| When placed on its back, the click family of this insect jumps into the air to right itself, making a click sound |
a beetle |
200 |
July 26, 2006 |
| A familiar sight on summer evenings east of the Rockies is the Photinus pyralis, a species of this |
a firefly |
400 |
July 26, 2006 |
| Some species of thrips are the only known animals that can reproduce by both bearing live young & doing this |
laying eggs |
600 |
July 26, 2006 |
| Just like chickens, insects have this 4-letter pouch where food is stored & partially digested |
a crop |
800 |
July 26, 2006 |
| A long-horned grasshopper gets this name from the love call produced by rubbing its two front wings together |
the katydid |
1000 |
July 26, 2006 |
| The evocatively named sticktight is one of these pet-tormenting parasites |
a flea |
200 |
March 24, 2006 |
| The Colorado type of this plentiful insect is the terror of potato growers |
the potato beetle |
400 |
March 24, 2006 |
| The Viceroy butterfly does its best to look like this bad-tasting butterfly |
the monarch |
600 |
March 24, 2006 |
| Some solitary ones make their nests out of mud; social ones, usually from paper |
wasps |
800 |
March 24, 2006 |
| A mosquito at this life stage is called a wriggler |
a larva |
|
March 24, 2006 |
| Almost all insects have 2 of these between their eyes to feel & to smell |
antennae |
200 |
November 26, 2003 |
| Cellulose eaten by certain families of this insect is digested by intestine-dwelling protozoans |
termites |
400 |
November 26, 2003 |
| As the name suggests, insects in the order Diptera have 2 of these |
wings |
600 |
November 26, 2003 |
| Some butterflies do not feed on anything; instead, they live off food stored during this stage of metamorphosis |
larval |
800 |
November 26, 2003 |
| A maggot is a fly in this stage of metamorphosis |
larva |
200 |
February 11, 2003 |
| The eggs of the Anopheles genus of this insect can float on the surface of ponds |
mosquito |
400 |
February 11, 2003 |
| This pious carnivore's name is from the Greek for "prophet" or "seer" |
praying mantis |
600 |
February 11, 2003 |
| The coat of this "hairy ursine" caterpillar of tiger moths is said to forecast the severity of the coming winter |
woolly bear |
800 |
February 11, 2003 |
| This citrus pest was discovered in Florida in 1929; in the 1980s it reappeared in both Florida & California |
Mediterranean fruit fly |
1000 |
February 11, 2003 |
| Schaus' Swallowtail, a species of this insect, is at risk due to pesticide use to control mosquitoes |
a butterfly |
200 |
July 18, 2002 |
| Although there are about 2,000 species of these "white ants", only 2 live in Europe |
termites |
400 |
July 18, 2002 |
| Due to their long snouts, these cotton destroyers are sometimes called snout beetles |
boll weevils |
600 |
July 18, 2002 |
| A giant species of this "100-legged" insect grows to 12 inches in length & eats lizards |
a centipede |
800 |
July 18, 2002 |
| Just like chickens, some insects have this muscular organ in the digestive tract to grind food |
a gizzard |
1000 |
July 18, 2002 |
| Also a classic Volkswagen, it's the insect with the greatest number of species |
Beetle |
100 |
February 16, 2001 |
| Due to where mosquitos lay eggs, the "mosquito" species of this creature feeds on their larvae |
Fish |
200 |
February 16, 2001 |
| The American F/A-18 fighter plane, or a paper-making wasp |
Hornet |
300 |
February 16, 2001 |
| Shakira sings of "Moscas en la Casa", these in the house |
flies |
400 |
February 16, 2001 |
| The cells bees make for workers, males & queens are different in size, but all are this shape |
Hexagonal |
500 |
February 16, 2001 |
| There may be thousands of ommatidia, light-sensitive units, in an insect's compound one of these |
Eyes |
100 |
October 12, 2000 |
| It's said that in Asia, people learned how to make this by watching wasps |
Paper |
200 |
October 12, 2000 |
| Scientists take an EAG, an electroantennogram, to measure how a moth's antennae nerves pick up these sex odors |
Pheromones |
300 |
October 12, 2000 |
| As most insects don't need to transport oxygen in their blood, they lack this protein that makes blood red |
Hemoglobin |
400 |
October 12, 2000 |
| The whirligig beetle is one of the fastest insects at this activity; it can go 40 inches per second |
Swimming |
500 |
October 12, 2000 |
| The female cockroach has a packing case for these & carries it until she finds a good spot for them |
her eggs |
100 |
March 29, 1999 |
| Of its nose, tongue or feet, it's where a fly has its "taste buds" |
feet |
200 |
March 29, 1999 |
| When handled, these jumpers spit a brown liquid some call "tobacco juice" |
