A creepy crawly is an informal term for a bug, such as an, insect, another arthropod, a snail, or a slug.

Venom (literally, poison of animal origin) is any of a variety of toxins used by several groups of animal species, for the purpose of defense and hunting prey.

Double-click on any word to see its definition from Cambridge Dictionaries Online

magazine article: Creepy Crawlies. "A few years ago I was on holiday in Holland. I was on a bicycle trip and at the very first sign of a hill, I got off my bike for a rest. I sat down by the side of the road on the grass. A few seconds later, I was covered in ants. They were swarming all over me so I quickly got up and brushed them off." Read article

magazine article: Venomous animals. Find out about 5 of the most deadly animals in Australia: the sea wasp, the funnelweb spider, the fierce snake, the blue-ringed octopus and the cone shell. Read article

word game: Insects and other creepy crawlies. Match the names of 20 different insects and other creepy crawlies to pictures of them. Play game (1) and game (2)

word game: Venomous animals. Match the names of 20 different venomous animals  to pictures of them. Play game (1) and game (2)

story: A Serious Case. I have a friend who is afraid of spiders. This isn’t very unusual; a lot of people are afraid of spiders. I don’t really like spiders much myself. But my friend isn’t afraid of spiders in any normal way. She isn’t just afraid of spiders, she is totally, completely and utterly terrified of them. Read story

cartoons: "What do you get if you cross a praying mantis with a termite?" "An insect that ..." See cartoon
"Pleased to meet you." "Charmed ..." See cartoon

trivia: Wordplay. The Cockroach is an anagram of Cook, Catch Her. See more creepy crawlies trivia

poll: "Which creepy crawly is the worst?" See results

links: Creepy crawlies. Bugbios See more links

links: Venomous animals. Striking Beauties: Virtual Exhibit See more links

The British Council is not responsible for the content of external web sites.