FACTS ABOUT MOSQUITO

Few animals on Earth evoke the antipathy that mosquitoes do. Their itchy, irritating bites and
nearly ubiquitous presence can ruin a backyard barbecue or a hike in the woods. They have an
uncanny ability to sense our murderous intentions, taking flight and disappearing milliseconds
before a fatal swat. And in our bedrooms, the persistent, whiny hum of their buzzing wings can
wake the soundest of sleepers.

Beyond the nuisance factor, mosquitoes are carriers, or vectors, for some of humanitys most
deadly illnesses, and they are public enemy number one in the fight against global infectious
disease. Mosquito-borne diseases cause millions of deaths worldwide every year with a
disproportionate effect on children and the elderly in developing countries.

There are more than 3,000 species of mosquitoes, but the members of three bear primary
responsibility for the spread of human diseases. Anopheles mosquitoes are the only species
known to carry malaria. They also transmit filariasis (also called elephantiasis) and encephalitis.
Culex mosquitoes carry encephalitis, filariasis, and the West Nile virus. And Aedes mosquitoes,
of which the voracious Asian tiger is a member, carry yellow fever, dengue, and encephalitis.

Mosquitoes use exhaled carbon dioxide, body odors and temperature, and movement to home in
on their victims. Only female mosquitoes have the mouth parts necessary for sucking blood.
When biting with their proboscis, they stab two tubes into the skin: one to inject an enzyme that
inhibits blood clotting; the other to suck blood into their bodies. They use the blood not for their
own nourishment but as a source of protein for their eggs. For food, both males and females eat
nectar and other plant sugars.

Mosquitoes transmit disease in a variety of ways. In the case of malaria, parasites attach
themselves to the gut of a female mosquito and enter a host as she feeds. In other cases, such as
yellow fever and dengue, a virus enters the mosquito as it feeds on an infected human and is
transmitted via the mosquitos saliva to a subsequent victim.

The only silver lining to that cloud of mosquitoes in your garden is that they are a reliable source
of food for thousands of animals, including birds, bats, dragonflies, and frogs. In addition,
humans are actually not the first choice for most mosquitoes looking for a meal. They usually
prefer horses, cattle, and birds.

All mosquitoes need water to breed, so eradication and population-control efforts usually involve
removal or treatment of standing water sources. Insecticide spraying to kill adult mosquitoes is
also widespread. However, global efforts to stop the spread of mosquitoes are having little effect,
and many scientists think global warming will likely increase their number and range.
HOUSE FLY FACTS

House flies are the most famous of 300 000 species of flies. They can be found all over the
world. Human flies developed 65 million years ago. They can survive in all habitats where
people can survive, because they are accustomed to the life near humans. Human flies are pests
because they easily reproduce and transmit numerous diseases. People apply various insecticides
to eradicate them, but they are still very numerous and even resistant to some of those chemicals.
On the other hand, house flies are beneficial because they accelerate recycling process by
decomposing organic waste.

Interesting House fly Facts:

House fly is small insect that can reach of inch in length.

House fly is grey in color. It has four dark stripes on the back side of the body.
Unlike other insects, house fly has only one pair of membranous wings. Second pair of wings is
reduced and looks like a pair of miniature drumsticks. This pair of wings (known as "halters") is
used for balancing during the flight.
House flies are able to move their wings 200 times per second.
House fly can fly at the speed of 5 miles per hour.
House fly produces sticky substance which keeps the fly firmly attached to the ground (it acts
like glue after landing).
House fly has red compound eyes. Each eye contains 4000 lenses that enable visualization of
different pictures at the same time. Despite huge number of lenses, house fly has poor eyesight.
House fly relies mostly on the sense of smell when it searches for food. Sense of smell is located
in the antennas.
House fly eats sugary liquids and different kinds of organic waste. All food needs to be turned
into liquid before ingestion because fly does not have teeth and ability to chew food. House fly
spits digestive juices on the food to decompose it before swallowing.
House flies are carriers of numerous pathogenic bacteria. Gangrene, tuberculosis, dysentery,
anthrax, plague and different types of poisoning are just some of diseases transmitted by flies.
House flies defecate every couple of minutes. This is one of the factors that facilitate
transmission of diseases.
House flies are active during the day. They rest during the night.
Females can lay up to 2500 eggs usually on the food they eat. House flies undergo complete
metamorphosis: egg will transform into larvae, larvae will transform into pupa and pupa will
give rise to adult insect. Complete development lasts 10 days.
House flies have incredible high reproductive capacity. Without natural predators, one couple of
flies and their offspring would be able to cover all continents on Earth to the height of 18 feet
after couple of months of reproduction.
House fly can survive from 30 to 60 days.
BUTTERFLY FACTS

Check out our range of fun butterfly facts for kids. Learn about the lifecycle of butterflies, their
wings, what they eat and much more. Read on and enjoy a variety of interesting information
about butterflies.

Butterflies are insects.

A butterflys lifecycle is made up of four parts, egg, larva (caterpillars), pupa (chrysalis)
and adult.

Butterflies attach their eggs to leaves with a special glue.

Most caterpillars are plant eaters (herbivores).

Fully grown caterpillars attach themselves to a suitable twig or leaf before shedding their
outside layer of skin to reveal a hard skin underneath known as a chrysalis.

An adult butterfly will eventually emerge from the chrysalis where it will wait a few
hours for its wings to fill with blood and dry, before flying for the first time.

Butterflies can live in the adult stage from anywhere between a week and a year,
depending on the species.

Butterflies have four wings.

Butterflies often have brightly coloured wings with unique patterns made up of tiny
scales.

Most butterflies feed on nectar from flowers.

Butterflies have taste receptors on their feet.

Scientists estimate that there are between 15000 and 20000 different species of butterfly.

Birdwing butterflies have large, angular wings and fly in a similar way to birds.

Monarch butterflies are known for their long migration. Every year monarch butterflies
will travel a great distance (sometimes over 4000 km), females will lay eggs and a new
generation of monarchs will travel back, completing the cycle.
FACTS ABOUT THE CHICKEN

Domesticated chickens have been bred by humans from Asian jungle fowl.
Scientists have shown that mother hens display signs of empathy for their baby chicks.
Chickens are able to remember and recognise over 100 individuals; they can also recognise
humans.
Like other birds and mammals, chickens experience REM sleep, which is associated with
dreaming.
Chickens have very sophisticated social behaviour with a dominance hierarchy where higher
individuals dominate subordinate individuals. This is where the term pecking order comes
from!
The dominant male (cockerel) protects the females (hens) and they choose to feed close to him
for safety.
Chickens perform complex communication where calls have specific meanings. They perform
over 30 types of vocalisation that we are aware of with meanings varying from calling
youngsters, alarm calls, and alerting others to the whereabouts of food.
Chickens have different alarm calls for specific types of predators, which allow conspecifics to
know the type of threat they face and what sort of anti-predation behaviour to perform.
Chickens are able to understand that when an object is taken away and hidden from them, it still
exists. Young human children are unable to understand this.
Hens are extremely affectionate and caring mothers. In Christian writings, Jesus is said to have
used the love of a hen for her brood to express Gods love for humans. In Ancient Rome, saying
you were raised by a hen was a compliment.
Chickens cant taste sweetness in foods however they can detect salt, and most choose to avoid
it.
The chicken is the closest living relative to the great Tyrannosaurus-Rex.
The meat and eggs of chickens are widely eaten by people across the world. OneKind and other
animal welfare charities are working to ensure that these animals have better lives and are looked
after properly on farms.