grasshoppers |
300 |
March 29, 1999 |
| The chigoe, or chigger, is also known as the sand type of this pest |
flea |
500 |
March 29, 1999 |
| These long-snouted pests may attack shrubs & berries, but the boll type concentrates on cotton |
weevils |
|
March 29, 1999 |
| The May beetle is also called this, perhaps when it shows up a few weeks late |
Junebug |
100 |
March 24, 1999 |
| The katydid is also called the long-horned (meaning long-antennaed) one of these |
Grasshopper |
200 |
March 24, 1999 |
| Its shape allows it to hide among twigs |
Walking stick |
300 |
March 24, 1999 |
| This fly that you might find "in distress" resembles a dragonfly but folds its wings back at rest |
Damselfly |
400 |
March 24, 1999 |
| Because of its colors the butterfly seen here is named after this beast(orange & black colors) |
Tiger butterfly |
500 |
March 24, 1999 |
| This large black & yellow bee can often be found at higher altitudes than other bees |
Bumblebee |
100 |
June 5, 1997 |
| One type of this insect can tell you the temperature; add 40 to the number of chirps in 15 seconds |
Cricket |
200 |
June 5, 1997 |
| Species of this insect include ctenocephalides canis & ctenocephalides felis |
Flea |
300 |
June 5, 1997 |
| The many stag species of this insect get their name from the males' jaws, which resemble antlers |
Beetles |
400 |
June 5, 1997 |
| Ants can communicate by releasing these chemicals from glands located throughout the body |
pheromones |
500 |
June 5, 1997 |
| This "praying" insect is the only insect that can turn its head from side to side |
the praying mantis |
100 |
October 27, 1995 |
| The pyralis is a common North American species of this insect also called a lightning bug |
a firefly |
200 |
October 27, 1995 |
| The dog & cat are 2 of the most common types of this parasitic insect |
fleas |
300 |
October 27, 1995 |
| Boric acid powder is used to combat these household pests of the order Blattaria |
cockroaches |
400 |
October 27, 1995 |
| This larval stage of a beetle is usually pale in color |
the grub |
500 |
October 27, 1995 |
| Sara orangetip, which has orange-tipped wings, is a type of this beautiful insect |
a butterfly |
100 |
July 13, 1995 |
| Of the aphid, the flea or the black widow spider, the one that doesn't belong in the category |
a spider |
200 |
July 13, 1995 |
| Insects are poikilothermic, which is a synonym for this |
cold-blooded |
300 |
July 13, 1995 |
| Wireworms are the slender larvae of the "click" type of this insect |
the beetle |
400 |
July 13, 1995 |
| These African flies transmit the trypanosomes that cause souma, a disease of ruminants |
a tsetse fly |
500 |
July 13, 1995 |
| One of the biblical plagues brought upon Egypt was swarms of these cricket-like insects |
locusts |
100 |
April 27, 1995 |
| The only function of this stingless male honeybee is to mate with the queen |
drone |
200 |
April 27, 1995 |
| Nagona, an infectious disease that affects horses & cattle, is transmitted by these African flies |
tsetse flies |
300 |
April 27, 1995 |
| This "pious" predator not only feeds on its own kind, it also eats small tree frogs |
praying mantis |
400 |
April 27, 1995 |
| The plant louse is a type of this tiny garden pest |
aphid |
500 |
April 27, 1995 |
| Insects of the order embioptera aren't spiders, but they still spin these |
webs |
100 |
January 11, 1994 |
| The wooly-bear caterpillar grows up to be one of these |
a moth |
200 |
January 11, 1994 |
| Worker bees have "baskets" on their hind legs to carry this; cuckoo bees don't |
pollen |
300 |
January 11, 1994 |
| The bald-faced type of this stinging insect builds oval paper nests |
wasps |
400 |
January 11, 1994 |
| It's the larva of a beetle, or a synonym for chow |
grub |
500 |
January 11, 1994 |
| Some species of this insect obtain their cellulose from grass & humus in the soil rather than from wood |
termites |
100 |
June 18, 1993 |
| The chief insect carriers of encephalitis are the Culex & Aedes types of this insect |
mosquitoes |
200 |
June 18, 1993 |
| These 2 insects make up the order Lepidoptera, the second largest order of insects |
moths & butterflies |
300 |
June 18, 1993 |
| June, Japanese & dung are types of this insect, from its scarab family |
beetles |
400 |
June 18, 1993 |
| Pediculus capitis, a species of this blood-eating insect, lays its eggs on the hair of humans & other mammals |
lice |
500 |
June 18, 1993 |
| Temperature can be estimated by adding 40 to the number of this insect's chirps in a 15-second period |
a cricket |
100 |
December 10, 1992 |
| Many of these insects in the genus Aedes are carriers of yellow fever |
