Showing posts with label Insecta. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Insecta. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Jesus Bug

Have you heard of Jesus Bug? Its very common in our ponds, temple tanks and wells… now you understand who they are? Water striders—those six-legged insects that float and glide across the surface of ponds, streams, and lakes—are sometimes called Jesus bugs or pond skaters, Gerris remigis are considered the most advanced surface-dwelling water bug found in nature. How they are able to do it is today’s class. In the picture its right in front of the flower, the ripples are actually caused by it

A research team in China have found that water strider legs incorporate thousands of microscopic hairs. Measuring about 50 micrometers—or less than two-thousandths of an inch—long, the hairs are scored by miniature groves. These groves trap air, increasing water resistance of the water's striders legs and overall buoyancy of the insect. The team's research will be published in the journal Nature. "Slight touches or disturbances may break that balance. However, the air cushion at the leg-water interface can [enable] them to locomote quickly and stably on the water surface—even in rainstorms or other disturbances."

Do I still have to tell the similarities… Jesus walked on water 2000 and odd years ago. This is history. He didn’t have air cushioned legs, but FAITH in the Almighty’s power.

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Praying Mantis

Praying Mantis or preying mantis?!

They are in fact named for the typical "prayer-like" stance. The word mantis derives from the Greek word mantis for prophet or fortune teller. These are funny and sad in a particular way, for during copulation the male dies. The female may start feeding by biting off the male’s head (as with any prey), and if mating had begun, the male’s movements may become even more vigorous in its delivery of sperm. Early researchers thought that because copulatory movement is controlled by ganglion in the abdomen, not the head, removal of the male’s head was a reproductive strategy by females to enhance fertilisation while obtaining sustenance.

If the human kind, the females espl. possess some kind of spell that if any male tries to molest or rape she could order his head plucked off from the base of his neck. WOW.