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 harm to human beings and [...]

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 home is threatened. The Stink [...]

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 difference being size.  The Small [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the QUEEN ALEXANDRA BIRDWING BUTTERFLY: The Queen Alexandra Birdwing Butterfly, with its 10 – 12 inch wingspan, is a rare butterfly that looks as beautiful and as regal as its name.  It is known to be the largest butterfly in existence. (That’s a 10 – 12 [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the PRAYING MANTIS: The Praying Mantis is comprised of 3 distinct body regions – the moveable triangular head, thorax and abdomen.  What looks like the neck is really the elongated thorax. But the characteristic that makes the Praying Mantis so interesting is its bent and prominent [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the OREGON SWALLOWTAIL BUTTERFLY: In 1979, the Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly (Papilio oregonius) was designated the official Oregon State Insect. That same year, this lovely butterfly was printed on a 13 cent U.S. Postage Stamp… The Oregon Swallowtail Butterfly is a native of the Northwest.  It has [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the NEMATODE: Derived from the Greek word meaning thread, the Nematode is slender, cylindrical, thread-like worm. The Nematode (including roundworms, hookworms and eelworms) is a microscopic, parasitic, invertebrate roundworm that inhabits marine, freshwater and terrestrial environments.  It is considered the most numerous multi-celled animal on earth, [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the MILLIPEDE: You would think from its name that the Millipede has a thousand legs… (from the Latin mille + ped = thousand foot). The Millipede may look like it has 1,000 legs, but the average Millipede has between 80 and 400 legs.  I’d say that’s [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the LADY BUG: The Lady Bug is often called The Gardener’s Best Friend because of its great appetite to eat garden pests such as aphids, mites, mealybugs and white flies.  Gardeners often purchase containers of Lady Bugs to set free in their gardens… as opposed to [...]

Let’s have a little fun, a little learning and a little YIKES! today with the KATYDID: The Katydid is an insect related to grasshoppers and crickets… but is distinguished by its very unique mating call. If you head out at nightfall on a hot summer’s night and stand very, very still, you might hear the male Katydid calling, “Katy did. [...]