Common name : Water boatman Scientific name : Sigara arguata Family : Corixidae Native to : New Zealand Interesting fact : Unlike a backswimmer, water boatman is an aquatic insect that swims near the bottom of a stream or pond. 5-6 mm in length, the water boatman does not necessarily fly. However, some adults have […]
It was a summer afternoon. A Mother Duck was waiting for her eggs to hatch. She was getting impatient, “How long will these eggs take to hatch?” Finally, one after the other, the eggs began to hatch with a pop and peep! Little golden heads came out crying, “Quack, quack!” Suddenly, the largest egg cracked
Common name : Vinegar fly Scientific name : Drosophila melanogaster Family : Drosophilidae Native to : Worldwide Distribution Interesting fact : Since almost 75% of the human disease genes match the genome of the vinegar fly, these flies are also used as genetic models for the testing of many diseases. Yellow-brown in colour, the vinegar flies
Common name : Viceroy butterfly Scientific name : Limenitis archippus Family : Nymphalidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : The orange and black pattern of this butterfly mimics that of the monarch butterfly. With a wingspan ranging from 53-81 mm, the viceroy can be differentiated from the monarch by its size and also by
Mount Rushmore National Memorial was built in South Dakota, U. S. A., between 1927-1941. Mount Rushmore is a granite sculpture carved into the Black Hills in Keystone of four U. S. A.’s Presidents, namely George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. While the initial plan was to depict each President from head to
Common name : Vegetable weevil Scientific name : Listroderes costirotris obliquus Family : Curculionidae Native to : South America Interesting fact : This insect reproduces parthenogenetically, hence only one insect is required to establish the species in a new area or region. 6.4-10.0 mm in body length, the vegetable weevil is brownish in colour. This insect
Common name : Vanda thrip Scientific name : Dichromothrips corbetti Family : Thripidae Native to : Australia Interesting fact : Extremely tiny in size and hence difficult to see with the naked eye, these insects can cause a lot of damage to its host plant, orchids. Hardly 1-5 mm in length, this insect’s diet is
Common name : Vagrant spider Scientific name : Uliodon spp. Family : Zoropsidae Native to : New Zealand and Australia Interesting fact : Also known as prowling spiders, the vagrant spiders are a species of spiders that can run very fast, and then freeze all of a sudden. About 20 mm in length, the vagrant
Common name : Vagabond sod webworm Scientific name : Agriphila vulgivagellus Family : Crambidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : Due to its peculiar features, this insect is popularly known as the ‘Crambid snout moth’. With a wingspan of 1.0-1.5 inches, this moth is pale in colour with brown streaks in between the
Common name : Unicorn caterpillar Scientific name : Schizura unicornis Family : Notodontidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : A unique feature of this moth is that it can eject a stream of formic acid from a gland in its hump, which can shoot upwards several inches high. The moth of this species
The Manneken Pis, literally meaning Little Man Pee, is placed in Brussels between 1618-1619.The Manneken Pis is a small bronze sculpture measuring 61 cm, of a naked little boy peeing into the basin of a fountain. The statue is dressed in different costumes managed by a non-profit organization, several times a week, and his wardrobe
Common name : Ugly-nest caterpillar Scientific name : Archips cerasivorana Family : Tortricidae Native to : North America Interesting fact : Known popularly as the ugly-nest caterpillar, the larvae of this moth tie the leaves of its host plant together to create a nest. While the moth ranges from 9-12 mm (females), the larvae reach
The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is situated in Istanbul, Turkey, and was built between 1609 and 1616. Built during the rule of Ahmed-I, the mosque contains within its premises the tomb of the founder, a hospice and a madrasa. A combination of Ottoman and Byzantine architecture, the mosque has 5 main domes, 8 secondary domes and
Common name : Two-spined spider Scientific name : Poecilopachys australasiae Family : Araneidae Native to : Australia and New Zealand Interesting fact : Due to the 2 white horn/spine-like protrusions on the female spider, this orb-weaving spider has been popularly named ‘two-horned spider’. While the males are small (3 mm in length), the females are larger (8
Common name : Twice-stabbed lady beetle Scientific name : Chilocorus stigma Family : Coccinellidae Native to : United States and Canada Interesting fact : This beetle has a very unique colouration, with a completely black body and only 2 red spots on either side of its body, giving it the name twice-stabbed’. 3.8 to 5 mm