Daily Dose Of Interesting Information

[Visalakshi Ramani]

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The whole story can be condensed into one simple sentence my father often used to quote,

"The more you have, the more you want."

I have seen that it is true in every thing man possesses and uses.

If a woman has three sets of jewels she will desire for a fourth and then a fifth set.

If a lady has six silk saris she will desire the seventh color.
If a man sleeps a lot, he wants to sleep more and more.

The alcoholic wants to drink more and more. The same thing with drug addicts. They will do anything for the next dose of drugs.

Whether it is 97 or 98 or 99 - man's mentality WILL remain the same.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 27. Golden arrow poison frog.

This poisonous amphibian is spread all around Central and South America. It is very agile with length of 4 cm and weights about 10 grams. It is highly colored and its yellow-black or green-black bright color combinations are also used as a warning to future predators.

They feed on tiny invertebrates and small insects. The Golden Arrow - poison frog is a highly toxic one. Its skin glands produce toxic substance of which only a trace of 0.00001 g can kill a human being.

In ancient times Indians had pierced these amphibians with a long, thin stick and heated them over a fire. Consequently small drops of the poison appeared on the skin’s surface and arrows were dipped into that. Such arrows were then used to paralyze the hunted animals.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 28. The owl butterfly of north America.

Butterflies in the genus Caligo are commonly called owl butterflies, after their huge eye spots, which resemble owls' eyes.

Taenaris Phorcas - the owl butterfly- frightens its attackers by exposing a pair of startling eyes on its wings. These false eyes resemble the eyes of an owl. They even have a glint of light to complete the illusion and make the eyes real and life-like.

Owl butterflies are very large, 65–200 millimeters (2.6–7.9 in), and can fly only a few meters at a time. Hence the avian predators have little difficulty in following them.

However, the butterflies prefer to fly in dusk. The Latin name may possibly refer to their active periods. Caligo means darkness.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 29. The silent sweep!

Owls can catch their prey even in complete darkness.They have a remarkable sense of hearing and can pick up sounds ten times softer than a human ear can.

The tufts on the top of the owls head are not their ears. They are there only for their looks. The real ears lie on the sides of the head - behind the flattened face feather.

Some owls have ears of different sizes, set at different levels on the head to zero-in on their target accurately.

The owl's wings are fringed with soft feathers. So it hardly makes any sound as it sweeps down on its target.

Its victim is caught completely off guard.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 30. Built-in-goggles.

Sea birds such as gulls, Skuas and terns have built-in-goggles.

The retina of these birds contain a minute droplet of a reddish oil.

It has the same effect as a red translucent plastic sheet held in front of the eyes.

The red drop absorbs the blue glare from the sea and the sky before the light reaches the retina.

Nature's free gift of red-tinted, built-in-goggles for these lucky birds!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 31. Alluring virgin moths.

A male gypsy moth can get attracted by the scent of a female moth 11 kilometers away!

At such a distance, one cubic meter of air may contain just one molecule of the scent. The male moth detects the scent through its feathery antennae.

By comparing the scent reaching the two antennae it can zero in on the female. Female moths have the scent producing gland at the end of their abdomen.

Virgin moths can send out strong alluring scents. it is so very powerful that a male moth can be attracted to an empty box which has once lodged a female virgin moth. out:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 32. Beware of High voltage shock!

South American Electric eels have enough power in their tails - either to light up half a dozen electric bulbs or kill a man!

The eel can release a shock of 500 volts at 2 amperes. This is the power consumed by an electric coil stove. The intensity of the shock can go up to 650 volts!

The current is produced chemically be the thousands of tiny battery cells linked together and occupying four fifths of its six feet long body.

The battery cells are modified muscle tissues. The charge can be released in a fraction of a second but eel will need an hour to recharge and get ready for giving the next shock.

Eels are fresh water fish which use their power to stun their prey. Adult eels have a weak radar pulse to navigate in the murky depths of the swamps and backwaters where they live.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 33. Quick-fix termite!

