Story title
| Links to the story | Key Stage 2 and 3 programmes of study | Possible learning outcomes | Big ideas |
| Homes for the summer | describe the… life cycles of… an insect |
To appreciate that some insects can live and feed on living plants To appreciate that global warming means that some insects are migrating northwards |
adventures in time and space being and becoming climate change life depend depends on life summer stories |
The arrival of the horse chestnut leaf miner from the Balkans twenty-five years ago was probably caused by humans transporting infected chestnut wood across Europe, rather than by climate change directly. Even so, the insect does find a ready home in Northern Europe, probably because of mild winters and warmer summers enable up to four generations per year in the warmest regions.
The insect has a typical insect life cycle of egg, caterpillar (larva), pupa and adult insect. The similarities with the butterfly life cycle are shown below.
- What benefits do the horse chestnut leaf miner gain from living with the horse chestnut tree. What benefits does the horse chestnut tree get from the arrangement?
The leaf miner gains a sheltered space for its larvae to grow and develop, as well as food. The horse chestnut gains little or no advantage, but has enough leaf area to be able to withstand the effects of the insect damage.