This edited article about strange creatures originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 702 published on 28 June 1975.

Pangolin

In the world of nature, there are many very strange creatures, both in appearance and behaviour. Some have adapted themselves to living in very extraordinary situations. For instance, some exist in the hot water springs in New Zealand, and in pools of oil and in deep caves where no light ever enters and these, in course of time, have become completely blind.

One of the oddest of all mammals is the Pangolin. Looking more like a reptile, with hard scales, instead of hair, it feeds chiefly on ants and termites and has a tongue nearly a foot (304.8000 mm.) long. When alarmed, it rolls up into a ball rather like a hedgehog.

The Kiwi is a native of New Zealand. About the size of a large hen, its wings are only 2 inches (50.800 mm.) long, so it cannot fly. Most birds have a very poor sense of smell, but the kiwi, with nostrils near the tip of its bill, has such a good sense of smell that it tracks its prey, consisting of worms and insects, mainly by smell. Its egg is enormous in relation to its size.

The reptile and amphibian species contain some of the most extraordinary creatures. The Basilisk, about 2 feet long, looks like a miniature dragon and is also remarkable because it can run at a great speed on the surface of water; but when it tires and the pace slackens, it sinks until only its head is above water and it has to swim.

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This edited article about insects originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 679 published on 18 January 1975.

South African Safari Ants have a formidable reputation for killing and eating everything in their path that does not have the sense to flee for its life

Unless they pollinate our flowers, sting us, provide us with honey or spread disease, we pay little heed to a vast horde of living creatures which outnumber humans and other mammals. These are the insects of which there are thought to be three million different species.

Most of them are ignored by us. But is this a wise approach to the wonderful but slightly sinister world of insects?

Professor Moore Hogarth of the Institute of Micro-Biology warned some years ago, “Unless the increase of the insects can be checked, they will ultimately wipe out our civilisation!”

Is this prophecy far-fetched? In Biblical times, marauding locusts were regarded as a plague. Driver ants in Africa march in columns destroying many living things in their path.

Their sole intention is to find food, but it needs little imagination to conceive what it would be like if humanity itself should ever become the target for such insect armies.

Several millions of human deaths each year are attributable to the bites of such seemingly insignificant insects as mosquitoes and gnats. To what figure would this total rise if some urge should cause the insects to declare war on the human population?

We do not know. Neither do we know whether such aggression is a possibility. But we do know that an insect is a very remarkable creature.

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This edited article about poisonous plants and insects originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 672 published on 30 November 1974.

Woody and Deadly Nightshade berries (centre) are found in the countryside in November, by R B Davis

There are many beautiful but deadly creatures and plants, some of them commonly seen in Britain.

The Monarch butterfly is not commonly to be seen in Britain. In fact, it is a native of America and all those that are seen in the autumn in Britain, have either flown nearly 3,000 miles across the Atlantic assisted by strong westerly winds or have possibly been “stowaways” on a ship. In its native country the butterfly feeds on a poisonous plant which makes the butterfly itself poisonous.

The Yew is a dangerously poisonous tree to man and beast. Horses and cattle have been known to eat the leaves of this tree with rapidly fatal results. The soft, red yew berry may look attractive, but the single, large seed inside is deadly poisonous.

The Destroying Angel toadstool is a deadly but fortunately, rather uncommon fungus. One of its earliest known victims was the Roman Emperor Claudius. It grows in woods and is all white in colour. Unlike the edible mushroom, even the gills are white. The Blister Beetle, also known as the Spanish Fly, is a bright, golden-green beetle about three quarters of an inch long with a pronounced mouse-like odour. The adult beetle feeds on the leaves of the ash, willow, and privet, while the grub is a parasite, eating the stored food and the eggs of the solitary bee. Blister beetles should not be handled because they can cause severe blistering of the skin due to a substance called Cantharidin. This was once commercially extracted from the wing cases and used in the manufacture of certain ointments.

Woody Nightshade is a common climbing plant growing up to 12 feet high. The flowers are purple with bright orange stamens and the berries are scarlet. These are poisonous if eaten.

The Deadly Nightshade, however, is even more dangerous. All its parts including the dull, purple, trumpet-shaped flowers are poisonous. The berries, which look like big black cherries, should not even be touched. Eating even half a berry has been known to have fatal results.

