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Insects

Science 485 clues
Practice Insects

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top 50

Memorize these and recognize 42.9% of all Insects clues.

#AnswerCountSample Clue
1 termites 14 Although there are about 2,000 species of these "white ants", only 2 live in Europe
2 a beetle 9 Wireworms are the slender larvae of the "click" type of this insect
3 a mosquito 8 Of all insects worldwide, this disease carrier poses the greatest health hazard to humans
4 antennae 7 One way to tell a moth from a butterfly is these on a butterfly end in a knob
5 monarch butterflies 7 A biosphere reserve in Michoacán is named for these creatures that turn the forests orange & black every November
6 the praying mantis 7 Mantis religiosa is a scientific name for this insect
7 fleas 6 The Ctenocephalides canis species of this feeds not only on dogs but on other mammals including humans
8 beetles 6 Because males of this Lucanidae species have jaws resembling deer antlers, they are called this
9 the dragonfly 6 Prehistoric relatives of this insect seen here had wingspans of over 2 feet
10 crickets 5 An association in Beijing sponsors fighting tournaments for the field type of these chirping insects
11 silverfish 5 It's the household pest seen here on dry land
12 a wasp 5 You might be surprisedby the result—the pepsis species of this stinging insect preys on tarantulas
13 a ladybug 5 It might want to fly away home to Massachusetts, where it's the state insect
14 a cricket 5 Acheta domesticus, the house species of this, is the one "on the hearth" in literature
15 a butterfly 5 Species of this insect include Rajah Brooke's birdwing, tiger swallowtail & red admiral
16 the firefly 5 Glowworms are the larvae or wingless females of this soft-bodied beetle
17 Insect 4 The katydid
18 boll weevils 4 Because of their long snouts, these cotton destroyers are sometimes called snout beetles
19 a moth 4 The destructive gypsy type of this winged insect was introduced to the U.S. from Europe in the 1860s
20 a centipede 4 A giant species of this "hundred-legged" insect grows to 12 inches in length & eats lizards
21 cockroach 4 In 1986, a Dallas exterminator ran a contest to find the largest one of these insects in the city
22 the boll weevil 4 Seen here on cotton, it can be a threat to crops in the southern United States
23 a flea 4 This wingless insect that preys on cats & dogs is a carrier of bubonic plague
24 wasps 3 Some solitary ones make their nests out of mud; social ones, usually from paper
25 mosquitoes 3 The chief insect carriers of encephalitis are the Culex & Aedes types of this insect
26 locusts 3 Holy Moses! A plague of these struck Egypt in 2013—that's A.D., by the way
27 lice 3 "Cooties"; the lousiest insects of all
28 grasshoppers 3 2 common short-horned species of this in North America are the lubber & the Eastern lubber
29 dragonflies 3 Although they never breathed fire, some extinct species did have wingspans of up to 2 1/2 feet
30 cockroaches 3 Boric acid powder is used to combat these household pests of the order Blattaria
31 Arachnid 3 The brown recluse
32 a grasshopper 3 The smallest of these insects is the pygmy locust at less than 1/2 inch in length
33 a gizzard 3 Just like chickens, some insects have this muscular organ in the digestive tract to grind food
34 wings 3 Male crickets produce their well-known chirp by rubbing these together
35 the monarch 3 The Viceroy butterfly does its best to look like this bad-tasting butterfly
36 the legs 3 The ears of a cricket are on this part of its body
37 pupa 3 Seen here, it's the stage of moth development between larva & adult
38 metamorphosis 3 1915 story in which Gregor Samsa awakes one morning to find he has changed into a giant insect
39 eggs 3 Some species of thrips are the only known animals that can reproduce by both bearing live young & doing this
40 bumblebee 3 Unlike the honey bee, this very large bee doesn't die when it stings; it can sting numerous times
41 a honeybee 3 It wasn't until 1983 that Utah finally made this its state insect
42 a cicada 3 Some of these insects are known as 17-year locusts because it takes 17 years for them to develop
43 the gypsy moth 3 This pest escaped from a Mass. lab where it was brought in the 19th c. as a possible silkworm
44 a larva 3 A baby butterfly
45 the mayfly 2 Also called a shad fly or dayfly, it's the only insect to go through a subimago or sub-adult stage
46 pollination 2 Every year, $5 bil. worth of crops benefit from this insect activity
47 pheromones 2 Scientists take an EAG, an electroantennogram, to measure how a moth's antennae nerves pick up these sex odors
48 nocturnal 2 Insectivores are principally this, meaning they are most active after dark
49 moths 2 Balls of naphthalene are protection against them
50 Madagascar 2 The best place to see tenrecs is on this large island off Africa's east coast

