PLANT WORLD

Why leaves turn color in the fall:
The carotenoids (pigments in the photosynthesizing cells), which are responsible for the fall colors, are present in the leaves during the growing season. However, the colors are eclipsed by the green chlorophyll. Towards the end of summer, when the chlorophyll production ceases, the other colors of the carotenoids (such as yellow, orange, red, or purple) become visible.

Wormwood defined:
Artemisia absinthium, known as wormword, is a hardy, spreading, fragrant, perennial, 2 to 4 feet (61 to 122 centimeters) tall. It can and is still used as a bitter tonic and is native to Europe but can also grow in North America.

ANIMAL WORLD

The smartest animals, in order:

Are animals color-blind?
Most birds appear to have a well-developed color sense. Most mammals are color-blind. Apes and monkeys have the ability to tell colors apart. Dogs and cats seem to be color-blind and only see shades of black, white and gray.

Number of insect species:
Estimates of the number of recognized insect species range from about 750,000 to upward of one million – but it is thought by some experts that this represents less than half of the number that exists in the world.

The most destructive insect in the world:
The desert locust, the locust of the Bible.

Do male mosquitoes bite humans?
No; male mosquitoes live on plant juices, sugary saps, and liquids arising from decomposition. They do not have a biting mouth as females do.

How many eggs does a spider lay?
The number of eggs varies according to species. Some large spiders lay over 2,000 eggs. But many tiny spiders lay one or two and perhaps no more than a dozen during their lifetime.

Which is stronger – steel or silk from a spider’s web?
The only man-made material that comes close to matching the strength of a spider’s silk is steel, but the strongest silk has a tensile strength five times greater than that of steel for the equivalent weight. Tensile strength is the longitudinal stress that a substance can bear without tearing apart.

Weaving a spider’s web:
The average orb-weaver spider takes 30 to 60 minutes to completely spin its web.

How is the light in fireflies produced?
The light produced is a heatless light called bioluminescence caused by a chemical reaction in which the substance, luciferin, undergoes oxidation, when the enzyme luciferase is present. The flash is a photon of visible light that radiates when the oxidating chemicals produce a high-energy state and revert back to their normal state. The flashing is controlled by the insect’s nervous system.

Is there water in a camel’s hump?
A camel does not store water in its humps since they are fat reservoirs.

Quills on a porcupine:
For its defensive weapon, the average porcupine relies on its 30,000 quills, or specialized hairs, comparable in hardness and flexibility to slivers of celluloid and so sharply pointed that they can penetrate any hide.

Capybara defined:
The largest of all living rodents. Also called a water hog it looks like a huge guinea pig. Its body length can reach 3¼ to 4½ (1 to 1.3 meters) and weigh between 60 to 75 pounds.

Chemical composition of a skunk’s spray:
The chief odorous components of the spray is crotyl mercaptan, isopentyl mercaptan, and methyl crotyl disulfide in the ratio of 4:4:3. The liquid is an oily, pale-yellow, foul-smelling spray that can cause severe eye inflammation.