My Science School

Ladybugs, or lady beetles, are considered a beneficial bug which helps rid an area of crop-damaging aphids, mealybugs and other destructive insect pests. The adult ladybugs feed on these insects.  They also lay their eggs among the aphids or other prey so the emerging larvae can feed on the insects, too.

Ladybugs are predatory beetles that eat a large number of aphids (plant lice) and other harmful bugs. Even in the larval stage, ladybugs will normally consume hundreds of aphids and will grow into adults that may eat up to 5,000 aphids in a lifetime. This greatly reduces the population of harmful insects that will otherwise destroy your plants.

IPM techniques aim to eliminate or limit pest damage through preventative ecosystem management. The gardener considers environmental factors that lead to pest infestation and seeks a combination of controls for effective long-term success. Biological controls, including a healthy population of ladybugs, are essential for naturally controlling aphids, spider mites, whiteflies and scale insects, including rose scale. Provide a healthy environment for both roses and ladybugs. According to a 2011 University of California report, more than 3,000 ladybugs, released over time, were required for the successful treatment of just one aphid-infested rosebush. The natural population of predator ladybugs in such a garden contributes to its health.

Credit : Garden Guides

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They benefit your property by breaking down organic material, transporting nutrients from the surface to the subsoil, improving water infiltration and reducing runoff.

Dung beetles also reduce flies and odours by physically removing dung from the soil surface. This also helps to control dung-borne parasites.

Flowing on from the benefits of dung beetles to your soil are broader catchment-wide improvements in water quality.

Dung beetles are commonly thought of as insects that roll balls of manure. However, many species actually take the dung underground into tunnels to feed their young. When the dung beetle does this, it reduces the amount of exposed manure that can attract parasites or be washed into waterways. It also leaves cattle more room to graze.

In the U.S., the use of the dung beetle to clear pastures is gaining popularity, especially in Midwestern states whose economies rely heavily on agriculture. Currently, the biggest challenge is finding beetles who can survive cold winters, and scoop poop year-round.

But taking advantage of the dung beetle’s food source isn’t a new idea. Farmers in Australia have been using the beetles since the 1960s. You see, cattle weren’t native to Australia, so the country’s insects couldn’t break down the manure when cows and sheep were introduced. To control the problem, they imported dung beetles. That’s right. They imported bugs. Way to put your name on the map, dung beetle.

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Crickets are one of the most common insects people consume. Products containing cricket protein have grown in popularity due to consumer demand for more sustainable protein options.

Insects like crickets are rich in nutrients, especially protein, and may be more sustainable than other protein sources, such as beef.

However, some people aren’t comfortable eating crickets because they’re concerned about food safety.

Insects are a cheap, sustainable, and easy-to-produce source of nutrients and are especially rich in protein.

People most commonly eat crickets in under-resourced countries, where many people experience food insecurity and other animal sources of protein, like cattle, poultry, and fish, are scarce.

Research shows that people in Western countries aren’t entirely comfortable eating insects because they tend to view insects as unclean or potentially dangerous.

However, more people have begun to accept cricket consumption in Europe, the United States, and Canada as food companies have created user-friendly cricket-based products like protein powders and protein bars.

Credit : Healthline

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Ants act as decomposers by feeding on organic waste, insects or other dead animals. They help keep the environment clean. Carpenter ants, which make their nests in dead or diseased wood, considerably accelerate the decomposition process of timber. After the ants leave, fungi and bacteria grow in the galleries and break down the lignin and cellulose on large surfaces.

In terms of their effects on our gardens, plants, trees, and crops, ants can actually have quite a few positive effects. For one, as this study published in PubMed shows, ants can have multiple beneficial effects on soil fertility, as they dig through the soil, make it more water-absorbent, relocate refuse, and so on. Ants such as the black garden ant are also predatory animals that feed on other insects, many of which are actual plant pests. Even tree ants, plant-ants, and most other ants eating plants tend to consume the mildew that forms on plants and not the plants themselves.

At the same time, however, there is a definite symbiotic connection between aphids and ants in which the aphids help feed the ants and the ants protect the aphids from their predators by being the predators’ predators. And since aphids are pests that are highly damaging to our crops, their symbiotic relationship with ants is not something a gardener or a farmer should tolerate.

