Spring is finally here. Many insects, like the Monarch Butterfly, hibernate or migrate to other countries during winter. When spring arises, they are ready to eat and mate. This is also the time much of our wildlife is coming back out and raising their offspring.
While you may not realize it, insects help feed many of our wild animals. Frogs depend on insects as a main food source. Frogs are food for other animals, like snakes. Snakes are great for our ecosystem, as if we did not have snakes, our mice and rat populations would be uncontrollable. Snakes are food for many animals. Insects are just the beginning of the food chain.
You may be asking, what else are insects good for? Family Fun! Go to a library and grab insect book. Show your kids insects like ants, ladybugs, and beetles. Then go outdoors and start looking for them! Go near flowers and you will see how many insects actually pollinate them. Check out an ant pile and just sit and observe. You will see that ants actually have a system to their work. Talk about what the insects might be doing. You can talk about different colors and why one insect may be brown while another may be yellow. Is it to warn off predators? To match their favorite flower or to blend in with the dirt so a predator doesn’t eat them?
The best part of insects? You don’t even have to go camping to find them. You literally can find them in your backyard! With insects there is always something to learn and talk about. So what are you waiting for? There are literally billions of insects waiting for you to discover them!
Read Ciara's article: Family Bug Hunt: Finding and Identifying Insects Around Us
About Ciara Utech:
Ciara Utech is an expert on insects, reptiles and other wildlife. She has experience at both a zoo and an aquarium and worked with everything from elephants to sea cucumbers. Ciara now works to educate about conservation of wildlife, in part by writing about the adventures of discovering the world around us.
You can read more great articles at her blog: Wildlife-N-Critters
