1. Butterfly
(image.butterflywebsite.com)
Butterflies are an insect that live anywhere from 2 days to as long as 11 months. They go through a four-step process called metamorphosis – from egg, to caterpillar, to chrysalis to a butterfly.
Butterflies are insects, but large scaly wings set them apart. These wings allow them to fly but only when their body temperature is above 86 degrees.The fastest butterflies can fly up to 30 miles per hour.Scientists estimate that there are 28,000 species of butterflies throughout the world.Most butterflies are found in tropical rainforests, but they can live in all climates and altitudes of the world.
The butterfly does migrate to avoid cold weather. Many believe butterflies got their name because they would fly around the buckets of milk on farms. While the milk was being churned into butter, many noticed these flying insects would appear and soon they were being called butterflies. Butterflies have three body parts, like all other insects: the head, the thorax (chest), and the abdomen (bottom). The butterfly’s four wings and six legs are attached to the thorax.
Butterflies are colorful for many reasons. The colors help them attract a mate and absorb heat and the color also helps them blend in among the flowers when they are feeding. Butterflies change four times during their lives in a process which is called metamorphosis. They are born as an egg (stage 1). Next they turn into a caterpillar, or larvae (stage 2). This caterpillar will eat constantly – it loves leaves and flowers – and will grow and grow through this stage of its life.
As the caterpillar grows, it skin will spilt and molt or shed its skin. When the caterpillar has grown several thousand times its original size, it goes into a resting stage. This is when the caterpillar becomes a pupa, or chrysalis (stage 3). Finally, the chrysalis breaks open and a butterfly comes out (stage 4). Now the adult butterfly will begin the process all over again by laying eggs of its own. Most butterflies live on the nectar and pollen from flowers. Butterflies have a long, flexible, tube-like tongue that goes down into the nectar of the flower. They suck the nectar up through this tongue. Female butterflies are usually larger than males and they live longer. Butterflies can live anywhere from 2 days to 11 months.
2. Ladybug
Ladybugs, also known as ladybird beetles or lady beetles, are part of the Coccinellidae family. The term coccinellids comes from the Latin word coccineus meaning “scarlet”. The origins of the name “ladybug” trace back to when European farmers would pray to Virgin Mary to prevent their crops from being destroyed by pests. Ladybugs then ate up the insects! They were called “Lady beetles” after Virgin Mary and have always been loved by farmers since. They are commonly red or yellow with black spots, but there are also black and white ladybugs as well as orange and blue. The color of a ladybug fades with age. Their colored bodies serve as their protection from predators because it makes them look terrible to eat.
Ladybugs can thrive in different habitats. They can live in suburban towns, forests, grasslands, and even in your house! There are more than 5,000 species of ladybugs. The most popular is the seven-spotted black-and-red ladybug found in North America. Some species have spots, stripes, or just be plain. Orange and blue ladybugs are more exotic. Ladybugs smell with their antennae and feet. The main predators of ladybugs are birds, frogs, wasps, dragonflies, and spiders.
Ladybugs eat aphids, white flies, scale insects, and spider mites. Farmers and gardeners love ladybugs because they eat pests – a lot of it! They can eat up to 50 aphids a day.Ladybugs also eat soft-bodied ladybugs in desperate times when there’s no other food. The ladybug life cycle is a quick one. It begins as an egg, then after four to ten days, it hatches into a larva. It becomes a pupae then an adult ladybug after seven to ten days. They can live up to two years.As a defense mechanism, ladybugs will secrete oily foul-tasting fluid from their leg joints. This can be poisonous to some animals, but not to humans. Sometimes they play dead too. Large populations of ladybugs hibernate during winter. They are more active when it’s spring or fall.
In 1888, an Australian ladybug was imported in California for a pest control experiment. The experiment helped triple California’s orange crop. The Asian ladybug (Harmonia axyridis), also known as harlequin ladybug, is the most common ladybug in North America. It is considered as a pest.In the 1940s, the largest ladybug wash up on shore happened in Libya. Over 4.5 billion ladybugs were spread over 21 km of shoreline. The reason for ladybug wash ups is unknown but there are speculations that they either travel by water or get swept up by a windstorm.
3. Honeybee
Honey bees are social insects known for their colonies run by castes and sexes. They are distinguished in producing and storing honey in hives for over 100 million years. There are seven species of honey bee divided into 44 subspecies. Since they are widely domesticated to produce honey, honey bees can be found around the world in various habitats. In terms of climate, they are very adaptive except in frigid temperatures all year round. Despite their adaptive skills in surviving domesticated and natural environments, honey bees thrive in orchards, gardens, woodlands and other places abundant with flowers.
Scientists believe that through time bees evolved from their wasp-like ancestors. Like their cousins, wasps and ants, honey bees have membranous wings. They are also covered with a hard outer shell called an exoskeleton. Honey bees have three main body parts: the head, thorax and abdomen. Attached to their head is a pair of antennae, which detect airborne currents and scents. They have three pairs of legs for walking: a pair closest to the head (forelegs), middle legs, which are located in between the forelegs and hind legs, and hind legs equipped with a set of tools for worker honey bees. For flying, honey bees have two pairs of wings, the fore wings and hind wings.
