Incredible Insects

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Incredible Insects
Standards-Based Activities
th th
(6 -8 Grades)

1) Reading – “What’s for Dinner?”
2) Reading – Insect Molting
3) Writing
4) Math
5) Answer Page

Created at a Pelotes Island Nature Preserve FCAT Workshop
Sponsored by Pelotes Island Nature Preserve (JEA & FPL)
The League of Environmental Educators in Florida (LEEF), and the
Crown Region Environmental Service Project (RSPII)
For more Standards-Based activities, check out Http://pelotes.jea.com
(904) 665-8856

Provided by the Pelotes Island Nature Preserve, JEA & FPL
“Incredible Insects”
This activity can stand alone or be used as a
standards-based extension for the following
environmental activities:

Project WILD “Ants on a Twig” p. 10
PLT “Are Vacant Lots Vacant?” p. 153
Schoolyard Wildlife “Scene of the Crime” p. 23
Schoolyard Wildlife “Ant Views” p. 41
Schoolyard Wildlife “Antwiches” p. 45
Schoolyard Wildlife “What’s it Gall About?” p. 53
Schoolyard Wildlife “Keep Your Distance” p. 75
Schoolyard Wildlife “Caterpillar Defenses” p. 115
Schoolyard Wildlife “If you have it, should you…?” p. 119
Schoolyard Wildlife “How to Keep a Grasshopper from
Munching” p. 125
Schoolyard Wildlife “Litterbugs” p. 165

To find out about getting these Environmental Activity Guides, see
the contact information below.
Project WET – contact Project WET State Coordinator at (386) 329-4752.

Project Learning Tree (PLT) – contact PLT State Coordinator at (850) 222-5646.

Project WILD – contact Project WILD State Coordinator at (850) 488-4676.

Projec t Aquatic WILD - contact Project WILD State Coordinator at
(850) 488-4676.

Schoolyard Wildlife - contact Project WILD State Coordinator at (850) 488-4676.

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions

What’s for Dinner?

A person who is an “entomophage” (en-tem-o-fozh) is a “bug-eater”. Many
people around the world eat insects. Some just eat bugs as a tasty snack, but others
eat insects as an important part of their diet. Not all insects taste good, and some are
even poisonous! There are over 1,462 species of edible insects in the world. In
Algeria, the people eat desert locusts cooked in salt water. Australian Aborigines eat
cooked witchety grubs and honeypot ants. The Japanese eat fried grasshoppers and
cicadas. In Nigeria, the west Africans eat roasted termites and crickets. These insects
are a good source of nutrition and are easy to find. They take up less space and are
less expensive to feed than grazing animals like cows. Many species of insects are
even higher in protein than beef, pork, and chicken.

Approximate Percentages of Protein in Foods

Product Protein
Beef 26%
Caterpillars 28%
Crickets 13%
Fish 16%
Lobsters 16%
Kidney Beans 23%
Silk Worms 13%
Termites 14%

Have you ever eaten a bug? Living in the United States, most people will never
deliberately eat an insect. But you will consume over a pound of insects in your lifetime!
Many foods that we eat have insects and insect parts in them that we can’t see. The
Food and Drug Administration publishes a list of food standards called the “Food Defect
Action Levels.” These standards set the maximum acceptable levels of insects allowed
in food products. It is almost impossible to grow crops in open fields, harvest, and
process them without some insects getting mixed in. To keep all insects out of our food,
farmers would have to increase the frequency and potency of the pesticides that they
use. This would be dangerous to people who consumed the products. It would also

-continued on the next page-

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions, continued

What’s for Dinner?

increase the cost of producing products because of the increased time and effort spent
using the pesticides.

Action Levels of Food Products

Product Action Level
(insects/100 g)
Apple butter 5 insects

Berries 2 insects

Broccoli 60 insects

Chocolate 80 insect
fragments
Cornmeal 1 insect

Macaroni noodles 100 insect
fragments
Peanut butter 60 insect
fragments
Pizza sauce 30 insect eggs

Though we may never become true entomophages in the United States, insects will
always be a tiny part of our diet and will remain an important food source for many
people in the world.

