Considered a sign of good fortune in its native Central and South America, the Callicore butterfly’s lucky numbers are 88 and 89. Emblazoned across each wing, the striking digits help this species to attract mates amidst the flora and fauna. The exact markings of the 88’89 butterfly depend on the specific subspecies. There are 12 …
When is a snake not a snake? When it’s a caterpillar! This extraordinary disguise is self-defence. The snake mimic hawkmoth caterpillar does an uncanny impression of a scary snake to avoid its forest predators. If this hawkmoth caterpillar feels threatened, it immediately takes on snake-like characteristics and behaviour. Pulling in its legs and head, the …
Ticks are the vampires of the bug brigade, gorging on blood for survival. The Rocky Mountain wood tick swells to many times its original size after a grand feast. Bloated on blood, the sucker drops off its weakened host. The adult wood tick is armed and dangerous, with a hard shell and a ruthless bite. …
Australia’s peacock spider makes all the right moves in a bid to impress the ladies. Getting into the groove is easy with eight legs and a multicoloured stomach flap to shake. The courtship dance of the male peacock spider involves a series of attention-grabbing jumps, sways, and struts to attract partners. His colours and moves …
If millions of spiders congregate in one place, they can work as a team, spinning enormous sheet webs that cover trees, hedges, and fields. These wonder weavers transform the landscape with their intricate designs. In 2010 many trees were blanketed by giant webs in Sindh, Pakistan, when heavy monsoon rains flooded large areas. Spiders and …
It’s a journey that would have most of us reaching for our passports, but monarch butterflies cover 4,800 km (3,000 miles) on their annual flight from Canada to Mexico. The skies fill with millions of monarchs in the world’s longest insect migration. Monarch butterflies can’t survive the cold Canadian winter, so they fly south to …
Every year up to 100 million red crabs inhabiting Australia’s Christmas Island migrate from their forest home to the Indian Ocean. This convoy of crustaceans travels 9 km (5 miles) with one sole goal – reproduction. The crabs are making their way to the sea. Mating takes place on the shore because the larval form …
Whoever got on this bike definitely reached the end of the road. No one knows how these wheels got stuck in a tree, and the mystery still drives locals barking mad years later. The riddle of the bicycle up a tree is legendary in Vashon Island, USA. One story goes that a boy tied his …
Even the greenest fingers stop at the corpse flower. The biggest bloomer on Earth, this species is also the stinkiest, pervading the atmosphere with the stench of rotten flesh. What a relief that it’s one of the world’s rarest flowers! Rafflesia arnoldii, as it is formally known, uses disgusting odours to lure flies and other …
China’s Yellow Sea has recently gone green, caused by the nation’s greatest algae growth to date. Since 2007, algae have swamped the waters every summer, but 2013’s bumper bloom covered a record-breaking 28,900 sq km (11,158 sq miles). Despite the fun and frolics on the beach at Qingdao in the eastern Shandong province, this thick …
There’s no better protected tree than the Cannonball. This gargantuan grower is found in South American forests and attacks without warning. Avoid being in the firing line when its weighty fruits blast off. A member of the Brazil nut family, the Cannonball tree’s proper name is Couroupita guianensis. Found in the rainforests of the Guianas …
It can’t fly and it doesn’t breathe fire, but the dragon’s blood tree can make one extraordinary claim to fame. The bark of the tree bleeds, leading to its use in magic and medicine since ancient times. The dragon’s blood tree (dracaena cinnabari) has an unusual appearance, with branches like white bony fingers reaching up …
In the forests of north-eastern India, rivers and streams are crossed using structures crafted from ancient banyan trees. Forged by tangled roots and vines, these living tree bridges are both a natural wonder and an engineering masterclass. Cherrapunji is one of the world’s wettest places, so normal wooden structures would rot and break. Living bridges …
There are at least 500 species of carnivorous plant on planet Earth, but nature’s most famous meat-muncher is the Venus flytrap. These jaws of death prey on vulnerable insects – and when they snap shut, there’s no escape… The Venus flytrap’s lightning reflexes are not well understood, but they may be the result of electrical …
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