NATURE AND

OUTDOOR EDUCATION

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

BEES AND OTHER INSECTS

JURA NEIKENA DIKLU PAMATSKOLA

SPRING, 2019
 LESSON PLAN FOR CONTENT INTEGRATED
LEARNING IMPLEMENTATION TO EXPLORE
TOPIC1

BEES AND OTHER INSECTS

Lesson 1 GENERAL To create an interest for students

INTRODUCTION: and, in order to expand the
vocabulary, encourage
discussion on the topic.
Students work with dictionaries
to expand their vocabulary and
lexis on topic

Lesson 2-4 TRAINING EXCURSION To promote general knowledge

and deeper understanding on
lifecycle and importance of bees
in nature.

Pictures1.,2.,3. Are from training excursion at the local ECO farm ,,Mežvijas’’.

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The lesson plans may be varied and supplemented, depending on the amount of the materials to be
studied and the degree of difficulty at different age stages for primary school students.

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 Lesson 5-7 BEES AND OTHER To improve reading and
INSECTS2 discussion skills for students

Students work on information To wider students vocabulary

collection, gathering and and lexis on topic
selection from several source
materials.

Lesson 8 INSECTS IN THE ART To improve students’ 21 century

WORKS3 key skills to transform
information
Students do research work on
popular Latvian illustrator for
children literature Margarita
Staraste and create drawings
on topic

Picture 4. Students work on topic

Lesson 9 PRESENTATION To improve students public

speaking skills

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[Link]
3
Created drawings are added as Annex 3 and can be used as symbol cards for feedback activity

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Lesson 10 FEEDBACK ACTIVITY To measure and understand the
amount of gained information
1) Students roll out one for students.
card with an insect
symbol

2) This creates groups

(an attractive way to
divide students into
groups)

3) Each group creates an

eye-catching
performance on the
insect topic, thereby
demonstrating the
reflection and
transmission of the
acquired knowledge.

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 ANNEX 1 Presentation evaluation criteria

Points Criteria Notes

10-9 Can speak and answer questions fully,

uses functional exponents to express
the opinion, provides examples and
present complete and deep
understanding on topic.

8-7 Can speak and present topic

sufficiently, expresses his/her opinion
well argumented and can convincingly
use some of vocabulary on topic.

6-5 Uses a few of the given phrases or

words on the topic. Sentences are
short, sometimes may not be relevant
to the topic, partly argumented.

4-3 Uses few given phrases or words.

Speaking are not confident and clearly
structured, consist mainly of word
chunks. Student has difficulty when
thinking of the right thing to say.

0 Does not use the given phrases or

words, uses only a small number of
words chaotically, avoids talking in
class.

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 ANNEX 2 . Self-evaluation checklist

3 2 1 0
Optional class student’s __________________

Self-evaluation checklist

Date_____________

I can use appropriate vocabulary

I can use well structured, complete sentences
I can link the sentences
I can express reasoned, clear opinion
I can understand the topic
Comments:

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ANNEX 3 Created drawings on topic

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 ANNEX 4 Collected information on the topic

Adalia bipunctata

Adalia bipunctata, commonly known as the two-spot ladybird, two-spotted

ladybug or two-spotted lady beetle, is a carnivorous beetle of the family Coccinellidae
that is found throughout the holarctic region. It is very common in western and central
Europe.

Taxonomy

The two-spotted ladybird was one of the many species originally described by Linnaeus
in his 18th-century work Systema Naturae; its original name was Coccinella bipunctata.
Its specific name is from the Latin bi- "two", and punctata "spotted".The name can also
be written as Adalia 2-punctata depending on author preference.

DESCRIPTION

Adalia bipunctata is a small Coccinellid that can feature any one of a large selection of
red and black forms. Some forms are similar to Mulsantina picta, but the two white
spots on the head of Adalia (in contrast with a large white region or more than two
spots, readily separates it. Additionally Adalia is entirely black on the ventral surface
with black legs, which helps rule out any other options.

The two-spotted ladybird is highly variable in many parts of its native range. The most
familiar form, form typica with two black spots on a red base, is common throughout.
A melanistic form that is black with 4 or 6 red spots is uncommon, but not rare, while
the truly melanistic form purpurea is exceedingly rare. In North America the species
shows the most variation, with several forms that do not occur elsewhere including a
spotless form, a four-banded form, a 9-12 spotted form, and a "cross-hatched" form. In
addition, there are intermediate forms such as form annulata, but they occur rarely.

