Summary
That fuzzy little moth-like fly on the bathroom wall is a drain fly, and its babies grow in the gunk inside your pipes. Deep Look shows how the larva is built to thrive in a wet, slimy drain.
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All ages
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Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Talk about it
Drain-fly larvae live in the film of slime inside pipes. They have a breathing tube that reaches the surface and a tough body that grips the slick walls -- structures that let them feed and breathe in a place most animals couldn't survive.
- Where do drain-fly babies grow up?
- What body parts help the larva breathe and hold on in a drain?
- Why can a drain fly live somewhere most animals can't?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: larva, drain, breathing tube, habitat.
Try it: Draw a pipe with slime and a drain-fly larva breathing at the surface. Write how its body fits a wet, slippery home.