Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Why do Woodpeckers peck wood?

          Woodpeckers peck wood in order to get the insects hiding beneath the bark. Woodpeckers have an extremely acute hearing and are capable of hearing bugs crawling around under bark. If they don't hear them , theuy surely can feel the vibrations the insects create as they move about. Powerful muscles and a tough bill are necessary to produce the tremendous force needed to break through the bark. Besides, the woodpecker has strong, grasping feet that work together with the stiff tail feathers, allowing the bird to position itself for its strenous pecking. After the hole is drilled into the tree, it can't grab the bugs with the bill is the same size as the hole. What it does is that it inserts its long, sticky tongue, which is 3 times longer than its bill, into the hole to catch the insect, pull it out and eat.


                                                           BITS OF FACTS

A gila woodpecker escapes the heat of the desert by making a nest inside the giant saguaro cactus plant, which is the largest of all cacti The temperature inside is 30 degrees cooler

Why do Spiders make webs?


              There are about 40000 spider species in this world. Most of these live on land, but there are some which live in ponds and streams. Spiders make webs inorder to capture their prey. A spider is able to feel the vibrations of the web when an insect flies into it, and then it runs quickly to catch it. At the tip of the abdomen, the spider has six cone shaped mozzles called spinnerets. These spinnerets produce fine silk thread. With the help of its legs, the spiders draws out the thread, attaches it to the branches and gradually shapes it into a web. Some od these threads are sticky, while the others simply provide support to the web. The most common design formed is a series of circles of silk attached to an outer frame. This is known as the orb web. Some spiders make tubular webs; pirate spiders make web shelters in which they wait for their prey. A cup shaped web is made by the water spider. It is filled with air so that the spider may breathe under water. One thread of the spider silk is twice as strong as steel. But at the same time, it is 250 times finer than human hair.


                                           BITS OF FACTS                                    
 Wolf spiders don't make webs instead they run and catch their prey exactly how wolves do. They have eight eyes to help them see. Wolf spiders always prowl in the dark. Spiders are intelligent animals as they can feel before being attacked and can escape easily from them.