When threatened, the bombardier beetle can mix chemicals in its rear end to produce an explosive spray of steam (yes, it is that hot…) and toxins.

http://www.faunanet.gov.au/wos/factfile.cfm?Fact_ID=165

Some kinds of blister beetles produce a toxin that is more potent than cobra’s venom.

http://www.itg.be/itg/DistanceLearning/LectureNotesVandenEndenE/52_Ectoparasitesp7.htm

[Stated “fact”: The Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is one of the few insects who give birth to live young rather than laying eggs.]  The rest of the story… “Females create a cocoon-like eggs case called an ootheca and carry their eggs (and neonatal nymphs) inside their bodies.  They then bare living young – as many as 60 nymph roaches.”

http://www3.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/madagascar-hissing-cockroach.html

Yes, it is true that cockroaches can live for some time without their heads – perhaps up to a month.

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach_faq.html#Q13

For answers to all those other questions you’ve been asking yourself for years about cockroaches, go to:

http://www.bio.umass.edu/biology/kunkel/cockroach_faq.html

There are over 2500 different kinds (species) of mosquitoes in the world.  Only the females can bite.  (They need the blood so their eggs can mature.) The males are content to slurp on flower nectar.

http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/index.aspx

Mosquito is a Spanish or Portuguese word meaning “little fly”.

http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/index.aspx

Mosquitoes are attracted to humans mainly because of the carbon dioxide we exhale.  Scientists are working to determine what other attractants – sweat, lactic acid, odors, etc. – cause some people to be bitten more than others.  And no, eating garlic will not help to repel mosquitoes.  Repel people, yes… mosquitoes, no…

http://www.mosquito.org/mosquito-information/faq.aspx

Note:  Don’t believe everything you hear or read about the super-effectiveness of outdoor area mosquito repellants.  The above link has some good info on this.

The praying mantis is the only insect able to swivel (turn) its head from side to side.

http://www.desertusa.com/mag06/feb/mantis.html

Dust mites are extremely tiny creatures related to spiders that probably live all over your house or apartment.  They eat mostly the dead skin that we strew all over the place.  You may have up to 100,000 per square foot in your carpet – or even up to 10 million in your bed.  Sleep well tonight…

http://www.dust-mites.org/what_are_dust_mites.php

http://www.dust-mites.org/dust_mite_habitats.php

[Stated “fact”:  Slugs have four noses.]  Well… sort of.  They have two pairs of tentacles on their little heads.  The lower pair is used for smelling and maybe tasting.  The longer upper pair is sensitive to light and smell.

http://www.arnobrosi.com/slugbio.html

Honeybees have 5 eyes and can fly at speeds up to 20 miles per hour.  They die after losing their stinger.

http://honeybee.tamu.edu/about/index.html

Honeybees must collect nectar from about 2 million flowers to make one pound of honey.

http://honeybee.tamu.edu/about/index.html

[Stated “fact”:  The original name for butterfly was “flutterby”.]  Probably not.   Some folks think the name may have come from an old German word meaning “milk thief” – or butter thief.  Others think it may have something to do with the color of their poop – really.  Looks like nobody really knows for sure…

http://www.word-detective.com/101797.html#butterfly

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/butterfly

Snails are hermaphrodites (have both male and female sex organs) but still must mate with another snail to reproduce.

http://www.gardensnail.co.uk/biogy.htm

During the mating ritual, each participant “shoots” the other with a love dart which seems to help get things heated up nicely.

http://www.gardensnail.co.uk/biogy.htm

The largest snail is the Achatina achatina of Eastern Africa.  One shell found in Sierra Leone was 10 ¾ inches long and weighed almost 2 pounds.

http://www.calacademy.org/research/MAD/MAD_GUIDE_2.htm

[Stated “fact”:  A snail can sleep for 3 years.]  Well, sort of.  The San Xavier snail is known to estivate for up to 3 years and in most years is only active for 3-4 days.

http://www.epa.gov/fedrgstr/EPA-SPECIES/1998/October/Day-06/e26737.htm

Contrary to popular belief, the black widow female spider does not normally – repeat, does not – kill the male after mating.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2061A.html

House-flies can’t bite.  Their mouth parts will only permit them to ingest liquids.  The females can lay up to 500 eggs during their lifetime.  I wonder who had to count that…?

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/urban/flies/house_fly.htm

Ever hear that because of their wing size and beat rate, bumblebees really shouldn’t be able to fly?  Forget it.  This myth began back in the 1930’s and has long since been put to rest…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bumblebee

Many butterflies can taste with their feet.  Really…

http://www.thebutterflysite.com/facts.shtml

Rotifers are among the smallest animals in the world.  Most are less than 500 micrometers long.  You’ll probably never see one…

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/phyla/rotifera/rotifera.html

Spiders sense sound (hear?) through movement of very tiny leg hairs.  They also have specialized leg hairs to “smell” and “taste”.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/InfoNed/sensoryleg.html

http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjan00/spileg.html

Spiders extent their legs by increasing the body fluid (“blood”) pressure in the leg.

http://www.xs4all.nl/~ednieuw/Spiders/InfoNed/sensoryleg.html

http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/indexmag.html?http://microscopy-uk.org.uk/mag/artjan00/spileg.html

The largest spider in the world is the goliath birdeater tarantula with a leg span of up to 12 inches.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliath_Birdeater

“Camel spiders” aren’t really spiders – and not the bad guys they are sometimes made out to be.

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/camelspider.html

A “daddy-longlegs isn’t a spider either…

http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/spidermyth/myths/camelspider.html

Crane flies (sometimes called “mosquito-eaters” or even “mosquito hawks”) may look like giant mosquitoes but they don’t eat mosquitoes, bite or suck your blood.  In fact, the adult flies don’t eat anything.

http://insects.tamu.edu/fieldguide/bimg215.html

[Stated “fact”: Crickets hear through their knees.]  Actually - a cricket’s ears (tympani) are located on their front legs.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/orthoptera/Cricket.shtml

House crickets “chirp” by rubbing a scraper on the inner edge of their left wing against the teeth of a file beneath the right wing.

http://creatures.ifas.ufl.edu/misc/crickets/Adomest.html

Cicadas make their sounds by vibrating two drum-like membranes (tymbals) on their abdomen.  By the way, in some parts of the country folks call cicadas locusts.  They’re not.  Locusts are grasshoppers.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/cicada/printout.shtml

[Stated “fact”: A dragonfly has a lifespan of 24 hours.]  ‘Fraid not.  Including the nymph stage, the lifespan may cover up to 7 years.  An adult will commonly live for a few weeks.

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/insects/dragonfly/Dragonflyprintout.shtml

Copyright 2006, etc., etc. by fairlyuselessfacts.com.  All rights reserved.