Bugs (ELT Graded Readers)

Saiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p01) 01 4/3/98 H0M40

CT0

QCK00

1

Y C KMWhile every effort has been taken to carry out instruction to customers satisfactionNO RESPONSIBILITY liability will be accepted for errors.CUSTOMERS ARE THEREFORE URGED TO CHECK THOROUGHLY BEFORE

To the reader:Welcome to the DK ELT Graded Readers! These readers aredifferent. They explore aspects of the world around us: its history,geography, science and a lot of other things. They show thedifferent ways in which people live now, and lived in the past.

These DK ELT Graded Readers give you material for readingfor information, and reading for pleasure. You are using yourEnglish to do something real. The illustrations will help youunderstand the text, and also help bring the Reader to life. There is a glossary to help you understand the special words forthis topic. Listen to the cassette or CD as well, and you can really enter the world of the Olympic Games, the Titanic, or the Trojan War and a lot more. Choose the topics thatinterest you, improve your English, and learn something all at the same time.Enjoy the series!

To the teacher:This series provides varied reading practice at five levels oflanguage difficulty, from elementary to FCE level:BEGINNERELEMENTARY AELEMENTARY BINTERMEDIATEUPPER INTERMEDIATEThe language syllabus has been designed to suit the factualnature of the series, and includes a wider vocabulary range than is usual with ELT readers: language linked with the specifictheme of each book is included and glossed. The languagescheme, and ideas for exploiting the material (including therecorded material) both in and out of class are contained in theTeachers Resource Book.We hope you and your students enjoy using this series.

pFolio: (p4/5)

YMWhile every effort has been taken to carry out instruction to customers satisfactionNO RESPONSIBILITY liability will be accepted for errors.CUSTOMERS ARE THEREFORE URGED TO CHECK THOROUGHLY BEFOREAUTHORISING PRINT RUNS.

4

There are about one million different kinds of insects in theworld. They live everywhere: in the Arctic, the Antarctic; indeserts; in and near water; underground, and in the mountains.

Stag beetle

Dragonfly

4/5 4/3/98 H1M00 CT4QCK00

C K

Paperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

5

They are not usually dangerousto humans, but some insectshave stings that hurt. Others cancut your skin and make it bleed.

Some of the insect fossils inrocks are 300 million years old.

Some insects are vegetarians:they eat green plants and wood.But some of them eat otherinsects, evenbigger ones. Andsome insects, likethe praying mantisfemale, eat themale after mating!

Praying mantis

Weevil-huntingwasp

Folio: (p6/7)

6

The praying mantis gets its name from the way it holds itsfront legs. These look like hands together in prayer.

It lives in warm climates all over the world: SouthernEurope, Africa, South America, and Asia. Mantids (the pluralof mantis) usually live alone. Other insects are afraid of them,because they catch them and eat them.

There are about 1,800 different kinds of mantids. Someare green or brown, and are very difficult to see on a leaf or aplant. Others look like colourful flowers purple or blue.

The mantis does not hunt for food. It waits for otherinsects to come near, and does not move at all.

6/7 10/4/98 H1M50 0 K00Paperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

7

When another insect comes near, the mantis shoots out itsfront legs and holds the insect tight. The poor insect cannotescape because the mantis has little hooks on its legs. Thesehelp it to hold the insect. Itstarts eating the insect from thehead, so the insect does not fightfor long, but dies quickly. Somebig mantids are strong enough tokill and eat frogs and birds.

The mantis also uses its longfront legs to protect itself. Its legs are very sharp, and can cut the skin of a human being.

Folio: (p08/9)

8

Some bugs hunt for food not forthemselves, but for their babies.

The wasp here is taking a weevilto its nest. Poor weevil!

A wasps nest is made from a kindof paper. The wasp chews dead woodand the stems of plants, and mixesthese with its saliva. The result, whendry, looks like grey paper.

