Creature Feature #104: Cicada

There are numerous species of Cicada, spread throughout the world and present on every continent except Antarctica. They are characterized by their relatively large size, general shape and noisy nature. It is only the male that sings, and he does this to attract a mate. The sound is produced from part of his exoskeleton: known as a "tymbal". This is modified, forming a complex membrane with thinner portions that vibrate rapidly, resonating down his, mostly hollow, body. He can reach a volume of over 100 db. Both males and females have hearing organs, called tympana, but the male is able to disable his while singing. After mating, the female lays her eggs inside the bark of a tree. When they hatch, the nymphs tumble to the ground and burrow beneath. Here they spend the majority of their life, before taking on their final nymphal instar, crawling out and shedding their skin before calling, mating and dying.

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Creature Feature #63: Bombardier Beetle

There are more than 500 species of Bombardier Beetle, which are named for their powerful defense mechanisms. If threatened, they spray a hot and noxious chemical mixture from their abdomen. The chemistry behind this small, controlled explosion is intriguing - inside the abdomen are two different sacs: one of hydroquinone, the other of hydrogen peroxide. These are mixed in a third chamber with water and catalystic enzymes and the reaction sets the water to boiling point and releases a gas that results in the ejected spray. This can kill small predators, and is painful to larger ones. This novel defense mechanism is sometimes cited as evidence of “intelligent design”.

Creature Feature #33: Army Ant

There are over 200 species of ants known as “Army Ants” spread over seven genera and inhabitating both the Old and New Worlds. They are all characterised by their nomadic, often destructive, wandering behaviour.

Army Ants do not inhabit a regular territory, instead they roam in huge columns - sometimes as much as 20m wide and 100m long. They begin at dawn and end at dusk. As most Army Ants are blind, they follow trails of pheromones which they use to navigate the hoard and limit collisions with other ants during the march. In one day, the army can devour up to 500,000 different prey animals, mostly comprising of invertebrates, eggs, seeds and sometimes small vertebrates as well. In some cases, dead vertebrates are left behind, as the mandibles of the ant, whilst most formidable, are not capable of dealing with this prey. Some species march underground, others scale into the trees, where they will overwhelm any birds sitting on their nest.

During their march, they are often accompanied by foraging birds, such as the antpitta, thrushes, wrens and antbirds.

Creature Feature #28: Atlas Moth

The Atlas Moth of South East Asia is the largest moth in the world, with a wingspan measuring up to 25cm (10 inches) wide. The female is larger than the male. To attract a mate, the female releases pheremones to lure the males towards her, using chemoreceptors in their fuzzy antennae. They can detect this up to several kilometres away, which is good because as large and heavy as she is, the female is an unsteady flier and will not move far from her chrysalis.

In India, the Atlas Moth chrysalis has been used to make silk and their cocoons are occasionally used as purses in Taiwan.