It’s hard to believe that the thing in that picture is not a toy, but a real bug! Scientists found this creature in a rainforest in South America. The bug grows a little tuft of hair, almost like we do, except the bug’s hair is growing out of his butt, not his head (you can see his eyes at the other end). Either way, this bug could use a haircut!
Wee ones: If you hold 1 of these little hairy bugs on each of your fingers on 1 hand, how many bugs are you holding?
Little kids: All insects have 6 legs. If you have 2 legs, how many more legs does the bug have than you? Bonus: If you and a friend take this bug for a walk, how many legs do you all have together?
Big kids: If a lizard eats the hairy bug, then an ant, then a grasshopper, then a hairy bug to repeat…what’s the 38th bug it eats? See if you can figure it out without counting up! Bonus: If the bug’s hair is 1/10 of an inch long, and your hair is 30 times as long, how long is your hair?
Answers:
Wee ones: 5 little hairy bugs.
Little kids: 4 more legs. Bonus: 10 legs all together.
Big kids: An ant. The 30th bug completes a set of three (ending on a grasshopper), as do the 33rd bug and the 36th. Bonus: 3 inches long.
