Third Grade
Worksheets
Vanessa for President
"Squeeeeak! Squeeeeak! Did you hear that? That's a noise I make to protect myself. I'm Vanessa, and I am a velvet ant. I am running for president of the Bug Appreciation Club.
Even though I'm called a velvet ant, I'm not really an ant. I'm actually a wasp. Since I'm a girl velvet ant, I don't have wings. Only boy velvet ants have wings. I spend all of my time on the ground while the boys fly around looking for mates. I'm called velvet because I have lots of "hair" all over my body. My body is black and my hair is a deep orange color. Why orange? Because other animals see it as a dangerous color, they will leave me alone. Other velvet ants may have red, white, black, silver, or golden hair.
I'm not a big bug. I'm less than an inch long and roughly the size of a penny. Because of my size, I can seem like a good meal to other bugs or animals. Besides my orange color, I have some other defenses. My sting is one of the most painful of all bugs! When something messes with me, I sting them over and over until they learn not to bother me! My stings are thought to be strong enough to kill a cow or mule. Some people call me a cow killer ant; others call me a mule killer. Scary stuff, isn't it? Well, I'm not as bad as that sounds. My stings can't really kill a cow or a mule, and I only sting to defend myself.