Credit : Insect Cop

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We are taught from a young age that bees carry pollen from plant to plant and flower to flower in a process called pollination. In fact, bees are responsible for pollinating nearly 85% of all food crops for humans, as well as numerous crops that grow the food fed to cattle. Without the honeybee, our options for nourishment would be seriously lacking, and there has been research conducted that predicts environmental collapse should the honeybee no longer exist.

Simply put, without bees, many plants would have no way to reproduce and die out. Bees play an important role in the life cycle of most plants and flowers. Interestingly, there are dozens of species of solitary bees that have evolved to pollinate a single type of plant, and coexisting in unison with the lifespan of that plant. Without that specific species' devotion to that plant, the plant would cease to reproduce and become extinct.

Unfortunately, a large percentage of bee species have died off each year due to a variety of factors, including disease, parasites, pesticides, and the destruction of their main food sources. As more species die, we will lose crops and, eventually, certain plants will become extinct without bees to do their part. The fate of bees can also indicate when environmental dangers exist. Mass bee deaths have been past indications of the use of toxic chemicals, or severe climate changes, giving scientists further proof of how fragile our environment really is.

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Spectacled bear is the only species of bear that lives in South America. It inhabits the dense Andean jungles. Its body is covered in brown, black or reddish fur. Patches of creamy fur can be seen on the chest, throat and around the eyes. The whitish markings around the eyes look like spectacles and that’s how it got its name. However, some individuals lack the patches.

It spends most of its time on the trees, descending only to search for food. It is a solitary animal. Mature spectacled bears are normally seen together only during mating season.

It feeds mainly on shoots and fruit, but occasionally supplements its diet with meat. It does not hibernate.

Their habitat is being destroyed by a number of things such as farming, lumber and mining operations. They also sometimes are hunted by farmers because as their habitat shrinks they may stray onto farmland and eat the crops that have replaced their natural diet. Also some farmers think that the bears will eat their livestock although they do not eat large quantities of meat. They are hunted for their gall bladders which can fetch a high price in the international market as they are valued in traditional Chinese medicine.

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Peafowl is belonging to the pheasant family. It is native to Asia. It is among the largest flying birds. Male peafowl is called peacock, while female is called peahen.

Peahens are mostly brown on their back with a white belly, while peacocks have long, colorful tail feathers. Both have a crest on their head and green neck feathers.

Males use their large train in courtship displays. They spread it out into an arch-shaped fan, flaunting the colourful “eye” markings of blue, gold, red, and other hues. It is an omnivore feeding on insects, amphibians, flowers, and seeds. Its main predators are tigers, leopards, and mongoose. When it senses danger, it flies and hides in the trees.

When the breeding time comes around each year, the peacock will try to impress the peahen as much as possible. Apart from displaying his feathers and train, he will also guard his territory and make a loud noise to ward off other males. In areas of Asia where the peacock is hunted, they are not often seen and remain wary and shy of their surroundings. However, the Indian peacock is protected in many parts of Asia for personal or religious reasons.

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There is a pink bottlenose dolphin known as "Pinky" in Louisiana. She is believed to be an albino dolphin which is missing melanin, the pigment that gives colour to skin and eyes. She was first spotted as a calf in 2007 in Lake Calcasieu.

Pinky was first spotted in June 2007 by a boat captain, Erik Rue. In 2015, Rue was able to capture photo evidence of Pinky mating, proving that she is female. The dolphin has become a tourist attraction, and conservationists have asked visitors to leave the dolphin alone. Pinky's behavior is similar to the rest of the dolphins in her pod, although she tends to spend more time underwater.

Although it is quite rare to see an albino animal in the wild, Pinky has a few signs that appear confirm her albinism. Blood vessels and eyes with a red-ish hue can be seen through Pinky's skin, a key indicator that the cells that normally make pigment melanin, are hardly active in this dolphins body. Although albinism can be hereditary, it is unknown if Pinky's parents were of a pinkish/white hue or if they simply carried the specific mutation of a gene that they passed down to Pinky.