Weevil-hunting wasp

/ / 0 K00Paperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

9

Hairy foodThe spider-hunting wasp catchesvery big spiders for its babies.The fight between a wasp and abigger spider is exciting, but theresult is always the same. Thewasp is always the winner!

This is what happens to the weevil. The wasp stings theweevil, but it doesnt kill it. It paralyzes it, so it cannot move.Then it pulls the weevil to its nest. This can be many metresaway a long way for a wasp!

The wasp then lays an egg in the nest, and goes away.When the larva comes out of the egg, it begins to eat theweevil. The weevil is excellent food.

The larva becomes very fat, and changes into a wasp.Then the cycle begins again.

Folio: (P10/1)



Ants are small, social insects. One ant hasvery simple behaviour, but a lot of ants acolony can behave very intelligently. Theyare experts at collecting food. They growfood, and they hunt for it, like humans.

Ants also live a long time. A worker ant can live for sevenyears, and a queen for fifteenyears. The workers look afterthe queen.

Folio: (P10/1)

C K

P10/1 07/5/98 H5M50 CT6QCK00


11

Some ants produce acid that can kill another insect.When the insect is dead, the ants carry it back totheir nest. If the insect is big, the ants sometimes cutit into two pieces, so that it is easier to move. This ishappening in the picture here. The little ants arecutting up the big insect.

Not all ants eat meat: some are vegetarian, andeat leaves, and seeds, and fungus.

Saiz: 150mm x 228mm (175 SG Elliptical)Folio: (p12/3)



12

If you live in Europe, north Africa, the Middle East,or northwest India, you can often see dragonflies nearwater, especially near canals or ponds.

The life-cycle of a dragonfly is very long. Theeggs develop in about three weeks, and a nymphcomes out. This lives under the water for about twoyears. It moves under the water by jet propulsion.It catches small worms, but it can also eat biggerthings, like tadpoles and little fish.

It grows most in summer, when the water is warmand there is a lot of food. The nymph turns into anadult dragonfly. This beautiful insect lives in the airfor a few weeks, lays its eggs, and then dies.

12/3 13/4/98 H2M00 CT0QCK00

C K


13

Dragonflies eat most of the time! They are very good hunters,because they can see the food coming from all directions.This is because they have all-round vision from their big eyes.

Their legs hang down like little baskets, and they canhold onto the food. They can catch small insects, and eatthem, and fly ... all at the same time! But they take biggerinsects to a resting place at the side of the pond to eat.

They can eat their own body weight in abouthalf an hour! Think of this. Think of your ownbody weight! How many kilos is it? Then thinkof half those kilos Is it possible for you to eatthat in half an hour?

Ancient insectDragonflies are very old older thandinosaurs. They look the same now as230 million years ago. The piece of rockhere shows a perfect dragonfly shape,exactly the same as todays dragonflies.

Folio: (p14/5)



14

An assassin is a professional killer a murderer. In the MiddleAges, assassins used poisoned knives to kill people. Theassassin bug uses poison too. Assassin bugs are expert killers!

There are about 2,500 different kinds of assassin bugs inthe world. They can catch their food in different ways. Someof them run after their victim, and jump on it. Their feet areoily, and the victim cannot escape. Others wait quietly for thevictim to come near, and then jump.

P14/5 11/4/98 H1M00 CT0QCK00

C K


15

Kissing bugsSome assassin bugs are calledkissing bugs because theyoften bite people on their faces.This is probably because theskin on the face is soft, notbecause the bugs love people!

Assassin bugs produce a poison that they can inject into theirvictims. This poison does two things: it kills other insects andit turns the victims insides into a kind of soup!

Then the assassin uses the pump in its head to suck thesoup into its own digestive system. The poison does not hurt

the assassin. It has a clever trick.It produces poison but it can alsoproduce a non-poisonous fluid.This fluid cancels out the poison!

The assassin uses the non-poisonous liquid to wash itsmouth after it injects poison intoanother insect.

