My apologies for posting so late today. I'm one of those sorry folks who thinks, "Hey, it's summer, I'm going to have loads more time than I usually do!" Unfortunately, every year (and I never learn), I take on more projects, work, and other time consuming things than I have time for (like all the rest of the year). Not thinking I'll ever learn....
Anyhow, here are today's picks!
4. Walking Stick
14. The Bumblebee and the Blueberry
The walking stick or 'stick bugs' are a wonderful example of how camouflage has evolved in so many animals, and not just insects. There are a lot of species of stick insects, and all of them have evolved over millions of years to mimic their surroundings. Some simply mimic sticks or twigs, but even though it's a 'simple' look, they do it well, right down to bark texture. Some look more complex, like a pile of leaves, or even a branch with leaves growing out of it. Stick insects use a swaying motion when they move, to mimic leaves and branches moving in a breeze. I have some as pets, and they even 'play dead' by sticking their legs close to their bodies and falling to the bottom of their cage, just like a dead twig. And if THAT doesn't work, they pop up and try to scare me by arching their butts up like a scorpion!
![Smile :)](./images/smilies/icon_smile.gif)
In the wild, they are incredibly hard to see, even for us.
14. I used the relationship of the bumblebee and the blueberry to represent the evolution of the relationship between plants and pollinating insects. Plants, back in the old days, didn't produce seeds... until they evolved to do so. Even then, the gymnosperms (meaning 'naked seed', and incorporating plants like conifers, ginkgo trees, etc that do not produce fruit covered seeds) were pollinated by wind. Today, most plants are flowering and fruit-bearing, and a vast number of those plants are pollinated by insects (the 'oldest' flowering plants are wind pollinated, like grasses). Most of our crops are pollinated by insects, and without the bees in particular, we would have a very difficult time getting decent crops. I'm sure many of you have hard of the decline in bee populations in the last decade, in fact there is a very good documentary on the subject that is really quite educational both about the bees and farming practices.
As mentioned with the orchids earlier, many plants can only be pollinated by insects. Though our crops aren't as specialized, and pretty much any bee will do the job right, they DO need the bees. And as we all know, it's a win-win-win relationship; the plants get pollinated, the bees get food, and we get to eat the benefits from both!
Good luck everyone... I know we're getting close!
![Shamrock :shamrock:](./images/smilies/shamrock.gif)