world of insects

blue butterflies

2011-04-26T12:36:00.001-07:00

isn't it beautiful?

Monarch Butterflies polulation explosion

2009-07-29T09:27:00.000-07:00

In the middle of August every year, monarchs in the eastern North America begin to pack up and head south for the winter.
Eventually they arrive in mexico in such numbers that they turn the trees and hillsides orange.

Caterpillars turn into butterflies quicker in warm weather, and the result is an extra generation of monarchs.
It is impossible to estimate numbers since there are so many.

Where silk comes from

2009-07-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

Silk comes from the silkworms, whose diets consist mainly of the leaves of the mulberry tree. In an effort to establish a thriving silk industry in England, James I issued an edict in 1608 encouraging the planting of the mulberry trees throughout the country. The venture proved unsuccessful, it is thought, because it was the black mulberry and not the whilte mulberry tree,eaten by the silkworms, that was planted. The white mulberry, it later turned out, struggled in England's damper climate.

2009-04-08T19:36:00.000-07:00

How to Deal With Pests in Your Organic Garden

Author: Janet Ashby

Instead of automatically reaching for chemical pesticides when you see evidence of pests in your garden and on your plants think organic! Chemical pesticides will kill all the insects in your garden, even the beneficial ones and will contaminate the ground water. Find other ways to prevent pests from getting out of hand and reducing their number if they do.

Why should you use organic methods to combat pests rather than easily available pesticides? These chemical pesticides have been linked to many health problems and diseases including birth defects, cancer, infertility and many more. One of the problems is that pesticides sold for use at home are not tested as thoroughly as those used by commercial food growers as this is not a requirement of the law. As well as harming humans they also contaminate the soil in your garden and can be harmful to the beneficial visitors to your garden including honey bees, ladybugs, and butterflies which all eat pests.

One of the best defences against pests is to grow healthy plants in the first place. Weak and sickly plants are targeted by pests so make sure the conditions are right for the plants you are growing and keep them healthy by watering and fertilising adequately. Use natural composts and mulches rather than fertilisers high in nitrogen and do not let the plants sit in water or become too dry. Go into the garden regularly and remove weeds with a spade, hoe or your hands. Get close to the plants so you can spot any that are diseased early and can remove the infected parts before the disease spreads. Prune away the infected parts right to the main stem to prevent leaving a stub for the pests to re-enter.

Keep pests from having an easy time finding the plants they prefer by mixing different varieties of flowers, vegetables and other plants together. It is a good idea to plants some flowers among your vegetables to attract beneficial insects which feed on nectar. The larvae of insects such as lacewings and ladybugs feed on pests so it is a good idea to encourage them. Another good idea is to encourage wild birds that eat insects into your garden with a birdbath. A pond can lure toads and lizards to your garden where they may feast on any pests around.

If preventative measures have failed it is time to identify the pest and choose the best natural method to eradicate it. Find out which methods is best and use pepper sprays, soap sprays or Bacillus thuringiensis, which is a bacteria that can deal with leaf eaters such as caterpillars by interfering with their digestion. If possible remove any weak plants as these are the ones that pests will target.

As you can see it is not necessary to resort to chemical means to deal with pests in the garden although it is a little more work! Aim for a healthy garden with visiting wild life that will be able to resist pests and deal with any outbreaks quickly with methods that are safe for your garden, wildlife and your family.

About the Author:
For more information on all aspects of gardening visit Lawns and Gardens or read Planting a Vegetable Garden

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/gardening-articles/how-to-deal-with-pests-in-your-organic-garden-857362.html

2009-03-03T18:45:00.000-08:00

How To Get The Bed Bugs Out Of Your Clothes

Author: Judd Snell

Bed bugs have been exterminated from the US soil sometime in 1940's and the 1950's. The use of DDT has been succesful in eradicating these pests. However, international travelling and immigration have brought back to the US the exterminated, blook sucking pests. And establishments that are said to be the bed bugs exchange centers are: One, busses, two, trains, three, cabs, four, airplanes, and five, hotel rooms, six, motels and breakfast-inns. Don't you notice that the places where you can see bed bugs from and out of your clothes are transportation carriage and the place where travellers stay for the night? Right. Bed bugs are travellers and hitchhikers. You must know the ways on how to get the bed bugs out of your clothes when you get into these places.