In 2017, a video was taken showing two albino dolphins swimming in the lake, presumed to be Pinky and her calf.

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The Komodo dragon is the world's largest living lizard. Growing up to 3 metre long and weighing over 70 kg, the species is found on Komodo Island, one of the many islands that comprise Indonesia.

Komodo dragons are limited to a few Indonesian islands of the Lesser Sunda group, including Rintja, Padar and Flores, and of course the island of Komodo, the largest at 22 miles (35 kilometers) long. They have not been seen on the island of Padar since the 1970s.

They live in tropical savanna forests but range widely over the islands, from beach to ridge top.

Komodo dragons eat almost any kind of meat, scavenging for carcasses or stalking animals that range in size from small rodents to large water buffalo. Young feed primarily on small lizards and insects, as well as snakes and birds. If they live to be 5 years old, they move onto larger prey, such as rodents, monkeys, goats, wild boars and deer (the most popular meal). These reptiles are tertiary predators at the top of their food chain and are also cannibalistic.

Although the Komodo dragon can briefly reach speeds of 10 to 13 mph (16 to 20 kph), its hunting strategy is based on stealth and power. It can spend hours in one spot along a game trail — waiting for a deer or other sizable and nutritious prey to cross its path — before launching an attack.

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If you've ever seen a real skeleton or fossil in a museum, you might think that all bones are dead. Although bones in museums are dry, hard, or crumbly, the bones in your body are different. The bones that make up your skeleton are all very much alive, growing and changing all the time like other parts of your body.

A baby's body has about 300 bones at birth. These eventually fuse (grow together) to form the 206 bones that adults have. Some of a baby's bones are made entirely of a special material called cartilage (say: KAR-tel-ij). Other bones in a baby are partly made of cartilage. This cartilage is soft and flexible. During childhood, as you are growing, the cartilage grows and is slowly replaced by bone, with help from calcium.

By the time you are about 25, this process will be complete. After this happens, there can be no more growth — the bones are as big as they will ever be. All of these bones make up a skeleton that is both very strong and very light.

Credit : Kids Health

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There are 206 bones in an adult human's body. We have 26 bones in each foot. So our feet consist of 52 bones, which amount to more than 25%. Not surprisingly, our feet support our entire body's weight and allow us to jump, run, and climb. Those bones and joints also enable our feet to absorb and release energy efficiently.

The skeletal structure of the foot is similar to that of the hand but, because the foot bears more weight, it is stronger but less movable.

The bones of the foot are organized into the tarsal bones, metatarsal bones, and phalanges.

The foot begins at the lower end of the tibia and fibula, the two bones of the lower leg. At the base of those, a grouping of bones form the tarsals, which make up the ankle and upper portion of the foot.

There are five metatarsal bones in each foot. Similar to the bones of the hand, these nearly parallel bones create the body of the foot. Numbered one through five, the bone that sits behind the big toe is number one, and the one behind the little toe is number five.

Credit : Health line

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The house fly, Musca domestica Linnaeus, is a well-known cosmopolitan pest of both farm and home. This species is always found in association with humans or the activities of humans. It is the most common species found on hog and poultry farms, horse stables and ranches. Not only are house flies a nuisance, but they can also transport disease-causing organisms.

This common fly originated on the steppes of central Asia, but now occurs on all inhabited continents, in all climates from tropical to temperate, and in a variety of environments ranging from rural to urban. It is commonly associated with animal feces, but has adapted well to feeding on garbage, so it is abundant almost anywhere people live.

Flies commonly develop in large numbers in poultry manure under caged hens, and this is a serious problem requiring control. Although this fly species does not bite, the control of Musca domestica is vital to human health and comfort in many areas of the world. The most important damage related with this insect is the annoyance and the indirect damage produced by the potential transmission of pathogens (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and nematodes) associated with this fly. Pathogenic organisms are picked up by flies from garbage, sewage and other sources of filth, and then transferred on their mouthparts, through their vomitus, feces and contaminated external body parts to human and animal food.

