Little Critters In Your
Backyard
With this book, your
little entomologist will be searching through the grass, under rocks and leaf
litter, in dead logs and bushes, and anywhere else little critters may be
found. Take care when handling and catching them, because many will bite
or sting. Return all critters to the place you first found them.
Many may be taken into your home to observe for a few hours/days. Realize
that if you do this, you will be responsible for the needs of your guest and
for making a mini environment appropriate for it. A book that has been,
for us, an invaluable resource for collecting and caring of little critters is
"Pets in a Jar" by Seymour Simon. The author leads you through
necessary steps in catching critters and preparing the temporary residence
necessary for the appropriate care of a little critter in your home.
Be prepared before hand with plastic containers, a net, a pencil and your book
(stapled and ready to use). If you will be wandering through high grass
and bushes, wear clothing that will protect your arms and legs from insect
bites and scratches.
And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their
kind: livestock, creatures that move along the ground, and wild animals, each
according to its kind." Genesis 1:24
These living creatures (or animals), each of its own kind, are divided into
"phylums" (or groups). One such group is known as Arthropods
(jointed legs, segmented, and having an exoskeleton or a hard outer
skeleton). Arthropods are divided into "classes". The
classes that you will be looking for in and around your backyard are insects,
diplopoda (dip-low-POH-dah), better known as millipedes, chilopoda
(ki-low-POH-dah), commonly called centipedes, the class of arachnida (spiders,
mites, ticks, daddy-long-legs, and scorpions), and crustaceans (specifically,
the sowbug or better known as the roly-poly). If you are fortunate enough
to live by water, you may also be looking for the class xiphosura (horseshoe
crabs) and others from the crustacean class (water-dwelling crabs, shrimp,
crayfish, and lobsters). These classes are divided into many
"orders, families, genus and species" (each division becoming more
specific).
The first page in our book will help your entomologist find to which arthropod
group your little critter belongs. Fill in all the boxes. Write the
date and record a description (color, size of body in relation to legs, length
of body, visual patterns etc.). Record where your little critter was
found. All this will be helpful in finding out the identification of your
arthropod.
You may look under stones and dead leaves. Bring along a viewing jar,
(empty plastic jar or container with small air holes in the lid). If you
have a pile of leaf litter, fill a bag full with it and empty it out onto
newspaper. Look through and find little critters there. Compare
them with the others you have collected. Can you find any patterns or
similarities? Do not forget to take care when handling these little critters,
not only for your own safety and comfort, but also for the safety and comfort
of the little critters in your care.
When God created nature and animals, He blessed them and declared them
good. Take time to discover the value of many of the little critters you
will be observing. Remember the pollinators (honeybees, bumblebees,
flies, butterflies and moths). There are also insect predators such as
the dragonfly, ladybug, lacewing, and spider. Insects provide food;
locust were eaten by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:4 and are still eaten today
in some countries. Bees provide honey. Arthropods are a necessary
link in the food chain. Crickets provide music for our ears. Ants
provide an example of wisdom, Proverbs 6:6-8. Though some of these little
critters may seem to have no beneficial value, remember how all creation has
been marred by sin.
There is great beauty and marvelous wonders to be found in nature.
Delight in the gift God has given us. See God's awesomeness through the
huge variety of little critters He has created, each unique in itself.
Recognize his unmatchable wisdom in His design of each of these animals.
Praise Him for the beauty, enjoyment and service given to us through the animal
kingdom.
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