two pedipalps and two small
legs
prosoma
chelicerae (or fangs) in front. Not all spiders spin webs!

Daddy long-legs are relatives of the true spiders, however

they make up a separate order called the Opiliones. Like
pedipalps true spiders, “daddy long-legs” or “harvestmen” have 8 long
legs, 2 small pedipalps at the front and a pair of small
legs chelicerae. They are not venomous and do not bite.

head Centipedes and millipedes are easy to distinguish from

antennae trunk insects because of their many legs! These arthropods can
have venomous fangs, and they are often predators that
hunt small insects and other arthropods in the leaf litter,
maxillipeds legs
(fangs) under logs, and in basements.

antenna Pillbugs, sowbugs, woodlice and roly-polies-- whatever

you call them-- are isopods with 14 legs. They are mostly
herbivorous crustaceans that have adapted to life on land.
Females keep eggs and young in a pouch under their body.
legs
Some species roll up into a ball to protect themselves.

Scorpions are distantly related to spiders, but they evolved

independently to live on land. These arthropods can be
pedipalps distinguished from insects by having 8 legs, 2 large pinching
pedipalps and 2 small chelicerae (fangs), and a long barbed
tail. Tiny pseudoscorpions are similar, but have no tail.

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 Butterflies are insects that drink nectar from
flowers. Their colorful wings signal to other
butterflies and to other animals.
Butterflies and moths (order Lepidoptera) are important pollinators. As they move between flowers,
drinking nectar, they also move pollen between plants, allowing the plants to reproduce. The
colorful wings of a butterfly, like this monarch, warn potential predators that they do not taste good.
Some butterfly species have spots on their wings that look like the eyes of birds or mammals, to
frighten predators. Some male and female butterflies also signal one another with colorful wings.
 Bumble bees are large fuzzy insects that eat
pollen and nectar from flowers. By moving pollen
between plants, they help the plants reproduce.
Bumble bees (genus Bombus) are cute enough to be flying pandas! They are important pollinators in
cooler climates. Their large size and fuzzy coats insulate them, but they can shiver to make heat.
Bumble bees are also social. Each spring a queen produces daughters who work together as
workers in a colony. They raise more workers, new queens and males before winter. Bumble bees
can sting, and they warn predators with contrasting black, yellow and red colors.
 The Praying Mantis is a large insect that hunts
other insects. They look like leaves or twigs and
ambush their prey.
Mantids (order Mantodea), like the praying mantis, hunt with their large raptorial front legs. Many
species ambush prey and are camouflaged to resemble their environment. However a few species
actively chase their prey. All mantids have large eyes and excellent vision. Females lay eggs on
plants in a mass that forms a large, hard structure, resembling a gall.
 Mantids live in many places across the world.
Some look like plants, but this
Orchid Mantis looks like a flower.
Mantids (order Mantodea), like the praying mantis, hunt with their large raptorial front legs. Many
species ambush prey and are camouflaged to resemble their environment. However a few species
actively chase their prey. All mantids have large eyes and excellent vision. Adults of many have
wings and are able to fly. In some species the wings have colorful eye-spots used to frighten
potential predators.
Ladybugs are beetles. They are predators that eat
other insects. Ladybugs often help people,
because many of the insects they eat are pests.
Ladybugs, or ladybird beetles (family Coccinellidae), are a common group of beetles found across
the world. They are predators of many plant pests, such as scale insects and aphids. For this reason,
they are often released near crop plants to help eliminate pests. The shell or elytra of a ladybug
covers a pair of wings. Different species have different numbers of spots and different colors. Learn
the patterns of your local native species, and see if you can distinguish them from exotic ladybugs.
 Ants are social insects that work together to find
food. Different ants collect food from plants,
scavenge or hunt. Some ants also tend aphids.
Ants (family Formicidae) are one of the most numerous kinds of animals on Earth. Some ants
protect aphids and collect honeydew from them. Honeydew is a sugary substance the aphids
produce as waste. Ant colonies can include millions of workers. Only a queen ant will produce
offspring, and in most species, each colony has one queen. Periodically, the colony will produce new
queens and males who fly away to found new colonies.
 Dragonflies are colorful and nimble hunters.
They catch other flying insects in mid-air.
They are like tigers of the sky!
Dragonflies (order Odonata) often hunt small flies and other insects in meadows and over ponds.
Juvenile dragonflies live underwater where they are also active predators of aquatic insects. They
will even eat small fish and tadpoles. Adult dragonflies have large eyes and excellent vision to allow
them to hunt in the air and to evade their own predators. Dragonflies beat their wings in a figure-8
pattern as they fly, just like hummingbirds.
 Planthoppers are insects that feed on plants.
They hide by looking like parts of plants,
such as thorns or dry leaves.
Planthoppers (infraorder Fulgoromorpha) and Treehoppers (Membracidae) get their name for being
some of the fastest jumpers in the animal world. Most are small, less than 1/8 inch (3 mm) long.
Many species have shapes that resemble plant parts, but some are dramatically colored or have
wiry wax filaments on their tail end. Some planthoppers are crop pests, but most treehoppers and
planthoppers are harmless to humans.
 Treehoppers drink sap from plants.
Some hide by looking like plants. Some are
colorful. Some look like ants, wasps or thorns.
Treehoppers (family Membracidae) are closely related to planthoppers. The two insect groups are
similar in many ways. However, treehoppers tend to be larger and have species with more dramatic
shapes, often mimicking insects that predators avoid, like ants and wasps.
 Stink bugs feed on sap or seeds from plants.
Some hide by blending in with plants. Some are
very colorful. They ward off predators with smell!