Resources: Edible Insects, http://ww.eatbug.com
FDA Food Defect Action Levels, http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/dalbook.html#CHPTA
University of Kentucky Entomology for Kids,
http://www.uky.edu/Agriculture/Entymology/ythfacts/bugfood/bugfood2.htm
Waldbauer, Dr. Gilbert. The Handy Bug Answer Book. Visible Ink Press, Farmington
Hills, MI. (1998)

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions, continued

What’s for Dinner?

1. Why did the author begin the article with the definition of the word “entomophage”?
Use details and information from the article to support your answer.

READ
THINK
EXPLAIN

2. Which kind of evidence did the author use most in this article?

a) She relates facts about eating insects.
b) She provides personal accounts of eating insects.
c) She gives her opinion about the nutritional value of insects.
d) She relies on the reader’s common knowledge of insects.

3. Which of the following is a reason that insects are an important food source for many
people in the world?

a) Insects come in many flavors.
b) Insects cure diseases.
c) Insects are hard to find.
d) Insects are high in protein.

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions, continued

What’s for Dinner?

4. Why does the Food and Drug Administration publish the “Food Defect Action Level”
booklet?

a) To prevent people from eating broccoli, peanut butter, and macaroni.
b) To disclose the types of pesticides that farmers use on their crops.
c) To provide people with the accepted levels of insects allowed in their food.
d) To show the nutrition levels of fruits and vegetables produced in the U.S.

5. What is the main idea of the paragraph that begins, “Have you ever eaten…”? Use
details and information from the article to support your answer.

READ
THINK
EXPLAIN

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions

“How an Insect Larva Molts”
from Incredible Bugs by Rick Imes p. 121

1. Insects go through molting stages during their development. Based on information
and details from the text, explain how an insect molts.

READ
THINK
EXPLAIN

2. Based on the text, what does the word “cuticle” mean?

a) Fluid in an insect
b) An insect’s outside covering
c) The adult stage for an insect
d) Bright colors on an insect

3. What are two dangers an insect larva must avoid while it is molting?

a) Getting stuck in its old skin and getting too wet
b) Getting too wet and getting eaten by a predator
c) Getting too dry and getting eaten by a predator
d) Getting stuck in its old skin and getting too hard

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Reading Questions, continued

“How an Insect Larva Molts”
from Incredible Bugs by Rick Imes p. 121

4. Explain why an insect larva chooses a dark hidden place for molting. Use details
and information from the passage to support your answer.

READ
THINK
EXPLAIN

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Writing Prompts

1. There are millions of species of insects in our world. Think about a specific insect
you might like to be for one day. Write to explain what it would be like to be an
insect for a day.

2. In a beehive, different age bees do different jobs, including finding nectar, cleaning
the hive, defending the hive, and taking care of babies. Think about which bee job
you would most like to do. Write to explain why this bee job would be the best one
for you.

3. Many people around the world eat insects as an important part of their diet. Imagine
what it would be like to eat a live grub or ant. Write to explain what you think you
would do if you had to eat a live grub or ant.

4. On some game shows, contestants are faced with the challenge of eating an insect
to win a prize. Imagine that you are on a game show with a friend who has to eat a
bug to win a prize. Write to persuade your friend to either take the challenge or pass
on eating the bug.

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Math Questions

Use the tables in the article “What’s for Dinner” to answer the following questions.

1. There are approximately 1.462 x 103 species of edible insects in the world. How
many insects does 1.462 x 103 represent?

a) 14,620
b) 1,462
c) 1,462,000
d) 146,200

2. According to the “Food Action Defect Levels” every 3.5 oz of peanut butter can
contain 60 insect fragments. Which inequality describes the number of insect
fragments, F, allowed in a 14 oz jar of peanut butter?

a) F > 240
b) F > 240
c) F < 240
d) F < 240

3. The table “Approximate Percentages of Protein in Foods” shows the amount of
protein found in beef, fish, lobster, kidney beans, and a variety of insects. What is
the mean percentage of protein found in the insects in the table? Round your
answer to the nearest whole number.

a) 19%
b) 9%
c) 17%
d) 20%

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Math Questions, continued

4. Many things that people eat contain the recommended daily allowance of protein.
Using the data in the “Approximate Percentages o f Protein in Foods” create a bar
graph on the grid below showing the amount of protein in each food. Be sure to title
the graph, label the axes, use appropriate scales, and accurately graph the data.