You cannot get bed bugs out of your clothes simply by avoiding the mentioned hotspots. These places are unavoidable. They are part of our lives. But if you want to keep your house clean and free from bed bugs infestation, check out these Tips on How to Get the Bed bugs Out of Your Clothes. Simple Tips on How to Get the Bed Bugs Out of Your Clothes. In a hotel, you can get bed bugs out of your clothes if you shake off your clean and used clothes for bed bugs the night before you check out. Having bed bugs in your things or clothes does not mean that you are filthy and stinking. Bed bugs do not stay on a certain area or place because it is clean or filthy. They stay in a place because they are attracted to carbon monoxide, of which humans exhale, and they feed on human blood.

To get the bed bugs out of your clothes, you must make sure that the suitcase on which you will encase it is bed bugs free. Even if you shake your clothes just to get bed bugs out of your clothes, it won't do good since the very suitcase that will carry your clothes with has bed bugs inside. The night before you leave your hotel, remove any items that you have and the clothes inside your suitcase. Buy a water based insect killer and spray on the insecticide around the suitcase. Don't spray on inside. Then place your belongings and other items inside a clean, dry, bath tub. Bed bugs don't like ceramics and marbles much, so they won't be present anywhere near the tub. However, all the wood furniture near your bed are undoubtedly infested. Surer way to get bed bugs out of your clothes is to have your clothes, clean and used, to the laundry. Ask the laundryman to soak it in warm water for twenty minutes. Clinging nymps on your used clothes, especially the clothes you used on bed, will die when soaked in warm water.

You can get bed bugs out of your clothes if you will resist the urge to sleep on the bed before you leave. The bed bugs may cling onto your sleeves as its last shot to draw blood from you and stay there before you leave. When you get home, remove all your clothing, and even socks, and soak them in warm water for twenty minutes. Do this immediately to avoid speading bed bugs around your house in case a female bed bug hitched at your collar or sleeve. A single female bed bug lays 300 eggs. And adult bed bugs can last for eighteen months even without feeding. You might think that following the tips abovementioned will make you look like a person sufferring from obsessive compulsive. This is untrue. This is the best measure to do to avoid having your house getting infested with these nasty bugs. They are very hard to terminate once they invade your household. The best remedy for a bed bug infested home is to throw away every furniture around and abandon the place for three years. So which is easier and better to do? Prevent the bed bugs from coming your house or exterminate them instead?

About the Author:

Find tips about bug guide and cinch bugs at the About Animals website.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/how-to-get-the-bed-bugs-out-of-your-clothes--799599.html

2009-02-15T14:24:00.000-08:00

How to be a Beekeeper - the Bee in Spring

Author: Chris Haycock

As the days get longer with the onset of spring, the mass of bees clinging to the combs start to feel the slight increase in temperature, and the cluster begins to move. Those bees on the outside of the cluster move into the warmer centre of the group, and those on the inside start to move to the outside, making their way to venture out into the world again.

The beekeeper, who should by now be watching for signs of activity, will be pleased to see these first emissaries coming out of the hive. First one or two, then a few, then many will find their way out. They don't go far, or stay out for very long initially. Just re-aquainting themselves with their surroundings, and gathering strength before getting back to the daily grind withing a few days. Gathering food for the hive.

At this time the Queen is stirring, she produces a pheromone which tells the hive that breeding time has started again. General activity then spreads throughout the hive. Now the Queen will start moving in a small circle to begin with, going from cell to cell. Examining each one, and when satisfied laying an egg in it. These eggs are looked after by "nurse" bees, who lavish care and attention on them. After three days the eggs hatch, and the resulting grub is is fed by the nurses for five days on honey and pollen collected from flowers the previous season, and stored for the purpose.The cell is then sealed with wax, and kept warm by the nurse bees until, after a week, a perfect fully formed new bee emerges. Ready to involve themselves in the increasingly busy life of the colony. In the meantime the Queen has enlarged her brood, moving onto fresh combs. Now, with new bees being produced constantly, the population is growing at a great rate.

