Honey Bees (Corporate Employees) Facts

These little dark brown- and yellow-striped insects are responsible for a multi-million dollar business. According to the University of Rhode Island's horticulture program, between honey, beeswax and cross-pollination of other agricultural crops, honeybees produce more than $100 million dollars in profits each year in the U.S. alone. Much like any large company, there are a variety of roles that help the business inside the beehive run smoothly. The CEO is the queen bee, and her main responsibility is to reproduce more bees so the hive continuously has new workers. Field bees are responsible for leaving the hive to collect necessary supplies, like nectar, which they pass on to the worker bees at the hive. The worker bees are all female and are responsible for creating the honey. They regurgitate the nectar over and over to remove most of the water, which produces honey. Worker bees also provide heating and air-conditioning for the hive, warming it in the winter by waving their wings and cooling it by sprinkling water on the honeycomb. There are no vacations or happy hours at the end of a long day -- like the rest of the animals in our countdown, their business runs around the clock with no overtime pay.

Amazing Earthworms Facts - The Farmers

The earthworm may seem like a simple animal, but Charles Darwin spent decades studying the slimy crawlers and once said they played a vital part in our world's history. Darwin isn't the only person to recognize their value. Most people who are into composting already know the benefit of earthworms. They are nature's farmers, plowing the soil as they tunnel through it. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) estimates that it takes earthworms 10 to 20 years on average to turn over the top 6 inches (15 centimeters) of soil. The tunnels they leave behind also serve a purpose by circulating air and water into the soil, keeping it fresh and nutrient-rich. Earthworm droppings, called castings, are also essential, as they are rich in nitrogen, calcium and other nutrients that are indispensable for a healthy ecosystem. According to the USDA, one square yard of soil can contain up to 300 earthworms, and while not all soil contains earthworms, their presence is usually a good sign of healthy dirt.

Amazing Cleaner Wrasse Facts - The Beauticians

The many species of fish living in coral reefs have the cleaner wrasse to thank for living parasite-free. Similar to an aesthetician who scrubs the dead skin cells off a client's feet, the cleaner wrasse offers a similar scrub-down to its fellow aquatic creatures. These tiny fish average only 2 to 3 inches (5 to 7 centimeters) in length, but they spend all day, every day working to rid other reef fish of unwanted parasites and dead scales. They really get into the nitty-gritty of their job, cleaning fins, tails and even mouths. Surprisingly, they even clean much larger fish that might normally be considered predators. But the cleaner wrasse's job is deemed so important that, according to the Indianapolis Zoo, large fish are willing to forgo a snack in order to get a good cleaning. Of course, it's not completely selfless work for the cleaner wrasse, since all of those parasites are like a buffet for them. Reef fish get clean and the cleaners get a full stomach, so this system work a win-win.

Amazing Termites Facts - Demolition Experts: Termites

When most people hear termites, they immediately think of destruction, but these tiny wood eaters actually serve a purpose beyond being a homeowner's worst nightmare. Termites appear to operate within a social system very similar to that of ants. The worker termites are white, or often appear transparent, and are first on the scene when a new wood source is found. They are responsible for locating food resources, excavating the wood, and caring for young termites. Soldier termites are physically mature and can be identified by their yellow to brown heads and black mouths. Their main responsibility is to protect the colony from enemies like ants or termites from competing colonies. The only winged termites in a colony are called alates, or swarmers, and they are in charge of starting new colonies. While billions of dollars are spent every year trying to control termite infestations, these little demolishers are an important part of forests' ecosystems, since they break down cellulose in wood for consumption by plants and animals.

Some Posts are contributed by Shri Ram Ayyangar Sir ..Thanks Sir!

Bowerbirds Facts (Interior Decorators) - Amazing Facts

The male bowerbird is the Nate Berkus of the animal kingdom, with an eye for decorating that may make even the most talented interior designer look like an amateur. This hopeful bachelor doesn't just build a nest for his potential mate; he lavishly adorns it, too , all in hopes of catching a female bowerbird's attention. When designing, he arranges  shells, leaves, flowers, feathers, stones, berries, and even discarded plastic items, coins, nails, rifle shells, or pieces of glass and other objects to stage the nest.The males spend hours arranging this collection. There are two main types of bowers. One clade of bowerbirds build so-called maypole bowers that are constructed by placing sticks around a sapling.The other major bowerbuilding clade builds an avenue type bower made of two walls of vertically placed sticks.