Shield bugs and stink bugs (family Pentatomidae) are large insects that feed on different plants.
They have a long trunk that they use to pierce into plants. Many species are serious crop pests. The
brown marmorated stink bugs is now spreading across the eastern United States.
 Milkweed bugs are colorful insects that live on
milkweed plants. Most animals cannot eat
milkweed, but the bugs can!
Milkweed bugs (genus Oncopeltus) are immune to a poison produced by milkweed. The bugs keep
the poison in their bodies. If a predator eats a bug it will learn to avoid them in the future. The bugs
warn potential predators with black and orange, yellow or red coloration. Some milkweed bugs fly
thousands of miles every year, just like monarch butterflies, to spend winters in warmer climates.
 Scarabs are large beetles.
Many are colorful. Some are shiny.
They can be found all over the world.
There are more species of beetles in the world than any other group of animals. There are about
30,000 species of scarab beetles (family Scarabaeidae). They range widely in size from about 1/16th
inch to more than 6 inches in length (1.5 - 160 mm). Some male scarab beetles have elaborate
antennae used to search for female beetles. Many species of scarab are scavengers. Some specialize
eating particular plants, like grapevines. Some species only eat the dung of large mammals.
 In ancient Egypt people revered scarab beetles.
In stories, they said that the sun was pushed
across the sky each day by a scarab.
The dung beetle species Scarabaeus sacer is a scarab that was considered sacred by the ancient
Egyptians. Males of this species collect animal dung, and roll it into a ball. As he rolls the dung ball, a
male will navigate to his burrow using the sun. At night he will use the moon or even the Milky Way
to navigate. Once at the burrow, females will lay eggs on the dung ball, and the juvenile beetles will
grow as they eat the dung. This process helps recycle nutrients in the environment.
Tiger beetles are colorful, fast-moving predators.
They can run and fly as they chase their prey, such
as flies, caterpillars, and grasshoppers.
Tiger beetles (subfamily Cicindelinae) have strong jaws that they use to capture their prey. Many
species are very colorful. Some have a metallic shine that make them very eye-catching, but these
colors may actually warn off their own predators. Tiger beetles are fast and agile enough that they
are very hard to catch!
 Soapberry bugs can grow up to have long or
short wings, depending on where they grow up.
Long-wing bugs can fly to new plants.
Red-shouldered soapberry bugs (Jadera haematoloma) are common in cities in the temperate
United States. In this species wing development is plastic. It depends on the amount of nutrition
juveniles get. Short-wing bugs are more common when bugs are well-fed. They cannot fly, and stay
near where they were raised and produce more offspring. Low nutrition more often produces
long-wing bugs, who can fly away in search of better places to lay their eggs.
Water bears are not insects. They are tiny animals
that live on moss and lichens and in ponds. They
are very tough and have even survived in space!
Water bears or tardigrades are members of the phylum Tardigrada, which are related to arthropods.
They are also known as moss piglets. They have no jaws, but some species have sharp spines to
puncture tough algal cells. Tardigrades can survive being completely dried out. In this state, they
can also survive high and low pressure and strong radiation. They have even survived after being
exposure to the vacuum of space.
 The Cambrian Period was a time in the Earth’s
past when animals first appeared in the oceans.
Many strange arthropods were there.
The Cambrian Period was about 541 to 485 million years ago. The first fossil animals appeared at
this time. Many of these animals are thought to be arthropods and related creatures. Clockwise from
the upper left, these include the large predator Anomalocaris, the tiny velvetworm-like creature
Hallucigenia, two kinds of trilobites, the crustacean Marrella, another trilobite, and the strange
five-eyed Opabinia, which hunted with a long flexible proboscis.
Cuttlefish live in the tropical ocean. They are very
smart and colorful. They can change color and
texture to hide or talk to each other.
Yes, cuttlefish (family Sepiida) are not insects. But we though they were interesting too! They are
related to squid and octopus. Cuttlefish change the color of their skin using three layers of different
pigment cell types. They can even change the polarization of light reflected from their skin. Their
eyes are also very sensitive, and it is likely that they have elaborate systems of signals to
communicate among individuals and to warn potential predators.
Okay, we’re just having fun now. Insects don’t wear t-shirts! But why don’t insects get as large as
people? The largest insects in the world don’t weigh more than about a quarter pound (100 g).
Insects don’t have very efficient organ systems for respiration. Our lungs allow blood to absorb
oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide, and our heart rapidly circulates the blood to all our cells.
Insects rely on a system of tubes from pores in each body segment. So they’re size remains limited.
The people behind the project

Rowan Graham Angelini is a kid interested in

drawing, Legos, music, skiing, and bugs. He was 12
years old when he drew most of the illustrations for
this book.

Serena Graham is a biology instructor at Colby

College. She has worked as a scientific illustrator,
marine mammal trainer, fisheries observer, and as a
researcher in neurogenetics.

Dave Angelini is a geneticist and a professor of

biology at Colby College in Waterville Maine. He
studies insects to understand how genes and
environmental influences shape the diversity of life.

This material is based upon work supported by the National

Science Foundation (NSF) under Grant Number IOS-1350207
to the Principle Investigator, David Angelini, Colby College.
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or
recommendations expressed in this material are those of the
author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the
National Science Foundation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons

Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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