Jacanas or lotus birds are distributed widely across the southern hemisphere. They are classified as part of the Charadriiformes, with plovers and lapwings, by some taxonomists, while others consider them to be different enough to deserve their own order. There…
Read more
Lizard’s Tail is a type of marsh plant that is also commonly known as Water Dragon. It grows in marshes of course and also at the edges of ponds and streams. It grows throughout much of the eastern United States….
Read more
Fleas don’t have a very good image to the general public. They are associated with dogs, rats, unclean conditions and disease. But one has to admit that they are amazing little survivors. They have adapted themselves to an ectoparasitic lifestyle…
Read more
Nothing annoys an entomologist as much as hearing insects called bugs. Only one order of insects deserves this name: the Hemiptera. Hemiptera means half-winged and in true bugs, the front halves of the forward pair of wings are usually sclerotised or hardened. …
Read more
A mushroom is scientifically defined as one of a family of land-borne fungi that grow in moist conditions and are sometimes edible. Mushrooms are normally associated with the standard cultivated mushroom shape of a stem and a cap, but many…
Read more
Springtails are small, soil-dwelling animals that look and act like insects but which some scientists separate from the true insects. Springtails have six legs and are therefore classed in the superclass Hexapoda. They used to be an order of the…
Read more
Parasitic lice are divided into two major groups according to their method of feeding. Here, we are dealing with the chewing lice. Some authorities consider them a full order, the Mallophaga, while others call the Mallophaga a suborder of the…
Read more
The world is populated with roughly 3,000 species of mosquitoes. Both sexes are actually nectar feeders but in many species, the female members are capable of hematophagy (sucking the blood from other animals.) Why blood? Female mosquitoes do not require…
Read more
The animal most people first think of when the topic of hibernation comes up is the bear, but there is no species of bear that technically hibernates. Hibernation, also called winter dormancy, is defined as a period of deep torpor;…
Read more
Generally speaking,mosquitoes are not the best insects to have around.Though beneficial for their pollination activities, the female anopheles mosquitoes have been a complete nuissance to mankind for over 2000 years! Eventhough insects have been known to be around for several…
Read more