We had an exciting “Locryn Biology Lesson” today! It appears a small black rat snake decided to make it’s home in one of our birdhouses! Rat snakes are incredibly common in the Southeastern United States. Adult rat snakes typically grow to 3-5 feet in length. …
COVID19 times remain crazy. I will be perfectly honest that the last month got a little hectic in the Kitchen house. I had some big work deadlines that had to be accomplished (let’s not forget trying to accomplish those while teleworking with a toddler). Chores …
Have you started seeing ladybugs in your garden yet? I hope so!! I have always felt that seeing ladybugs in your garden meant nothing but good luck!
Locryn learned today that they are technically beetles and not bugs. He also learned that they consume almost 5,000 aphids in their lifetime! Locryn wasn’t quite sure what an aphid was yet, but he understood that they were not one of Mom’s favorite bugs as they ate her roses!
Our toddler, Locryn, also learned that the ladybug’s bright colors were there to warn their would-be attackers that they taste horrible! A few attackers that don’t seem to mind their horrible taste are wheel bugs, stink bugs, and spiders.
Since ladybugs are so beneficial to garden, they are sold in many of your local plant nurseries! They are a highly effective alternative to other pest management treatments. Just don’t spray any pesticides or fungicides that might kill the ladybugs!
ENJOY!
This morning, Dada found an interesting creature for “Locryn’s Biology Lesson.” Have you ever seen a hammerhead worm?
Hammerhead worms are from the genus Bipalium. They are also sometimes called broadhead planarians (flatworms) due to their distinct shovel-like head shape. Depending on the species, they can grow between 5 and 20 cm long! They are invasive and thought to have been introduced to the United States and Europe through horticulture plants from tropical and subtropical areas. They prefer areas with high humidity and prey on earthworms, slugs, and insect larvae.
Side fact that was not explained to our toddler: The hammerhead worm wraps around it’s prey and secretes neurotoxins to immobilize it. The specific neurotoxin used is tetrodotoxin which is also found in pufferfish, blue-ringed octopus, and rough-skinned newts. Tetrodoxin was not thought to occur in any terrestrial invertebrate prior to discovery of the hammerhead worm.
ENJOY!
We have had a lot of rain lately in mid-State South Carolina due to Tropical Storm Arthur. Due to this extra rain, mushrooms have been popping up everywhere. Fungi require a lot of moisture which is why you tend to see them after a good …
The sciences could not exist without each other. There is no biology without physics, no chemistry without biology, no biology without geology, etc. Today for Locryn’s “biology” lesson, we leaned toward the geology realm. While playing in his sandbox, we discussed sand! Sand is formed …
Looks far out, doesn’t it? Today, Locryn and I found an ootheca for his biology lesson! We get a fair number of them in our yard. Ootheca?? What in the world are you teaching your toddler?? It looks like an alien!
An ootheca is an egg case made by mollusks, cockroaches, and mantises. This particular ootheca fixed to the side of an old wheelbarrow is an egg case for a praying mantis! It contains between 50 and 200 individual eggs!!
Praying mantises are amazing for your garden! They eat aphids, beetles, caterpillars, flies, grasshoppers, and mosquitoes. If you don’t have a good natural population of mantis already, you can purchase mantis oothecas online as a natural pesticide!
While tending to his vegetable garden today, Locryn found a bird’s nest in one of the potted plants! It was the perfect topic for our daily “Locryn’s Biology/Nature Lesson”! We spoke about how nests are built to provide a safe, warm place for bird eggs …