This edited article about poisonous plants and insects originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 669 published on 9 November 1974.

Cinnabar Moth caterpillars on Ragwort (top right) and the Digger Wasp (centre)

The effects of wasp and bee stings and the bite of an adder are well known to most people, but there are a large number of plants as well as some insects and a few reptiles commonly found in the countryside which can be harmful to man.

Everyone has heard of Deadly Nightshade though comparatively few would recognise it at sight. Its large berries, looking like black cherries could have a fatal attraction to young children.

Other much more common weeds contain poisons that might cause death and even some harmless looking insects can be responsible for quite serious skin irritation if handled carelessly.

The best rule is not to eat or chew anything, however attractive it may look.

The Wood Ant is the largest of our native ants. Nearly half an inch long and reddish in colour, it is responsible for those very large nest hills often seen in pine woods. Unlike some ants, the Wood Ant has no sting, but is capable of giving a very painful nip with its powerful jaws. But its main defence if disturbed or alarmed is to rear up on its back legs and eject a stream of acid at its enemy. So it is best to leave ants’ nests alone because the acid of the Wood Ant could seriously sting the skin.

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This edited article about caterpillars originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 659 published on 31 August 1974.

The wasp-like Palisade sawfly, which is much thinner than the wasp pictured above,  is one of the most familiar and commonly seen insects in our gardens and fields. Picture by Cllive Uptton

This caterpillar of a small wasp-like insect is remarkable for the ingenious way in which it tries to protect itself. The ‘Palisade’, Sawfly Larva feeds on poplar leaves and surrounds itself with a kind of ‘palisade’, or fence. To make this, the caterpillar puts a small blob of sticky saliva on the leaf and then raises its head as high as possible, drawing out the saliva which hardens on contact with air, into a kind of small post. This procedure is repeated until a circular, ‘palisade’, is formed, within which the insect feeds.

This edited article about butterflies originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 655 published on 3 August 1974.

A montage of butterflies including the Green Birdwing butterfly

Carterocephalus palaemon silvicolus, what an ugly and cumbersome name for such a beautiful and delicate creature as a butterfly. But this is only one of the names naturalists have given to the 70 different kinds of butterfly in Britain. It is also classified under the general heading of “lepidoptera” which means “scale wings.” The life of a butterfly can be divided into four stages, first the egg, then the caterpillar, next the chrysalis and finally, the fully-fledged butterfly.

The majority of our butterfly species pass the winter as eggs or pupae. They tend to find places such as hollow trees, barns or any other solitary place where they can rest undisturbed. One of the most wonderful things about butterflies is the way they have developed “eye-spots.” These are small decorations which are designed to attract birds and other predators. But the “eye-spots” are on the margin of a butterfly’s wings so that its attacker is lured away from the more vital parts of the butterfly’s anatomy.

The larvae or caterpillars are plant-feeders and they often feed in exposed places on the leaves. Many of the large white butterfly family, pieris brassicae, can do untold damage to the foliage of a small fruit tree.

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This edited article about bees originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 648 published on 15 June 1974.

A beekeeper

Everybody loves honey, but did you know that the Egyptians, Romans and Greeks thought so highly of it that they used it as an offering to their gods? Naturally, the bees who produced such “sacred” food were also regarded with reverence, and many superstitions grew up around them.

The Greek scholar, Plato, taught his pupils that the souls of philosophers return to life as bees. Mahomet admitted them as souls to Paradise – and a Welsh legend says that bees were born in Paradise, and lived in the Garden of Eden.

Shakespeare referred to them as “singing masons building roofs of gold.”

Our own ancestors called them “Birds of God,” and believed they protected their homes. They told them about every important event in the family. Until recently, country brides still visited the family hives to ask the bees for their goodwill. “Telling the bees” about a death is still practised in some places. As soon as the master (or mistress) dies, a member of the household visits the hives and, striking them three times with the iron door-key, whispers:

“Little brownies, little brownies,
Your master (or mistress) is dead.”

If the bees begin to hum, it is a sign that they are happy to remain under their new owner. A piece of black crepe is then placed over the hive, and a sweet drink is left nearby for the bees to feed on. In Devonshire, the beehives are turned round as the coffin is carried from the house.

