Wander Lord

Interesting on art, nature, people, history

Category Archive: Nature

Cricket – The Wing-Singers

Cricket - The Wing-Singers

Cricket – The Wing-Singers

Crickets are jumping insects, related to grasshoppers. Although they have wings, most are not able to fly. There are about 2,400 species of cricket. Crickets are found throughout the world except for the polar regions. They live in fields, trees, and bushes. Crickets are 3 to 50 millimeters long. They are usually brown, black, or green. Most crickets have two pairs of wings which help them jump. Crickets also have long, thin antennas that they use to smell and touch. A cricket has six legs with tiny claws that help it run along on a tree limb or ceiling. Crickets have specialized hearing organs on their front legs, by which they are able to detect vibrations.
These insects are active during the day and night, depending on the species. They eat mostly plants, but some crickets eat only tiny insects.
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Wonderful Corals and Coral reefs

Wonderful Corals and Coral reefs

Wonderful Corals and Coral reefs

Coral reefs represent some of the oldest and most complex communities of plants and animals on Earth. The primary structure of a coral reef is a calcareous skeleton formed by marine invertebrate organisms known as cnidarians, which are relatives of sea anemones.
There are essentially three types of coral reefs – fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls. Fringing reefs form borders along the shoreline. Barrier reefs also parallel the shoreline but are found further offshore and are separated from the coast by a lagoon. The atoll is typically a ring-shaped reef.
About 33% of all of the fishes of the world live and depend on coral reefs. Within the reef, there are hiding places for fish and other marine organisms.
The largest coral reef in the world is the Great Barrier Reef near Australia. It is more than 1,250 miles long.
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Birch – symbol of Russia

Birch – symbol of Russia

Birch – symbol of Russia

Birches have long been known for their beautiful bark. People use birch wood to make furniture, flooring, and plywood.
Birch trees are found in the northern half of the world. They grow in areas with cool to cold weather.
There are about 170 species of birch worldwide. They have narrow trunks and their bark is often white with black lines. Its leaves are usually bright green and they turn golden yellow in the fall. Birch flowers are called catkins. Each catkin bears flowers of only one sex but male and female catkins occur on the same plant. The fruit is a one-seeded nut which is often winged.
In Russia, birch switches are traditionally used to beat one’s skin during sauna baths.
The sap of birches is sweet and can be collected and condensed into syrup.
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Orchid – amazing and mysterious flower

Orchid – amazing and mysterious flower

Orchid – amazing and mysterious flower

Today you can buy it almost in every flower shop for quite reasonable price. But 150-200 years ago Europe experienced a real “orchid mania”. One orchid flower was worth a fortune!
The first victim of the Orchids fever had become England. Moreover, according to one version, famous explorer James Cook “infected” the Old World with it. In 1775 he returned from the second around the world voyage and presented the Duke of Devonshire with the orchid – striking example of the tropical beauty. Orchids became his passion. He spent a fortune equipping costly expedition overseas. The Duke became the owner of a tropical greenhouse with the best collection of orchids in the XVIII century. Well-known millionaire Rothschild gathered an impressive collection of orchids. The demand for flowers was so high that there was even a profession orchid hunter.
Benedict Roezl was one of the most famous orchid hunters. He discovered 800 new species of the plant! More than a million plants were ferried across the ocean for flower companies of Britain and Belgium.
As a result of the hunting many species of orchids were ruthlessly exterminated and now some of them are on the brink of extinction…
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Sea horse – wonderful creature

Sea horse – wonderful creature

Sea horse – wonderful creature

A sea horse is an unusual fish with a horselike head. There are more than 20 species of sea horse. They live in warm and mild seas. They are about 4 to 30 centimeters long. Seahorse is the only fish that have a neck. They live on Earth for 40 million years.
Their body is long, narrow, segmented, and encased in a series of ring-like, bony plates. They have a long, tubular snout, tipped by a small, toothless mouth. A sea horse uses its tail to anchor itself to undersea plant.
Unlike the other inhabitants of the oceans and seas seahorses swim upright. They like chameleons imitate the color of underwater plants to avoid enemies.
Seahorses have neither teeth nor stomach. Their digestive system resembles a ramjet engine, so they have to eat all the time. Sea horses mostly feed on zooplankton and other small creatures, such as fish larvae.
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Lemming – cute fluffy creature

Lemming – cute fluffy creature

Lemming – cute fluffy creature

Lemmings are small rodents that resemble mice. They live in the northern parts of North America, Europe, and Asia. They live in mountain and forest tundra and the Arctic islands. The marshy and wet places are a true paradise for their lives!
Lemmings are about 10 to 18 centimeters long, including the short tail. The fur gets thicker in winter to help keep them warm. Lemmings live in holes that they dig in the ground. In winter they tunnel under the snow.
They feed on the bark of shrubs, moss, fungi, grasses, sedges, and other herbaceous plants, berries, insects and dumped antlers. They are quite voracious. During the day this little animal eats 2 times more than he weighs.
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Bluebird – wonderful little bird

Bluebird – wonderful little bird

Bluebird – wonderful little bird

Bluebird (Latin Sialia) is one of the few thrush genera of the New World. It includes three species common in North and Central America. They are songbirds named for the males’ bright blue feathers. Their songs are the earliest sounds of spring in North America.
There are three species of bluebird: the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis), the western bluebird (Sialia mexicana), and the mountain bluebird (Sialia currucoides).
They live in fields, orchards, parks, and gardens. Many bluebirds avoid cold winters by flying south for the winter.
These birds are 15-20 cm long. The males are mostly blue, while the females are mostly bluish gray.
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