All bugs are insects, but not all insects are bugs. Unlike a bug, an insect goes through stages to become an adult. Such is the case with the ladybug which lays eggs that hatch in three to five days into larvae. The larvae eat aphids, grow, attach to a leaf and pupate. In a week they transform into ladybugs. Most live a year, but some live three years. This charming looking insect is our friend, since it eats many pests that harm vegetables.
In 2011, the Children’s Museum of Phoenix shared this simple art project with Raising Arizona Kids to help young children learn about and appreciate the role of ladybugs in our environment. Don’t miss the museum’s new exhibit — Very Eric Carle: A Very Hungry, Quiet, Lonely, Clumsy, Busy Exhibit — which runs through Sept. 6. And if you want more buggy experiences, visit the Arizona Science Center’s new exhibit, “The Art and Science of Arachnids.”
Materials
- Black and red construction paper
- Glue sticks or white glue
- Pencils
- White crayons
- Black markers
- Scissors
- Paper fasteners
Instructions
Draw a large oval for a ladybug body on the black paper. Add a circle for a head. Cut out the ladybug. Trace the body on the red paper. Cut out that oval shape and cut it in half to create two wings. Using a black marker, color dots on the red wings. Poke the paper fastener through the two red wings and the body of the ladybug. Using a white crayon draw a face with antennae on the head. Read the following ladybug poem, which can be printed on white paper and incorporated into the project:
Ladybugs all dressed in red
Strolling through the flower bed –
If I were tiny just like you,
I’d creep among the flowers too.
About the Children’s Museum of Phoenix
The mission of the Children’s Museum of Phoenix is to engage the minds, muscles and imaginations of children and the grown-ups who care about them. With hands-on, interactive exhibits designed for children ages birth to 10, the Museum focuses on learning through play, with emphasis on early childhood education and school-readiness. The Children’s Museum of Phoenix is located at 215 N. 7th St. in downtown Phoenix, at the southeast corner of Seventh Street and Van Buren in the historic Monroe School Building.
