Word searches

Hard insects word search

Praying mantis, lacewing and metamorphosis: a bug grid for older children who want the proper names. Twenty-eight words hide in every direction, backwards and diagonal included.

FOUND0 of 28
  • Abdomen
  • Aphid
  • Bluebottle
  • Chrysalis
  • Cicada
  • Cockroach
  • Cocoon
  • Compound eye
  • Damselfly
  • Dung beetle
  • Earwig
  • Exoskeleton
  • Firefly
  • Honeybee
  • Hornet
  • Hoverfly
  • Lacewing
  • Locust
  • Mayfly
  • Metamorphosis
  • Pollinate
  • Praying mantis
  • Pupa
  • Silverfish
  • Stag beetle
  • Termite
  • Thorax
  • Weevil

This is the same puzzle as on the printable sheet. Every word you find turns green and is crossed off the list.

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Insects, extra hard

Name

Find these words

  • Abdomen
  • Aphid
  • Bluebottle
  • Chrysalis
  • Cicada
  • Cockroach
  • Cocoon
  • Compound eye
  • Damselfly
  • Dung beetle
  • Earwig
  • Exoskeleton
  • Firefly
  • Honeybee
  • Hornet
  • Hoverfly
  • Lacewing
  • Locust
  • Mayfly
  • Metamorphosis
  • Pollinate
  • Praying mantis
  • Pupa
  • Silverfish
  • Stag beetle
  • Termite
  • Thorax
  • Weevil

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Insects, extra hard

Give it a try: drag a line across the letters.

About this word search

A Chrysalis is the hard case a butterfly forms during Metamorphosis, while a Cocoon is the silk wrapping spun by many moths. Both are on this list, along with the Thorax and Abdomen, the middle and back sections of an insect's body.

Some names are misleading. A Firefly is a beetle, not a fly, and a Silverfish is an insect, not a fish. Older children enjoy sorting out which names tell the truth.

All eight directions are used across eighteen squares, including backwards. Start with Metamorphosis and Exoskeleton, then look for the X in Thorax.

Ways to use this word search

  • In the classroom

    Print it as a task for early finishers, or to open a lesson on this topic. With the QR code on the sheet, pupils check their own answers.

  • At home and on the go

    Pack a few printed sheets for the car, the train or the holidays. A pen is all you need, no screen required.

  • Play together

    Print the sheet twice and race each other. Whoever finds all the words first wins. Or play it online and see who is fastest.

Try it in French too

The same theme also exists in French and Italian, each with its own word list in that language. Handy if you are learning a language: you already know the topic, now just the words.

Is your theme missing? Type your own words into the word search maker. You get a grid with the answer key straight away, in the size you want.

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