Science // Rainforests

Rainforest Insects

Know that rainforests are home to millions of insects — leaf-cutter ants that farm fungus, giant beetles, jewel-coloured butterflies, enormous spiders, and stick insects — and that insects are the most numerous animals in the rainforest

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
3 topics
Leads to
0 topics

Quick check

Does the learner know that rainforests are packed with insects — like leaf-cutter ants that carry bits of leaf in a long line, or butterflies as big as a dinner plate?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Name at least three types of insect or minibeast found in the rainforest, such as leaf-cutter ants, morpho butterflies, and giant beetles
  • Explain that insects are the most numerous animals in the rainforest
  • Describe one interesting behaviour, such as leaf-cutter ants carrying leaf pieces back to grow fungus

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

3 topics
  • Rainforest LayersRequired

    Rainforests // Ages 5 to 7

    Minibeasts live at specific layers (leaf-cutter ants on forest floor)

  • What is a minibeast?Helpful

    Insects & Minibeasts // Ages 5 to 7

    Understanding what a minibeast is helps learn about rainforest minibeasts (Insects 5-7 -> Rainforests 5-7)

  • Rainforest AnimalsHelpful

    Rainforests // Ages 5 to 7

    Minibeasts are a subset of rainforest animals; knowing the broader animal diversity helps

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Rainforest Insects

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

0 topics

Nothing in the catalogue builds on this topic yet. Browse Rainforests

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For 5–7 year olds: rainforests teem with minibeasts, and insects are by far the most numerous animals there. Learners name several rainforest minibeasts, learn a memorable wonder-fact (leaf-cutter ants FARM fungus rather than eat the leaves they carry), notice camouflage (stick insects), and grasp that tiny-but-countless insects vastly outnumber big famous animals like jaguars and monkeys. A gentle insect/not-insect boundary (6 legs = insect; spiders have 8) is reused lightly. The core gallery builds recognition and abundance; a trail/spot game can make a behaviour feel concrete; recall checks follow.

Common misconceptions

  • Big animals are the most numerous in the rainforest — insects far outnumber everything else
  • Leaf-cutter ants eat the leaves they carry — they use them to grow fungus, which they eat
  • Spiders are insects — they are minibeasts with 8 legs, not 6-legged insects
  • Stick insects are just twigs — they are living insects camouflaged as twigs
  • Rainforest insects are all dangerous — most are harmless and vital to the forest

Useful representations

  • Leaf-cutter ant trail carrying leaf pieces to a fungus garden
  • Minibeast gallery: butterfly, beetle, spider, stick insect, ants
  • Camouflaged stick insect hidden on a twig (spot-it interaction)
  • 'Most numerous' swarm visual showing insects vastly outnumbering other animals

Teaching practices

  • Lead with the wonder-fact that leaf-cutter ants FARM fungus — memorable and true
  • Convey abundance ('most numerous animals here') with a swarming, teeming image
  • Give each minibeast a hook (jewel butterfly = colour, stick insect = hides, giant spider = big)
  • Note gently that spiders are minibeasts but not insects (8 legs vs 6), reusing the insect boundary
  • Use real close-up images so tiny animals become vivid and awe-inspiring

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Minibeast gallery and the ant-farm wonder-fact

    Why it works: Rainforests hold a huge variety of minibeasts, and some do surprising things — leaf-cutter ants grow their own food on cut leaves rather than eating them.

    1. Explore a close-up scene of the forest floor and tree trunks alive with tiny life, and point to or tap each minibeast to learn its name and a hook: jewel/morpho butterfly (colour), giant beetle (size), big spider (size), stick insect (hides), leaf-cutter ants (farmers).
    2. Follow a line of leaf-cutter ants carrying green leaf pieces, then open a drill-down to their underground fungus garden and say in your own words: 'They don't eat the leaves — they grow food (fungus) on them, like farmers.'
    3. Find the twig that is secretly a stick insect (it wiggles when tapped) and explain it is a living insect camouflaged as a twig, not just a stick.
    4. Say gently why the big spider is a minibeast but NOT an insect: count 8 legs (insects have 6).
  2. 2

    Which is there most of? Tiny but countless

    Why it works: Insects and other minibeasts are by far the most numerous animals in the rainforest — small but countless — far outnumbering the big famous animals.

    1. Answer the question 'Which animals are there MOST of here — big animals like jaguars and monkeys, or tiny insects like ants and beetles?' and lift a flap / reveal to see a swarm answer: insects, by far.
    2. Say why: you see insects everywhere in huge numbers (whole armies of ants), even though each one is tiny, while you rarely see a single jaguar.
    3. Compare an ant trail (many, many ants) with how seldom a jaguar appears, to feel the difference in numbers.
    4. Optional extension: talk about why tiny insects can live in so many more places than one big jaguar (they are small, so many of them fit and find food almost everywhere).
  3. 3

    Guide the trail / spot the hidden insect (behaviour mini-game)

    Why it works: Acting out a behaviour or survival trick can help it feel more concrete — carrying leaves to a farm, or finding an animal that hides by looking like its surroundings.

    1. Guide the leaf-cutter ant trail to carry leaf pieces home to the fungus garden, narrating what the ants are doing.
    2. Spot the camouflaged stick insect hidden among twigs, then say how its shape and colour help it hide.

Science // Rainforests

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