Butterflies have a unique life-cycle. They lay eggs. The egg becomes a caterpillar, then a pupa (sleeping through the winter), and finally turns into a butterfly. Most of its eating is done while it is a caterpillar. It eats various parts of plants. In fact, in some kinds of butterflies the caterpillar stage is the […]
There are different kinds of ants across the world. They all have different feeding habits. They mostly feed on sweet-smelling, sugary stuff. For example, the ‘harvester ant’ gathers seeds from grass into its nest where it sorts and stores this food. The ‘dairy farmer ants’ gather plant lice. Then they stroke their sides to gather
Bacteria are unicellular living organisms. They are microscopic and hence cannot be seen with naked eyes. They are spread all over the world and thrive in almost any environment. Bacteria are mostly harmful; however, there are certain useful bacteria as well. Some of the common harmful bacteria are disease-causing bacteria that cause cholera, pneumonia, diphtheria
Earthworms prepare the soil for farming, upon which life depends. So, they are known as a farmer’s friends. They eat the soil after turning it over and breaking it up. While doing so, they allow the air and water to reach the roots of plants. When they drag leaves into their burrows, they pull fine
Yeast is a tiny, unicellular organism. It was discovered by Louis Pasteur. It belongs to the fungi family and has tiny, rounded, colourless bodies. Yeast is found in soil, in air, on plant surfaces and in the nectar of flowers. When a weak sugar solution is exposed to air, a light frothy scum appears on
Snails are soft-bodied animals that have cap-like or spiralled shells. The shell is part of the body and is attached to the snail by muscles. The shell is made of a kind of limestone and is built by the snail itself. As the snail grows bigger, its shell also increases in size as well as
A frog is a cold-blooded animal. Cold-blooded animals need external warmth to keep warm in winters. When winter sets, frogs hide under rocks, leaves or in a log. Some frogs dive into a pond and bury themselves in the mud. As ponds do not freeze solid, even in harsh winters, frogs also don’t freeze. They
Frogs and toads are amphibians. They have some similarities but certain striking differences. These differences make them distinct from each other. Both are cold-blooded creatures, living on land and in water. But frogs are smooth, slippery, long and graceful while toads are dry and warty. Most frogs have teeth, whereas most toads do not have
Sponges are aquatic animals. However, they resemble plants more than animals. More than 5,000 different kinds of sponges exist across the world. They can be green, brown, yellow, red, orange, white, etc. Sponges have various shapes such as fan, dome, vase, bowl or trumpet shaped. A sponge has no sense organs so it does not
Honeybees eat pollen, a powdery substance present in flowers and drink nectar which is a sweet liquid produced in flowers. Baby honeybees are fed lots of pollen as it is rich in protein and enables them to maintain their healthy growth. The nectar present in flowers is used by worker bees to make honey. In
A shell is the hard outer covering of a living thing. It provides protection to the organism. It is either made by the creature itself or by its parent. Shells are composed of calcium carbonate (lime) and silica or lignin (woody material). Most common shells are eggshells, shells around the body of a crab or
The common features of insects are a segmented body which means their bodies are divided into three parts: head, thorax and abdomen, jointed legs which can be six or more. Insects also have an exoskeleton which is the hard covering over their bodies. Insects are both harmful and useful. Harmful insects include beetles, mosquitoes, houseflies,
Zoology is the study of animals. It can be sub-divided into many disciplines, such as ornithology, the study of birds; primatology, the study of primates; ichthyology, the study of fish and entomology, the study of insects, etc. It gives us an in-depth knowledge to understand wildlife, animals, the environment and ourselves. It studies the way
Vegetable oils are oils extracted from plant seeds. Some common sources are corn, mustard, soybean, sunflower and coconut. These oils are extracted by pressing the seeds between rollers or by treating the seeds with chemicals. They can be used for edible or inedible purposes. For example, corn and olive oil are used in salads and
A raisin is a dried grape. It may be eaten raw or can be used in cooking, baking and brewing. Traditionally, grapes are dried in the sun, but they are sometimes also water-dipped and artificially dehydrated. Raisin varieties depend on the kinds of grapes. They can be differentiated on the basis of size, colour and