Broccoli Aphids Lacewings Parasitoids People Broccoli is a

Broccoli – Aphids – Lacewings & Parasitoids - People Broccoli is a delicious vegetable that people love to eat! It is often attacked by aphids. We can use pesticides or rely on the other insects that attack aphids. If the aphids are not kept in check, there won’t be very much broccoli. ACTION: If you have lots of aphids, you are a small broccoli. If you have only one aphid, you are a large broccoli! If your are small broccoli, curl up and be small – LARGE BROCCOLI BE BIG!

BIG BROCCOLI

SMALL BROCCOLI

Broccoli– Aphids – Lacewings & Parasitoids – People Aphids attack lots of plant that people eat, including broccoli. Aphids have mouths that are like pointy straws; they stick these straws into the plant tissue and suck the juices out. A couple aphids are OK, but having a lot of aphids on a plant will damage it. ACTION: If you are an aphid, make needle like mouth parts like a straw and find some broccoli to drink! If you are not attacked by lacewings and parasitoids, multiple to many aphids. But if you are attacked by lacewings and parasitoids, you are just one aphid.

ONE APHID

MANY APHIDS!

Broccoli – Aphids – Lacewings & Parasitoids – People Lacewing larvae are insects that eat other insects. As adults they have lacey wings, which gave them their name, but as larvae they don’t fly. They walk around looking for prey. Once they’ve found it, they stick their pointy mouth parts into their prey and suck all the juices out. Parasitoid wasps attack aphids. They, like other parasitoids, lay their eggs inside aphids. The larvae then eat the aphids from the inside out and pop out like aliens. Parasitoid wasps are vital in controlling aphid populations. ACTION: If you are a LACEWING, take your pointy mouth parts and go chew on an aphid! If you are a PARASITOID, go find a host aphid to lay your eggs in.

LACEWING Larva EATING aphid

PARASITOID (WASP) LAYING EGGS inside aphid

Broccoli – Aphids – Lacewings & Parasitoids - People love eating broccoli! (OK, maybe not you, but many people). Broccoli is healthy and delicious. It has lots of vitamin C, vitamin A, and some calcium and iron. Vegetables like broccoli help keep us health. ACTION: Find some broccoli to stay healthy! If you can’t find broccoli, you will be sick. If you eat big healthy broccoli and other veggies – flash your strong healthy smile, if you can’t find any – lay down and be quiet.

EAT BROCCOLI BE HEALTHY

NOT HEALTHY, FEEL SICK

Apples – Bumble bee – Parasitic bee - Decomposers - People Apple flowers need to be pollinated in order to make apples. Bees often do that pollination. In fact, animal pollinators like bees are responsible for 1/3 bites of food you eat. ACTION: Hold up your arms as branches, and find a bee to make apples! If you can’t find a bee, hold up the picture with no apples.

APPLES

NO APPLES

Apples – Bumble bee – Parasitic bee - Decomposers - People Bumble bees are excellent pollinators. Unlike the European honey bee, the most widely known pollinator, bumbles bees are native to North America. Bumble bees are mostly larger than honey bees. They are often black and yellow and fuzzy. ACTION: Buzz around until you find the apple tree! Pollinate its flowers so that there will be apples. Take the pollen back to your nest to feed your baby bees.

BUMBLE BEE

Apples – Bumble bee – Parasitic bee - Decomposers - People Kleptoparasitic bees lay their eggs in other bees’ nests. This takes advantage of all the hard work the other bees’ have done, like collecting pollen to feed to their baby bees. ACTION: Sneakily buzz around and find a bumble bee to follow back to its nest and lay your eggs. Hold up the bee picture. Make sure the bee doesn’t see you! If you can’t find a bumble bee, sit down quietly.

PARASITIC BEE

Apples – Bumble bee – Parasitic bee - Decomposers - People Springtails are decomposers. They eat leaf litter and other things decaying on the ground. Decomposers keep the planet from being covered in dead material. There are more of them when there is more to eat. ACTION: Scout around on the ground, and find the apple tree to eat the decaying apples that have fallen to the ground. If you find apples, hold up the picture of many springtails. If you don’t find apples, hold on the picture of the one springtail.

ONE SPRINGTAIL

MANY SPRINGTAILS

Apples – Bumble bee – Parasitic bee - Decomposers - People Apples are a nutritious and delicious fruit. Apples are a good source of vitamin C and fiber. They are often part of a healthy diet. And they are delicious! ACTION: Find the apple tree with apples to get a delicious snack. If you can’t find an apple, then you’ll miss out on the snack. If you find the apples, hold up the person with an apple. If you don’t find the apples, hold up the sad person without an apple.

