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Invertebrates

Insects, arachnids and other multi-legged or legless critters. Anything that creeps, crawls, scuttles and slides!

Subcategories: Arthropods (4), Cnidarians, Echinoderms, Molluscs (13)

Showing 81-92 of 92

Sis forSquid

Squid are sea creatures related to the octopus and cuttlefish, which all have eight legs.
Squid move by sucking water into the top part of their body and squirting it out in a jet. They can also squirt ink into the water to confuse anything that is trying to eat it.
The squid in the photo are being cooked on a barbeque.

Sis forStarfish

The starfish, or sea star, is not a fish - starfish have no skeleton. They are related to sea urchins. As they have no skeleton and hence no legs, they don't move around by walking. They move by pumping water around through tubes on the base of their arms. Not all starfish have five arms, some have more.
Starfish eat sea creatures with shells that move slower than it does. Starfish have two stomachs, and one of them can be put outside the starfish's body. So they eat clams and other shellfish by forcing them open and putting their stomach inside the clam's shell.
Some starfish can regrow arms if they are cut off. Some starfish can grow from the cut-off arm as long as some of the central portion of the starfish is still attached.
Starfish send their eggs out to drift into the open sea where they hatch into small swimming larva. When the larva are old enough, they sink to the bottom of the sea and turn into adult starfish.
A tarantula is the name for a group of several species of spider. Tarantulas are very large, and very hairy - they are big hairy spiders! Some people keep them as pets.

Tis forTermite

Termites are insects that live in large colonies. They eat mostly dead plant material, like dead wood or fallen leaves. If they get into your house they may do serious damage to the frame of your house, so people treat their houses with barriers or poison to stop termites getting in.

Tis forTick

Ticks are parasitic arachnids. The live off the blood of animals. They often spread diseases as they move from host to host.

Vis forVirus

A virus is a living organism that can only reproduce if it is inside another living thing. Viruses are contagious, and many viruses make you sick. Both plants and animals can catch viruses.
The virus in the picture is influenza, or the flu.

Wis forWasp

Wasps are a group of flying, stinging insects that eat other insects. They usually eat pest insects like caterpillars, and can be very useful to gardeners and farmers who are trying to keep their crops safe. Wasp can sting many times, while bees can only sting once.

Wis forWeevil

Weevils are distinctive looking beetles. Many kinds of weevil are pests in cereal crops. Sometimes when you buy flour you find weevils in the packet.

Wis forWhelk

Whelk is the common name given to a number of different sea snails that are caught for food. The snail most commonly called a whelk is buccinum undatum.
The woodlouse (also called an armadillo bug, carpenter, cheeselog, doodlebug, pill bug, roly-poly, chuggypig, slater beetle, sow bug or gramersow) is a type of crustacean, and is related to the crab and lobster. They eat dead plants and fallen leaves.
Woodlice breathe through gills like fish, which is why you often find them in damp places. Some types of woodlouse can roll themselves up into a tight ball.

Wis forWorm

Earthworms live under the ground in your garden. They eat fallen leaves and make the soil better for plants to grow in. Worms are slimy, to help them travel through the soil.

Yis forYabby

A yabby is a small crayfish that is found in creeks, rivers and billabongs in Australia. They can be caught and eaten in much the same way as larger crayfish.