a mosquito |
200 |
December 10, 1992 |
| Although the female of the gypsy species of this insect has wings, it cannot fly |
a moth |
300 |
December 10, 1992 |
| Solitary types of this insect include cuckoo, potter & mud dauber |
a wasp |
400 |
December 10, 1992 |
| Also called a shad fly or dayfly, it's the only insect to go through a subimago or sub-adult stage |
the mayfly |
500 |
December 10, 1992 |
| The female of this "religious" species is more deadly than the male; it eats the male after mating |
a praying mantis |
100 |
July 8, 1992 |
| It's there to protect the pupae of moth caterpillars |
a cocoon |
200 |
July 8, 1992 |
| Bees convert this to honey in their digestive tracts |
nectar |
300 |
July 8, 1992 |
| Most species of these are solitary, but the paper ones & yellow jackets are social |
wasps |
400 |
July 8, 1992 |
| The 17-year locust is actually one of these insects, not a true locust |
a cicada |
500 |
July 8, 1992 |
| "Circuses" of these insects have been trained to do tricks such as pulling tiny wagons |
flags |
100 |
January 24, 1992 |
| The largest mound ever built by these "white ants" was estimated to be 28 1/2 feet tall |
termites |
200 |
January 24, 1992 |
| The greatest number of legs reported for one of these insects is 750 |
millipede |
300 |
January 24, 1992 |
| In the U.S. the Schaus swallowtail is the rarest species of this insect |
butterfly |
400 |
January 24, 1992 |
| A wingless insect with 3 taillike appendages, it feeds on wallpaper paste & book bindings |
silverfish |
500 |
January 24, 1992 |
| These insects are able to digest cellulose because of protozoa in their intestines |
termites |
100 |
May 10, 1991 |
| Glowworms are the luminescent larvae or the flightless females of some species of these beetles |
fireflies |
200 |
May 10, 1991 |
| In a 1910 experiment, one of these insects, Pulex irritans, jumped 130 times its own length |
a (human) flea |
300 |
May 10, 1991 |
| Karl von Frisch won a 1973 Nobel Prize for deciphering the dancing "language" of these insects |
bees |
400 |
May 10, 1991 |
| The leaf-cutter species of these insects use leaves & flower petals to fertilize their fungus gardens |
ants |
500 |
May 10, 1991 |
| The lac insect secretes a substance used to make this varnish |
Shellac/lacquer |
100 |
May 8, 1990 |
| The largest one of these in the world is the Queen Alexandria birdwing, not the monarch |
Butterfly |
200 |
May 8, 1990 |
| To distinguish termites from ants, look at this feature: an ant has a slim one, like a wasp |
Waist |
300 |
May 8, 1990 |
| Some insects have 3 of these sense organs, called ocelli, arranged in a triangle on the head |
Eyes |
400 |
May 8, 1990 |
| Of the 5 senses, it's the 1 a honeybee doesn't have |
Hearing |
500 |
May 8, 1990 |
| While moths are nocturnal, these close relatives are diurnal, or "day-flyers" |
butterflies |
100 |
April 13, 1990 |
| They contain tiny insect larvae that jump when exposed to heat |
Mexican jumping beans |
200 |
April 13, 1990 |
| Stage of a bee's development that falls between larva & adult |
pupa |
300 |
April 13, 1990 |
| The 2 insects in the title of an Aesop's fable, one hard-working & the other lazy |
ant & grasshopper |
400 |
April 13, 1990 |
| Also called the looper & measuring worm, it's actually the caterpillar of a moth |
inchworm |
500 |
April 13, 1990 |
| The Latin name of this insect is mantis religiosa |
Praying Mantis |
100 |
January 19, 1990 |
| According to the Smithsonian, the old Ford Woody station wagons were often infested with these |
Termites |
200 |
January 19, 1990 |
| The German type of this ancient household pest is sometimes mistakingly called a waterbug |
Cockroach |
300 |
January 19, 1990 |
| The process in which a caterpillar turns into a butterfly is called this |
Metamorphosis |
400 |
January 19, 1990 |
| These brightly colored insects are sometimes called "Devil's Darning Needles" |
Dragonflies |
500 |
January 19, 1990 |
| Type of beetle that comes in species like pea, green & grain, as well as boll |
the weevil |
100 |
October 23, 1989 |
| To frighten predators, the owl butterfly has large spots on its wings that resemble these |
eyes |
100 |
November 15, 1988 |
| When filled with these, the queen termite can be over four inches long |
eggs |
200 |
November 15, 1988 |
| The plasmodia aren't space invaders but parasites that mosquitos pass to man causing this disease |
malaria |
300 |
November 15, 1988 |
| For sundews and pitcher plants, insects serve this purpose |
a source of food |
400 |
November 15, 1988 |
| This type of wasp gets its name from the abnormal protruding plant growths it causes |
