nature

LADYBUGS WE LOVE YOU! LADYBUGS WE LOVE YOU!

We love ladybugs, ladybirds or lady beetles as they are often called! Those brightly colored insects are so great to find in a  garden or on a window sill! But how well do you know ladybugs? Come learn some fun facts about them today!

Ladybug Fun Facts:

• Ladybugs eat aphids! Aphids eat plants, so gardeners love to have ladybugs around!
• There are around 5,000 species of ladybugs.
• Ladybug bright colors ward off predators.
• They secret a fluid from their knees that makes them taste bad to predators!
• Ladybugs can consume thousands of aphids in a lifetime!
• They can fly.
• The number of spots on a ladybug’s back does not reflect it’s age.
• Ladybugs are the official insect of 7 states in the US.
• They are popular in books, graphics and logos.
• Ladybugs are thought to be good luck!

Ladybugs are so fascinating! Do you love these brightly colored insects as much as we do? Tell us why you like them!

WE SPY!!

We spy with our four little eyes an insect! Can you guess which green predator we found?

SCIENCE WORD OF THE WEEK!

Welcome to class today! I am so excited to share today’s word with you! Who’s ready to learn?

Today’s word is Entomology: entomology is the study of insects. An entomologist is a scientist who studies insects. There are over 900,000 insect species on the planet. They represent 80% of all species on earth. Wow! Insects do truly rule the earth and that means loads of creatures for an entomologist to study! If you were an entomologist what insect would you pick to study? I myself love butterflies!

Ellie and Edmond will be introducing us to some insects this week! Anyone you would like to meet?

WORLD WILDLIFE DAY!

Today is a day that has been designated to take stand for wildlife all over the planet! We here at Ellie and Edmond are committed to standing for elephants! You can take the pledge to stand for elephants at www.iworry.org .

This earth belongs to all of us and we must protect natural habitats and those that live there!

Join us in helping wildlife! Recycle all the materials you can! Reuse items like t-shirts for cleaning rags! Reduce the amount of waste you create! Every little bit helps! Read all about how these National Geographic Explorers are helping wildlife! Enjoy our coloring sheet and tell us how you are taking a stand for wildlife!

Remember: Tusks belong to elephants, horns belong on rhinos and fins belong to sharks!

SNOW! SNOW! SNOW!

We were hoping to get a few inches of snow here at HQs, but instead we just got cold rain! So while we watched the rain waiting for it turn to snow, we decided to look up animals with snow in their names! We’ll share who we found!

Snowy Owl!

The snowy owl lives in North America and summers in the arctic circle!

Snowy owls hunt during the day!

One of their favorite prey is lemmings.

Snowy owls can weigh up to 4 lbs, most of that weight is from their thick feathers!

Snow Monkeys or Japanese Macaques

Snow monkeys live in northern Japan.

They are very intelligent monkeys.

Snow monkeys are famous for sitting in hot springs to keep warm.

They are omnivores.

Snow leopard

Snow leopards live in the mountains of Central and South Asia.

They have a thick coats of fur, up to 5 inches thick.

Snow leopards are crepuscular, active at dawn and dusk.

They are highly endangered.

Snow Goose

Snow geese live in North America.

Snow geese live in flocks, up to thousands of birds.

They are herbivores.

Snow geese are strong fliers and swimmers.

These amazing snow animals sure are cool! Did you notice they all have whitish coloration? That adaptation helps them blend in with their surroundings! Snow leopards are especially known for their ability to camouflage! Here! Here to our snowy habitat loving friends!