-- Question 4 continued on next page --

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Incredible Insects

Standards-Based Math Questions, continued

On the lines below write three statements comparing the percentages of protein in the
foods shown on the graph.

THINK
SOLVE
EXPLAIN

5. In the cafeteria lunch line there are 36 entrees. Twelve are roasted termites; 19 are
fried grasshoppers; a nd the rest are hamburgers. If one entrée is selected at
random from the counter, what is the probability that it will be a hamburger? Show
your work. Write your answer as a decimal rounded to the nearest hundredth.

THINK
SOLVE
EXPLAIN

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Incredible Insects – Answers

Writing

For All – Use the rubric for Florida Writes! – 6 points

1. LA.B.1.3.3, LA.B.2.3.1, LA.B.2.3.3
2. LA.B.1.3.3, LA.B.2.3.1, LA.B.2.3.3, SC.G.1.3.2
3. LA.B.1.3.3, LA.B.2.3.1, LA.B.2.3.3, SC.G.1.3.4
4. LA.B.1.3.3, LA.B.2.3.1, LA.B.2.3.3

Math

1. b) MA.A.2.3.1, MA.A.1.3.4
2. d) MA.D.2.3.2
3. c) MA.A.3.3.3
4. Use the rubric for Extended Response Math Questions – 4 points
MA.E.1.3.1, MA.D.1.3.2

Example of a Top-Score Response
Percentage of Protein in Food

% of
Protein
14

2
0 Beef Caterpillar Cricket Fish Lobster Beans Silk Worms Termites
Types of Food

The caterpillar has the greatest percentage of protein, slightly greater than beef.
Crickets and silk worms have the same amount of protein, slightly less than fish.

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Incredible Insects – Answers, continued

5. Use the rubric for Short Response Math Questions – 2 points
MA.A.2.3.2

Example of a Top-Score Response
36 total minus (19 grasshoppers plus 12 termites) = 5 hamburgers. 5 hamburgers
divided by 36 total equals 0.14

Reading – “What’s for Dinner”

1. Use the rubric for Short Response Reading Questions – 2 points
LA.A.1.3.1, LA.A.1.3.2.2, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level two

Example of a Top-Score Response
The author began the article with the word entomophage because the main idea of
the article is “bug-eating”. In the article the author discusses the different insects
that people around the world eat including crickets in Japan. The article a lso
discusses the fact that in the U.S. we also eat bugs when we eat everyday products.

2. a) LA.A.2.3.2, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level one
3. d) LA.A.2.3.1, SS.B.2.3.3, SC.G.1.3.4, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level one
4. c) LA.A.2.3.1, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level one

5. Use the rubric for Short Response Reading Questions – 2 points
LA.A.2.3.1, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level two

Example of a Top-Score Response
The main idea of the paragraph is that in the U.S. people are actually eating bugs,
even though they may not know it. The FDA publishes the Food Defect Action
Levels booklet that shows that information. Some foods that we eat that may have
insects in them are peanut butter and broccoli.

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Incredible Insects – Answers, continued

Reading – “How an Insect Larva Molts”

1. Use the rubric for Short Response Reading Questions – 2 points
LA.A.1.3.1, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level 2

Example of a Top-Score Response
When a larva prepares to molt, it finds a damp area to hang from where it secretes
molting fluid within its cuticle. This fluid allows the larva to separate from its skin.
The larva then fills itself with air and splits its skin in order to escape or molt.

2. b) LA.A.1.3.2, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level one
3. c) LA.A.2.3.1, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level one
4. Use the rubric for Short Response Reading Questions – 2 points
LA.A.2.3.1, SC.F.1.3.1, Bloom’s Taxonomy Level two

Example of a Top-Score Response
The larva uses a dark hidden space to molt because it must stay moist and must
also hide from predators.

Grading Resources:

Sunshine State Standards can be found at http://firn.edu/doe//menu/sss.htm
Grading Rubrics can be found at http://www.finr.edu/sas/fcat.htm under “What Every
Teacher Should Know About FCAT”
Additional information about FCAT can be found at http://www.finr.edu/sas/fcat.htm

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