At this stage in your life, you probably think you know quite a few facts about nature – the sun rises in the east, dolphins can communicate with each other, and bees gather honey from flowers. So, it may come as a surprise to you that you may have to reconsider what you know. Keep reading for some myth busting – Northwest style.

5 Common Misconceptions About Insects:

1. Bees get honey from flowers

When bees buzz through your garden, they gather nectar, a complex sugar, which they carry to the hive in a “honey stomach.” Once they deposit it into the hive, other bees break down the sugar and pack it into the cells of the honeycomb. Finally, they fan their wings over the honeycomb to evaporate water out of the nectar and the end result is honey!

2. All spiders make webs

Many people think that all spiders spin webs of silk to trap their prey. It is true that all spiders produce silk. On the contrary, hunting spiders, which include wolf spiders, jumping spiders, and trapdoor spiders among others, actually track down their prey instead of making webs.

 3. Insects aren’t animals

When most people think of animals, they often mean furry creatures such as dogs, cats and even more menacing lions, tigers and bears. Perhaps because of the unusual appearance of most insects, which have exoskeletons among distinctive features, people tend to assume these arthropods are of a different classification. Though they may not have skin or fur, insects are animals just like dogs, cats – and us!

 4. A cocoon and a chrysalis are the same

Growing up, we learned stories of homely worms turning into beautiful butterflies after emerging from their cocoon. Actually, the term chrysalis defines this transformation stage between larva and adult, otherwise known as a pupa. Only butterflies can come from a chrysalis. It is its cousin, the moth, that emerges from a cocoon made of silk.

5. Daddy longlegs are spiders

Daddy longlegs, also known as harvestmen, walk around on eight legs as all spiders do. However, not all eight-legged creatures are spiders. Spiders have two distinct, separated body parts, whereas the harvestmen have one. They also do not have silk or venom glands as spiders do.

Melissa Brown
mbrown@callnorthwest.com

Sources:

http://insects.about.com/od/teachingaboutinsects/tp/15misconceptions.htm

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/exhibits/always-on-display/butterfly-rainforest/butterfly-qa