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People dress up in costumes to look like something else. Bugs dress up in “costumes” too! What would a bug dress up as?
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These caterpillars (of bagworm moths) dress up as sticks. They wear sticks so that predators—animals that want to eat them—don’t notice them!
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Some caterpillars will also use leaves as a “costume”! Nothing to see here—just a pile of leaves moving through the forest!
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Another kind of bug (called a caddisfly) lives at the bottom of almost every river. They make “costumes” from pebbles and shells in the river...
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This “costume” helps them hide from predators! Think like an artist. How could you get a caddisfly to “dress up” in jewelry like gold and pearls, instead of “dressing up” in shells and pebbles?
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An artist left pebble-sized pieces of gold near the caddisflies, and they covered themselves in it! Once the bug leaves its “costume,” people use the empty case as jewelry!
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These bugs are part of a group of insects called “assassin bugs.” They’re fierce hunters that sneak up on their prey. Look what they’ve caught…
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Some assassin bugs wear “costumes.” What do you think this “costume” is made of? Go ahead and take a guess.
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The “costume” is actually the assassin bug’s dinner! Look closely and you’ll see the leftovers from the meals this bug has eaten!
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Check this out! Look closely at these plants. They have clumps of foamy bubbles all over them! What could be making the bubbles?
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Let’s look in the bubbles! There’s a tiny bug! Watch closely as the bug makes bubbles. It hides inside them when it’s a baby (larva).
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This kind of bug, called a spittlebug, is a baby in the spring. So when it’s spring, look for their bubbles in plants! Can you find one?
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Most bugs don’t “wear” anything on their bodies. But some bugs do have beautiful colors and patterns. And sometimes...
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...those colors and patterns almost look like masks! Depending on the pattern, the masks can look happy, sad, or even surprised!
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Spiders have color patterns that can look like faces, too! This spider lives in Hawaii and is called the happy-face spider!
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The next time you dress up—like at a costume party—I wonder what you’ll dress as!
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  • Is it possible to see a new color?

    -Anna, 3rd Grade

  • Can an animal live without a heart?

    -Remi, 1st Grade

  • What is the deadliest cat?

    -Shreyas, 3rd Grade

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