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EXERCISE: Making your own key


The following small animals are likely to be encountered in pitfall traps, i.e. small cups sunk into the ground, in woodland or grassy areas.
Carrion beetle Rove beetle Sexton beetle

Earwig Ground beetleFroghopper
What major (classification) groups do they all belong to?

> arthropods > insects beetles (coleoptera!)

OVERLEAF: Devise a key to distinguish between them, based on these diagrams. This would enable you to put a name to an unknown specimen, assuming it is one of these 6 species! Use clear "common sense" descriptions of the various external features, and think about the relevance of the distinctions you are using.
You may find it useful to draw up a table of features which make each animal different from the others.