Within the hive, those bees whose job it is to produce wax from the building of new combs, have fed themselves from the stores of honey. They form into compact clusters, generating the high temperatures necessary for them to produce it. This wax is prepared in the mouth, then transferred to the "builders" to make the comb. The comb is an amazing piece of engineering, having the shape and form which gives the greatest possible strength, with the least expenditure of materials, time, and labour.

Other bees are the sanitation crew. Their job entails general cleaning of the hive. They remove the winters dead bees. Also any dead cells, which could be a cause of infection in the hive. The floor, which over the winter will have aquired a carpet of broken comb, pollen pellets, and dust, is swept. Ensuring that all is clean and infection free, ready for the new season ahead.

Still more "sentry" bees are employed around the entrance to the hive in order to ensure that only bees from their own hive are allowed entry. They will vigorously defend their hive against any attempt by robber bees, wasps, and any other would be thief to gain access to their colony and it's riches. Any beekeeper who has witnessed their sentries in action against marauders will know they will give their lives for the good of the hive, and they do.

After only about three or four weeks the hive is in full swing, and the beekeeper is looking forward to another prosperous summer.

About the Author:

Chris Haycock is a successful information publisher with many hobbies and interests. One such interest is the fascinating world of beekeeping. If you would like to find out more you should go to http://secretsofbeekeeping.com

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/home-and-family-articles/how-to-be-a-beekeeper-the-bee-in-spring-771674.html

Naturally Say Goodbye to Garden Pests

2009-01-26T07:32:00.000-08:00

It's an unavoidable fact that if left untended, for every flower and plant that adorns our gardens, a greater number of pests will also take root. The good news is that removing these scoundrels from infesting your vegetation does not need to rely on chemicals, nor should it. For each individual species of pest that shows up in your garden abode, there is a natural solution that is cheaper and most importantly, safer to use than pesticides.

Shockingly, North Americans use upwards of 130 million pounds of pesticide each year, both in their gardens and in their homes. This dwarfs the amount used by farmers by almost three times, and accounts for a high percentage of wildlife pest poisonings and contamination of surface water from pesticide use.

Cutting back on this problem requires educating gardeners and homeowners everywhere. Taking the initiative by spreading the word yourself can only help, and the best way to do that is to lead by example, and keep your own home pesticide free.

The following tips will help you keep your garden healthy and pest free without resorting to harmful pesticide use.

The most common problem gardeners will face is insect damage to their plants. With proper cultivation and gardening methods, this problem can be drastically reduced before having to resort to other methods. This means having well-prepared soil, adjusting the pH balance as needed, good drainage and air circulation.

As your garden continues to grow and take shape, remove and dispose immediately of any struggling plants. Be sure to keep your compost area for storing your weeds, discarded plants and compost well away from your main gardening area, as the compost heap will be sure to attract pests.

Keep your garden beds well mulched and top-dressed with compost to ensure healthy plant development. Ensure you're using clean mulch, bought from a reputable dealer or cultivated yourself.

Be sure to keep your garden area clear of debris and things that will attract insects. If you have fruit trees near your garden, be sure to dispose of any fallen fruit immediately. Spoiled pears or apples will attract all many of pests.

Seaweed fertilizer sprays are useful for strengthening soil and promoting plant growth. They contain helpful minerals and trace elements like iron, calcium, sulphur and magnesium.

Mix up your garden beds with a variety of plant types interspersed throughout. This makes it difficult for plant specific pests to propagate and spread throughout your garden bed.

If you've used your gardening implements on infected plants, be sure to sterilize them before using them on healthy plants.

Finally, you can call on the power of nature itself to help you in your fight using a natural product like neem oil. By attracting or purchasing insects which feast upon the particular pests bothering your plants, you can remove them in one fell swoop of natural selection. Praying Mantises, Hover Flies, Ladybugs, Chalcids, Brachonids, and if they don't frighten you, Wasps, are all insects which will help you battle common varieties of garden pests.

Having a healthy and beautiful garden should not be your number one priority, the health and safety of family should be. Thankfully it is not a choice of one or the other. By using any or all of the above tips, you can keep your garden looking great, and have no fear of your children playing near your plants. It's truly the best of both worlds.

