Bugs and insects Word Search
- MIDGE
- LACEWING
- EARWIG
- WORM
- CHIGGER
- GNAT
- WASP
- APHID
- SCORPION
- DRAGONFLY
- SILKWORM
- MANTIS
Created for free at puzzleandprint.com
Your word search
Bugs and insects Word Search, Answer Key
- MIDGE
- LACEWING
- EARWIG
- WORM
- CHIGGER
- GNAT
- WASP
- APHID
- SCORPION
- DRAGONFLY
- SILKWORM
- MANTIS
Created for free at puzzleandprint.com
Or take one that is already made
Four sheets, each with a different job. Every one is a two-page PDF, the puzzle, then the answer key on its own page.
Minibeasts are a fixture of early science teaching and this list follows that vocabulary closely, including the ones children reliably mix up: beetle and weevil, moth and mantis. Seeing them side by side in a word list is quietly useful.
Longer entries like caterpillar and grasshopper need a grid of at least fourteen squares to place comfortably. If you are printing for younger children, drop the word count rather than the grid size.
Bug words split neatly into short and long (ant, bee and fly against caterpillar and grasshopper), which is more useful than it sounds. Start a hesitant reader on the short ones and add the long ones once they are moving.
It pairs well with actually going outside and looking. A sheet done after a bug hunt lands differently from one done cold, because the words have something attached to them.
Common questions
Spiders are not insects. Why are they on the list?
Because a child asking for a bug word search means spiders too, along with SNAIL, WORM, MILLIPEDE, CENTIPEDE and SCORPION, none of which are insects either. If you are teaching classification, having them on the sheet is a better argument than leaving them off.
One of my children is frightened of wasps. Can I avoid them?
Not on the ready-made sheets. WASP and SPIDER are both among the first seven words, so they appear even on the large-print sheet. Use the maker above with your own list instead, and leave out whatever you need to. It takes about a minute.
How many words can I use?
Up to twenty-five. Ten to fifteen is comfortable for most grids. If you add more than the grid can hold, the tool tells you which words did not fit rather than silently leaving them out.
Why did one of my words not fit?
Either it is longer than the grid is wide, or the grid filled up before it could be placed. Try the next size up, remove a word, or press New puzzle for a different arrangement, a word that fails one layout often places fine in the next.
Can I make it easier for younger children?
Yes. Set difficulty to Easy so words only run left to right and top to bottom, and use a 10 by 10 grid with five to eight short words. That combination is manageable for most children who can read the words on the list.
Is there an answer key?
Always, and it prints on its own page so you can hand out the puzzle without it. Each answer is marked directly on a copy of the grid.
Do I need an account?
No. There is no sign-up, no email, and no watermark on the printed sheet. Puzzles are built in your browser, so your word list never reaches us.
Can I use these puzzles in my classroom?
Yes, use them with your class, your family, your club, or your care home, and print as many copies as you need. The one thing we ask is that you do not resell the sheets themselves.
Want to know when new printables go up?
New printables when they go up, mostly seasonal, a few times a year.