Demons of the Summer

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Demons of the Summer

They’re back!

First, you hear their unmistakable deep, humming roar buzzing around your head. Then you actually sense their frantic wings moving the air around your ankles. Then, pow! You’ve been nailed by one of the most hideous creatures of the southern wetlands. You immediately feel the pain, and over the next couple of days, there will be swelling and intense itching.

You’ve been bitten by the demon yellow fly, and you won’t soon forget it.

We have already seen the Diachlorus ferrugatus of the Tabanidae family in greater numbers than usual at our house. As we pull into our driveway, we can hear the tap of their devilish bodies hitting the car windows.

They are approximately one-half inch long with black and yellow bodies. The male of the species does not bite and eats flower nectar. The female, on the other hand, is driven to find a blood meal so that she can make her babies. She lays from 50 to 300 eggs near water sources like marshes, streams, or ponds.

Tabanids go through a complete metamorphosis including egg, larva, pupa and adult stages. They live for approximately 30 days and prefer shaded, humid areas and avoid large, open sunny areas.

Usually they like to be active in the late afternoon and on cloudy days, but they can attack at any time. They will follow a victim into a car or house if they get the chance.

The pests are attracted to motion, so if you have to be outside, stay still in one area.

Thrashing about to scare them will just cause them to attack. If you have to move, do so at a fast pace. If you decide to swat at them, it will take several tries to kill the persistent beast.

Insect repellent offers little protection unless it contains deet (diethyl toluamide). The best defense is wearing clothing that covers your body as much as possible. Keeping the grass and areas around trees in your yard closely cut will help control them.

Some people are allergic to the bites and suffer more than others. Carrying medicine prescribed by a doctor may be necessary. There are over the counter products that will treat the bites along with some home remedy concoctions.

There are homemade traps which can be very effective. Painting objects like beach balls or large plant containers black and then coating them with STP will usually work to cut down on the population. Hang the traps from trees where they will blow in the breeze. The yellow flies will be attracted by the movement and then get stuck to the surface of the trap.

Insects make-up more than two-thirds of all known organisms on the earth. Entomologists study the creatures of the insect world and help us learn how to live with them, control them, and even make use of them. Yellow flies are definitely in a class all by themselves.

 

(Source: Wordsandtoons)

 

 

Fathers of the Animal Kingdom

By: Judi Stuart

Port Discover: Visitor Services Manager

Fathers of the Animal Kingdom

Sigmund Freud said, “I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father’s protection.”   Although they don’t get any recognition, there are some stellar examples of fathers who are doing a remarkable job of parenting in the animal world.

The seahorse would be at the top of anyone’s list of great animal fathers.  He is actually morphologically specialized to take care of the babies.  The female inserts the eggs into the male’s brood pouch where he keeps them for 10-30 days depending on the species.  The male’s belly swells as the 10-300 eggs mature.  The labor and delivery can take several hours and after the babies hide in the grasses, the daddy will return to the same female to mate again.

In the insect world, the giant water bug works hard to care for his young.  After mating, the female attaches approximately 150 eggs on the father’s back.  He does deep knee bends to aerate them, strokes them to keep them clean, and leaves the water to remove parasites.  When the eggs hatch, he kicks them off his back. 

While the female red fox stays in the den with her kits keeping them warm and fed, the father must hunt and provide her with food every four to six hours.  After three months, the father brings food for the kits and hides it beneath leaves and brush.  He teaches them to sniff and seek out the food, thus laying the groundwork for hunting in adult life.

A male sea catfish gives up eating while he carries eggs the size of marbles in his mouth.  For a month, he lives off his body fat and continues for another few weeks to feed his young as they grow. 

Some species of frogs and toads also carry eggs in their mouths and do not eat.  Some types embed the eggs under the skin on their backs or legs.  The pouched frog carries eggs similar to the way marsupials do.  

The arctic lumpsucker fish may not be beautiful, but he is devoted to overseeing the eggs that the female lays.  He attaches himself near his offspring with special suction cups on his body.  From there, he defends the eggs and attacks any predators who threaten them.

March of the Penguins, a popular movie produced in 2005, masterfully presents the family life of emperor penguins.  After an arduous walk to their mating grounds, the female lays the egg and gives it to the father to protect while she marches back to the sea to eat for two months to replenish her depleted nutrition.  The father holds the egg between his feet keeping it warm and safe from the harsh elements until it hatches.

Other animal species including the arowana, rhea, wolf, and marmoset have unique ways in which the males carry out their roles as father.  Mother Nature has fascinating ways of insuring the survival of every species. 

(Source: National Geographic News Website)

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Science Myths

By: Judi Stuart
Port Discover - Visitor Services Manager

Science Myths
Who knows why we sometimes believe things that are false? Maybe we don’t like the truth. Maybe it’s easier to believe the myth. Maybe we’re unable to determine the truth. Maybe the story has been accepted so long that no one bothers to question it anymore.

Science is filled with myths and commonly accepted untruths. Take the one called the “5 second rule.” We’re comfortable with that. It makes us feel better about picking-up something off the kitchen floor and eating it. The truth is that germs stick to things immediately. If there is salmonella present, which is frequently found in the kitchen, it will stick to the food immediately.

Another commonly accepted belief is that lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same place. Actually, it happens quite frequently. The Empire State Building is struck an average of twenty-five times per year. Tall targets are hit more often than others are.

It is somewhat startling to think that we only use ten percent of our brains. The fact is that we use all parts of our brain in some way or another. What we don’t use to its full capacity is our intellectual ability.

We have been told that brain cells don’t regenerate, but in 1998 scientists discovered that our learning and memory centers can do so. Recently stem cell research has discovered a way that embryonic stem cells can morph into brain cells.

Have you ever heard that a penny dropped from a tall building can reach a velocity that will enable it to kill someone that it hits on the ground? Have no fear. The size and aerodynamics of the penny will not allow such a tragedy.

Is a car the best place to be during a lightning storm because the rubber tires will protect you? In truth, it is the metal exterior of the car that will act as a conductor, passing the electrical charge to the ground.

We’ve all heard that sugar makes kids hyperactive. The truth is that scientists can find no evidence for that assumption. Of course, we know that there are links between sugar consumption and obesity.

It is a common myth that after we die our fingernails and hair continue to grow. Cells need a constant supply of fuel produced by the ingestion of food in order to grow. They also need blood being pumped to them by the heart.

If you think that bats are blind, you are mistaken. They do rely on other sense like hearing and smelling more than some animals, but they can see. Their advanced sound based system of echolocation allows them to hunt nearly invisible prey in the dark.

Parents and kids, hoping for better things to come for themselves, like the story about Albert Einstein’s having flunked math class. Records of his academic life show that he was actually a good student which contradicts the popular myth.
Now it’s up to you to believe it or not.

(Source: Discovery Channel website)

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