Folio: (p16/7)



16

It is easy to recognize the male stagbeetle because of its jaws. However,stag beetles do not use these jaws tocatch food. In fact, they are useless forcatching and chewing. The beetles onlyuse their jaws to fight with other malestag beetles during the mating season.

Look at the picture here. Two malestag beetles are fighting. They areprobably fighting for a female beetle.They are using their jaws.

16/7 4/3/98 H2M40 CT0QCK00

C K


17

The stag beetles jaws look very frightening,but in fact they are weak.

The fight is over when one beetle falls onits back. It gives up and stops fighting. Thewinner gets the female stag beetle!

Short, sharp jawsThe male stag beetle has verylong jaws, which look like theantlers of a stag. That is howit gets its name. The femalestag beetle has smaller jaws,but they are stronger!

18

Insects have dangerous lives! Other insects are often theirenemies. And birds and animals often eat them, too. But they know how to protect themselves.

Many of them use special tricks. They use strong smells,bright colours, and bad tastes. Some of them even use poison.

Monarchbutterflycaterpillar

Hoverfly


19

Other insects can jump in a special way, or they can imitate a different insect. They can do lots of things to stay alive.

Read about the insects on the next pages see thedifferent things they do to stay alive!

Click beetle

Postman butterflycaterpillar

Saiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p20/1)

20

Some people give shieldbugs a different name: stinkbugs. Thisis because they smell very bad; in fact, they stink! When anenemy is near, or they are in danger, they produce a very badsmell. Other insects and birds do not like this smell, and theykeep away.

Shieldbugs stay near their babies, and look after them, sothat more of them can live. This is very unusual, becausegenerally insects are not good parents. Usually, a female insectlays her eggs, and flies away. But the shieldbug has a big, flatbody like a shield. She uses this to protect her babies.

20/1 5/3/98 H3M00 CT0QCK

1Paperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

21

Here is a mother shieldbug and a lot of babies on a leaf. She is protecting them with her body. The babies, ornymphs, stay close together under the females body. Otherinsects, and birds, cannot see them. When the nymphs movearound a leaf, they all move together.

After a few weeks, the nymphs can look after themselves.They do not need their mother any more and she dies.

y gSaiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p22/3)

YM

22

Butterflies are very beautiful. You can find them almost allover the world. In Britain, there are about seventy differentkinds, but in Malaysia, there are about a thousand. They likethe hot, humid weather there!

Butterflies must protect themselves from their enemies.Many of them do this with bright colours. These monarchbutterflies are orange. When they fly, they look like a fire oran explosion. This flash of colour frightens their enemies.

/3 10/4/98

H30712

H1M30593A K53

CT0

SGQCK00

2C KPaperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

23

The monarch butterfly also tastes bad. This is because themonarch caterpillar eats a lot of milkweed. This is a plant that grows in open spaces and near roads. Milkweed containspoisons called cardenolides, and this poison gets into thecaterpillars body when it eats the milkweed.

These poisons do not kill the monarch caterpillar orbutterfly, but they make other animals very sick. So themonarchs enemies learn not to eat it. They look for differentfood and the monarch survives.

Changing facesThe butterfly lays eggs on a plant. When thecaterpillars come out of the eggs a few dayslater, they eat the plant. After about amonth, the caterpillar changes into abutterfly inside a hard box called a chrysalis.

Saiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p24/5)

24

Some caterpillars frighten their enemies with their brightcolours. Others, like the one here, have different ways toprotect themselves.

This caterpillar has long hairs all over its body. When anenemy tries to eat it, it gets a mouthful of hair! Very soon,other creatures learn not to eat this caterpillar!

The lappet moth caterpillar and the monarch bothprotect themselves. They do not fight their enemies: theyfrighten them.

Tropical lappetmoth caterpillar

Safety in numbersCaterpillars often stay together in agroup. When something frightensthem, they all lift up their headsand move them at the same time!Their enemies cannot understandthis, and usually go away.