Sticky End Tropical termites use a natural quick glue to defend their nests from the ants. The termite soldier can fire a jet of glue from an aperture on its ahead - across a range of several centimeters.

The glue becomes tacky rapidly! The enemy is immobilized. The smell of the glue attracts more soldiers which rush to assist and protect the nest.

Solider termites of the gnus Coptotermes also have a glue but they can't fire it over a range. As a result both the enemy and the soldier get entangled. Even if the soldier dies, the nest is protected.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 34. Superior sight!

Octopus and squids (Cephalopods) have eyes very similar to that of human, but with a far superior power of sight!

A cross-section of the octopus eye reveals a cornea, a lens, an iris and a retina. But it has two extra features not possessed by human eye.

Octopus can distinguish polarized light. It does not have a blind spot as man does. The optic nerve connecting the eye to the brain lies behind it eye.

Some of the Cephalopods have twice as many light sensitive cells as humans do. This enables them to see very clearly even in the dark depths of the sea.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 35. Heat seeing snakes.

Pit Vipers can SEE heat radiation or the Infra Red Rays! Some aliens are portrayed with this special scary ability in some Science Fiction movies.

Infra red rays are being emitted by all living things and are invisible to human eyes. Two pits (which give its name to this snake) lie between the eye and nostril on each side of its face.

Each pit has ~ 15,000 heat sensitive cells. This snake can find the presence of, the size of and the distance of even small animals , several meters away, in complete darkness.

Pythons has a similar but less sophisticated system with the pits around its lips.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 36. Ears and Nose!

Most dogs have poor eyesight. But it is more than compensated by their superb smelling and hearing abilities.

A Dachshund has about 125 million sensitive cells in its nose. A man has merely 5 million cells.

A German Shepherd (Alsatian) has 220 million cells. These cells multiply the effectiveness to million times better than a man's smelling ability.

Experiments conducted with skilled tracker dogs revealed a strange fact.

Even the most accomplished dog could not differentiate the smells of identical twins from each other's!

Dogs have superb hearing abilities too. They can hear frequencies up to 40,000 where as man's range is less than 20,000.

No wonder man is unable to hear the sound of a dog whistle.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 37. "Like a red rag to a bull?"

All animals are not color blind! Most of them can distinguish some colors- though not as well as human beings.

Primates, especially Chimpanzee and Rhesus monkeys have color vision as good as that of a man.

Can bulls distinguish colors?

It seems that it is the movement of the cloth-the cape of the matadors rather than it red color-that excites the bulls.

The Indian buffaloes called the Zebus have better color vision. So the expression "like a red rag to a bull" may not be a completely made up story!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 38. The Dot-system as in a T.V.set.

In the eyes of most creatures, the lens focuses the light from the object on the retina - a light sensitive screen.

It transmits the info to the brain, which "sees" it as the object.

But the eye of a shrimp-like creature living in the Mediterranean, works on a totally different principle!

Copolia quadrata has just one lens in one eye in the front of its head and has no screen at the back of it.

Behind the lens, a single light sensitive cell moves along, building up the image as a system of dots - very similar to what happens inside a T.V. set. :shocked:

The receiving system of the image is in its waist!

A couch potato with a built-in T.V? :ranger:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 39. Feet or tongues?

Tastes are usually associated with the tongue and mouth.

But blowflies can detect sugar with their feet. The feet of the fly is covered with special sweet sensitive taste buds.

The fly can detect traces of sugar a million times more efficiently than a human tongue can.

What a blow to the proud taste-masters! :moony:

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 40. The silent visual music!

The huge left pincer of the Tropical Fiddle Crab looks terrifying to an enemy! It is not used in hunting or even in feeding but used only to find a suitable female to mate!

At the breeding time, the colorful male moves its giant claw back and forth in a sawing motion-very much like the action of a violinist. :violin:

Of course no music will be produced! :ear:

But this silent and colorful serenade mesmerizes the plain and drab female - which does not have a claw.

She slides into the male's burrow-accepting his invitation!

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]Animal kingdom

Many creatures see the world differently from the way we do.

