RIC-0399 Minibeasts

A mazing Arachnids
Use the topic words to complete the comprehension activity.
trap, divided, living, million, grow, carry, victim, glands, live, eight, types
carry, new, people, larger, backbone, little, back, sting, pincers, host
Arachnids are a large group of animals that belong to the Arthropod (means joint-legged)
family. The group includes spiders, scorpions, ticks and mites. They have
legs and a hard external skeleton which cannot
ones as they get bigger. Their bodies are
parts; the head and thorax (which are joined together) and the abdomen.
abdomen
There are many different
have several eyes but can see
. So they moult and form
into two
of spiders. Spiders
. They make silk in
at the back of the abdomen. They use the silk
in different ways, but mainly to make webs to
their prey. Spiders eat insects and other small invertebrates
(animals with no
poisonous bite which can kill or paralyse their
the juices out of the insect. Most spiders lay eggs. They help
because they eat flies and other insect pests.
Scorpions have lived on Earth for as long as 45
years. Most species are not dangerous to people - they rarely
attack, but can give a
if threatened. They hunt for
food (insects and spiders) at night and catch their prey with two
large
four legs on each side of body
.) They have a
. The spider then sucks
. Scorpions use the sting in their tails, if the insect fights.
Scorpions give birth to young, which are carried on their mother's .
Ticks and Mites are very similar, but mites are
less than 1 mm long! Most of them, are parasites (they live on or in other
Ticks and mites can
head
and
thorax
©R.I.C. Publications
Low Resolution Images
Display Copy
. Even so, mites are
things). They use their mouths (like a beak with teeth) to hold onto
animals and plants. Then they suck blood or other body fluids from the victim.
diseases which affect humans.
R.I.C. Publications - Minibeasts www.ricgroup.com.au
12
ISBN 978-1-86311-498-1