the gall wasp |
500 |
November 15, 1988 |
| Troupes of these, pulling tiny wagons & doing other tricks, are featured in tiny "circuses" |
fleas |
100 |
October 30, 1987 |
| While most butterflies fly during the day, these, their closest relatives, tend to fly at night |
moths |
200 |
October 30, 1987 |
| Of all bees that can do this, only the honeybee can't do it twice |
sting |
300 |
October 30, 1987 |
| 3 syllable name of this grasshopper comes from love call of some of the males when they're mating |
katydid |
400 |
October 30, 1987 |
| Lice, flies & locusts were the 3rd, 4th & 8th of these, respectively |
the plagues of Egypt |
500 |
October 30, 1987 |
| All insects hatch from these |
eggs |
100 |
June 16, 1987 |
| Mayflies live for a very short time because adult mayflies can't do this |
eat |
200 |
June 16, 1987 |
| When male moths lose these sensory appendages, they lose all interest in female moths |
antennae |
300 |
June 16, 1987 |
| These wasps are called the 1st papermakers because they build paper nests |
hornets (yellowjackets) |
400 |
June 16, 1987 |
| An immature insect, or a lesser forest goddess |
nymph |
500 |
June 16, 1987 |
| In 1986, a Dallas exterminator ran a contest to find the largest one of these insects in the city |
a cockroach |
100 |
June 8, 1987 |
| At the end of Linda Ronstadt's "When You Wish Upon A Star" video, he makes a cameo appearance |
Jiminy Cricket |
200 |
June 8, 1987 |
| 1915 story in which Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find he has changed into a giant insect |
the <i>Metamorphosis</i> |
300 |
June 8, 1987 |
| It's made from a substance given off by lac insects |
shellac |
400 |
June 8, 1987 |
| World Book says these are the 2 things most insects spend most of their time doing |
eating & reproducing |
500 |
June 8, 1987 |
| The skeleton of an insect is called an exoskeleton because it's located here |
outside (the body) |
100 |
May 19, 1987 |
| Poe's "Gold Bug", or the VW advertised with the slogan "Think Small" |
the beetle |
100 |
December 15, 1986 |
| The chirping of male crickets is thought to be connected to this biological urge |
reproduction (mating) |
200 |
December 15, 1986 |
| Of the 3 classes of honeybees, the 1 whose name could describe the sound of a hive |
drone |
400 |
December 15, 1986 |
| Title of the following:You might wake up some morning,To the sound of something moving past your window in the wind,And if you're quick enough to rise... |
"The Elusive Butterfly Of Love" |
|
December 15, 1986 |
| In spite of its name, this brightly colored beetle can be male or female |
a ladybug |
100 |
February 4, 1986 |
| The bubonic plague of Medieval Europe was spread by these insects feeding on rats |
fleas |
200 |
February 4, 1986 |
| Almost everything most insects do is related to these 2 survival activities |
eating & mating |
300 |
February 4, 1986 |
| Though voracious, locusts do not migrate for food, but after an enormous increase in this |
population |
400 |
February 4, 1986 |
| From Greek "chrysos", meaning gold, it's the gold-colored pupa of a butterfly |
a chrysalis |
500 |
February 4, 1986 |
| What's done to a pesky mosquito or an acronym for a police special weapons team |
swat |
100 |
November 14, 1985 |
| Completes a Ben Franklin phrase, âHere skugg lies snug...â |
as a bug in a rug |
200 |
November 14, 1985 |
| It's the shortest route taken back to the hive |
beeline |
300 |
November 14, 1985 |
| The actual title of âJimmy Crack Cornâ |
<i>The Blue Tail Fly</i> |
400 |
November 14, 1985 |
| Of its varieties, the atlas is 1 of the largest & the death's head hawk chirps by blowing its nose |
moths |
500 |
November 14, 1985 |
| Tiny bloodsucking insects of family Cimicidae that hide in mattresses and attack at night |
bedbugs |
100 |
April 9, 1985 |
| Sometimes called "white ants", these social insects are really after cellulose, not your house |
termites |
200 |
April 9, 1985 |
| Brilliant green blister beetle once thought to be an aphrodisiac |
Spanish fly |
300 |
April 9, 1985 |
| "Cooties"; the lousiest insects of all |
lice |
100 |
December 6, 1984 |
| These insects flash yellow lights to find mates |
fireflies (or lightning bugs or glowworms) |
200 |
December 6, 1984 |
| Gatherings of this type of grasshopper have covered 2,000 square miles at a time |
locust swarms |
300 |
December 6, 1984 |
| Its name comes from its worshipful appearance, not its voracious appetite |
a praying mantis |
400 |
December 6, 1984 |
| The Bible says a sluggard should consider this industrious insect |
an ant |
500 |
December 6, 1984 |