Keep your Mouth Shut

Imagine you are an Atlas moth and you just hatched out of your cocoon.  You start flying around and then you suddenly become  hungry.  You fly over to the nearest flower too go get a drink of nectar.  As you go to take a sip, you realize that your mouth parts aren't developed and that you have to rely on the fat you stored when you were a larva.  Then you fly away, knowing that you will die of starvation in the next two weeks.

Because of their lack of mouth parts, the Atlas moth must eat as much as possible when they are caterpillars.  While in their larval state, they mainly consume the leaves of certain citrus and evergreen trees.  They only have a couple of weeks to bulk up for their time as an adult.  The caterpillars are green with white "spines" and can grow up to 4.5 inches before they pupate.

Once they have enough food, they form silk-like  cocoons.  The silk they produce is not actually silk but a stronger substance simply referred to Fagara silk.  They spend about four weeks developing until they emerge from their cocoons.

When they come out, they are adults.  An adult female's wingspan can reach up to 12 inches long; the male is usually smaller.  Their wings are usually maroon and have translucent patches on them.  Their large wings are disproportionate to their bodies.  Their bodies are small and usually "furry".

All in all, this moth is the biggest moth in the world, with arguably the biggest defect in the world.  This proves that just because you are big, doesn't mean that you are perfect.

Further Reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/thelargest/butterflyandmoth.html

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Moths_Atlas.htm

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/atlas_moth.htm

Book Club Responce #1

Everyone has had a time where your life has changed unexpectedly.  For me, this was when my parents divorced.  Although the actual divorce was not an issue, because I was young, it is sometimes difficult to get to spend an equal amount of time with them.

I usually spend most of my time with my mother.  I only get to see my father every Monday, Wednesday, and every other weekend.  On those days, I only get to spend a couple of hours with him, with the exception of the weekends.  Sometimes that is not enough time with him.  It doesn't help that the amount of work that I get from school takes up the time I see him.  I know schoolwork is important, but I like spend as much time with him as possible. 

When I am with him, he is usually with my half-sister.  This is the only time that I get to see her so I like to have as much fun with her as possible.  I know that she enjoys my company as much as I enjoy hers, so it is sometimes hard not seeing her, especially when I don't see her for days.

Even though this can be difficult at times, I know that my parents love me and that they are doing their best to make sure that I see them equally.  This may be a difficulty, I have learned that everything will be okay.

The Magic of Magicadas

In the summer of 1979, my mother was walking through a local park.  As she was walking, she heard a hiss that literally made her skin crawl.  Being only five years old, her sense of curiosity got the best of her.  She slowly trekked towards the mysterious sound, until determined the source.  What she found still creeps her out to this day.  She had found a cicada. More specifically, it was a magicada, a cicada that emerges every 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood, or set of cicadas that hatch at one time.  This particular brood was Brood II, a brood that hatches every 17 years.


There are 30 known broods of periodical cicadas (magicadas).  Broods are symbolized by Roman numerals.  The broods that emerge every 17 years are Broods I-XVII.  Broods XVIII-XXX emerges every 13 years.  Although there are 30 broods named, only 15 of them have been discovered.  The other 15 broods are used for the convenience of scientists.  


Periodical cicadas are averaged sized cicadas.  They are 2.5 to 3 centimeters in length.  They are usually black with red eyes and yellowish orange stripes on their abdomen.  Their wings are translucent and have orange veins.

Magicadas are well known for their extremely long life cycle.  First, they start our as eggs.  When they hatch, they burrow underground as nymphs.  They stay immobile for the majority of their life, going through five stages of development.  The year before they emerge, they start to feed on tree roots.  Afterwards, they emerge through the burrows they used to get in.  The males and females mate, resulting in a total of 600 eggs.  Then the 13 to 17 year cycle repeats.


In 1870, Brood XXI mysteriously went extinct.  No one knows exactly what happened to them but a variety of factors could have played a role.  This is exactly why we should protect the environment- because treasures such as this brood of cicada can be lost.


http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada/
http://www.magicicada.org/about/brood_pages/broods.php

This Is A Blog About Bugs- Beware if You Have Entomophobia

Remember when you were a little kid, playing in your attic, and how that bug started crawling up your leg?  Remember how you screamed at the top of  lungs and how your mother practically tripped over herself trying to get upstairs so she could see that you are okay?  Now, if you have the same reaction every time you see a bug, you have entomophobia.

Entomophobia is the fear of insects and any other thing that crawls around.  Similar fears include arachnephobia, the fear of spiders, apiphaphobia, the fear of bees, and myrmecophobia, the fear of ants.  Entophobia is an irrational fear that, like all fears, can cause severe emotional response, anxiety, and a panic attack.  

 

Entophobia is often confused with an aversion to insects.  Aversion is a natural fear to bugs that can cause harm. Humans have had this kind of aversion for hundreds of thousands of years.  Although aversion is completely natural, it can turn into a phobia if the fear becomes more immense.

Most phobias have the same symptoms as entophobia.  Endophbics can experience much distress if in contact with a bug.  If the fear is potent enough, the person may loose consciousness.  In addition to the same symptoms, they also have similar treatments.  Treatments include medication, therapy, and counseling.

Everyone has fears, but if they let them out of control, they can become phobias.  Phobias can cause much difficulty in life, and may make it impossible to enjoy your day.  You should not let your fears go to your head.    An anonymous person once said, "Each time we face our fears, we gain strength, courage, and the confidence in doing."  Keep this quote in mind the next time a bug crawls up your leg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomophobia

http://www.phobialist.com/