biologist: A scientist involved in the study of living things.
cell: (in biology) The smallest structural and functional unit of an organism. (in structures) The term for a small chamber.
chemical: A substance formed from two or more atoms that unite (bond) in a fixed proportion and structure. For example, water is a chemical made when two hydrogen atoms bond to one oxygen atom. Its chemical formula is H2O. Chemical also can be an adjective to describe properties of materials that are the result of various reactions between different compounds.
develop: (adj. development) (v.) To emerge or to make come into being, either naturally or through human intervention, such as by manufacturing. (in biology) To grow as an organism from conception through adulthood, often undergoing changes in chemistry, size, mental maturity or sometimes even shape.
diet: (n.) The foods and liquids ingested by an animal to provide the nutrition it needs to grow and maintain health. Sometimes this is a specific food-intake plan.
drone: (in biology) The term for a male honeybee.
egg: A reproductive cell that contains half of the genetic information necessary to form a complete organism.
engineering: The field of research that uses math and science to solve practical problems. Someone who works in this field is known as an engineer.
entomologist: A biologist who specializes in the study of insects. A paleoentomologist studies ancient insects, mainly through their fossils.
evolution: (adj. evolutionary) A process by which species undergo changes over time, usually through genetic variation and natural selection. These changes usually result in a new type of organism better suited for its environment than the earlier type. The newer type is not necessarily more “advanced,” just better adapted to the particular conditions in which it developed. Or the term can refer to changes that occur as some natural progression within the non-living world (such as computer chips evolving to smaller devices which operate at an ever faster speed).
gene: (adj. genetic) A segment of DNA that codes, or holds instructions, for a cell’s production of a protein. Offspring inherit genes from their parents. Genes influence how an organism looks and behaves.
honey: A viscous (gooey) material that honeybees store in their honeycombs. The bees make it from nectar. Foraging bees visit flowers in search of that sugary liquid. Back at the hive, honeybees will add some enzymes to the nectar, then deposit the amber colored liquid into the hive’s combs. As worker bees use their wings to fan the cells containing this liquid, the goo heats up and some of its water will evaporate to form honey.
insect: A type of arthropod that as an adult will have six segmented legs and three body parts: a head, thorax and abdomen. There are hundreds of thousands of insects, which include bees, beetles, flies and moths.
larva: (plural: larvae) An immature life stage of an insect, which often has a distinctly different form as an adult. (Sometimes used to describe such a stage in the development of fish, frogs and other animals.)
metamorphosis: A dramatic change from one stage in an animal’s life history to the next, such as the process by which a tadpole becomes a frog or the changes that transform a caterpillar into a butterfly.
morph: Short for metamorphose, it means to change or transform from one form to another (such as from a caterpillar to a butterfly) or from one shape to another. Or it can mean to evolve or mutate, where one or more parts of the genome undergo some sort of change in their chemistry — and potentially in their function.
nectar: A sugary fluid secreted by plants, especially by flowers. It encourages pollination by insects and other animals. It is collected by bees to make into honey.
nurse: (in biology) A term for individuals that care for others, especially the young, within their community.
physical: (adj.) A term for things that exist in the real world, as opposed to in memories or the imagination. It can also refer to properties of materials that are due to their size and non-chemical interactions (such as when one block slams with force into another).
pollen: Powdery grains released by the male parts of flowers that can fertilize the female tissue to make a seed. Pollinating insects, such as bees, often pick up pollen that will later be eaten.
pupa: (plural: pupae) The life stage in insects following the larval (caterpillar) stage and preceding adulthood.
species: A group of similar organisms capable of producing offspring that can survive and reproduce.