Butterflies: An Exciting and Beautiful Way to Learn

2009-01-11T06:28:00.000-08:00

Butterflies: An Exciting and Beautiful Way to Learn and Enjoy Nature

By Shelly Latshaw

Imagine a classroom of excited students, gathered around a table to watch the amazing transformation of caterpillars emerging from their cocoons chrysalises into a beautiful Painted Lady Butterflies. When the butterflies emerge and begin to flap their wings, the students will be astounded by nature's biological life cycle. Learning through the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to an adult butterfly is a hands on real-life experience that students would probably never be able to witness or experience naturally in the wild.

With a Live Butterfly Rearing Kit from The Butterfly and Nature Gift store, your child or classroom can observe the caterpillar's transition into a beautiful Painted Lady butterfly while learning about biological life cycles or simply in enjoy the aesthetics of nature through the butterflies' magnificent colorings. With the largest selection live butterfly kits sold on the internet, the Butterfly and Nature store offers the kits in three sizes; medium, large and school size with the option to receive the caterpillars immediately or at a later date. The kits can be ordered anytime of the year including during winter months.

Each Live Butterfly Rearing Kit contains everything you need to witness the butterfly life cycle including live caterpillars, see-through net cage special food and easy instructions. Children not only watch the caterpillars change into chrysalises (cocoons) and then emerge as butterflies but they actively participate in the care and feeding of the butterflies. Most butterflies have an average lifespan of 30 days so they can be used in a classroom setting where long term care commitments are not practical.

Another exciting way to view live

Source: Free Articles

The Popularity Of Butterfly Gardening

2008-11-28T06:16:00.002-08:00

Butterfly gardening has become popular, both to magnetize the scenic travelers and to help domain species of butterflies that were dwindling due to soul encroachment into their innate habitats. Butterflies feeling sunlight! Whether you wish to works a traditional plot or a container plot, make positive that the plants are in sincere sunlight for much of the day.

If you're forecast a butterfly plot, it's important to keep in psyche that there is no one recipe for a successful plot. Butterflies like to "pond." Your plot desires a place of watering puncture for the butterflies to juice from. This could be done by basically rich a terra cotta pot or small plastic bucket with small rocks or pebbles about two inches from the edge. Butterfly species that are indigenous to different areas are attracted to different types of plants. To forward butterflies, you'll poverty to know the butterfly species that are found in your blackhead, and suggest them with plants that are special food sources for adult butterflies as well as those plants that they pretty for laying their eggs and nourishing maggot.

Add water to permeate the lingering liberty. Place the puddle in the midpoint of your backyard, some values that relate to all butterfly gardens. Wherever you live and anything butterflies you prospect to magnetize, you'll attract more of them if you pursue a few unfussy basics, Butterflies dearest to eat nectar. Use some of these nectar-producing plants to attract them: milkweed, azalea, goldenrod, black-eyed susan, zinnia, aster, phlox, Japanese honeysuckle, ironweed. A few nectar-producing shrubs are butterfly plant, many fruit leaves, privet, blue and redbud.

Butterflies will flock to large expanses of plants in analogous colors that flourish at the same time rather than to release plants with just a few blooms. A carpet of violets, a sea of buttercups or a thick open pasture detailed of Queen Anne's Lace is solid to be visited by dozens of butterflies. Butterflies like bags of influence! Group clusters of the same plant together to make them easier for butterflies to see. A group of quaint plants attracts them easier than distinct flora.

Butterfly gardens should to provide both sun and shade.

Like all insects, butterflies are cold-blooded creatures. They boom on thaw sun, and will relax on fixed rocks or perch for long notes on the twigs of a high plant in the sunlight. At the same time, they require shade and shelter when the sun is too hot, or on cool, imprecise living. A field that gets lively sun for at least 4-6 hours per day is the best spot for a butterfly plot, but don't forget to embrace landscaping facts that offer shade.

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About the Author: Read about what do butterflies eat and life cycle of a butterfly at the Butterfly Facts website.

Your Garden And The Insects Inside

2008-11-28T06:16:00.001-08:00

While many types of insects, birds and animals seen in the home are unwanted intruders, others play a necessary position in pollinating plants and stirring seeds from one place to another. In fact, lacking the animal and insect helpers, most plants would be unable to mimic.

