SnailsThere are around 120 species of snail in the UK. These range from 1mm Dot snails (punctum pygmaeum) to the Roman Snail (Helix pomatia) which has a 5cm shell and is good with garlic butter. Some of these species are specific to geographical areas so not all will turn up on your plot. The main one we are interested in is the European Brown Garden Snail (Helix aspersa) – a terrestrial gastropod mollusc. These Gardens Snails have a life span of 2 to 6 year. They can produce up to six batches of eggs in a single year, and each newborn will take one to two years to mature. SlugsSnail_slug_on_broom_handleSlugs…
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‘Ghosts’ of the Coal Mines
The human race has long had a love affair with coal. Coal is a fossil fuel that started forming in the Carboniferous Period 359 million to 299 million years ago during the Paleozoic Era. Stone and Bronze Age flint axes have been found embedded in coal, evidence that people were using it for fuel long before the Roman invasion. In the 13th century, coal seams were found along shorelines of northern England, and settlers dug them up then followed them inland under cliffs or hills, the earliest beginnings of drift mining. But with the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century, coal mining exploded, providing fuel for steam engines, transportation, and…
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How Big is a Blue Whale’s Heart?
The blue whale is the largest animal ever to have lived. One urban legend says that its heart is as big as a Volkswagen Beetle! For the first time, scientists have tested this claim. Is it true?No. A Volkswagen Beetle measures about 14 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 5 feet tall. It weighs about 3,000 pounds. A blue whale’s heart is about 5 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 5 feet tall. It weighs about 400 pounds.One researcher said the blue whale heart was actually the size of a small golf cart—but that’s not really true, either. It looks like most golf carts weigh at least 500-600 pounds. The…
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Ugliest Fish in the World
Blobfish This ugly fish, 30 cm long, made up of a gelatinous mass, is only found in the abyss between 600 and 1200 meters deep. Therefore, you won’t be able to meet this horrible fish while scuba diving. Its strange appearance comes from the pressure of the depths, a hundred times greater than in the surface. Its anatomy allows it to float without having to spend energy while swimming. The best known photos of blobfish are not really representative of its original form. Indeed, the fish returned from the depths to the surface, undergoes a very strong decompression which profoundly modifies its appearance giving it a crushed appearance. Wolf fish…
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Preparing a woodpecker for winter.
First, he finds a dead tree and starts making holes for the acorns. Each hole is made very thoughtfully, because if the hole is large, other birds can easily steal the acorn. If the hole is narrow, the nut can break and deteriorate. By the end of summer, the woodpecker’s “jewelry” work ends, by this time the acorns ripen and take their places in the tree. The trunk of a large tree can hold about 50,000 acorns, allowing the bird a satisfying winter. In the spring and fall, hundreds of homeowners wake up to a drumming on metal outside their home or become aware of holes in their siding created…
