Filed under: Fun Facts
False. While there’s some dispute over the origin of the name “earwig,” there’s no dispute whatsoever among entomologists as to the insect’s fabled fondness for the human ear — it’s balderdash. (Earwigs aren’t particularly keen on devouring your brain, either.)
According to the Colorado State Cooperative Extension, “other than an occasional pinch, earwigs can’t harm people.”
For the full story, including the possible origins of this myth, go to
http://urbanlegends.about.com/library/owt/blowt-earwig.htm
Filed under: Bugs in the News
“Butterfly collecting has come a long way since the Victorian caricature of ruddy-faced Englishmen in khaki shorts bounding across the countryside with enormous nets.
These days the worldwide illegal trade in endangered species is worth an estimated $10 billion to $15 billion a year, according to law enforcement reports.
It can be as perilous as it is lucrative.”
Read the full story of an undercover agent fighting butterfly poachers at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/science/20070818-0915-thebutterflysmuggler.html
Filed under: Fun Facts
For years, the rumor that people annually swallow a number of spiders while sleeping has circulated around the internet. Happily, two sources refute the myth, and one even goes so far as to explain the origins of the tall tale.
http://www.snopes.com/science/stats/spiders.asp
http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mspidereat.html
Filed under: Events
Sunday, April 15 to September 3, 2007
Back for its ninth summer, the Pavilion of Wings will open on Sunday, April 15 and run through Labor Day, Monday, September 3, 2007.
Enter a world of free flying butterflies and stroll through a beautifully landscaped temporary exhibit housed at the Museum’s South Lawn. See a giant swallowtail, monarch, American painted Lady or even a California dogface – California’s state butterfly. Over the summer, thirty different butterfly and moth species will call the pavilion home. Discover how butterflies interact with the plants and gain a new understanding of various environmental issues.
Special ticketed admission applies: $3 for adults, $2 for seniors and students and $1 for children ages 5 to 12. Tickets are sold in half-hour time slots through-out the day. Members receive free admission and the first available tickets.
http://www.nhm.org/exhibitions/butterflies/