And according to recent studies published in the journal Current Biology, he even takes it one step further. Researcher John Endler explains that male bowerbirds actually stage the nest so that, when viewed from a specific spot, the arrangement makes objects  including the bowerbird  look bigger than they really are. Since competition is steep, with several male bowerbirds vying for the same females, this feathered friend can use all the help he can get.

The American Bison and European Bison Facts

The American Bison

The surviving species are the American bison, also known as the American buffalo although it is not related to the true buffalo.

Bison are even toed, hoofed mammals. There are two kinds of bison - the American bison and the European bison. Both have shaggy brown coats and upturned horns.

European Bison

but the European bison have longer legs while the american bison is distinguished by its large muscular hump. American bison can be found in the national parks, woodlands and graslands of North America. European bison are found in forests and grasslands in large parts of Europe, inculding England.

Wallowing is a common behavior of bison. A bison wallow is a shallow depression in the soil, either wet or dry. Bison roll in these depressions, covering themselves with mud or dust. Possible explanations suggested for wallowing behavior include grooming behavior associated with moulting, male-male interaction (typically rutting behavior), social behavior for group cohesion, play behavior, relief from skin irritation due to biting insects, reduction of ectoparasite load (ticks and lice), and thermoregulation.

The bison's temperament is often unpredictable. They usually appear peaceful, unconcerned, even lazy, yet they may attack anything, often without warning or apparent reason.

Amazing Kakapo, Owl Parrot Facts

 

The Kakapo is also called owl parrot is a species of large, flightless bird of New Zealand. It is also possibly one of the world's longest-living birds. The Kakapo is critically endangered; as of February 2010, only 131 living individuals are known.

The Kakapo has a well-developed sense of smell, which complements its nocturnal lifestyle. It can discriminate among odours while foraging; a behaviour reported for only one other parrot species. though the Kakapo can not fly, is an excellent climber, climbing to the tops of the tallest trees. It can also be "parachute" jumping down and extending their wings. Thus, they can travel a few meters at an angle of less than 45 degrees.

Ladybirds , lady beetles ,Ladybugs Facts

Coccinellidae is a family of beetles known as Ladybirds , which are also called Ladybugs, or lady beetles as these insects are not true bugs., farmers love them for their appetite as voracious pest-eaters. Ladybirds produce a liquid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste that make them unappealing to predators. A threatened ladybird may both play dead and secrete the unappetizing substance to protect itself. Ladybird /Coccinellids are often brightly colored to ward away potential predators. This phenomenon is called aposematism

The presence of Coccinellids in grape harvests can cause ladybird taint in wines produced from the grapes.

The ladybird is still-popular children's nursery rhyme Ladybird

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home

Your house is on fire and your children are gone

All except one, and that's Little Anne

For she has crept under the warming pan.

Buff-tip Moth Facts -Amazing Facts

The Buff-tip (Phalera bucephala) is a moth of the family Notodontidae. The buff-tip moth has wings that are the same colour a sthe tree branches on which it lives. To make itself even more difficult to see, the buff-tip wraps its wings around its body so it looks like a piece of broken twig.

Gibbons Amazing Facts

Gibbons also called the lesser apes, gibbons differ from great apes. Gibbons also display pair-bonding, unlike most of the great apes. Gibbons considered the best tree travelers, One unique aspect of gibbon physiology is that the wrist is composed of a ball and socket joint, allowing for biaxial movement so Gibbons are excellent arm swingers. They are the fastest and most agile of all tree-dwelling, non-flying mammals. 


Have you heard about Singing Gibbons?? Scientists have found that gibbons have developed an unusual way of scaring off predators by singing to them. They discovered that wild gibbons in Thailand have developed a unique song as a natural defense against predators. Literally singing for survival, the gibbons appear to use the song, not just to warn their group members but also those in neighbouring areas as well.  

Hyenas Facts - Amazing Facts

Hyenas are usually scavengers, living on carrion , or the rotting remains of dead animals. the unsavoury diet of the hyena gives it a bad smell. the hyena is also not an attactive animal. It has scruffy fur and its hind legs that are much shortner than its forelegs, giving it a skulking appearance.

For many of us, the first thing that comes to mind when one hears the word 'hyena' is that its an animal that laughs. A hyena's laugh piercing the air could send a shiver up your spine. Actually, hyenas don't laugh. when this animal gets excited, it does make a howling and clucking noise that sounds very similar to an insane laughter. Though the hyena is not a cute or lovable animal, it performs a valuable service in earth' food chain as a scavenger , ridding the environment of dead animals remains.