Consumers
They eat food made by producers.
A meal
A cow eats grass. A frog eats an insect that ate grass.
Both the cow and the frog depend on the food made by the grass. How?
What this lesson covers
The idea
Consumers eat the food made by producers, either directly or indirectly by feeding on other consumers; they are classed as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites.
A meal
A cow eats grass. A frog eats an insect that ate grass.
Both the cow and the frog depend on the food made by the grass. How?
- The cow eats grass itself, the frog eats another consumer
- They both make food from sunlight
- Only the cow depends on grass
Direct and indirect
Open each tab.
Eating, directly or not
An insect that eats grass takes food from a producer directly. A frog that eats the insect gets the food of the producer indirectly. Both are consumers. Consumers are classed as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites.
Consumers eat the food made by producers, either directly or indirectly by feeding on other consumers; they are classed as herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites.
Notes
Consumers eat food made by producers, directly or indirectly.
Check yourself
Which of these is a consumer?
An insect eats grass. How does the insect get the food made by the producer?
A frog eats an insect that ate grass. How does the frog get the food made by the producer?
Which list names the kinds of consumers?
- A frog — correct. Yes!
- Grass. Grass is a green plant. It is a producer and makes its own food.
- A jasmine plant. A jasmine plant is a green plant. It is a producer and makes its own food.
- Indirectly, by feeding on another consumer. The insect eats the grass itself, so it gets the food directly.
- Directly, by eating the producer — correct. Yes!
- By making it from inorganic substances. That is what producers do. A consumer takes food that is already made.
- Directly, from the grass. The frog does not eat the grass. It eats the insect, which ate the grass.
- By photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is how producers make food. The frog is a consumer.
- Indirectly, by feeding on another consumer — correct. Yes!
- Herbivores, carnivores, omnivores and parasites — correct. Yes!
- Producers, consumers and decomposers. These are the three groups of organisms by how they get their food. Consumers are one of those groups.
- Herbivores, carnivores, producers and decomposers. Producers and decomposers are not kinds of consumers.