Life cycle

The two-spotted lady beetle's life cycle starts with eggs that are usually laid in clutches.
The larva hatches from the egg by biting a hole in it. The larva looks very different
from an adult: it has an elongated, grey, soft body with six legs but no wings. They are
cannibalistic. A larva goes through four larval stages: by eating it grows and at some
point it sheds its old skin and appears in a new one in which it can grow more. The last
larval stage is approximately the size of an adult beetle. Once it has eaten enough, the
larva attaches itself to a substrate and moults into a pupa. Inside the pupa, the adult
develops. Finally the adult ecloses from the pupa.

Facts

In Latvia a ladybug lives for a year or less.

It flaps its wings 85 times a second

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In 1991 the Latvian Entomology commity declared it as a Latvian National insect.

Theyre biggest predators are birds.

Centipedes

(from Latin prefix centi-, "hundred", and pes, pedis, "foot") are predatory arthropods
belonging to the class Chilopoda of the subphylum Myriapoda, an arthropod group
which also includes Millipedes and other multi-legged creatures. Centipedes are
elongated metameric creatures with one pair of legs per body segment. Most centipedes
are generally venomous and could inflict a painful bite, injecting their venom through
pincer-like appendage known as forcipules. Despite the name, centipedes can have a
varying number of legs, ranging from 30 to 354. Centipedes always have an odd number
of pairs of legs. Therefore, no centipede has exactly 100 legs. Similar to spiders and
scorpions, centipedes are predominantly carnivorous.

Their size can range from a few millimetres in the smaller lithobiomorphs and
geophilomorphs to about 30 cm (12 in) in the largest scolopendromorphs. Centipedes
can be found in a wide variety of environments. They normally have a drab coloration
combining shades of brown and red. Cavernicolous (cave-dwelling) and subterranean
species may lack pigmentation, and many tropical scolopendromorphs have bright
aposematic colors.

Worldwide, an estimated 8,000 species of centipedes are thought to exist, of which

3,000 have been described. Centipedes have a wide geographical range, where they
even reach beyond the Arctic Circle. They are found in an array of terrestrial habitats
from tropical rainforests to deserts. Within these habitats, centipedes require a moist
microhabitat because they lack the waxy cuticle of insects and arachnids, therefore
causing them to rapidly lose water. Accordingly, they are found in soil and leaf litter,
under stones and dead wood, and inside logs. Centipedes are among the largest
terrestrial invertebrate predators, and often contribute significantly to the invertebrate
predatory biomass in terrestrial ecosystems.

Grasshoppers

are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what
is probably the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back
to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.

Grasshoppers are typically ground-dwelling insects with powerful hind legs which
allow them to escape from threats by leaping vigorously. As hemimetabolous insects,
they do not undergo complete metamorphosis; they hatch from an egg into a nymph or
"hopper" which undergoes five moults, becoming more similar to the adult insect at

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each developmental stage. At high population densities and under certain
environmental conditions, some grasshopper species can change color and behavior and
form swarms. Under these circumstances, they are known as locusts.

Grasshoppers are plant-eaters, with a few species at times becoming serious pests of
cereals, vegetables and pasture, especially when they swarm in their millions as locusts
and destroy crops over wide areas. They protect themselves from predators by
camouflage; when detected, many species attempt to startle the predator with a
brilliantly-coloured wing-flash while jumping and (if adult) launching themselves into
the air, usually flying for only a short distance. Other species such as the rainbow
grasshopper have warning coloration which deters predators. Grasshoppers are affected
by parasites and various diseases, and many predatory creatures feed on both nymphs
and adults. The eggs are the subject of attack by parasitoids and predators.

Grasshoppers have had a long relationship with humans. Swarms of locusts can have
devastating effects and cause famine, and even in smaller numbers, the insects can be
serious pests. They are used as food in countries such as Mexico and Indonesia. They
feature in art, symbolism and literature.

Characteristics

Grasshoppers have the typical insect body plan of head, thorax and abdomen. The head
is held vertically at an angle to the body, with the mouth at the bottom. The head bears
a large pair of compound eyes which give all-round vision, three simple eyes which can
detect light and dark, and a pair of thread-like antennae that are sensitive to touch and
smell. The downward-directed mouthparts are modified for chewing and there are two
sensory palps in front of the jaws.

