Saturday, July 5, 2014

Science Saturday: Daisies, Fireflies and Viceroys, oh my!

Over the course of the year, I'll be reading through The Beginning Naturalist by Gale Lawrence and A Field Guide to the Familiar also by Gale Lawrence.


This past week I read about Fireflies, the difference between Black-eyed Susans and Daisies, and (impostor Monarch Butterflies) Viceroys. 

A few interesting things I learned: 
  • Fireflies are not flies.....they are beetles. 
  • The fireflies that fly are males. Most species of female fireflies can not fly.
  • The light they produce has no heat. Scientists want to try to develop a light of similar properties. 
  • Black-eyed Susans and Daisies are not related. 
  • Daisies are from Europe and Asia, while Black-eyed Susans came from Western USA. 
  • Black-eyed Susans are biennials, while Daisies are perennials.
  • Viceroys survive well because they are almost identical to Monarch Butterflies which tend to poisonous. 
  • They stay in the area in which they are born, they do not migrate like Monarchs. 
  • Their eggs camouflage well on tips of leaves. 

2 comments:

  1. That's amazing. Keep posting more such information. I would love to read them. - Bespoke Kitchens re-modeller in Bearsden

    ReplyDelete