Even while most gardeners understand how important this rotation of pollination and seed disbursal is, few copious understand why it occurs, or how it profit both the plants and the animals.

The rewards of pollination and seed disbursal to the plants are painless to determine - they get to divide their seeds far and large, and inception new plants in far-off locations. The rewards the insects, birds and mammals grow are many as well, and they contain:

Nectar - nectar is actually a sweetened mixture, and, hence it is very cherished by all kinds of animals both for its good bite and for the ample energy it provides. Getting at this nectar is what prompts most pollinating insects, birds and animals to do such a good job.

Nature has provided plants with different ways to fascinate pollinating insects, birds and animals. Many types of flora warehouse their nectar in elite glands called nectaries. These nectar glands are most frequently found in flora, but they are also sometimes limited in trees or other parts of the hide as well. Most plants are designed to shelter their nectar stores from non-pollinating insects and animals, using elite storeroom locations that only pollinating insects can attain, for example.

The use of nectar and the plants, insects, birds and animals that depend on it is a fascinating examine in co-evolution. The darling concentrations of many lodge nectars have evolved to contest the energy requirements of the types of animals, birds and insects that pollinate them. For demand, bees should a 30-35% concentration of baby to make the honey needed by their larvae in the iciness. Therefore, bees will not outing flora whose nectar contains excluding than 30% darling. Therefore, the flora and plants that depend on bees for pollination have evolved high concentrations of sugar in their nectar to fascinate these pollinators.

Pollen - Pollen is also worn by flowers and plants to draw the insects, birds and animals they need. Bees eaten pollen, and it is also worn to make a substance called bee bread, which is a high protein combination of pollen and nectar. This bee breaded is used to supply the larvae, which expect a high concentration of protein to grow and increase. Some plants, such as peonies, poppies and roses, use only pollen as a reward and construct no nectar at all.

Other types of plants engender two types of pollen - their common pollen and a sterile pollen with is attractive to pollinating insects. The evolutionary tactic ensures that the good tasting pollen will be eaten while the reproductive pollen will be daub to other areas by the insects, birds and animals that outing the factory.

Of course, this pollen and nectar does the plants no good if the birds, insects and animals cannot find it, and plants and flowers use their smart flag and biting scents to fascinate these animals and let them know that pollen, nectar, or, both await them. Some pollinating species rely primarily on their meaning of espy, and the upbeat flowers are used to attract their notice.

Other species, particularly nocturnal ones, rely primarily on smell. It is the whiff of the flowers that attracts the fragrance oriented pollinators.

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About the Author: To learn about butterfly migration and blue morpho butterfly, visit the Butterfly Facts website.

How To Deal With Garden Pests

2008-11-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

While tending to my own garden, I have found that one of the most frustrating things that can happen to a gardener is to walk outside to check on your plants. It's just a routine walk to make sure that your garden is thriving, but you end up finding holes in all of your plants that looked fine only hours before. The explanations for some of these plant-destroying holes are garden pests. Some of the main garden pests are slugs, worms, caterpillars, birds, snails, and the occasional gopher. Although you can never wipe out these pests entirely, after all your hard work in the garden you have to do something.

Insects are one of the worst things to have in your garden; they can live under the soil, in old weeds or piles of leaves, or in a number of other places. In order to help keep insects away, always try and eliminate places in your garden and near your garden that these insects and other plant diseases could be living. Remove old leaves, weeds, or any other decaying matter that insects and diseases could be living in from your yard. Also, regularly turn over your garden soil and break apart any clumps of dirt so that you can eliminate the living spaces any insects that might be hiding underground.

Another way to rid your garden of the pests is to use dormant spray, which is used to keep destructive insects and diseases under control. It is best that you use dormant spray when your plants are dormant, usually around February or early March. I have used dormant spray many times on my garden and it has worked wonders on keeping insects out. But as I learned from experience, dormant spray is only effective if you follow the correct instructions. When I first decided to use some on my garden, I just dumped it everywhere in hopes of killing everything harmful. Unfortunately I ended up killing my entire garden along with my neighbors. Some insects can be beneficial to your garden though, so be sure to find out which insects help your garden.