Sub-Areas

Botany / Plants

1 clues
monarch butterflies (1)
71
answers to learn
3 Must-Know
20 Should-Know
48 Worth Knowing

Must-Know Answers

These appear 8+ times. Memorize these first.

termites 14 a beetle 9 a mosquito 8

Answers by Category

Jump to: Biology / Animals | Chemistry / Elements | Other | Astronomy / Space | Math / Physics

Biology / Animals

49 answers | 164 clues
Must-Know (1)
a mosquito 8x $700 avg J:3 DJ:5
J $100 1991 People get yellow fever from these disease carriers
DJ $800 2013 The West Nile virus is transmitted predominantly by the Culex genus of this insect
DJ $1,800 DD 1988 Of all insects worldwide, this disease carrier poses the greatest health hazard to humans
Should-Know (15)
the praying mantis 7x 14.3% stumper $614 avg J:6 DJ:1
J $100 1990 The Latin name of this insect is mantis religiosa
J $2,500 DD 2006 It's tough to separate church & state in Connecticut while having this as state insect
J $400 1995 This "pious" predator not only feeds on its own kind, it also eats small tree frogs
fleas 6x 16.7% stumper $267 avg J:4 DJ:2
J $100 1987 Troupes of these, pulling tiny wagons & doing other tricks, are featured in tiny "circuses"
J $200 1995 The plague is transmitted to humans by these insects, which get the bacteria from infected rats
J $200 1986 The bubonic plague of Medieval Europe was spread by these insects feeding on rats
beetles 6x 16.7% stumper $750 avg J:3 DJ:3
DJ $200 1987 The 300,000 species of this order of insect make up 1/3 of all animal species, yeah, yeah, yeah
DJ $500 DD 1986 Because males of this Lucanidae species have jaws resembling deer antlers, they are called this
DJ $2,600 DD 2004 About 30% of all animal species are these insects which include the whirligig & weevil families
crickets 5x $280 avg J:3 DJ:2
J $100 1998 These insects "chirp" by rubbing their 2 front wings together
DJ $600 1989 In the Orient, the males of these insects are caged for their songs, this Buddy Holly group wasn't
J $100 1995 Types of this chirping insect include tree, house & field
a wasp 5x 20.0% stumper $640 avg J:4 DJ:1
DJ $200 1993 The potter type of this insect uses mud to make its juglike nest
J $800 2025 A sub-discipline of entomology, vespology is the study of these like the mud dauber
J $1,000 2023 New Mexico chose the tarantula hawk, a type of this stinging insect that preys on tarantulas
a ladybug 5x 20.0% stumper $320 avg J:4 DJ:1
J $400 2006 It might want to fly away home to Massachusetts, where it's the state insect
DJ $800 2020 In French this insect is a "coccinelle" & usually rouge avec points noirs (red with black spots)
J $100 1987 If you insult this Ohio state insect, she just might "fly away home"
a cricket 5x $500 avg J:3 DJ:2
J $100 1992 Temperature can be estimated by adding 40 to the number of this insect's chirps in a 15-second period
DJ $1,600 2004 Acheta domesticus, the house species of this, is the one "on the hearth" in literature
J $200 1991 In some parts of the world, finding this chirping insect in your home is thought to bring good luck
a butterfly 5x $260 avg J:4 DJ:1
J $200 1994 Species of this insect include Rajah Brooke's birdwing, tiger swallowtail & red admiral
J $400 1992 In the U.S. the Schaus swallowtail is the rarest species of this insect
J $100 1996 The Red Admiral is a brush-footed type of this beautiful winged insect
the firefly 5x $380 avg J:5
J $200 1995 The pyralis is a common North American species of this insect also called a lightning bug
J $500 1994 Glowworms are the larvae or wingless females of this soft-bodied beetle
J $600 2023 This bioluminescent pick for Pennsylvania lights up summer evenings
Insect 4x $700 avg J:2 DJ:2
J $600 2004 The aphid
DJ $600 2000 The katydid
J $800 2004 The earwig
boll weevils 4x $600 avg J:1 DJ:3
DJ $400 1984 They destroy about 8% of the annual U.S. cotton crop
J $600 2002 Due to their long snouts, these cotton destroyers are sometimes called snout beetles
DJ $600 1992 Known for causing crop damage, these beetles are also called billbugs
a moth 4x $325 avg J:3 DJ:1
J $200 1994 The wooly-bear caterpillar grows up to be one of these
J $300 1992 Although the female of the gypsy species of this insect has wings, it cannot fly
DJ $400 2019 The lepidopteran family Tineidae includes the clothes type of this insect
a centipede 4x $725 avg J:2 DJ:2
J $100 1993 This bug has been called a "hundred-legger"
J $800 2002 A giant species of this "100-legged" insect grows to 12 inches in length & eats lizards
DJ $1,200 2008 A giant species of this "hundred-legged" insect grows to 12 inches in length & eats lizards
cockroach 4x $650 avg J:3 DJ:1
J $100 1987 In 1986, a Dallas exterminator ran a contest to find the largest one of these insects in the city
J $1,000 2014 It's bad enough there are jumping & hissing types—does there really have to be one called the true death's head?
J $300 1990 The German type of this ancient household pest is sometimes mistakingly called a waterbug
a flea 4x 25.0% stumper $225 avg J:4
J $300 1997 Species of this insect include ctenocephalides canis & ctenocephalides felis
J $200 2006 The evocatively named sticktight is one of these pet-tormenting parasites
J $300 1985 This tiny pest, Pulex irritans can jump 130 times its own height
Worth Knowing (33)

