originally posted: March 27, 2002 | by chelsie

In 1881, Charles Darwin published The Formation of Vegetable Mould Through the Action of Worms. He showed that earthworms in one acre of land could change the detritus of plants into 18 tons of castings--recycling the nutrients and enriching the soil. Worm tunnels allow water and oxygen to enter soil. The earthworms (Class: Oligochaeta) are considered the 'gardener's friends'. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 20, 2002 | by chelsie

The grape phylloxera (Daktulosphaira vitifoliae (Fitch)) originated in the eastern United States. They were accidentally exported to Europe in the mid-1800s where they almost caused the loss of the French wine industry. These insects have spread to all grape growing regions of the world. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 13, 2002 | by chelsie

The zebra longwing (Heliconius charitonius Linnaeus) is a brush-footed butterfly. The first pair of legs are greatly reduced, but covered with tiny brush-like sensors. These sensors enable the butterfly to 'taste' and 'smell'. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: March 6, 2002 | by chelsie

Aphids, mites, thrips, and caterpillars look on our gardens as a jungle of food. But every jungle has its predators and most are never seen. In the evening hours, the green lacewings (family: Chrysopidae) will gather around outside lights. They are fragile looking creatures with gold or copper-colored eyes. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 27, 2002 | by chelsie

Catolaccus grandis Burks [ca to lak' us gran' dis] is a small wasp only about 9 millimeters long native to Mexico. It is an idiobiont, a parasitoid that paralyses and arrests the development of its host. Catolaccus grandis is harmless to almost every form of life on Earth except two species of boll weevil. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 20, 2002 | by chelsie

In Brownsville, Texas in the autumn of 1894, people noticed a new insect. It was small, only about one-quarter of an inch (6 mm). Almost half the body length was a snout from which protruded two 'elbowed' antennae. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 13, 2002 | by chelsie

The source of chocolate, Theobroma cacao Linnaeus, are understory trees of the rainforests of tropical America. The cacao are at home in the shade, moisture, leaf litter, and shelter of the surrounding habitat. They are also trees with valuable seeds. It was only logical that trees with valuable seeds be put into mass production. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: February 6, 2002 | by chelsie

On the Serengeti Plain in Kenya and Tanzania are whistling-thorn acacias (Acacia drepanolobium Sjostedt). The paired thorns are actually spines, modified leaves that serve as protection against mammalian herbivory. One in every five pairs of spines is swollen at the base into a globe that serves as a domatium (communal nest) for ants. When the ants have made holes into the swollen base, the structure whistles in the wind. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 30, 2002 | by chelsie

The pink sundew (Drosera capillaris Poiret) is native to the southeastern U.S. These carnivorous plants are only a few centimeters across. The leaves form a rosette lying flat upon damp soil. Often the sundews appear in colonies ranging from a few plants to a hundred. In full sunlight, the plants turn red. Sundews attract gnats, fruit flies, and small flying insects. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 23, 2002 | by chelsie

In the cloud and rainforests of Central and South America, the bromeliads and other epiphytes (growing upon another plant) cover the available surfaces of trees. Branches heavily festooned with the tank bromeliads provide a different level of habitat. The tank bromeliads receive their designation for the tight rosette of leaves which collects and holds water, small ponds where life can exist high in the canopy. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 16, 2002 | by chelsie

In 1776, Lazzaro Spallanzani repeated an experiment performed 74 years earlier by the inventor of the microscope, Anton van Leeuwenhok. He swept dust from the gutters on his roof and added sterilized water to it. Through the microscope, amazing creatures rose from the dust. Spallanzani called them tardigrades or "slow walkers". Thomas Huxley nicknamed them 'water bears'. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 9, 2002 | by chelsie

The kerangas of Borneo, Sumatra, and Malaya are heath forests growing on white sand with a thin organic layer. The trees of the keranga are noted for their thick bark and leathery leaves, an adaptation to the harsh conditions. Keranga is Iban (a native people) for 'forest where rice cannot grow', a reference to the nutrient-deficient soils. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: January 2, 2002 | by chelsie

First the Tekesta, then the Seminole used starch from the subterranean trunk of the coontie (Zamia pumila) for making bread. Settlers called the starch arrowroot. (Arrowroot refers to several starchy plants. Today, most arrowroot starch is extracted from Maranta arundinacea.) [Click here to read more...]