Tag Archives: Insect

Pesky hissing insects…

• Cockroaches are also known as roaches and are from the family of Blattaria.
• Of the 4,500 species of cockroach, only about 30 species live in households and are generally regarded as household pests.
• Cockroaches like warm environments and prefer to live in groups.
• Cockroaches leave tracks containing chemicals, that other roaches can follow and use to find food and water.
• Cockroaches are nocturnal insects and don’t like light.

• The heaviest cockroach is the Australian giant burrowing cockroach, weighing 30 grams (1.1 ounce) and is approximately 9 cm (3.5 in) long.
• Some cockroaches can live without any air for 45 minutes and can recover from being submerged underwater for 30 minutes.
• Cockroaches have allergens that can cause asthma attacks, which can be as common as dust mite asthma related allergies.
• Hydramethylnon, fipronil and boric acid are all toxic to cockroaches, so these chemicals are often used in cockroach baits.
• In the early centuries, ground or boiled cockroaches were used as a medicine.

Bibliography:
Cockroach 17 March 2013, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockroach>

Little ‘jewels’.  Flashy, shiny and metallic.

• Jewel bugs are also known as metallic shield bugs.
• Jewel bugs are from the ‘Scutelleridae’ family, which are true bugs that have mouths that suck, rather than beetles that have mouths that chomp.
• The jewel bug’s diet consists of plant juices.
• When jewel bug’s feed, they alter the plant by injecting an enzyme from their saliva into the plant matter, which turns the plant into a liquid state.
• Jewel bugs are related to stink bugs, as they can produce a smell when they are irritated.

• There are approximately 450 species of jewel bugs around the world.
• Jewel bugs can range from 5 mm to 2 cm (0.2 to 0.79 inches) in length.
• Jewel bugs come in a range of colours including metallic or iridescent blue, red, orange, black and green.
• Jewel bugs lay white, cylindrical shaped eggs.
• Jewel bugs moult, which is when they shed their exoskeleton to grow bigger.

 Bibliography:
Scutelleridae 26 December 2012, Wikipedia,  <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scutelleridae>

One woodlouse, many woodlice.

• Woodlice are a crustacean and have a long outer skeleton body and fourteen limbs that are jointed.
• There are at least 3000 species of woodlice and some, Armadillidium, can roll into a spherical shape as a defence, though most woodlice can not do this.
• Woodlice have many other names, including: armadillo bug, boat-builder, carpenter, cafner, cheeselog, cheesy bug, doodlebug, pill bug, potato bug, roly-poly, sow bug, roll up bug, chuggypig, chucky pig, slater, gramersow, butcher boy, butchy boy and wood bug.  Some of these common names are specific to certain species of woodlice.
• The fertilised eggs of a female woodlouse are kept in a brood pouch on the underside of its body.
• Woodlice need lots of moisture to live, though most woodlouse don’t live in water.

• Woodlice breath through ‘lungs’ in their hind legs.
• Woodlice are nocturnal and live in dark, damp areas.
• Woodlice are great for compost and the garden as they feed mainly on rotted vegetation and in so doing, recycle nutrients and aerate the soil, though they can be a threat to new grown plants.
• Woodlice may enter homes in search for moisture, although are considered a minor pest as they do no damage to wood.
• Woodlice moult, and unlike most arthropods, shed their ‘shell’ (exoskeleton) in two halves over a couple of days.

Bibliography:
Woodlouse 15 December 2012, Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woodlouse>

Term-ites. No, terms are not all right!

• Termites eat old foliage including wood and dead animals.
• Termites build mounds up to 7 metres (23 feet) high for shelter, storage and to keep the termites and nest moist and cool.
• Termites don’t like daylight so hide in small tunnels during the day.
• Termites build there mounds and tunnels mainly out of clay and dirt.
• Termite nymphs moult up to ten times before they become an adult, the process taking a year.

• Only the termite kings and queen have wings, whilst workers have white heads and soldiers have red heads.
• Termites are commonly known as “white ants” but are not technically an ant.
• Termites are traditionally eaten in many countries since they are a good source of fat and protein.
• Termites have been blamed to have eaten $220,000 worth of Indian rupee notes.
• Termites are mainly found in tropical and warm temperature regions.

Bibliography:
Burnie, D 2006, E.Explore Insect, Dorling Kindersley, Great Britian

Termite 8 November 2012 , Wikipedia, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Termite>