Country-folk prefer “to barter”, rather than buy or sell bees, and consider it lucky to receive them as a gift. A single bee coming uninvited into a house is also said to bring luck. If it settles on a person’s hand there is money to come; if on his head, he is destined for greatness. Bee-stings are still widely believed to prevent, or cure, rheumatism and it is a strange fact that few bee-keepers suffer from the disease!

This edited article about caterpillars  originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 647 published on 8 June 1974.

The pine tree and its inhabitants by John Rignall

The caterpillars of the Pine Processionary moth are a serious pest in coniferous forests. An enormous number of eggs is laid by the female moth on fine shoots. The young caterpillars which hatch out, feed at night on pine needles and soon strip the tree bare.

When they have to move to another tree they have an inherent instinct to travel nose-to-tail in a long procession. The leading caterpillar spins an endless thread which is added to by the caterpillars following behind him. This acts as a trail for any individual which might get detached from the procession. One chain of these caterpillars was recorded to consist of 300 individuals, and measured over thirteen yards long.

During the day, they shelter in large common nests which they spin for themselves in the branches of trees. Sometimes a whole forest is attacked by these pests, and when this happens, the best method of control is to destroy the nests. Great care has to be taken by anyone undertaking this job because the hairs of the caterpillar carry poison glands which can inflict serious damage to eyes and skin.

This edited article about insects originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 647 published on 8 June 1974.

A subterranean wasps’ nest

In early summer you may have noticed a large wasp resting on a fence or paling and apparently sunning itself. But if you look closely you will see its head constantly moving from side to side, and if you listen carefully, you will hear a continuous rasping sound.

The explanation for this curious behaviour is that this wasp is a queen wasp collecting nesting material. Wasps do not have wax glands like bees, so they cannot make wax combs. Instead they use wood pulp which they make from wood shavings mixed into a paste with their own saliva.

Each nest is started by a queen wasp. She wakes from her winter sleep in the spring and chooses a suitable place in which to make her home. The nest will either be built in the ground or in a hollow tree.

The nest is about the size of a golf ball and feels like paper. It is a small comb of cells which will contain eggs, grubs, and pupae all at the same time. As soon as the queen’s first brood of workers come out of their cocoons, they begin to collect food and wood pulp. By the end of summer there may be as many as eight combs in a big nest, lying one above the other, and separated by short pillars of wood pulp so that the wasps have enough space to move about in.

This edited article about fossils originally appeared in Look and Learn issue number 647 published on 8 June 1974.

A Victorian fossil hunter by Peter Jackson

The hardened remains of plants or animals which are found in rocks are called fossils. These animals or plants were covered in mud and sand which later changed into rocks over a period of millions of years.

Fossils are usually found in limestone, shale or clay and in chalk. They occur along particular layers of rock.

Several kinds of fossils have been found. Sometimes, the complete animal including its skin and hair may have been preserved. Fossil mammoths, the long-haired elephants which are now extinct, have been found buried in ice in perfect condition.

Usually, however, the soft parts of an animal decay quickly leaving only the bones and shell to be hardened. Many clays contain fossil shells which, instead of the original paper-thin limy shell, have a shining compound of iron or iron pyrites which is composed of iron and sulphur. These are called pyritised fossils.

In Arizona in the United States there are petrified forests. Petrification comes from the Greek word meaning rock, and the plant substances in these forests have been completely replaced by a mineral called silica. Water passing slowly through the rocks had laid down mineral substances around the plants, and if this process occurred slowly enough, all the detail of the original trees will have been preserved.

Animals walking or crawling over soft mud or sand of the seashore will often leave footprints or trails. When this happened many years ago, and the mud or sand was changed into rock, the marks often remained. These marks or impressions are called trace fossils.

The discovery of fossil specimens has provided us with a great deal of valuable information about animals and plants which existed thousands and thousands of years ago. Fossil remains of the earliest men have also been discovered, usually buried beneath rocks in caves. Much of the history of Man from its beginnings about one million years ago has been worked out by people studying fossil remains of human beings and their possessions. In 1861 an impression of a single feather was found in a rock in Bavaria. This was the first trace of the earliest known bird Archaeopteryx.

The study of fossil animals is called Palaeozoology, and the study of fossil plants is called Palaeobotany.