Crawlies

Live to learn and you will really learn to live. - John C. Maxwell

No matter what else, we can be daily grateful we have been put in touch with knowledge, for its source is inexhaustible. – Unknown

Today, we take a peek into the world of crawlies and other creatures that roam the earth. Here are some interesting fun facts about them – courtesy of Facebook pages ‘Colours of Nature’, ‘Strangest Facts’, ‘Wildest Facts’, ‘Evolution’, ‘Streamers Tea’ etc… However, I do not know if they are true. Some of them sound really incredible.

A baby cobra does not get a training period. It enters the world already carrying the family business. The real detail is how little drama nature gives it.

Many cobra hatchlings are only a few inches long, but they arrive with working fangs, venom glands, and the defensive reflexes to use them. No mother has to teach the strike. No parent has to explain the bite. The warning system is installed before the snake has even seen its first meal.

That matters because young cobras are born into a brutal world. Birds, mongooses, larger snakes, and even other cobras can turn a hatchling into lunch. So evolution skipped the cute helpless stage and went straight to armed and irritated.

King cobras take the drama even further. Females famously build and guard nests, rare behaviour for snakes, but the babies still emerge prepared to handle trouble alone.

Tiny does not mean harmless. It means the danger has been compressed. Some creatures grow into power. A cobra hatches with it. – A Facebook post by ‘Strangest Facts’

If you look at the top of this reptile's head, you won't just see scales. You will find a highly functional, fully formed literal THIRD EYE staring directly up at the sky!

Welcome to New Zealand, home of the Tuatara.

Looking like a standard lizard, the Tuatara is a biological orphan. It belongs to an ancient order of reptiles (Rhynchocephalia) that thrived 200 million years ago, making it a true living dinosaur!

Its most mind-blowing feature is the Parietal Eye (A Third Eye). Located perfectly on the top center of its skull, this third eye isn't just a bump. It is fully biologically equipped with its own lens, cornea, and retina!

What does it do? As the Tuatara grows, the third eye gets covered by a thin layer of scales. It cannot see high-definition images like normal eyes, but it is highly sensitive to ultraviolet light!

The Tuatara uses this upward-facing radar to calculate the exact angle of the sun, regulate its internal biological clock (circadian rhythm), and ensure its body produces the right hormones for the season!

Nature's ultimate built-in solar panel! – A Facebook post by ‘Wildest Facts’

Most people think all snakes lay eggs, but that is not always true. About 30% of snake species give birth to live young. Instead of laying eggs in a nest, these snakes let their babies develop inside their bodies until they are ready to come out.

There are two main ways this happens. Some snakes keep eggs inside them and the eggs hatch while still inside the mother; the babies then crawl out. Other snakes have a placenta-like system, where the mother sends food and oxygen to the developing young, more like mammals do. Both ways let the babies grow inside until they are ready.

Giving birth to live young helps in places that are cold or risky for eggs left outside. It can protect the babies from predators and bad weather, but it also means the mother must carry them for a long time and needs more energy. This variety shows how flexible and surprising snakes can be in how they reproduce. – A Facebook post by ‘Colours of Nature’

The velvet worm looks like a soft little noodle you would never take seriously. That is a mistake.

This thing is a predator, and it hunts with a pair of slime cannons mounted near its mouth. When a small insect gets close enough, the worm fires two fast jets of sticky slime. The streams swing and cross in front of the animal, weaving a tangled net that glues the prey in place almost instantly.

That attack is not random. Scientists showed that the crossing spray pattern comes from the way the slime shooting organs wobble as the fluid blasts out. The result is a sticky trap that can pin down prey before it has time to bolt. For an animal that moves slowly and does most of its hunting at night, that is a perfect weapon.

Once the insect is trapped, the velvet worm moves in and feeds. It does not need speed, claws, or venom like a snake. It just turns the area in front of it into a glue disaster and lets physics do the rest.

The contrast is what makes this animal so good. It looks harmless. It moves like a little forest gummy. Then suddenly it is firing twin slime jets and wrapping bugs in a sticky net. – A Facebook post by ‘Boat of Evolution’

The Japanese oakblue caterpillar forms a relationship with ants that looks almost like control. It secretes a sugary liquid and special chemicals that attract ants and keep them close.

In return, the ants protect the caterpillar from predators. But it goes a step further. The chemicals can influence the ants’ behavior, making them more aggressive and more focused on guarding the caterpillar than doing their usual colony work.

Calling it “drugs” or “mind control” is a bit dramatic, but the effect is real. It’s a kind of chemical communication that benefits the caterpillar by turning ants into loyal bodyguards.

This is known as mutualism, though slightly one-sided. The ants get food, the caterpillar gets protection. – A Facebook post by ‘Streamers Tea’

*********************************************

Thank you for stopping by. Follow me if you find my posts interesting. If you know of anyone who might appreciate them, do recommended the blog to them. Cheers!