PERSON WITH AN APPLE

PERSON WITHOUT AN APPLE

Fish – Mayflies - Water - People Fish eat mayfly adults that fall back into the water after they die. Mayflies are a very important source of food for many fish communities. ACTION: Swim around and find an adult mayfly to eat! If you can’t find the mayfly, you have nothing to eat so sit down quietly.

FISH

Fish – Mayflies – Water - People Immature mayflies are called nymphs, and the live in the water. Nymphs of most species feed on algae and decaying things in the water; some species have predatous nymphs, which eat other insects. Although with stoneflies and caddisflies, mayflies are an important indicator of the ecological health and water quality of a stream. ACTION: Find the river and scurry around underwater collecting food!

MAYFLY LARVA

Fish – Mayflies – Water - People After feeding as larvae underwater, mayfly adults emerge. Adults from one species in an area will emerge mostly on the same day, creating huge clouds of mayflies. They mate and the females lay their eggs on the surface of the water. ACTION: Find the larval mayfly and then fly away on your new wings. If you can’t find the mayfly, you have nothing to eat so sit down quietly.

MAYFLY ADULT

Fish – Mayflies - Water - People Mayfly nymphs help keep water clean. In fact the presence of mayfly nymphs indicates a healthy river ecosystem. ACTION: If a mayfly nymph find you, you are a clean river. Flow like a river and hold up the picture of clean water. If no mayfly nymph finds you, hold up the picture of algae covered water.

CLEAN RIVER

ALGAE RIVER

Fish – Mayflies - Water - People Fish is a good source of protein and part of many delicious meals. It is also a good source for vitamin B 6 and B 12. From fish tacos to smoked salmon, fish is a part of many people’s diets. Without protein and vitamins, people can get weak and sick. ACTION: Go fishing to catch a fish so that you can cook a delicious dinner. Hold up the person with a fish if you find it. If you can’t find the fish, hold up the sick person.

EAT FISH BE HEALTHY

NO FISH FEEL SICK

Cows - Grass - Dung beetles - People domesticated cows well over 4000 years ago. They are raised for meat and dairy. Cows evolved to eat grass. In order to get good quality meat and dairy, cows need lots of grass. ACTION: Find the grass and eat it! If there isn’t much grass, you don’t produce any milk.

COW WITH MILK

COW WITHOUT MILK

Cows - Grass - Dung beetles - People Grass is an important plant for people. It feeds many animals we like to eat and makes pretty lawns and soccer fields. In order to grow well, grass needs to have plenty of nutrients and light. In a cow pasture, a lot of nutrient comes from cow poop that is recycled back into the soil, sometimes by dung beetle. ACTION: If there is only one cowpie, the beetles have been doing their job and the grass is healthy. Grow lots of grass and hold up the picture of the healthy, green grasss! If there are many cowpies, the grass isn’t getting any nutrients or light and it’s growing well. Hold up the picture of the sparse grass.

HEALTHY GRASS

UNHEALTHY GRASS

Cows - Grass - Dung beetles - People Cows cannot digest all parts of the grass they eat. The indigestible material comes out again as cow poop, and cows poop a lot! In cowboy language these are called cowpies. ACTION: Plop down behind the cow! If a dung beetle is around, it will find you. Start by holding up one cowpie. If the dung beetle finds you keep being one cowpie. If it doesn’t find you, hold up the pictures of many cowpies.

ONE COWPIE

MANY COWPIES

Cows - Grass - Dung beetles - People Dung beetles eat dung (feces) from other animals, including cows. They find the cowpies, roll pieces of them up into balls and bury the balls in holes to feed their babies. This helps removed the cowpies, which could smother the grass, and it helps recycle the nutrients to the grass. ACTION: Find the cowpie and process it! (Roll it into a ball and bury it)

DUNG BEETLES

Cows - Grass - Dung beetles - People Milk is a staple in many peoples’ diets. Milk is a good source of protein, calcium, vitamin D, and it can help you keep your bones strong. ACTION: Find the cow with milk to get a glass of milk and hold up the picture of the person with milk! If the cow doesn’t have any milk, hold up the picture so the person without milk.

DRINK MILK BE HAPPY

NO MILK BE SAD