Let’s explore.

Tiptoe into your backyard. What do you see? Green grass. Trees. The sky. Clouds. The sun.

Look again.

What is that crawling like a little snake on a leaf? That is a caterpillar. In a few days or so, she will become a pretty butterfly.

Here is a fierce hunter hiding, waiting for his dinner. It is a praying mantis. He does look like he is praying, doesn’t he? Soon he will snap up a grasshopper, bigger than himself, and eat him, bit by bit.

[caption id="attachment_990382" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A praying mantis on an orchid. PHOTO COURTESY LUCNIX.BE -[/caption]

Now what is this?

Is it a web of fine silk, floating in a breeze?

It may look small to you. But to a tiny bee, the silk web is like strong ropes. If caught, she will be tied up tight, a spider’s dinner.

[caption id="attachment_990383" align="alignnone" width="857"] -[/caption]

And where are they going, these farmer ants? Carrying pieces of leaves on their backs? The leaves will help feed them and their babies, hidden in a nest under the ground.

A backyard is a busy place. Many strange and wonderful creatures live out there.

[caption id="attachment_990405" align="alignnone" width="1024"] A golden silk spider catches the attention Zoe-Rae Gomes at the Botanic Gardens, St Ann's. - AYANNA KINSALE[/caption]

Some easy questions to answer.

What will happen to the caterpillar?

Which insect is a fierce hunter?

What will the spider catch for dinner?

What do farmer ants do?

What kinds of creatures live in your backyard?

Green Readers by author Julie Morton is a series to teach children about the environment through stories, poems and Q&A exercises.

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