Almost all spiders possess venom, which may inject into their prey through sharp, hollow fangs. Few spiders are able to pierce human skin, but about 30 species out of a total of about 40,000 can cause severe illness or even death if they bite people. However, spiders are not usually aggressive and have rarely been drawn to bite unless it is provoked. The very notorious spider is undoubtedly America’s Black widow. Although its fangs are very short, it manages to get them through the skin to inject venom which is volume for volume, about 15 times more poisonous than rattle snake venom. The spider obviously injects a much smaller amount than a rattle snake but it causes severe pain and nausea, and has resulted in many deaths over the centuries. The closely related red widow in habits the sand pine scrub of southeast Florida. Similar spiders are found in southern Europe as well as in most other warm areas of the world.
The brown recluse spider from the southern USA injects venom that destroys blood and other tissues. It has caused some deaths. The Sydney funnel web is Australia’s deadliest spider, and is particularly dangerous because it often makes its home in gardens. The most deadly South American spider is the wandering spider an aggressive hunter that has been known to kill children. It occasionally turns up elsewhere, having travelled in crates of bananas. Its fangs are over 400 long but the longest fangs –up to 12mm long- belong to the bird eating spiders or tarantulas. Luckily, these big spiders do not have particularly strong venoms. Antivenins are now available to treat victims of most of the dangerous spiders. Provided they are given quickly they should result in almost immediate recovery.
Friday, February 24, 2012
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Insect produce
Insects provide us with a surprising number of commercially important materials. Cochineal, which is widely employed as a red food dye, and shellac, used in varnishes and polishes, are both obtained from scale insects. The honey bee supplies us not only with honey but also with bee wax for polishes. Silk, most of which is produced by the silk moth bombyx mori in a process that was for centuries a closely guarded Chinese secret, is one of the finest natural fibers in existence, and has long been valued for fine clothes because of its shiny appearance and light weight.
Natural pesticides
The role of ladybirds in controlling aphids is well known, but there are many other pest killing insects. Gardeners can now control whiteflies and other greenhouse pests by buying a supply of minute parasitic insects that attack and kill the pests. The big advantage of these biological control agents is that they leave no harmful residues on the crops. Insects can also be used to control weeds. For example, the larvae of a South American moth called cactoblastis successfully rid Australia of the introduced prickly pear cactus.
Insects as human food
Locusts have always been eaten in Africa and other warm areas. Fried in butter after removal of their wings and legs, they are said to be very tasty and nutritious. Honey pot ants, which are full of stored honey, are eaten by many desert dwellers. Witchetty grubs, eagerly sought by Australian aborigines, are wood boring caterpillars. Many beetle grubs, including the mealworms often used to feed birds and other pets, are also widely enjoyed by indigenous peoples, among whom they are considered highly desirable food, especially when fried.
Natural pesticides
The role of ladybirds in controlling aphids is well known, but there are many other pest killing insects. Gardeners can now control whiteflies and other greenhouse pests by buying a supply of minute parasitic insects that attack and kill the pests. The big advantage of these biological control agents is that they leave no harmful residues on the crops. Insects can also be used to control weeds. For example, the larvae of a South American moth called cactoblastis successfully rid Australia of the introduced prickly pear cactus.
Insects as human food
Locusts have always been eaten in Africa and other warm areas. Fried in butter after removal of their wings and legs, they are said to be very tasty and nutritious. Honey pot ants, which are full of stored honey, are eaten by many desert dwellers. Witchetty grubs, eagerly sought by Australian aborigines, are wood boring caterpillars. Many beetle grubs, including the mealworms often used to feed birds and other pets, are also widely enjoyed by indigenous peoples, among whom they are considered highly desirable food, especially when fried.
Labels:
earth science,
life on earth
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Travel in any of the explored or unexplored places
Travel in any of the explored or unexplored places:
The tedious work of the people does not give permission to them to think further than the routine, and go natural with their own weird way they imagine. This actually put all of us in quandary to decide what to do with the plan that can be implemented. The people always think of getting out of this monotonous life in a better way. People, who are still confused, thinking of numerous ways of breaking shackles of the daily frowning lives, can go to a natural place to travel the beauty made by the nature itself. For this purpose, one can go with his family, by means of some holiday package or some other convenient way.