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Yes, the common housefly can taste food with its feet though it uses its mouth to eat. This is because its taste receptors that facilitate the sense of taste are located in its lower legs and feet. So when it lands on anything edible, it reflexively extends its proboscis or mouthpart to consume it. It is said that their feet are 10 million times more sensitive than our tongues.

The need for so many taste organs in insects is not understood very well. However, a clue for understanding their function comes from examining the anatomy of the taste-sensing neurons. These neurons send projections to different parts of the central nervous system of the fly. This suggests that taste information received from different parts of the body is processed differently in the brain. Therefore, different taste organs may have different functions.

To test this idea, Thoma et al. used the fruit fly Drosophila as a model for insects. With Drosophila, it is possible to target small numbers of neurons and to block them or activate them with genetic tools. The scientists blocked different groups of sweet-sensing neurons and measured sugar choice, the first step in feeding behavior. Normally, hungry flies choose sugar very quickly, but the flies which had all sweet-sensing neurons in their legs blocked could not choose sugar.

The scientists then examined the sweet taste neurons in the legs and found two populations of neurons. One group of neurons connected directly to the brain of the fly. The remaining neurons connected to the ventral nerve cord, a structure analogous to the spinal cord in humans.

Credit : ScienceDaily

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When one hears the word "migration", what one thinks of is perhaps the large-scale wildebeest migration in Africa, or even the seasonal migration of birds between countries and continents. Did you know several other creatures - including marine - also migrate? Let's take a look at one such annual event that happens underwater.

Occurring from May through July/August, South Africa's east coast hosts a spectacular annual migration of sardines. What makes this spectacular? Consider this in the blue waters of the Indian Ocean, millions of sardines move in silvery masses that can totally be a few km wide, many km long, and several mt deep. To add to the drama, tens of thousands of birds, including cormorants, terns, and gulls swoop down on the shoals, while dolphins, sharks, whales, seals, and even some species of fish gobble up these sardines. "Bottlenose and common dolphins work together in a sheepdog fashion, forcing thousands of fish at a time into 'bait balls, forcing them closer to the surface where they can pounce on" the fish.

The sardine run attracts even humans, making it a phenomenon of great economic significance too-while fisherfolk catch and sell fish, many tourists use this occasion to watch sharks, dolphins, whales, etc. Though this migration is large, in terms of sheer number, it is not as well-known or well-documented as the wildebeest migration occurring on the same continent. It is also not clear what causes the migration, though there are several theories. One is that it is a seasonal reproductive migration, and another states that as cold-water fish, they migrate to avoid the seasonal warm currents and reach places with cooler currents. Irrespective of their reasons for migration, what is of concern is that the run may no longer be a phenological event. A phenological event is a biological event that occurs at the same time every year. A study found that over the last 66 years, "sardines arrived off the coast of Durban increasingly late- at a rate of 1.3 days later per decade. Over the six decades this has meant the date has changed from arrivals as early as mid-June at the beginning of the record to dates as late as mid-July in the last decade".

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Parasaurolophus is a hadrosaurid (sometimes referred to as the hadrosaurs or duck-billed dinosaurs) from approximately 76.5–73 million years ago (late Cretaceous). It is a herd animal feeding on the park’s rich vegetation. The most stunning feature of the Parasaurolophus is the crest on its head

Parasaurolophus was a hadrosaurid, part of a diverse family of Cretaceous dinosaurs known for their range of bizarre head adornments. This genus is known for its large, elaborate cranial crest, which at its largest forms a long curved tube projecting upwards and back from the skull. Charonosaurus from China, which may have been its closest relative, had a similar skull and potentially a similar crest. Visual recognition of both species and sex, acoustic resonance, and thermoregulation have been proposed as functional explanations for the crest. It is one of the rarer hadrosaurids, known from only a handful of good specimens.

The most noticeable feature was the cranial crest, which protruded from the rear of the head and was made up of the premaxilla and nasal bones. The crest was hollow, with distinct tubes leading from each nostril to the end of the crest before reversing direction and heading back down the crest and into the skull. The tubes were simplest in P. walkeri, and more complex in P. tubicen, where some tubes were blind and others met and separated. While P. walkeri and P. tubicen had long crests with only slight curvature, P. cyrtocristatus had a short crest with a more circular profile.

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