The abdomen has eleven segments, the first of which is fused to the thorax and contains
the tympanal organ and hearing system. Segments two to eight are ring-shaped and
joined by flexible membranes. Segments nine to eleven are reduced in size; segment
nine bears a pair of cerci and segments ten and eleven house the reproductive organs.
Female grasshoppers are normally larger than males, with short ovipositors. The name
of the suborder "Caelifera" comes from the Latin and means chisel-bearing, referring
to the shape of the ovipositor. Those species that make easily heard noises usually do
so by rubbing a row of pegs on the hind legs against the edges of the forewings
(stridulation). These sounds are produced mainly by males to attract females, though in
some species the females also stridulate.

Those species that make easily heard noises usually do so by rubbing a row of pegs on
the hind legs against the edges of the forewings (stridulation). These sounds are
produced mainly by males to attract females, though in some species the females also
stridulate.

Grasshoppers may be confused with crickets, but they differ in many aspects; these
include the number of segments in their antennae and the structure of the ovipositor, as

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well as the location of the tympanal organ and the methods by which sound is produced.
Ensiferans have antennae that can be much longer than the body and have at least 20–
24 segments, while caeliferans have fewer segments in their shorter, stouter antennae.

There are 27 species in Latvia.

Ants

are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and
bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the
Cretaceous period, about 140 million years ago, and diversified after the rise of
flowering plants. More than 12,500 of an estimated total of 22,000 species have been
classified. They are easily identified by their elbowed antennae and the distinctive node-
like structure that forms their slender waists.

Ants form colonies that range in size from a few dozen predatory individuals living in
small natural cavities to highly organised colonies that may occupy large territories and
consist of millions of individuals. Larger colonies consist of various castes of sterile,
wingless females, most of which are workers (ergates), as well as soldiers (dinergates)
and other specialised groups. Nearly all ant colonies also have some fertile males called
"drones" (aner) and one or more fertile females called "queens" (gynes). The colonies
are described as superorganisms because the ants appear to operate as a unified entity,
collectively working together to support the colony.

ants have colonised almost every landmass on Earth. The only places lacking
indigenous ants are Antarctica and a few remote or inhospitable islands. Ants thrive in
most ecosystems and may form 15–25% of the terrestrial animal biomass. Their success
in so many environments has been attributed to their social organisation and their ability
to modify habitats, tap resources, and defend themselves. Their long co-evolution with
other species has led to mimetic, commensal, parasitic, and mutualistic relationships.

Ant societies have division of labour, communication between individuals, and an

ability to solve complex problems. These parallels with human societies have long been
an inspiration and subject of study. Many human cultures make use of ants in cuisine,
medication, and rituals. Some species are valued in their role as biological pest control
agents. Their ability to exploit resources may bring ants into conflict with humans,
however, as they can damage crops and invade buildings. Some species, such as the red
imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta), are regarded as invasive species, establishing
themselves in areas where they have been introduced accidentally.

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Bees

are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their role in pollination
and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing
honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea
and are presently considered a clade, called Anthophila. There are over 16,000 known
species of bees in seven recognized biological families. They are found on every
continent except Antarctica, in every habitat on the planet that contains insect-
pollinated flowering plants.

Some species including honey bees, bumblebees, and stingless bees live socially in
colonies. Bees are adapted for feeding on nectar and pollen, the former primarily as an
energy source and the latter primarily for protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is
used as food for larvae. Bee pollination is important both ecologically and
commercially. The decline in wild bees has increased the value of pollination by
commercially managed hives of honey bees.

Bees range in size from tiny stingless bee species whose workers are less than 2
millimetres (0.08 in) long, to Megachile pluto, the largest species of leafcutter bee,
whose females can attain a length of 39 millimetres (1.54 in). The most common bees
in the Northern Hemisphere are the Halictidae, or sweat bees, but they are small and
often mistaken for wasps or flies. Vertebrate predators of bees include birds such as
bee-eaters; insect predators include beewolves and dragonflies.

Human beekeeping or apiculture has been practised for millennia, since at least the
times of Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece. Apart from honey and pollination, honey
bees produce beeswax, royal jelly and propolis. Bees have appeared in mythology and
folklore, through all phases of art and literature, from ancient times to the present day,
though primarily focused in the Northern Hemisphere, where beekeeping is far more
common.

The analysis of 353 wild bee and hoverfly species across Britain from 1980 to 2013
found the insects have been lost from a quarter of the places they were found in 1980.

Facts:

a bee produces 1/12 of a teaspoon of honey in its lifetime.

for a bee to make 450 grams of honey it needs to polinate 2 m flowers.

bees are the only bug that produces food that humans eat.

on a good day a bee can polinate 2000 flowers, worker bees lifetime is around a month.

queen bees live for five years and a good queen bee can hatch 200 thousand eggs

in one minute a bee flaps its wings 12 thousand times.

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