Due to the hectic schedules, one can go for a trip after a long time. We all has already experience the pleasure of going for a trip with friends or family. Therefore, if you are thinking to go out, then this would be the best time, which ultimately brings out the most excellent part of us. The most important thing in a trip is that it sets a person free from any of his worldly tensions, and travel allows him to enjoy the life in a complete way.
Therefore, before the time gets over of the boring life, pamper yourself for a wonderful travel to any of the holiday spots or natural spots. You will be realized a number of benefits of any small meaningful holidays. You be get relaxed without any of the tensions of the outer world. Even some researchers say that the most excellent of a man comes out after an eventual and happy break from the daily hectic work.
You can take help of any of the holiday planners that can help you out in deciding a wonderful place for your trip. You can also take the advantage of numerous websites, which can help you to decide the best place, which can make your travel successful. Through the use of these websites, you can plan your destination by yourself, as they can give you a very clean idea of the places that you can visit. There are numerous unexplored destinations also, that can convince you to go there. If you have something wild in your mind, then you can also make your mind in going to an unexplored place, which would be both natural as well as pleasing. As the overall target is to go for a trip that can give you a break, ultimately providing you the energy for your further works in the life.
Summary: For having a break from your fast and busy life, you can travel in a new place with your family or friends. Going for a trip can relax you from your busy life.
The tedious work of the people does not give permission to them to think further than the routine, and go natural with their own weird way they imagine. This actually put all of us in quandary to decide what to do with the plan that can be implemented. The people always think of getting out of this monotonous life in a better way. People, who are still confused, thinking of numerous ways of breaking shackles of the daily frowning lives, can go to a natural place to travel the beauty made by the nature itself. For this purpose, one can go with his family, by means of some holiday package or some other convenient way.
Due to the hectic schedules, one can go for a trip after a long time. We all has already experience the pleasure of going for a trip with friends or family. Therefore, if you are thinking to go out, then this would be the best time, which ultimately brings out the most excellent part of us. The most important thing in a trip is that it sets a person free from any of his worldly tensions, and travel allows him to enjoy the life in a complete way.
Therefore, before the time gets over of the boring life, pamper yourself for a wonderful travel to any of the holiday spots or natural spots. You will be realized a number of benefits of any small meaningful holidays. You be get relaxed without any of the tensions of the outer world. Even some researchers say that the most excellent of a man comes out after an eventual and happy break from the daily hectic work.
You can take help of any of the holiday planners that can help you out in deciding a wonderful place for your trip. You can also take the advantage of numerous websites, which can help you to decide the best place, which can make your travel successful. Through the use of these websites, you can plan your destination by yourself, as they can give you a very clean idea of the places that you can visit. There are numerous unexplored destinations also, that can convince you to go there. If you have something wild in your mind, then you can also make your mind in going to an unexplored place, which would be both natural as well as pleasing. As the overall target is to go for a trip that can give you a break, ultimately providing you the energy for your further works in the life.
Summary: For having a break from your fast and busy life, you can travel in a new place with your family or friends. Going for a trip can relax you from your busy life.
Labels:
travel,
travel destination
Friday, January 13, 2012
Invertebrates

The invertebrates are animals with no back bone. Some have no skeleton at all, but many have external skeletons or shells that give them a rigid shape and provide anchorage for their muscles. There are about thirty major groups or phyla of invertebrates, although the great majority of species belong to just two phyla- the Mollusca and the Arthropod. The later includes the insects, spiders, crustaceans and several other groups, all of which have segmented bodies and jointed legs. The majority of invertebrates are quite small, but examples of the largest the giant squid are known to have been as much as 15m long and possibly well cover a tone in weight, which is considerably more than most vertebrates.
Molluscs Molluscs are soft bodied animals with no sign of segmentation. Most have chalky shells. There are over 60 000 species, three quarters of which are slugs and snails. Bivalves, such as cockles and mussels, and the squids and their relatives make up most of the rest.
Crustaceans
The crustaceans include animals as diverse as lobsters, barnacles and water fleas. All have hard outer skeletons impregnated with lime, and several pairs of legs. Most of the 30000 or so species are marine, but many live in freshwater and woodlice live on land.
Insects
The insects are the only type of invertebrates to have wings, although they are not all winged. Adults have three main body sections and three pairs of legs. Well over one million species are known, living in almost every habitat, although there are only a very few that live in the sea.
Spiders
Spiders belong to the arthropods family. They have two main body section and four pair of legs. All are carnivorous and kill their prey usually insects with venom. Many species snare their prey with extremely intricate silken webs.
