Category: Nature Watch

Save the Frogs

Geetha Iyer

India has a rich diversity of frogs, but they are fast disappearing, and unless some steps are taken to protect their exterior environment, the human population will be losing out a lot of the services that they render. Here are some ways on how the study of frogs at the school level can be taken beyond physiology to ecology.

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Potters par excellence

Geetha Iyer

In most humans wasps generate the kind of fear that honey bees bring. But did you know that not all wasps sting? Observing the different kinds of wasps visiting your home and your garden can be quite an enriching experience.

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Potters par excellence

Geetha Iyer

In most humans wasps generate the kind of fear that honey bees bring. But did you know that not all wasps sting? Observing the different kinds of wasps visiting your home and your garden can be quite an enriching experience.

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Fly on my wall

Geetha Iyer “What sort of insects do you rejoice in, where you come from?” the Gnat inquired. “I don’t rejoice in insects at all,” Alice explained … Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass Insects are not the best liked creatures, especially flies. Irritating pests is how we dismiss them and their close relatives, the gnats, midges, and mosquitoes. Which fly are we talking about by the way? Butterfly, dragonfly, stonefly, snakefly, sawfly, scorpionfly, firefly, mayfly or damselfly? No, not them as none of the insects listed above is a fly; they all have the suffix fly, perhaps a reference to their mode of locomotion. These pseudoflies are treated differently while true flies are dismissed as irritants or swatted! Swatting flies is sometimes a game with small children, much to the disapproval of adults! Why, insects that are not true flies, have this synonym is an interesting exploratory activity that can be taken up in languages or sciences, but what you will read here is about true flies – insects that belong to the Order Diptera. ‘Diptera’ means two wings (Di-two, ptera-wings) and the characteristic feature of a true fly is this – unlike others from the insect world they possess only one pair of wings. Fly, mosquito, gnat and midges are other common insects of this Order Diptera. There are 1,52,244 species of Diptera to be found worldwide. They are the third largest group in the insect world, the first position going to Coleoptera (beetles and weevils) and the second to Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies). Housefly is the most common representative of true flies. But you will be amazed to know that there are some stunningly beautiful representatives observable in the world of Diptera. While there are a number of flies that bite and carry diseases, there are several that are very useful, not worthy of disdainful dismissals! The author is a consultant for science and environment education. She can be reached at scopsowl@gmail.com. This is an article for subscribers only. You may request the complete article by writing to us at editorial@gamart.in.

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Incy Wincy spider

Geetha Iyer
Are spiders to be feared and disliked? Do we stop to think of the service that they perform quietly for us? Why is the spider painted as being villainous? Read up this interesting article to find out how spiders can be the best of pest management experts as well as other facts about this often invisible creature.

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The truth about snakes

Geetha Iyer

The first thing perhaps we all do when we see a snake is to scream with fright. But a lot of snakes are harmless and we can learn a lot about them if we stay clam and simply observe these creatures.

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Pilgrims of the sky

Geetha Iyer
Birds find a unique place among Nature’s creations partly because they connect so easily to people. They find a place not just in environment sciences, but in several other subjects that we study, from biology, chemistry, maths to art, music and languages. This article takes you into the world of birds and gives you tips on how you can become an expert in bird watching .

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