| I have six legs and three tails. I spend most of my time under water in places where the sand moves around. I usually eat algae and detritus (dee-try-tus)—small pieces of dead plants or animals in the water. As an adult, I live for only a day or two and I don’t eat. I attach my eggs to stones or other objects in the water. Many fish eat me, both when I’m young and as an adult. I am named for a month when I can often be seen. |
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| When I hatch from my egg I am a larva. I cover my body with tiny sticks or rocks which make my home. I live on underwater gravel bars in fast-moving water where I catch my food. I eat algae, detritus (dee-try-tus) —small pieces of dead plants or animals—and small animals in the water. Fish love to eat me. As an adult, I have large wings to help me fly along the river. |
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| I live in standing pools of water when I’m young. I have a breathing tube at my tail end, which I stick up through the surface of the water for air. I usually eat algae and detritus (dee-try-tus) —small pieces of dead plants or animals. As an adult, I fly around and my wings make a buzzing sound. I eat nectar and plant juices, but I need blood from an animal to be able to make my eggs which I lay in the water. Lots of birds and bats eat me. |
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| I have large hind legs for hopping on the forest floor. My relatives and I mostly eat dead leaves or sometimes small insects. I prefer to live in areas that get flooded regularly, because the leaves are easier to chew. I “chirp” by rubbing my wings together to attract a mate—my song is very familiar on summer nights. My dark colors help me hide in the leaves. Lizards, birds and small mammals often eat me. |
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| When I am young I have a long body and I crawl around. I have strong jaws for chewing, so I can eat leaves of cottonwood trees. I also roll the leaves and tie them with silk. I hide inside and metamorphose. When I come out I have wings and can fly. It’s easy to find the rolled-up leaves on the ground after they fall out of the trees. Birds often eat me when I’m young. |
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| My buzzing call is part of summer. I lay my eggs on twigs in trees; they fall to the ground. My young go underground and suck the juice of plant roots for many months or years. One summer they climb out of the ground and crawl up a tree trunk. There they shed their skin and come out as adult flying insects with big bodies and transparent wings. Many different birds like to eat us. |
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| I live with hundreds of my relatives in underground tunnels. We build a big mound above ground and clear away the plants around it. We live where the ground is dry with nearby grasses, amaranth and mustard plants that have seeds. Often small trails can be seen going out from the nest. We look for food along these trails. We collect small seeds and store them underground. Sometimes we also eat pillbugs that we sting and then carry below ground. We move our young around in the mound to warm or cool them as needed. |
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