221 Facts Tell Me What

A spider’s web has an interesting design. A spider uses silk, produced in its abdominal glands, to make webs. It pushes out this silk as liquid through several small holes found at the tip of the abdomen. This liquid becomes solid in the presence of air. The web thread is of many kinds. For example, […]

It often seems like fruit flies just appear out of nowhere. They are found near a decaying fruit. They are of two kinds: the Mediterranean fruit fly and Drosophila. Mediterranean fruit flies are destructive pests. They lay eggs in unripe fruits, thereby ruining the whole crop after the young ones are born as they eat

A lemming is a small mouse-like rodent. It lives in cold regions. There are around 20 lemming species across the world. A lemming is about five inches long and is found in Sweden, Norway and Lapland. Once in four years, a whole army of lemmings runs downhill towards the sea. They move along at night,

The duck family has a variety of birds like swan, goose, tree duck, fishing duck, etc. Ducks have a special waterproof coating over feathers. This helps them to float on water. This coating is made by the oil secreted by a gland near the duck’s tail. Ducks live easily in icy water, too. The webbed

There are several records related to the age of animals. Among mammals, the longest living animal is the Elephant that has a lifespan of 60 years. In birds, it is believed that the parrot with 54 years of lifespan, and the eagle with 55 years of lifespan are the longest living birds. Among fish, the

Butterflies have a unique life-cycle. They lay eggs. The egg becomes a caterpillar, then a pupa (sleeping through the winter), and finally turns into a butterfly. Most of its eating is done while it is a caterpillar. It eats various parts of plants. In fact, in some kinds of butterflies the caterpillar stage is the

There are different kinds of ants across the world. They all have different feeding habits. They mostly feed on sweet-smelling, sugary stuff. For example, the ‘harvester ant’ gathers seeds from grass into its nest where it sorts and stores this food. The ‘dairy farmer ants’ gather plant lice. Then they stroke their sides to gather

Bacteria are unicellular living organisms. They are microscopic and hence cannot be seen with naked eyes. They are spread all over the world and thrive in almost any environment. Bacteria are mostly harmful; however, there are certain useful bacteria as well. Some of the common harmful bacteria are disease-causing bacteria that cause cholera, pneumonia, diphtheria

Earthworms prepare the soil for farming, upon which life depends. So, they are known as a farmer’s friends. They eat the soil after turning it over and breaking it up. While doing so, they allow the air and water to reach the roots of plants. When they drag leaves into their burrows, they pull fine

Yeast is a tiny, unicellular organism. It was discovered by Louis Pasteur. It belongs to the fungi family and has tiny, rounded, colourless bodies. Yeast is found in soil, in air, on plant surfaces and in the nectar of flowers. When a weak sugar solution is exposed to air, a light frothy scum appears on

Snails are soft-bodied animals that have cap-like or spiralled shells. The shell is part of the body and is attached to the snail by muscles. The shell is made of a kind of limestone and is built by the snail itself. As the snail grows bigger, its shell also increases in size as well as

A frog is a cold-blooded animal. Cold-blooded animals need external warmth to keep warm in winters. When winter sets, frogs hide under rocks, leaves or in a log. Some frogs dive into a pond and bury themselves in the mud. As ponds do not freeze solid, even in harsh winters, frogs also don’t freeze. They