JUNE BUGS: The Lovebug on Day 181 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the LOVEBUG: The Lovebug lives up to its name in the black fly world… but not in the human world. Let’s begin in the black fly world. The Lovebug, Plecia nearctica, is a small black fly with a red thorax (the [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Ant Lion on Day 180 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ANT LION: The Ant Lion has two interesting nicknames… the Doodlebug and the Sand Dragon.  Each of these nicknames tells us a little something about the habits of the Ant Lion. First, the Ant Lion’s movements make little doodle-like figures [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly on Day 177 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the ZEBRA SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY: It doesn’t take much guessing to know that the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly resembles a zebra. Distinctively black-and-white striped, the Zebra Swallowtail Butterfly is considered a rather common butterfly and is found in Southern Ontario, Canada, Minnesota, Wisconsin, [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Yellow Meadow Ant on Day 176 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the YELLOW MEADOW ANT: Common to Central Europe, the Yellow Meadow Ant is also found in North America, North Africa and Asia. As you may have guessed, the Yellow Meadow Ant is yellow, but its color shades vary into brown, too.  [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Xerces Blue Butterfly on Day 175 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the XERCES BLUE BUTTERFLY (pronounced Zer-seas): Sadly, the beautiful Xerces Blue Butterfly is eXtinct.  X-ed off the planet. (This is a YIKES that’s unimaginable.) Perhaps more sadly,  the Xerces Blue Butterfly is the first butterfly in North America to have become [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Water Measurer on Day 174 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the WATER MEASURER: Not many creatures on earth are able to literally walk on water… but the Water Measurer is one that can. The Water Measurer gets its name from its appearance of slowly, methodically and deliberately measuring water without breaking [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Red Velvet Mite on Day 173 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the RED VELVET MITE: What looks like a tiny, red velvet thumbprint? The Red Velvet Mite, of course. The Red Velvet Mite is considered an arachnid and is a member of the subphylum Chelicerata, which derives from the Greek word meaning [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Tsetse Fly on Day 171 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the TSETSE FLY: The Tsetse Fly is large biting fly that inhabits Africa.  It resembles a common housefly, but is larger. Both male and female Tsetse Flies suck on the blood of mammals… and its this bloodsucking that causes so much [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Stink Bug on Day 170 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the STINK BUG: Let’s just begin this whole discussion of the Stink Bug with a YIKES! The Stink Bug stinks. Seriously. The Stink Bug gets its name for its ability to release a very unpleasant odor when it’s hurt or its [...]

JUNE BUGS: The Red Damselfly on Day 169 of 365 Days of Literacy for Kids!

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the RED DAMSELFLY: Actually, there are two species of the Red Damselfly… the Small Red and the Large Red and both are found in Wales, southern Britain and Ireland. There are distinct differences that make the two identifiable, the most obvious [...]

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