Lesson Summary This lesson demonstrates the strength of a bess beetle.  The students will attach a dental-floss harness onto the beetles and continually attach jumbo paperclips onto the end until they can no longer pull the weight.  The groups may try the experiment several times to make sure they are getting a consistent result.  The students will use a balance to weigh both the beetle and number of paperclips it pulled to determine if it could pull its own body weight. Discuss why this strength is necessary to the beetle, and the function of the beetle’s feet.  Create a class chart showing how many paperclips were pulled. Teacher Background This is a fun experiment for the students, but it is important to bring the class discussion around to structures and functions of the beetles to determine why the beetle’s feet are sticky and why it is a strong insect. You will need to practice making the harness before class. Set-up/Management Tips Depending on how long the set-up and experiments take, it may be necessary to extend using the balance, class discussion and creating the class chart to another day. Many students find it difficult to attach the harnesses. You may want to consider either having this already set up for the students, having another adult in the class to assist with this part of the lesson, or using the jump rope model suggested in the teacher’s manual. Remind the students how to safely handle the beetles. Literacy Support Scientific Vocabulary The following words are key vocabulary words that will be introduced in this lesson and reinforced throughout the unit: balance