Superstars and Circus Performers: A Bug Hunt For Your Kids

Kids aren't the only creatures who have been hibernating all winter. This May, Brood X, the biggest of the periodical Cicadas, emerges from hibernation to make its mathematically precise 17-year boisterous return to backyards in nine states from Indiana to New Jersey. What better way for kids to observe this extraordinary event than with a backyard bug hunt? Williamson Book's Boredom Busters! offers lots of ideas for finding, identifying, and studying a virtual circus of bugs that reside just outside your door.

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When you go on a bug hunt, you’ll discover a new and fascinating world, right beneath your feet. This world is populated with creatures that look like they’re straight out of science fiction. But there’s no make-believe here. The strange miniature beings you’ll discover will be real and alive!

What you’ll need for bug hunting:

• A keen eye (like all wildlife, bugs are masters of camouflage)
• Clean, clear containers with air holes or netting on top
• Trowel, or large spoon to collect specimens
• Notebook to write down and sketch the insects you find
• An overripe banana and a spoonful of brown sugar
• Magnifying glass (optional)
• Microscope (optional) (For kids Ages 7-12, try the Investigator Scout or for Ages 10 & Up, try the Quantum Alphascope Microscope)
• For nighttime bug-hunting: all of the above, plus a flashlight (Little Tikes Glowin' Animal Flashlights, like the Glowin' Dino are perfect for little bug hunters at night)

Be prepared! Even though the vast majority of insects are perfectly harmless, there are a few aggressors who will be out there hunting you! Be sure to use your favorite bug-warding-off technique (bug spray, peppermint oil, etc.) to avoid flies and mosquitoes.

Where To Look

Many bugs are green, black or brown. They blend in with the natural scene so that their enemies cannot easily spot them. This is called camouflage. But if you know where to look, you will surely find success on your hunt.

Check the ground and the base of trees and bushes for flowers that are in bloom and check under leaves growing on the stems of plants. Turn over a rock to find crawling creatures. Look under loose bark for caterpillars.

Sugaring

One sure-fire way to attract bugs is to put out some sweet smelling food for them to eat. All you need for this is an over-ripe banana and some brown sugar. Mix these together and let them sit for a couple of hours. Then, go out and paint the gooey substance on the bark of a tree. Now all you have to do is wait. One by one, insects will soon appear, attracted by the scent of the sweet stuff you’ve lured them with.

You can sugar after dark, too. Put the substance out before dusk, and return with a flashlight after nightfall. Are there more bugs at the sugar now than in the day? Count the different kinds of insect you’ve attracted. Are there more than you imagined, or fewer? What kinds of animals appeared at the sugar? Observe them as they eat. Are there any beetles on the tree? How about caterpillars, moths, or ants?