24/5 10/4/98 H1M00 CT0QCK00

2Paperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

25

This caterpillar grows very sharp spikes all over its body, evenon its head. It also eats leaves that become poison inside itsbody. The poison does not hurt the caterpillar, but it makesbirds very sick.

Some caterpillars try to look like something else. Theswallowtail butterfly caterpillar looks like a bird droppingwhen it comes out of the egg. Later, it turns from black andwhite to bright green. Then, it has a horrible smell, like oldpineapples, which birds and spiders do not like. A bad smell isvery good protection against your enemies.

Postman butterflycaterpillar

Sa 50 8 ( 75 SG pt ca )Folio: (p26/7)

26

Other insects protect themselves in differentways, too. Some of them use mimicry thismeans that they look like something else,behave like something else, or make a noiselike something else.

The thornbug is good at hiding, becauseit looks like a thorn on a branch. Imagine arose bush with sharp thorns and thinkhow careful people are when they pick the roses in the garden!

Thorns can hurt!

26/7 4/3/98 H2M00 CT0QCK00


27

A hungry bird will probably not noticethe thornbug, or will think it is a thorn,so the insect is able to stay safe.

If there are a lot of thornbugs onone branch, they usually all look in thesame direction, and they do not move atall. They look like a line of thorns.

That is why there are so manythornbugs around! They can protectthemselves very well, and in a verysimple way.

y gSaiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p28/9)

YM

28

These click beetles jump to escape from their enemies.Perhaps you think that this is not especially clever mostinsects can jump!

What is special about this? Well, read on! These clickbeetles have a special trick!

Most insects have a problem: if they land on their backs, theycannot turn over again. They lie on the ground and wavetheir legs in the air, so they are very easy to catch.

/9 4/3/98

H27427

H0M00Vol~19 K26

CT0

SGQCK00

1C KPaperback level 2 228 x 150mm UK

29

Click beetles, however, are special. If this happens, if theyland on their backs, they can escape! They can contract themuscles in their heads and in the front part of their bodies.They can push themselves into the air again, and then theyland on their feet.

If you touch a click beetle gently near its stomach, youcan see these muscles contracting. It is trying to escape fromyou. It is trying to jump away and to land on its feet.

Be careful! Dont hurt it!

Flashing lightsSome click beetles in tropicalcountries can send out lightsignals. This light helps thebeetle to find a mate. In someplaces, people use the beetleslike torches.

YMWhile every effort has been taken to carry out instruction to customers satisfactionNO RESPONSIBILITY liability will be accepted for errors.CUSTOMERS ARE THEREFORE URGED TO CHECK THOROUGHLY BEFORE

30

Hoverflies use mimicry too.They look like hornets. Hornetsare dangerous: they can sting,and some people have a lot ofpain from a hornet sting.Because hornets are dangerous,birds do not often attack them.

Hoverflies do not sting, buttheir enemies often think thatthey are hornets, so they leavethem alone. It is better to besafe than sorry!

C K


31

The pictures on these two pages show two different insects.They look almost the same, dont they?

Which is the hoverfly?Which is the hornet?

Can you tell?Look carefully!

The harmless hoverfly is on page 30. The hornet is on this page.

y gSaiz: 150mm x 228mm (175# SG Elliptical)Folio: (p32)

Page32 7/3/98

H27427

H9M00

Disk OPVol15 K00

CT0

SCANSGQC

K62001

Y C KM

32

Bug FactsThere are more than onemillion different kinds of

insects in the world.

Some people call all insectsbugs. But in fact, only

those insects that use sharptubes, like drinking straws,

to eat, are bugs.

All insects have six legs, but not all of them have

wings all their lives.

Some insects use their legsto hear. Other insects use

their feet to taste.

Some insects eat, and eat,and eat all the time when

they are young. When they are adults, they dont

eat anything at all.

Some insects have very good eyes. Their vision is excellent. They can see colours that people

cannot see.

Bugs (ELT Graded Readers)

Documents

Transcript of Bugs (ELT Graded Readers)