Located at the midsection of its body is the thorax where the legs and wings are attached.The stinger is found on the hind part of the bee. Moreover, honey bees have a hairy tongue called a glossa that nectar sticks to and they pull into their mouth. The proboscis is the straw-like mouth part used to drink fluids.They are able to detect scents through their mouths, antennae and the tips of their legs or tarsi. All these parts have sensilla, or very small hair-like organs, equipped with receptor nerve cells. Their antenna have a total of 170 odor receptors.
Honey bees are important pollinators in the environment and in farming. They transfer pollen between male and female parts of plants, allowing it to grow seeds and fruit. In order to avoid endangering honey bees, beekeepers encourage overproduction of honey within the hive so that there’s enough food for the hive to sustain itself while also providing honey for people. Honey has been used for centuries in medicine as it has natural antimicrobial properties. Pure honey doesn’t spoil.
(image.terminix.com)
Millipedes are worm-like docile decomposers with like many tiny legs, but not thousands as their name suggests. They’re often seen in moist microhabitats like rotting logs, under rocks and in leaf debris. There are over 12,000 species of millipede around the world. They are usually seen in moist deciduous forests, mountains and even desserts. Some species can survive floodplain areas and can be submerged in water for 11 months.
Millipedes are arthropods, meaning they are invertebrate animals with segmented bodies and an exoskeleton like insects, spiders and crabs. The term “millipede” comes from the Latin word mil, which means thousand and ped meaning feet. Despite their name, millipedes do not have thousands or millions of feet. They usually have 47 to 197 pairs of legs depending on the species, while the greatest number known is 750 feet. Aside from many legs, millipedes have a segmented body.Each body segment has two pairs of legs called diplosomites. The first segments have only one pair called somites, while the anal segment or the second-to-last pair has no legs. The top of a segment is called tergite (tergum) while the underside located between the pair of legs is called sternite (sternum).
Most species have 25 to 100 segments, wherein each pair of legs moves in a wave-like motion. Their body is divided into two: the head and trunk. They have poor vision and breathe through spiracles. Spiracles are holes located along the body. They have an elongated body that can be 1 to 12 inches long. Most species of millipede are black or brown in color, while some are brightly colored. The brightly colored species are usually toxic to predators. At birth, most millipedes have six body segments and three pair of legs. Each time they molt, body segments and legs increase in number. This process is called anamorphic development.
Millipedes are covered with a hard shell called an exoskeleton. Since they have poor vision, they have antennae, which help them sense their surrounding.Unlike other arthropods with relatively short lives, millipedes can live between 7 and 10 years.Millipedes are nocturnal and prefer to live in damp places. Compared to centipedes, millipedes walk slowly. They do not have stings or fangs to protect themselves from predators, but they can produce a foul odor and secrete a substance that may cause a burning sensation through their stink glands called ozopores. Their usual predators are assassin bugs, slugs, dung beetles, birds and frogs.In times of danger, millipedes curl their body into a tight spiral exposing the hardened plates while protecting the soft underside
5. Praying Mantis
The praying mantis (Mantis religiosa) is part of the Mantidae family. Mantises are classified into more than 2,400 species and in 15 different families. They are commonly found in tropical and subtropical areas. They also occupy regions with a temperate climate. Mantis comes from the Greek word for prophet. The praying mantis gets its name from its bent forearms that make it look like it’s in a prayer position.
A praying mantis is typically green or brown in color, although other colors like white and even purple exist. It is hard to spot a mantis among leaves and branches because it blends seamlessly with its surroundings. One can mistake this still stick figure for a twig. Its camouflage ability is advantageous for catching prey. The size of a praying mantis ranges from half an inch to half a foot long. Its average lifespan is one year.
A praying mantis has a triangular head, an elongated thorax, sharp mandibles and a snout. Fixed on a praying mantis’ head are a pair of antennae, two bulging compound eyes and three simple eyes. They are able to swivel their heads 180 degrees to scan their surroundings.Praying mantises have stereo vision, which allows them to see in three-dimension. The fovea in their eyes provides them with clear vision and sharp focus.There are species of praying mantis that have wings and there are those that are wingless. Those that have wings can be classified based on their wing shape and size: long-winged, short-winged, and vestigial-winged.
A praying mantis is an ambush predator that only eats live creatures. When hunting for food, it usually stalks its prey, stays stationary, waits patiently for the prey to be close enough and then ensnares it with its spiky front legs, which are also referred to as “raptorial legs”. It’s so quick in skewering its prey that the human eye can’t see it. It usually catches aphids, insects, flies, crickets, grasshoppers and small spiders. This makes them ideal for pest control. They don’t just eat insects; large species also attack hummingbirds, sunbirds, honeyeaters, warblers and small. Predators of praying mantises are frogs, lizards, spiders, hornets, ants, birds and bats.
(adapted from https://kidskonnect.com/)
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