Monthly Archives: April 2014
133.WHAT ARE TERMITES?
In the United States alone, termites do about $40,000,000 worth of damage a year! Strangely enough, these creatures which are such a problem to man today, have existed for millions of years. Primitive termites probably lived during the age of dinosaurs!
Today, they are found in every state in the United States and in southern Canada. The greatest number are to be found in the rainy tropical regions around the world. There are more than 2,000 kinds of termites, about 50 of which are found in the United States.
132.WHAT ARE ARMY ANTS?
One of the most fascinating and remarkable creatures in the world is the ant. There are more than 3,500 different kinds of ants, and they are found almost everywhere in the world.
All ants are very much alike except In size. Ants may be as tiny as 1.5 millimeters or as long as 50 millimeters. All ants live in colonies. But there are tremendous differences in their way of life and their habits.
131.HOW FAR DO BIRDS MIGRATE?
GOLDEN PLOVER
Everybody knows that birds migrate. In fact, people use the disappearance and then the re-appearance of certain birds as a sort of way of telling the change of seasons. But no one fully understands why birds make such long journeys.
We cannot explain it by difference of temperature alone. The feathery coats birds have could protect them very well against the cold. Of course, as cold weather comes there is a lack of food for the birds, and this may explain their flight to places where it can be found. But then why do they migrate north again in the spring? Some experts think there is a connection between the change in the climate and the breeding instinct.
