Animal

An asp is simply a kind of snake. It belongs to a family of snakes called “vipers”, which includes some of the deadliest poisonous snakes in the world. Some other snakes in this unpleasant group are the rattlesnake, the water moccasin, the copperhead, the South American bushmaster, the poisonous adder of Europe, the chain viper … Read more

Another name for the insects known as “aphids” is “plant lice”. They are green or brownish in color,  and the largest ones are not more than six millimeters long. Aphids reproduce so rapidly that if they were not destroyed by their natural enemies, they would eat up nearly all the vegetation in the world! Aphids … Read more

The battle between man and the insect world is constantly going on all about us. Some insects are merely pests. Some spread disease. And some spend a lifetime destroying the things man tries to grow or create. If there is any family of insects that man could certainly do without,  it is the weevil. While … Read more

The very mention of the name “scorpion” makes us think of danger and poison. And the fact is that a scorpion can be a rather unpleasant creature to meet. In the United  States, scorpions have actually caused deaths in only one place Arizona. The Arizona scorpion is related to the Durango scorpion that lives in Mexico. The Durango scorpion’s … Read more

One of the most interesting insects in the world is the praying mantis. Sometimes people call it “the Sooth-sayer”, “Rearhorse”, or “Mule- Killer”. The name Mule-Killer comes from the belief that the saliva of this insect can poison mules. The mantis is a  long,  slender insect that seems to be praying when it is standing … Read more

A manatee looks like a small whale and it is a mammal, not a fish. The American manatee lives in the rivers of Florida, Mexico, Central America, and the West Indies. It measures 2.5 to 4 meters in length. The body is somewhat like a fish, but the tail is quite different. It is broad, … Read more

Cats and dogs, elephants and bats, whales and horses, and monkeys and men belong to a zoological classification called “mammals”. Mammals are distinguished all other types of life by the fact that  theif  young are fed with milk from the mammary  glands of the females. In most mammals the young are born fully formed, instead of hatching out … Read more

Dolphins are such interesting creatures that people find it hard to believe that a dolphin is simply a whale! There is an order of aquatic mammals that scientists call “Cetacea”. To this order belong whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Dolphins are small whales that belong to the toothed-whale group. Porpoises are a kind of dolphin without beaks … Read more