Flowers are beautiful, fragrant, and draw pollinators insects to pollinate them, serving also to disseminate seeds across their environment. Pollen grains that land on the stigmas of other flowers of the same species germinate to form a tube that descends through style and into ovary where male reproductive cells, known as gametes, unite with female…
Butterflies are one of the favorite insects among children, as they’re easy to raise, have an intriguing life cycle and provide endless entertainment in nature. At the outset of their life cycle, butterfly females lay eggs on leaves which are then fertilized by male sperm and become part of the monarch butterfly life cycle. The…
Caterpillars have evolved as “eating machines”, so their body grows quickly – sometimes doubling in size within days! At times their skins stretch to accommodate further expansion; once this point has been reached they must shed their old cuticles to continue growing. Before a caterpillar pupates, it spins a silk pad from its last pair…
Rocket Lab will launch their Venus Life Finder probe aboard their Electron rocket. Their multipurpose spacecraft will be smaller and less expensive than NASA’s current Venus probes. VERITAS will be the first medium-class mission since Magellan in the 1990s to explore Venus. It will produce exquisite maps of this distant world. Sputnik 7 The spacecraft’s…
Searches for life on Mars have been hindered by one simple fact: no such creatures have ever been discovered despite our best efforts. This does not indicate lack of effort on our part. One approach involves studying Deinococcus radiodurans bacteria, which have proven resilient against large doses of radiation exposure. Scientists think some microbes on…
Sea horses are unique among marine fish species in that males can become pregnant during mating. A female deposits her eggs into his brood pouch and is fertilized. He uses his frontal pouch to regulate conditions within, providing nutrients to embryos forming within it for up to six weeks before using muscular contractions to expulse…
Plants follow similar stages to humans: beginning as seeds and maturing into adults. Each seed encases a miniature plant inside. To germinate successfully, this miniaturised ecosystem requires water, warmth and oxygen for proper growth; once germinated it develops into a seedling before eventually becoming an adult plant. Seeds At the core of any plant’s lifecycle…
An adult butterfly goes through four distinct stages to reach adulthood: egg, larva, pupa and finally butterfly. Female butterflies lay eggs on specific host plants. After hatching into larva, these feed and grow. Over time, their skin sheds multiple times in what’s known as molting. Eggs At the outset of butterfly life cycles, female butterflies…
Students will discover the various stages in a butterfly’s life cycle – eggs, larva, pupa and adult stages are discussed here. Female butterflies lay many eggs to increase the chances of their offspring’s survival. To do this, they select an appropriate plant species and place their eggs under its leaves. Egg A butterfly begins its…