They have eyes best suited for their needs and their life styles.

We will investigate the sight lines and other special features of animals, birds and insects here.[/FONT]

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 41. BUTTERFLY.

Like all the adult insects butterfly has compound eyes. It is made up of numerous separate eyes.

Each mini eye has its own mini lens! Dragon fly has 28,000 mini eyes in each of its compound eyes.

Some species of ants have only nine mini eyes is each compound eye. The other insects have varying number of individual eyes in each compound eye.

The insects see the world and the objects as a mosaic of overlapping points of light. It may resemble the picture on a badly tuned T.V.Set.

Compound eyes are unable to focus properly but they are very good in spotting any quick movement in any direction of the insect.

I hope this explains why it is nearly impossible to swat a fly, squash a mosquito or kill any tiny insect.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]# 42. A CAT.

A cat has very poor color vision. It sees the world in black, white and shades of gray. But its eyes are best suited for night vision in the darkness.

It has a crystalline layer in the retina, which enables it to absorb 50% more light than human beings.

During the bright daytime, the irises of the cat becomes thin slits to keep out the extra daylight.[/FONT]

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 43.THE BEES.

Bees are sensitive to Ultraviolet light which is invisible to human eyes. Bees see red color as blue!

Many flowers have special ultra violet markings on their flower petals. These act as beacons pointing the way to nectar and pollen.

These special honey-guides can be 'read' by the bees!

Also bees can see the sun even on a cloudy day! So they can find their way back home and never ever get lost in the wilderness.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 44. THE SPIDER.

Most spiders have eight SIMPLE eyes (to match their eight legs?)

These eyes are known as Ocelli and are arrange on the top of its head.

The spider can see in all the eight directions at the same time.
(Better equipped than Brahma who can see only in four directions).

The species like the jumping spider stalks and pounces of its prey
- rather than wait till it comes closer.

The two eyes in the front are much better developed than the remaining six eyes.

This helps the spider gauge the distance accurately for its final pounce on its target.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 45. SANDPIPER.

Most birds which forage for food like chicken and the shore birds have their two eyes set on the two sides of their head. Each of the eyes can see a different scene at the same time.

The resulting field of vision allows them to spot any danger from any direction.

But they can't judge the distances correctly since they lack the stereoscopic vision.

Shore birds like sandpipers make up for this defect in an ingenious way.

They bob their head up and down and also in sideways and view the object from several angles. This helps the birds to assess the distances better.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 46. BUZZARD.

Birds of prey soar very high in the sky. Hawks and buzzards have very keen eyesight to pick out even small animals on the ground.

In the fovea - the most sensitive part of the retina of the eye - a buzzard has one million light sensitive cells in a square millimeter - five times as much as man has!

Small wonder that its vision is very sharp and it can pick out even the smallest movements on the ground.

Now we can appreciate the significance of "hawk-eyed" people who will miss nothing that is happening.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

[FONT=comic sans ms,sans-serif]# 47. CATERPILLARS.

Some insects can 'see light' through their skins. Caterpillars of moths and butterflies show that they are sensitive to light even when their eyes are covered.
[/FONT]

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 48. KIWI.

Most birds hunt by sight or sound. The flightless kiwi of New Zealand uses smell to find its food.

Kiwi has its nostrils at the tip of its beak. It is the only birds to have it this way. It uses its super sensitive smelling mechanism to sniff out food at night.

It plunges it beak deep into the rotting wood or earth to find the worms and grub.

 

[Visalakshi Ramani]

# 49. South African Wolf Spider.

The Lycosidae or wolf spiders, as they are commonly called, are often seen dashing from under the grass trying to escape the lawn mower or doing freestyle in the pool.

The family name and common name are derived from the Greek word "lycosa" meaning "wolf" due to the spiders' hunting method of ambushing and running down its prey.

The Tarantula is in fact a European lycosid and the name is incorrectly used to describe the America Theraphosids.

Research has shown that the Lycosidae are important in agriculture, as they are efficient controlling agents of insect pests. They are harmless to man.