Labels:
earth science,
Invertebrates,
life on earth
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Finding Food
Food is the central to an animal survival. Most each plants, for among living things the bulk generation vastly exceeds the biomass of the animals. Among these plant feeders, most of the specialists and, for example, over 100 different species of insect may depend on one tree. They vary, however, in their needs for leaves, pollen, bark, wood or roots and their different times of feeding. Larger animals are usually less selective, but there are exceptions- such as the three-toed sloth, which feeds only on the tender shoots and leave of Cecropia.
One feeding stratagem that has proved highly successful for large plant eating mammals is chewing the cud. Cud chewers take in food quickly and pass it directly to a holding comportment of the stomach. Later it returns to the mouth for complete mastication. When it is swallowed for a second time it enters another part of the stomach where digestion begins. Normally plant feeders are exposed to predators while gathering food, but a cud chewer can find itself a safe, sheltered place for the lengthy process of mastication. The success of this stratagem can be seen in a comparison of medium sized plant feeders; six species of horse like animals and two tapirs do not chew the cud, where as 40 species of deer and over 110 species of cattle, sheep and antelope are all cud chewers.
One feeding stratagem that has proved highly successful for large plant eating mammals is chewing the cud. Cud chewers take in food quickly and pass it directly to a holding comportment of the stomach. Later it returns to the mouth for complete mastication. When it is swallowed for a second time it enters another part of the stomach where digestion begins. Normally plant feeders are exposed to predators while gathering food, but a cud chewer can find itself a safe, sheltered place for the lengthy process of mastication. The success of this stratagem can be seen in a comparison of medium sized plant feeders; six species of horse like animals and two tapirs do not chew the cud, where as 40 species of deer and over 110 species of cattle, sheep and antelope are all cud chewers.
Labels:
earth science,
Finding Food,
life on earth
Monday, January 9, 2012
Hibernation
Animals have many ways of surviving harsh weather when, because of heat and drought or low temperatures, the water and food supplies fall. Some simply move to where food is still abundant. The lives of some African herbivores are a continuous migration following food supplies. Many others animals go into a state of torpor, which is referred to as hibernation in cold conditions or aestivation in hot, dry climates.
Cold blooded animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles, hibernate without any great physical changes. They find a place where the temperature will not fall below freezing. As their surroundings cool, their bodily activities drop to a level where they are using little energy to stay alive.
No large mammals hibernate truly, but many small species, including some insectivores, bats and rodents, do. They must make enormous physiological changes in order to survive, perhaps for months, without water or food. To conserve energy, their body temperature drops by many degrees, their heart beat and blood circulation is reduced to a very low level and their breathing almost stops. Hummingbirds are able to drop into a torpid state when not in flight; nestling swifts may do so if food is not available, but the only bird known to hibernate fully is a poor will, and even it has periods of torpidity lasting days rather than months.
Cold blooded animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles, hibernate without any great physical changes. They find a place where the temperature will not fall below freezing. As their surroundings cool, their bodily activities drop to a level where they are using little energy to stay alive.
No large mammals hibernate truly, but many small species, including some insectivores, bats and rodents, do. They must make enormous physiological changes in order to survive, perhaps for months, without water or food. To conserve energy, their body temperature drops by many degrees, their heart beat and blood circulation is reduced to a very low level and their breathing almost stops. Hummingbirds are able to drop into a torpid state when not in flight; nestling swifts may do so if food is not available, but the only bird known to hibernate fully is a poor will, and even it has periods of torpidity lasting days rather than months.
Labels:
earth science,
hibernation,
life on earth
Migration
Every one of us knows the reason for migration. Birds are, to most people, the most obvious migrants. Their travels usually take them north in spring and south again in autumn. The northern land masses have a far greater are than the southern ones, so adequate breeding territories may be set up or, for sea birds, nest sites found near to food rich waters, also, the long hours of day light of the northern summer give more time for feeding hungry young than would be possible in short, tropical days.
Migration routes were probably established at the end of the Pleistocene period, and each species follows its own pattern of movements, led mysteriously but certainly, land marks, the stars and planets, and even by the Earth’s magnetic field. Some young birds learn their migration route from their parents. Others, such as young cuckoos, have no such guidance. Flying alone, they have only their innate knowledge of direction and distance to take them to their winter home, a strategy that gives them a chance to survive to be among the next year’s breeding population.
Labels:
earth science,
life on earth,
Migration
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