Chemistry / Elements

17 answers | 73 clues
Must-Know (2)
termites 14x 14.3% stumper $443 avg J:8 DJ:6
J $100 1993 Some species of this insect obtain their cellulose from grass & humus in the soil rather than from wood
J $600 2025 There are 2,700-plus species of this cellulose-eating insect, a close relative of the cockroach—what an awful family reunion
DJ $1,600 2008 Although there are about 2,000 species of these "white ants", only 2 live in Europe
a beetle 9x $467 avg J:6 DJ:3
J $200 2006 When placed on its back, the click family of this insect jumps into the air to right itself, making a click sound
DJ $800 2017 Wireworms, which feed on such ag products as corn & soybeans, are the larvae of the click type of this insect
DJ $1,600 2017 To avoid predators, a type of cockroach glows green to mimic the click type of this—why not just click?
Should-Know (4)
antennae 7x 14.3% stumper $414 avg J:4 DJ:3
DJ $400 1991 One way to tell a moth from a butterfly is these on a butterfly end in a knob
DJ $600 1984 Insects use them to smell & feel, & sometimes even to taste & hear
J $200 2003 Almost all insects have 2 of these between their eyes to feel & to smell
monarch butterflies 7x $400 avg J:3 DJ:1 FJ:3
J $100 1990 While moths are nocturnal, these close relatives are diurnal, or "day-flyers"
DJ $1,000 1993 The thistle or painted lady is probably the most widespread one in the world
FJ 1997 Added to the list in 1997 were the Quino Checkerspot & Laguna Mountains Skipper, types of these
the dragonfly 6x 16.7% stumper $700 avg J:3 DJ:3
DJ $600 1993 At a length of 4 1/2", the giant green darner is the largest U.S. species of this insect
DJ $1,000 DD 2013 4 inches long with a 4-inch wingspan, the giant darner is the USA's largest species of this insect
DJ $800 2004 Prehistoric relatives of this insect seen here had wingspans of over 2 feet
the boll weevil 4x $1,975 avg J:2 DJ:2
J $100 1989 Type of beetle that comes in species like pea, green & grain, as well as boll
DJ $800 2007 This snout beetle reached Texas from Mexico around 1890 & spread into most cotton-growing areas of the U.S.
J $2,000 DD 1985 Insect that this song's about: "...Just lookin' for a home / He was lookin' for a home..."
Worth Knowing (11)

Other

3 answers | 6 clues
Worth Knowing (3)

Astronomy / Space

1 answers | 5 clues
Should-Know (1)
silverfish 5x 80.0% stumper $940 avg J:2 DJ:3
J $200 1986 Named for color of scales on its body, this insect loves to eat cereal, glue & your starched clothes
J $500 1992 A wingless insect with 3 taillike appendages, it feeds on wallpaper paste & book bindings
DJ $1,600 2006 This "colorful" bristle-tailed insect, Lepisma saccharina, feeds on starchy items such as books & wallpaper

Math / Physics

1 answers | 2 clues
Worth Knowing (1)
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