Five Minutes With a Beetle
Turn over a stone, guide one beetle into an open jar with a leaf and watch it for five minutes. Counting the legs and feelers is easy; guessing what it is looking for takes longer.
What you need
- A clear glass jar
- A big leaf or a piece of paper
- A flat stone or a piece of bark to turn over
How to play
- Turn over a flat stone or a piece of bark and wait for the small life underneath to start moving.
- Guide one beetle or woodlouse into the jar with a leaf, never with your fingers.
- Lay the jar on its side on the ground and leave the top open.
- Watch for five minutes without shaking or tilting the jar.
- Count the legs, look for the feelers and work out how the creature walks.
- Let it out exactly where you found it and put the stone back the way it lay.
- Wash your hands as soon as you get home.
