The living things in a food chain.

What kinds of living things make up a food chain?

There are many different types of living things that make up a food chain such as:

Producers: Some living things make their own food. They use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make food in a process call photosynthesis. Examples of producers include green plants and algae. Most food chains start with a producer.

Plants, like this pumpkin plant, make their own food.

Primary consumers: These are living things which feed on producers such as green plants. They are also called herbivores. Examples of primary consumers include grasshoppers and cows.

A cow is a primary consumer because it eats grass.

Secondary consumers: These are living things which feed on primary consumers. They are also called carnivores. Examples of carnivores include snakes and cats.

Cats eat mice and other small animals. They are secondary consumers.

Decomposers: When living thing die, they are broken down by other living things and thier nutrients are returned to the soil or other parts of the environment. Animals which break down dead plants or animals are called decompoers. Examples of decomposers are earthworms, bacteria and fungi.