Insects in ecosystems

CONCEPTUAL

Science›Insects & Minibeasts|Ages 9—11|ID: mt_r6oKXpN0er

Insects in ecosystems: the many roles insects play. Pollinators (bees, butterflies, hoverflies), decomposers (dung beetles, fly larvae), food source for birds, bats, fish, and frogs, and pest controllers (ladybirds eating aphids). The thought experiment: what would happen if all insects disappeared?

Mastery Evidence

Name at least three different ecological roles that insects play such as pollinator, decomposer, and food source
Explain how the removal of one insect group like bees would affect plants, other animals, and humans
Describe a specific example of insects as pest controllers such as ladybirds controlling aphid populations

Assessment Prompt

“If you asked [child] what would happen if all the insects in the world disappeared tomorrow, could they explain the chain of problems that would cause — for plants, animals, and people?”

Prerequisites3

Food Chains & Energy Transfer
softAges 8—9
Minibeasts in the food chain
hardAges 5—7
Bees and pollination
hardAges 7—9

Show full prerequisite tree

Food Chains & Energy Transfer soft
Curriculum food-chains knowledge (producers/predators/prey) provides foundation for understanding full insect ecosystem roles
- Rainforest Food Webs soft
  Rainforest food webs enrich curriculum food chains topic (exploratory age 7 -> curriculum age 8)
  - Rainforest Plants hard
    Must know rainforest plants (producers) before constructing food webs
    - Rainforest Layers hard
      Plants taught in context of layers (epiphytes in canopy, lianas climbing trunks)
      - What Is a Rainforest? hard
        Must know what a rainforest is before learning its four layers
  - Rainforest Animals hard
    Must know rainforest animals before constructing food chains with them
    - Rainforest Layers hard
      Animals are taught in context of which layer they inhabit
      - What Is a Rainforest? hard
        Must know what a rainforest is before learning its four layers
- Animal Nutrition soft
  Nutrition knowledge supports understanding why animals occupy different trophic levels
  - Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores soft
    Carnivore/herbivore/omnivore classification supports understanding nutrition differences
    - Naming Common Animals hard
      Must identify animal groups before classifying by diet
  - What Living Things Need hard
    Must know basic survival needs before learning about nutrition types and food groups
    - Common Plants & Trees soft
      Knowing plants helps understand what they need
    - Living Things Vocabulary soft
      Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
    - Naming Common Animals soft
      Knowing animals helps understand what they need
- Simple Food Chains hard
  Must understand simple food chains before constructing complex ones with producer/predator/prey terminology
  - Herbivores, Carnivores & Omnivores hard
    Must know carnivore/herbivore/omnivore to understand food chains
    - Naming Common Animals hard
      Must identify animal groups before classifying by diet
  - Habitats & Basic Needs hard
    Must know about habitats and interdependence before learning food chains
    - Where Are the Poles? soft
      Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
    - Habitat Vocabulary hard
      Describing how habitats provide for basic needs requires habitat, environment, conditions, shelter vocabulary
    - What Is a Rainforest? soft
      Rainforest habitat knowledge enriches the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
    - What Living Things Need hard
      Must know basic needs of organisms before understanding how habitats provide for those needs
      - Common Plants & Trees soft
        Knowing plants helps understand what they need
      - Living Things Vocabulary soft
        Describing what plants and animals need to survive uses life processes vocabulary: nutrition, growth, sensitivity
      - Naming Common Animals soft
        Knowing animals helps understand what they need
    - What Ocean Animals Need soft
      Ocean animal needs parallels curriculum habitats/basic needs concept
      - What Is the Ocean? soft
        Ocean animal needs are contextualised by knowing what the ocean is
    - Animal Homes soft
      Animal homes concept is enriched by curriculum habitats topic
      - Animals Everywhere hard
        Animal homes builds on knowing animals live everywhere
    - Living, Dead & Never Alive hard
      Must distinguish living from non-living before understanding habitats that support living things
      - Common Plants & Trees soft
        Knowing plant names helps distinguish living from non-living
      - Living Things Vocabulary hard
        Comparing living, dead, and never-been-alive things requires the life processes vocabulary to give reasons
      - Naming Common Animals soft
        Knowing animal groups helps distinguish living from non-living
    - Minibeast Habitats soft
      Exploratory micro-habitats knowledge enriches curriculum habitats topic
      - Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
        Must recognise common minibeasts before exploring where each type lives
        
        What is a minibeast? hard
        Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones
  - Ocean Food Chains soft
    Ocean food chain parallels curriculum simple food chain concept
    - What Ocean Animals Need soft
      Food chains explain how animals meet their need for food
      - What Is the Ocean? soft
        Ocean animal needs are contextualised by knowing what the ocean is
    - Ocean Animal Variety soft
      Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
  - Minibeasts in the food chain soft
    Garden minibeast food chains provide concrete examples for curriculum simple-food-chains
    - Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
      Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
      - What is a minibeast? hard
        Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones
  - Rainforest Animals soft
    Rainforest animals provide rich examples for simple food chains (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)
    - Rainforest Layers hard
      Animals are taught in context of which layer they inhabit
      - What Is a Rainforest? hard
        Must know what a rainforest is before learning its four layers
- Ecology Vocabulary hard
  Constructing and interpreting food chains requires producer, consumer, predator, prey vocabulary
- Ocean Food Webs soft
  Ocean food webs build on curriculum food chains with trophic levels
  - Classifying Ocean Animals soft
    Food webs benefit from knowing animal classification groups
    - Whales & Dolphins Are Mammals hard
      Classifying marine mammals vs fish builds on whale/dolphin are mammals concept
      - Ocean Animal Variety soft
        Mammals vs fish distinction benefits from knowing ocean animal variety
    - Ocean Animal Variety hard
      Classifying ocean animals builds on knowing the variety exists
  - Ocean Food Chains hard
    Food webs extend simple food chains to interconnected networks
    - What Ocean Animals Need soft
      Food chains explain how animals meet their need for food
      - What Is the Ocean? soft
        Ocean animal needs are contextualised by knowing what the ocean is
    - Ocean Animal Variety soft
      Food chains benefit from knowing the variety of animals that eat each other
Minibeasts in the food chain hard
Must understand simple food chains before studying complex ecosystem roles
- Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
  Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
  - What is a minibeast? hard
    Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones
Bees and pollination hard
Must understand pollination before studying insects' full range of ecosystem roles
- Social insects: ants and bees hard
  Understanding bee colonies provides context for understanding pollination as a bee behaviour
  - The insect body plan hard
    Must know what insects are before studying how some live in colonies
    - How minibeasts move soft
      Counting legs and observing movement prepares for formal body plan study
      - Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
        Must recognise common minibeasts before comparing how they move
        
        What is a minibeast? hard
        Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones
    - Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
      Must recognise common minibeasts before studying insect anatomy in detail
      - What is a minibeast? hard
        Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones
- Minibeasts in the food chain soft
  Simple food chain understanding prepares for interdependence concept in pollination
  - Common minibeasts: naming and recognising hard
    Must know common minibeasts before placing them in food chains
    - What is a minibeast? hard
      Must understand what minibeasts are before learning to name specific ones

Unlocks2

The most successful animals on Earth
softAges 9—11
Threats to insects and conservation
hardAges 9—11