Biology
Grasshoppers: Expert High Jumpers
Grasshoppers are the insect high jump champions! The exceptional jumping ability of grasshoppers is due to their extremely long and powerful hind legs. They can jump 20 times the length of their bodies. This would be the equivalent of a human jumping one third the length of a football field (30 meters).
Caterpillars: Working Towards Metamorphosis
How does a worm-like (larva) caterpillar turn into a beautiful moth or butterfly? This amazing transformation is one of the most striking examples of complete metamorphosis.
Butterflies and Moths: Nature's "Flying Jewels"
They have been called "flying jewels" but we know them as "butterflies." Lepidoptera–"lepido" meaning scales and "ptera" meaning wing or scaly wing–is the scientific name for two of the most common and well known of all insects, butterflies and moths.
Bald Eagle: A Hunter in the Forest
The bald eagle is a large North American bird of the forest that catches most of its meals live–including ducks, gulls, seabirds, salmon, and other fish. The bald eagle is an accomplished fisherman. It can snatch fish from the surface of the water — but with its feet rather than its hooked beak. The eagle [...]
Horned Puffin: Stacking Fish Like Cordwood
The horned puffin, a cliff-dwelling bird, swims after fishes in offshore waters. It attacks a school of herrings or anchovies from behind. As it swings its head from side to side, grabbing a fish in its bill, the food is stacked like cordwood — with the heads pointed in alternating directions.