Minibeasts fact cards
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A minibeast is a small animal or ‘creepy
crawly’.
Minibeasts do not have a back bone
(invertebrates).
Minibeasts do not have a skeleton inside.
Some minibeasts have a hard shell to live
in.
Minibeasts need shelter, water, food and
air to survive.
Minibeasts can be found on land and in
water
Ants are about 6mm long.
They live in nests under walls and old in
tree stumps.
Ants can be meat eaters or plant eaters
and some eat both!
They are found everywhere in the UK all
year round so they are easy to spot.
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
15724
Did you know that that there are over
15 different types of ladybirds all
different colours and with different
numbers of spots?
Ladybirds are about 5mm long.
They eat aphids which are tiny little bugs
found on some plants.
Butterflies come in hundreds of different
varieties! Some common ones you may
spot are Red Admirals, Common Blue or
Large White.
Butterflies are seen throughout the UK in
the spring and summer months.
They feed on nectar, the sweet sticky
stuff found in flowers!
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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There are two types of bee; honey bee
and bumble bee
The honey bee is the smaller variety
growing to only 20mm but the bumble
bee can be 25mm long.
They are found everywhere in the UK
from the start of spring till the end of
autumn so they are easy to spot.
They eat nectar, the sweet sticky stuff
found in flowers!
The common wasp is around 2cm long.
They are found through the UK from
April to October.
Take care as they can often be found
nesting in houses.
Wasps will eat anything sweet or sugary
like fruit or even the saliva produced by
wasp larvae – yuck!
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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Craneflies are sometimes called ‘daddy
long-legs’.
They are about 3 cm long.
You may find them in short grass.
Their young grow in soil, feeding on roots
they find there.
For every butterfly there is a different
caterpillar!
Caterpillars feed on plants so gardeners
think of them as pests!
When they are fully grown and ready to
change into butterflies (pupate) they build
a chrysalis around themselves.
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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Woodlice grow up to 18mm long.
They are easy to find hiding under stones
and logs throughout the UK.
They like to eat dead plant material.
When disturbed woodlice roll up into a
perfect ball.
Slugs can grow up to 15cm long!
They are found throughout the UK under
stones and logs or buried in the soil.
They like to munch away on any type of
plant matter.
There are over 30 different types of slug
in the UK.
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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Millipedes grow up to 60cm long!
There are three types of millipede in the
UK; Black Snake, Flat Back and Pill.
They like to feed on plant matter – dead
or alive!
When threatened they coil up and
produce a horrid smell.
Dragonflies can have a wing span over
11cm long!
They live around water, ponds and lakes
or slow moving streams.
They eat other flying insects.
They are extremely fast fliers but can
also hover for long periods.
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Minibeasts fact cards
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© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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Earwigs do not live in ears! But they do
like to find small spaces to hide in.
They can be found all year round
throughout the UK.
They like to plant material, pollen and
flowers but will eat other insects.
Earwigs are sometimes called ‘pincher
bugs’ because of their large pinchers.
Snails can grow up to 8cm long.
Garden snails like chalky soil as it helps
their shells to grow.
Gardeners don’t like snails as they love to
munch on their crops.
Snails hibernate during the winter in
large groups hiding under stones.
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Minibeasts fact cards
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There are over 30 species of spider found
in the UK.
Some have truly terrifying names such as
the Wolf Spider but all are completely
harmless.
The common garden spider can grow up
to 13mm long.
They eat flying insects caught in their
webs.
Photo credits
Minibeasts © kevinzim 2008 www.flickr.com/photos/86624586@N00/2421304982/
Ladybird © wwarby 2010 www.flickr.com/photos/wwarby/5109496141/
Wasp © Velo Steve 2009 www.flickr.com/photos/juniorvelo/3327018382/
Cranefly © edans 2009 www.flickr.com/photos/edans/3883978008/
Woodlouse © Mick E. Talbot 2009 www.flickr.com/photos/25258702@N04/3491450227/
Slug © Pitel 2008 www.flickr.com/photos/pitel/2775136288/
Dragonfly © ana_cotta 2008 www.flickr.com/photos/ana_cotta/2830198213/
Earwig © brian.gratwicke 2010 www.flickr.com/photos/briangratwicke/4241988344/
Spider © _Skender_ 2007 www.flickr.com/photos/skender/1472115354/
Bee © http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bee_and_lavender.jpg
© www.teachitprimary.co.uk 2011
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