Another pest problem I've had besides insects has been birds. Whenever I see birds in my garden I run outside a chase them away, but as soon as I step inside they come right back. The solution that I've come up with to keep the birds away from my garden is to put a bird feeder in my yard. Instead of costing me time and money by eating my garden, the birds eat at the bird feeder. In the long run it'll save you money. Not only can a bird feeder help keep birds away from your garden, but they can also be a new part of your yard decoration. Although not completely eliminating my bird problem, my bird feeder has made the problem smaller. Getting a dog has also helped.

If you start seeing mounds of dirt around your yard, and your plants keep unexplainably dieing, you can assume that you have a gopher problem. Thankfully, this is one of the few garden pasts that I haven't had. However my friend has struggled with a tremendous gopher infestation, so I decided to research it. Gophers are rodents that are five to fourteen inches long. Their fur can be black, light brown, or white, and they have small tails. One method of getting rid of these root-eating pests is to set traps. The key to successfully capturing a gopher using a trap is to successfully locate the gopher's tunnels and set the trap correctly. Another way to get rid of them is to use smoke bombs, which you place into the tunnel and the smoke spreads through out it and hopefully reaches the gopher.

If you suspect that your gardens are being pillaged by any of the pests I mentioned, I encourage you to try your hardest to eliminate the problem as soon as possible. The longer you let the species stay, the more established it will become.

To learn about how to grow mushrooms and how to grow garlic, visit the How to Grow Things website.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

How Do Insects Act When It's Cold?

2008-11-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

When winters arrive, everyone from the mightiest to the smallest creature goes into hiding, especially in the cold regions of the world. Even humans for that matter prefer to stay within the confines of their warm home and put on warm clothes to maintain their body temperature.

Animals, on the other hand, undergo hibernation. The most well known example of hibernation is bears. Before hibernation, they collect their food and store it to be used during the winter. Then they lie down in such a manner that the heat loss from the body is minimized and that they are able to maintain a minimum level of body temperature. They also begin growing a heavy fur coat.

Another way of escaping from the cold is by migrating towards warmer areas. This is most common among aerial creatures. Birds migrate from the north to southern, warmer climates. Arctic Terns are well known migratory birds that fly thousands of miles every season. Some butterflies also migrate during winters, traveling extremely long distances.

Insects don't just disappear and magically reappear the next year. Each species has developed some way of dealing with the cold weather. One insect, as we have said, follows the example of the migratory birds and heads south.

The monarch butterflies fly from east of the Rocky Mountains, and eventually find their way to central Mexico, where they winter in the mountain highlands near Mexico City. One or two areas are protected as monarch refuges. Monarchs from west of the Rockies travel to a spot near Santa Barbara, California. Theseare true migrating insects because the same individuals that go south for the winter come back the next year.

For some other insects, such as leaf hoppers and milkweed bugs, the strategy for dealing with winter is also to head south as the winter cools. They re-invade the next year, but in this case, it's different individuals that return.

Most insects stay here year round. They employ a variety of tactics for survival. One is simply to move in with humans. Insects such as ladybird beetles (ladybugs), cluster flies, elm leaf beetles and box elder bugs overwinter as adults in wall voids, attics and other out-of-the-way places in homes and other structures. Before humans started building insect hotels, they probably found shelter in hollow logs and other natural cavities.

Many other insects spend the winter in immature stages - as eggs, as larvae underground or as pupae (cocoons).
The final group of insects are those that remain active all year round. These are primarily aquatic insects that spend the winter as immature in rapidly flowing streams that don't freeze all the way to the bottom. Some insects have body fluids that act like antifreeze. Glycol-like substances that resist freezing protect the insect from being torn apart internally by ice crystals.

With or without antifreeze, most insects simply cannot function at temperatures below 40 degrees F. Because they rely entirely on the world around them for the warmth they need to function, they've developed this wide range of techniques for surviving cold weather and assuring the survival of their species.
One of those techniques is to borrow the warmth from our homes. Can you blame them?

meet the beetles

2008-10-28T18:26:00.001-07:00